Lizardman and the Unexpected Gish

[RickAsWritten]

So I was putzing around with the idea of trying to figure out a good way to make a Dex-based gish that makes the most of the Lizardfolk's Natural Armor. The build I first was drawn to is a Ranger/Druid sword and board with a scimitar. Five levels in Ranger for two attacks, and the rest in Grassland Druid. A common multi-class, and one that should be pretty effective.
Now, it's in my nature to try to do things in the exact opposite way that people tell me to, and I have a penchant for pushing things...maybe a little too far; so I kept digging, and theory-crafted this wonky *** build.

Lizardfolk Monk 5/Wizard X
AL legal, so point buy and PHB+1.
STR-8
DEX-15
CON-15
INT-15
WIS-13
CHA-8

Yes I know, all those odd numbers are horrifying, but not really terrible. Nothing that I'm going to make use of is dumped, and a few ASI's will smooth things out. I figure I'll start Monk 1 to get the extra HP and Martial Arts right from the get-go, then go Wizard 2 to pick up a school. I think I'd choose Divination for the shaman-type feel on the Lizardman, but abjurer is probably more practical. From there take Monk to 5 for Extra Attack, and Open Hand as my sub-class. I semi-dumped WIS, so I would most likely only use the reaction denial from the Open Hand Technique feature for a poor man's version of Mobile. I am very tempted to take the much abhorred Four Elements, and just use Fangs of the Fire Snake(which is fitting thematically, but a little expensive Ki wise). Take Wizard levels from there on out and gish away.

So what say you fellow Playgrounders? Will this weird sub-optimal niche build be viable and fun to play? I haven't delved too far into spell selection or crunched numbers, but on the surface it seems like it works.

Also if you're feeling brazen, post your own weird niche multi-class builds; as I love to see a the right thing done in the wrong way.

[Easy_Lee]

Well, the lizard armor gives monks a pretty good excuse to dump wisdom. So here's an idea: Shadow Monk 6 followed by Blade Warlock 14. Pact weaponize a quarterstaff.

With Hex up, this character can deal 2D8+2D6+4D6+4*DEX in a round using flurry of blows, from level 8. Not bad. Assuming just 16 dexterity, that's still an average of 42 damage if all attacks hit. That number will increase by 2*CHA much later with the second bladepact invocation.

Devil's sight and the invisibility invocation will help the shadow monk do his thing. Altogether, this is a pretty good scout and decent striker with lots of bonus utility. It sacrifices Ki, many monk features, and stunning strike for warlock spell slots, invocations, and a patron.

Unfortunately, this build is more of a loner than a typical monk or warlock. Combos with other party members are likely to be low.

[Unoriginal]

I just want to say that I think "the Unexpected Gish" is an awesome name.

Evil guards: "Who are you?"

Lizardman: "I am the Unexpected Gish"

*Proceed to beat the hell out of them*

[N810]

A but odd and non-optimal, But I think you could make it work.
You might want to start out with a quarterstaff as your main weapon.
and your stats should level out after a few ASI's and half feats.

[Easy_Lee]

Fun fact: monk or rogue 2 / wizard used to be moderately popular, especially in D&D online. The combination of evasion and insightful reflexes was desirable.

We don't have insightful reflexes this edition, and they moved evasion much later in level progression. It's a shame.

[Specter]

With your Lizard AC, Monk's AC won't matter. Very little will, actually (Martial Arts at Monk 5 will be dealing the same as a shortsword, sadly). The only reason to go Monk over Fighter is if you prefer Stunning Strike to anything else the Fighter would get, because a Fighter would be able to dump WIS.

I still recommend DruidX/Ranger 5-6 with the upcasting of spells such as Hail of Thorns and Lightning Arrow as a form of 'arrow smiting' to make the most out of a Wisdom gish.

This is of course assuming you want some degree of optimization to your build, otherwise do what you like.


I just want to say that I think "the Unexpected Gish" is an awesome name.

Evil guards: "Who are you?"

Lizardman: "I am the Unexpected Gish"

*Proceed to beat the hell out of them*

This.