Best Class to Duo with a Monk

[Revanx22]

Hi. I'm still relatively new to DnD and could use some help. Me and some friends are starting a campaign but it's only going to be the DM, a monk and me. What would pair well with that? Bard, druid and cleric seem good but I would like to get some of your opinions.

[Eldariel]

Hi. I'm still relatively new to DnD and could use some help. Me and some friends are starting a campaign but it's only going to be the DM, a monk and me. What would pair well with that? Bard, druid and cleric seem good but I would like to get some of your opinions.

What edition are you playing? That has a rather huge influence on the answer. Sort of sounds like 3e/PF, where Cleric is definitely one of the better options given how well Cleric-spells shore up a Monk's weaknesses. You do need something like the Sacred Fist-class in Complete Divine to really make the mix work out though.

[Revanx22]

Sorry, its 5e actually.

[Citan]

Hi. I'm still relatively new to DnD and could use some help. Me and some friends are starting a campaign but it's only going to be the DM, a monk and me. What would pair well with that? Bard, druid and cleric seem good but I would like to get some of your opinions.

Hi.
It's a bit hard to give you advice with so few informations...
Could you please tell...

1. Do you know if the DM plans on adding DMPC to your party?
2. Do you have a precise idea of what kind of monk you want to play (which archetype, single-class or multiclass, playstyle...).
3. Do you have any idea of the campaign type or setting?

Because many things depend on it. For example...

Open Hand Monk would play great together with a sturdy martial such as an Eldricht Knight or Paladin: you can easily prone enemies so that your friend bashes them easily, retreating to the side of your friend as needed, or letting him stand the ground and just coming back and forth during your turn. EK and Pal can in turn help you with

Shadow Monk would be great paired with a Rogue (any, although Assassin could be the top): you can do combined surprise attacks to inflict great damage, or you can scout / use hit&run techniques while your Rogue pal covers you at a distance (and inflicts sever damage also). Basically, you stealth all the way to avoid greatest dangers.

Long Death Monk could be nice if you have to be the only frontliner, trying to keep enemies at bay while a spellcaster prepares powerful damage/control spells.

So... Basically, nearly every class could be good. ;)
Although in a "void box" I would still have a few preferences:

1. Paladin: because it's nearly the perfect complementarity: Strength and Charisma based (= nearly no skill overlap), extremely versatile spelllist (heal/control/utility/damage), decent sustained damage and nova damage.

2. Moon Druid: because it's very versatile in spells, including healing and control that takes advantage of Stunning Strike, and get many Conjure Animals (meaning many allies when needed).

3. Arcane Trickster Rogue: good damage at melee and range, INT skills, good enough spelllist with disadvantage on DC saving throw at higher levels which can save your hide sometimes.

4. Cleric: sturdy, many great buffs, can hold its own in damage and utility.

Hope that helps.

[MaxWilson]

Hi. I'm still relatively new to DnD and could use some help. Me and some friends are starting a campaign but it's only going to be the DM, a monk and me. What would pair well with that? Bard, druid and cleric seem good but I would like to get some of your opinions.

Depends on what kind of monk, but I'd recommend something with high mobility. You'll be able to run from anything you can't kill, and kill anything you can't run from.

A Mobile (from the human bonus feat) Moon Druid could be lots of fun. A wizard might work out well too. A Rogue 2 who multiclasses into Bladesinger Wizard after that might go particularly well with the Monk. The big advantage of the Moon Druid over the wizard is that he's got lots of healing capability to reverse disasters (e.g. if the monk gets perma-stunned by an Intellect Devourer). The big advantage of the wizard is that wizards have a slightly better spell list in some ways. Either one could be fun and effective and would complement the monk nicely, and both are very sneaky (due to Pass Without Trace for the Moon Druid or Stealth Expertise for the Rogue/Wizard).

[MrStabby]

Rogue and warlock seem the most popular.

Ranger looks pretty good at first but can be a bit of a trap, mainly due to bonus action congestion.

Cleric can be ok, but a lot depends on the domain. All the armour proficiency and weapon proficiency is a bit wasted and you will want to get the most out of low level spells.

[Revanx22]

Yes there will be dmpc`s. I don't know what type of monk he will be and the dm is still working on the campaign.

[Foxhound438]

a bard would be a decent choice, in that you get both healing and utility casting. You'd kind of be forced into lore college for decent DPS spells, though.

Cleric might work fine as well, you get DPS options and good heals, but less utility than a wizard or bard.

[Fflewddur Fflam]

5 levels of rogue goes great with monk.

3 levels of hunter ranger ain't bad.

cleric, druid, fighter can all be done easily.

[JumboWheat01]

I would say Paladin. Throw a Paladin's aura that provides a bonus to saves based on the Paladin's Charisma on top of a Monk's ability to have proficiency with ALL saving throws means the Monk will practically never be affected by magic. Be a Crown Paladin to make yourself more of an "agro tank" to keep the heat off the (relatively) squishier Monk and let him pummel things away.

Plus, you have healing power. Always handy to have.

And while this doesn't have to be enforced, but Monks and Paladins tend to be Lawful in alignment, so there's less potential for alignment dissonance.

[Sigreid]

I think the best synergy would be cleric or druid.

[Malifice]

I like BM fighter. Just a 3 level dip.

Action surge, Sup dice, a fighting style, second wind, manouvers.

Ranger works surprisingly well. Hunters mark + Martial Arts + Colossus slayer goes a long way to fix DPR issues with the Monk.

I'm working on a DMs guild Monk Archetype at present. The Shukenja. Its a Monk archetype that incorporates cleric spell casting with Eldritc Knight caster progression.

[Dimers]

Folks, I believe the OP is asking what completely separate character s/he should make to complement the other player's monk.

[BurchardOfEn]

I'd say that Cleric or Paladin would probably be the best characters to help a monk out. Cleric gives healing and buffs while being able to be of some aid in the front line, and the Paladin is similar although the amount on the roles is reversed(AKA more front line assistance rather than healing and buffs). Between those two, I'd say that Paladin would generally be more useful due to Lay on Hands and Aura of Protection. The choice on whether to go Devotion, Ancients, or Vengeance is dependent on how you want to play the Paladin in terms of playstyle as well as roleplaying. Devotion is the best for the prevailing idea of what a Paladin is and excels in games where you're fighting with a high amount of fiends or undead. Ancients is the best generally for defensive purposes and fits a guardian of nature type of vibe. Vengeance is kind of the best offensively(we're not counting Undying Light/Oathbreaker because that's getting silly) and fits for a seeker of retribution as befits the name of the oath.

Warlock could be an interesting choice to support a Monk with, but Paladin is probably the safer bet.

[RickAllison]

I say go with some short rest classes! Warlock gives some good firepower that regenerates when the monk also wants to recharge. Go Tome so you can put up Leomund's Tiny Hut, then enjoy the flexibility of having the entire party's capabilities (besides health) regenerating in an hour.

[TheNotoriousSMP]

Having played a monk in a few different games, I can tell you that a healer will basically always be useful, especially given that most monks will be getting up close and personal with your enemies. A cleric, paladin, or bard would work, they both give a few options for buffs and attacks from outside of melee range.

[RickAllison]

For funsies, how about a second monk? Open Hand would let him give you advantage using prone, or to control positioning.

You would be quite the pair of skirmishers. One dominates the field using fear and massive reserves of HP, while the other knocks people off ledges, sets them up for both of you to beat down, and otherwise cause mayhem. Oh, and any big boss that he sends against you better have some dang good Con saving throws, as he will be facing up to 8 Stunning Strikes per round. The highest of that in the MM is +16 for Ancient Gold and Red Dragons, and those still are looking at only a 27% chance not to be stunned. For those rare situations where the fight is beyond your control, you are among the most mobile of all PCs with enough mobility options to get out of Dodge when needed.

[Revanx22]

Thanks for the info everyone. It's given me a lot to think about. I've never played a barbarian, and was what I was planning on using before our cleric dropped out. Would monk/barb duo be awful?

[Sigreid]

Thanks for the info everyone. It's given me a lot to think about. I've never played a barbarian, and was what I was planning on using before our cleric dropped out. Would monk/barb duo be awful?

Consider that a wolf barbarian, when raging, would give advantage to the monk's martial arts attacks. I think that would be fine. Just fine.

[Revanx22]

I should note that the hirelings may be nothing more than simple bodyguards with no spells. Dm hasn't decided yet though.

[Specter]

Light Cleric or Land Druid should be fine. What your friend needs is some control, some ranged damage and some healing. That being said, if you don't like these classes don't be tied to them.

[BurchardOfEn]

As Sigreid noted, a Totem Warrior Barbarian could do absolutely fine with a Monk if you want to do that. Rogue would be an example of a class that wouldn't go as well with a Monk since the Rogue is presumably going to be ditching the Monk into the front line alone a good bit. Basically any class that could buff, support, heal, or help carry the front line would go well with a Monk.

[Easy_Lee]

The usual monk role is mobile controller with moderate damage who is unusually effective against spellcasters. No multiclass adds enough to that for what the lost levels take away. So if you're multiclassing with a monk, it should be because you want to focus on some specific thing which differentiates you from that role.

Cleric: adds backup spells at the cost of ki and monk abilities. Some Divine Smites may be useful.
Druid: spells and wildshape shenanigans. Can add significantly to scouting capabilities if you retain your monk abilities while wildshaped.
Ranger: nothing to see, here.
Warlock: can make you a sneaky sneaky monk with good single-target burst. If you can declare your unarmed strike your pact weapon, which was totally a legitimate thing before Crawford whined about it, a Fiend Bladelock 14 / Shadow Monk 6 can do some serious shiz. Best if your DM will let you make a WIS lock instead of a CHA lock. Regardless, even a 2 level dip in warlock for 2 short rest slots (get Hex) and 2 invocations is just fine.
Rogue: expertise can turn you into an effective grappler. It can also enhance your stealth. Thief will enhance your mobility and give you a ton of options for what to do with your bonus action, making you a very effective scout (especially with stealth). Assassin gives you some pretty good burst if you can surprise a target. Up to four guaranteed crits on a crucial target at the start of combat is great. I'd dip 3 levels rogue, so you don't miss your level 17 Monk archetype ability (if you make it to 20).

The monk capstone is pretty garbage, so there are reasons to dip if you want to enhance one part of the monk at the cost of something else.

[RickAllison]

The usual monk role is mobile controller with moderate damage who is unusually effective against spellcasters. No multiclass adds enough to that for what the lost levels take away. So if you're multiclassing with a monk, it should be because you want to focus on some specific thing which differentiates you from that role.

Cleric: adds backup spells at the cost of ki and monk abilities. Some Divine Smites may be useful.
Druid: spells and wildshape shenanigans. Can add significantly to scouting capabilities if you retain your monk abilities while wildshaped.
Ranger: nothing to see, here.
Warlock: can make you a sneaky sneaky monk with good single-target burst. If you can declare your unarmed strike your pact weapon, which was totally a legitimate thing before Crawford whined about it, a Fiend Bladelock 14 / Shadow Monk 6 can do some serious shiz. Best if your DM will let you make a WIS lock instead of a CHA lock. Regardless, even a 2 level dip in warlock for 2 short rest slots (get Hex) and 2 invocations is just fine.
Rogue: expertise can turn you into an effective grappler. It can also enhance your stealth. Thief will enhance your mobility and give you a ton of options for what to do with your bonus action, making you a very effective scout (especially with stealth). Assassin gives you some pretty good burst if you can surprise a target. Up to four guaranteed crits on a crucial target at the start of combat is great. I'd dip 3 levels rogue, so you don't miss your level 17 Monk archetype ability (if you make it to 20).

The monk capstone is pretty garbage, so there are reasons to dip if you want to enhance one part of the monk at the cost of something else.

As stated in the OP and re-stated several times in the thread, this is about creating a duo, two people, not a multiclass.

[Easy_Lee]

As stated in the OP and re-stated several times in the thread, this is about creating a duo, two people, not a multiclass.

Oh yeah? Well...I'm sleepy

[RickAllison]

Oh yeah? Well...I'm sleepy

That is entirely reasonable and very easily forgiven :smallsmile:

[ClintACK]

One cool thing you can do with small parties -- and a 2-man party definitely qualifies -- is look at capabilities that *everyone* in the party has.

("What should I play" threads usually focus on what capabilities a party is missing, but lots of abilities -- like stealth and movement -- are only as good as the *weakest* party member.)

Stealth: It's hard to overestimate the power of being able to make your Stealth rolls -- spot the opposition first, decide whether to fight or sneak away, *and* get a surprise round. If you can both be proficient, that's a good thing. Splitting the party to scout is always risky -- and boring for the player left behind.

Fast Movement: At 5th level your Barbarian has a 40' move. (Or 45' if he's a Wood Elf.) So does the Monk. You're going to be faster than most enemies -- which can be extremely useful when discretion is the better part of valor. (At 6th level a Wood Elf Barbarian and a Monk can run faster than a pack of wolves. If the Monk is from any race with darkvision, they can outrun a pack of wolves through the forest on a moonless night. If you both take the Mobility feat at 4th level, you're outrunning everything but horses and fast fliers.) (And if you're a Moon Druid, you can just become a horse and let the monk ride you...)

Short-Rest Dependence: Aside from wounds beyond his HD, the Monk fully recovers after a Short Rest. It would be nice if you did too. Alas, Barbarian requires a Long Rest to recover spent Rage. Other Short-Rest classes: Aside from the obvious Warlock, Battle Master Fighters get all their Superiority Dice back on a Short Rest, and Moon Druids get more Wild Shape after a Short Rest. (And Wild Shaped Druids can do really well at both speed and stealth, by choosing the right forms.)

TL;DR: Barbarian has some *great* synergies with Monk for a small party. My top choice would be a Moon Druid for the healing, but you can do quite a bit of healing with just Healing Dice in 5e, so you might be fine.

[Citan]

TL;DR: Barbarian has some *great* synergies with Monk for a small party. My top choice would be a Moon Druid for the healing, but you can do quite a bit of healing with just Healing Dice in 5e, so you might be fine.
@OP: while Paladin and Druid came on top of the thread as far as general recommendations go, I concur with this in saying that Monk + Totem Barb can totally work (funny thing: nearly every animal can be a good choice in a duo, depending on what kind of Monk you're playing with and what role yourself want to have).

So if you feel like playing Barb much more than any other class, go for it! ;) (And feel free to come back in case you'd want additional advice ^).

[jaappleton]

Shadow Monk and Arcane Trickster Rogue.

Very high mobility. Stunning Strike easily sets up Advantage for both of you. Both use hit and run tactics. Why fight through fifteen enemies in the castle when you can avoid them all and steal the treasure together without being caught? Enemies don't know who to hit when you're both cloaked in shadows.

Alternatively, if UA is allowed, Shadow Sorcerer and Arcane Trickster Rogue. Sorcerer has that AoE you'd be terribly lacking for when things go really south, plus a slew of other spells. And it's Hellhound.

[djreynolds]

Why not a sorcerer? Total opposites. Law and chaos. Twin spells and careful casting.

[TheProfessor85]

I'd go with bard. Roleplaying wise it will be a lot of fun, since monks tend to be stern and disciplined and bards are more free spirited. I'm sure the DM will tailor the adventure based on you and the monk players roles.