Goblin Monks: What shall I do for them?

[CrackedChair]

So after I decided on This thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?527024-Thinking-about-creating-a-Goblin-what-shall-I-keep-in-mind) that I'd be a Goblin Monk, I thought to post this later to get some advice.

I love martial classes, but the Monk is something I have not really studied up on too much, roleplay wise and combat wise. Being a Monk gives my Goblin an actual reason to be something else other than a mean little fool, but rather a (somewhat) disciplined monk. Still, it's a Monk, and of course, it requires a lawful lifestyle to follow rather than just fighting like Fighters, or doing it all for righteousness like a Paladin.

So here's the 411. My Goblin monk is going to be a Lawful Good Acolyte. His Goblin encampment was destroyed by a bunch of Paladins or Fighters or god knows what else that could show mercy to children. And he was pretty much the only baby in that camp, alongside a few other, non-goblin ones that were taken in a baby-snatching raid on a town. So they dumped him off at a monastery that takes in orphans. He decided to become a Monk despite the racism and whatnot, so here he is. I read up a bit on Monks, like how they are usually Lawful and their abilities are passive in nature, such as evasion, the Ki abilities and the like. But I still need some help.

Could somebody explain some use of this kind of character to me? Any tactics, usage of the Monk itself and roleplaying tips will be appreciated.

[Naanomi]

Goblin monks are going to have lots of competition for the use of their bonus action, so try to be mindful of your options there.

Subclass... shadow seems the most intuitive (you are sneaky) but others are also viable... your con bonus lends itself to long-death; but if you are looking for 'heroic' open palm lends itself best to that

[CrackedChair]

I made the character sheet. I decided that being a Monk of the open palm might be a bit too er, out of character for this Goblin, so I made him a Ninja.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1FXcXv1VrOdOTdCRXRDY3FGZWc/view?usp=sharing

[Fflewddur Fflam]

I made the character sheet. I decided that being a Monk of the open palm might be a bit too er, out of character for this Goblin, so I made him a Ninja.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1FXcXv1VrOdOTdCRXRDY3FGZWc/view?usp=sharing

I would strongly recommend a rethink on your stats. Wis 14 on a monk is not good, the best thing a monk brings to the table is stunning strike and your DC is based on your Wis for that. Str and Cha are dump stats, you don't need those to be 10.

Do
Str 8
Dex 17
Con 16
Int 8
Wis 15
Cha 8

Your first ASI at 4th level can be +1 Dex and +1 Wis. Your next ASI at 8th level will be +2 Wis, that will get you to 18 for both Dex and Wis at level 8 which is where you want to be to get those stunning strikes to work.

[Waterdeep Merch]

I would strongly recommend a rethink on your stats. Wis 14 on a monk is not good, the best thing a monk brings to the table is stunning strike and your DC is based on your Wis for that. Str and Cha are dump stats, you don't need those to be 10.

Do
Str 8
Dex 17
Con 16
Int 8
Wis 15
Cha 8

Your first ASI at 4th level can be +1 Dex and +1 Wis. Your next ASI at 8th level will be +2 Wis, that will get you to 18 for both Dex and Wis at level 8 which is where you want to be to get those stunning strikes to work.
Following up on this, if you're gung ho about having social skills, I'd take the hit in Constitution. 16 is great for a melee character, but you get a lot more out of high Dexterity and Wisdom. 14 is good enough, if you absolutely need your charisma to not be terrible for roleplaying.

Monks don't get access to any social skills, so if you're planning on it, pick up the ones you want with your background.

[CrackedChair]

Following up on this, if you're gung ho about having social skills, I'd take the hit in Constitution. 16 is great for a melee character, but you get a lot more out of high Dexterity and Wisdom. 14 is good enough, if you absolutely need your charisma to not be terrible for roleplaying.

Monks don't get access to any social skills, so if you're planning on it, pick up the ones you want with your background.

Understood!

[Corran]

Personality trait: I have an intense yearning to be anything but a Goblin.... I'm also irritable and cannot stand an insult

Ideals: ....(improve yourself to improve the world -paraphrased)

Bond: ... I wish to improve for them, due to their kindness

Flaws: I secretly wonder... does being a goblin trully means you are meant for evil?

---------------------------------

First off all, nice work! Seems like a character full of flavour.

My opinion follows.

The ''irritable and cannot stand an insult'' part doesn't play all that well with a high wisdom character, and it pairs better with a chaotic alignment rather than with a lawful one. It is not 100% contradictory to either of these, and if done carefully it could show some character growth as the campaign progresses (meaning that before long you would have to drop these ''flaws'' and have the personality of your character ''evolve'' to match better his alignment and wisdom), but I would probably change them if I were you anyway.
Same with the flaw (am I evil?), not that fitting for a high wisdom character to secondguess his.... ''nature''.

The bond contradicts somewhat your ideal too. Either you want to be a better person due to some philosohy your character believes in, or you want to do it to please others who were kind to you. Again, not a 100% contradiction, but you better stick with one or the other.

Now, the personality trait (all of it, as in resentment for what you are, and outbursts), the bond (be the way you are to please others) and the flaw (that betrays insecurity), point to a very low charisma (weak personality). I would have charisma be this character's lowest socre by far! An 8 might be too good even. (Besides, how much public relations do you expect from a goblin to carry out, assuming a typical campaign world? I expect the humies will do the talking, and part of it will be explaining to the city guard why they shouldnt kill you. Dump it hard!)

Hope that helps.

[CrackedChair]

Personality trait: I have an intense yearning to be anything but a Goblin.... I'm also irritable and cannot stand an insult

Ideals: ....(improve yourself to improve the world -paraphrased)

Bond: ... I wish to improve for them, due to their kindness

Flaws: I secretly wonder... does being a goblin trully means you are meant for evil?

---------------------------------

First off all, nice work! Seems like a character full of flavour.

My opinion follows.

The ''irritable and cannot stand an insult'' part doesn't play all that well with a high wisdom character, and it pairs better with a chaotic alignment rather than with a lawful one. It is not 100% contradictory to either of these, and if done carefully it could show some character growth as the campaign progresses (meaning that before long you would have to drop these ''flaws'' and have the personality of your character ''evolve'' to match better his alignment and wisdom), but I would probably change them if I were you anyway.
Same with the flaw (am I evil?), not that fitting for a high wisdom character to secondguess his.... ''nature''.

The bond contradicts somewhat your ideal too. Either you want to be a better person due to some philosohy your character believes in, or you want to do it to please others who were kind to you. Again, not a 100% contradiction, but you better stick with one or the other.

Now, the personality trait (all of it, as in resentment for what you are, and outbursts), the bond (be the way you are to please others) and the flaw (that betrays insecurity), point to a very low charisma (weak personality). I would have charisma be this character's lowest socre by far! An 8 might be too good even. (Besides, how much public relations do you expect from a goblin to carry out, assuming a typical campaign world? I expect the humies will do the talking, and part of it will be explaining to the city guard why they shouldnt kill you. Dump it hard!)

Hope that helps.

Ah. Thanks! I will be sure to adjust the character sheet with new information later as you stated!

[Sir cryosin]

I have played 2 shadow monks one a half elf my first character and a koblod my second favorite character.
The shadow Monk plays just like a melee rogue your in and out. Stunning strike is so much fun. My DM loves to have the Bad guys run when low on hp. So when I shadow step to them then stunning strike and it lands oh boy I get a big grin ony face.

[CrackedChair]

So uh, should I still stick with a Spear or switch it out for a shortsword? I'd imagine if I am going to be sneaking a lot or on some sort of shadow monk mission, that a spear might be a bit big to conceal...