Monks and Variant Human Feats

[ZorroGames]

So, Monks pretty much live or die by ASIs but you can have a 16 DE and 16 WI (14 CO) Human Monk with a Starting Feat (might be your only one for a long time)!

What Feat at first level will help the beginning Monk the most?

Someone who shall remain anonymous suggested Magic Initiate for cantrips and spells to live to second level semi-facetiously.

[PeteNutButter]

Monk suffers from having low hit points and low AC for melee combatant. Mobile is a great way to avoid being hit from most foes, while still allowing all 3-4 attacks.

[Specter]

In order of personal preference:

- Defensive Duelist (gives you a constant reaction use, and you should have at least one free hand to hold a shortsword)
- Tough (because Barbarian HP is always nice)
- Mage Slayer (monks were born to kill casters)

[Naanomi]

I like Mobile... plays to their strengths both in terms of movement boosts and making use of having many attacks

[Kane0]

Mobile and Tough are excellent for survivability, Mage Slayer really emphasises your natural specialty.

[Zalabim]

I have to give special mention to Healer. It's good for most parties, but on a Monk you can say "I can heal you again only if we take a short rest." :smallwink: TN: Monks like short rests.

[lunaticfringe]

Mobile & Defensive Duelist are my go to Monk feats. I usually grab DD later, I love Auto Disengage & being a speed demon too much. I usually don't grab more than 2 feats on a toon but tough is always tempting, it's basically +4 Con HPwise.

[Citan]

So, Monks pretty much live or die by ASIs but you can have a 16 DE and 16 WI (14 CO) Human Monk with a Starting Feat (might be your only one for a long time)!

What Feat at first level will help the beginning Monk the most?

Someone who shall remain anonymous suggested Magic Initiate for cantrips and spells to live to second level semi-facetiously.
Mobile.
No hesitation on that. ;)

Monk has great speed but low AC at first levels, so they usually have to use Dodge or Disengage as a bonus action.
Mobile is the perfect fit for Monk's hit&run fighting style: extra mobility means you have even better chance to put yourself away from melee enemies's reach, and the "no OA against attacked enemies" mean you are automatically safe from enemies you engage directly.
Technically, you could even "waste" an attack against an enemy you would have to come close to on the way towards the one creature you really want to hit: since you get a bonus action weapon attack (unarmed strike) as soon as level 1, it means you have a "free single-enemy Disengage" right at the start. May save your live more often than what you'd think (provided you don't stupidly stay on the front line and let your Barb/Pal/Fighter pal be the meat shield ^^).

There is really no most suited feat. ;)
Although some others are nice:

- Alert means once you have Stunning Strike you have higher chance of immediately making the fight easier. But once you have Stunning Strike.

- Healer is always a good way to get some self-healing, and you can also heal others, for a reasonable price (but cheaper than buying potions).

- Observant is great if Monk takes the scouting/spying role, especially Shadow. Furthermore once you understand all creatures, although this comes very late.

- Mage Slayer can make you extremely dangerous for enemy casters. Problem though, it requires you to stick into enemy lines, so that's usually a feat you would take late, unless someone can buff your defenses.

- Ritual Caster (or Magic Initiate) is always a great way to expand your abilities.

- Sentinel can be nice too, but same as others, once you have high enough resilience to stick a bit longer on the frontline.

My top three would be:
1. Mobile: no doubt the best efficiency-wise.
2. Ritual Caster: because I personally dislike having little utility (although Shadow and 4e are a bit better). This depends heavily on DM though.
3. Healer if nobody in party having healing, otherwise Alert / Observant because those also play on the Monk's strengths, although it comes later.

This is for a "starting feat" choice obviously, for a feat chosen at level 8 or 12 I'd put Mage Slayer in the top three. ;)

[Easy_Lee]

I recommend starting with 16 Dexterity, 15 wisdom, and 14 constitution. Take mobile at level 1 and observant at 4 to round out your wisdom, then ASIs from there.

Mobile opens up an entire play style that the monk is good at: hit and run. Observant makes you a stronger scout, something monk is also already good at. Play to your strengths.

I think mage slayer on a monk is redundant. If you're within 5' of the caster, you already stunned it. And if it resists your stun, there's a chance it might push you away or teleportation away with its spell, both of which negate mage slayer's reaction attack.

[Theodoxus]

My first choice is also mobile - make those Wood Elf monks feel sad :smallbiggrin:

However, one I really like is Polearm Master. While the bonus action is the same as your unarmed strike, it does let you hit things you wouldn't otherwise want to touch. But the real reason is the ability to deal damage and stop folk as a reaction. Yeah, staves don't have the reach of other polearms, so you can't stop someone trying to avoid you - but if you're in the middle of a 15' wide (or smaller) corridor, they won't be rushing past you to your squishies.

So, if it's going to be a dungeon crawl style game, I'd go PAM over Mobile... otherwise, yeah, mobile is a great add for any monk.

[Naanomi]

My first choice is also mobile - make those Wood Elf monks feel sad :smallbiggrin:

However, one I really like is Polearm Master. While the bonus action is the same as your unarmed strike, it does let you hit things you wouldn't otherwise want to touch. But the real reason is the ability to deal damage and stop folk as a reaction. Yeah, staves don't have the reach of other polearms, so you can't stop someone trying to avoid you - but if you're in the middle of a 15' wide (or smaller) corridor, they won't be rushing past you to your squishies.

So, if it's going to be a dungeon crawl style game, I'd go PAM over Mobile... otherwise, yeah, mobile is a great add for any monk.
PAM doesn't stop people... that is Sentinel

[georgie_leech]

I also have to say Mobile, both as a player and a DM for a Monk. My Wood Elf Monk could get everywhere with it no problem. My player gets everywhere with it no problem. Mostly he uses it to dart in and out of combat, occasionally though he's used it to get past the beefy bodyguard to the squishy person behind them.

[Bahamut7]

As many have suggested Mobile makes a Monk a better Monk...but if you are taking the way of the Open Hand, it isn't as necessary as you think. Level 3 gives you the ability to knock prone (they have disadvantage), push 15 ft, or prevent them from reacting (exactly what mobile does). So with any of these options, the feat becomes wasted. The only argument for it still is that the feat is automatic whether you hit or miss (plus 10 ft extra movement is nice) while the level abilities can be saved against.

It is hard to recommend any particular feats without knowing the character and monastic tradition you have chosen. I can tell you to keep Lucky in mind and possibly Athlete if you get an odd stat.

Note Magic initiate is a great Level 1 Feat that opens many doors to you. For example you could take Thorn Whip, Produce Flame, and Goodberries. The goodberries last 24 hours so it fits with the daily spell you get and you get free 10 Hp of healing and don't need to eat for a day. Thorn Whip can let you pull opponents around and maybe swing across chasms if your DM allows it. Produce Flame is a light source that you can throw any time you want.

[coredump]

As many have suggested Mobile makes a Monk a better Monk...but if you are taking the way of the Open Hand, it isn't as necessary as you think. Level 3 gives you the ability to knock prone (they have disadvantage), push 15 ft, or prevent them from reacting (exactly what mobile does). So with any of these options, the feat becomes wasted. The only argument for it still is that the feat is automatic whether you hit or miss (plus 10 ft extra movement is nice) while the level abilities can be saved against.

I.
and mobile doesn't require using and hitting with FoB

[Carlos Barreto]

As many have suggested Mobile makes a Monk a better Monk...but if you are taking the way of the Open Hand, it isn't as necessary as you think. Level 3 gives you the ability to knock prone (they have disadvantage), push 15 ft, or prevent them from reacting (exactly what mobile does). So with any of these options, the feat becomes wasted. The only argument for it still is that the feat is automatic whether you hit or miss (plus 10 ft extra movement is nice) while the level abilities can be saved against.

I played a Variant Human Way of the Open Hand once up to level 9 with Mobile. And I can say that I never felt the feat was wasted.

As you said, the enemies can save for the push effect. It happened a lot with me.

Also it only happens when you use Flurry of Blows. If you're out of Ki points or just want to save them, you're locked in close-combat, unless you want to risk taking Attacks of Opportunity.

You also noted the other benefits: the disengage-like effect works even if you miss the attack and the added +10 feet improves even further one of the monk's greatest strength.

From my experience, Mobile feat is gold for Monks.

[Citan]

As many have suggested Mobile makes a Monk a better Monk...but if you are taking the way of the Open Hand, it isn't as necessary as you think. Level 3 gives you the ability to knock prone (they have disadvantage), push 15 ft, or prevent them from reacting (exactly what mobile does). So with any of these options, the feat becomes wasted. The only argument for it still is that the feat is automatic whether you hit or miss (plus 10 ft extra movement is nice) while the level abilities can be saved against.

It is hard to recommend any particular feats without knowing the character and monastic tradition you have chosen. I can tell you to keep Lucky in mind and possibly Athlete if you get an odd stat.

Note Magic initiate is a great Level 1 Feat that opens many doors to you. For example you could take Thorn Whip, Produce Flame, and Goodberries. The goodberries last 24 hours so it fits with the daily spell you get and you get free 10 Hp of healing and don't need to eat for a day. Thorn Whip can let you pull opponents around and maybe swing across chasms if your DM allows it. Produce Flame is a light source that you can throw any time you want.
Except that...
- Enemies can save, on a DEX or STR throw (and if you metagame to choose the effect the creature is lesser at, it may not be the effect you really wanted).
- You have to spend your bonus action on Flurry of Blows.
- It costs you a Ki point.

With Mobile, you can either spend a Ki on Dodge/Dash instead, or just the plain free bonus action attack. So it's still very profitable to Open Hand. ;)

[Bahamut7]

Yes, Mobile still works great for just about all subclasses of monk and Open Hand benefits from it as well. The point I was making was that Open Hand has it built in, it's just not automatic. Now Sun Soul doesn't need it at all since they prefer range, but that is one of the few notable exceptions.

So if you got great stats and don't feel the need to boost dex or wisdom, take mobile, it will only improve your monk. It's just not necessary as some people would say, not saying anyone has said that. I have heard that elsewhere.

[MaxWilson]

So, Monks pretty much live or die by ASIs but you can have a 16 DE and 16 WI (14 CO) Human Monk with a Starting Feat (might be your only one for a long time)!

What Feat at first level will help the beginning Monk the most?

I really want to join the chorus of "Mobile", but really it depends on your playstyle. Mobile is great if you know how to use it and intend to use it that way, but if you want to be a tank, it won't help at all and you probably should go Defensive Duelist or Lucky (to cancel crits) or even Sentinel.

In passing I'll note a fun monk build I'd like to try sometime: the Sith Lord. High Cha (maxed), moderate (13-15) Str/Wis/Dex, Paladin 1, Monk (Long Death) 1-6, Warlock 1-2 (Agonizing Repelling Blast), Paladin of Devotion 2-6 (Defense style), Monk (Long Death) 7-12. You wind up with four ASIs + possible human feat, a great action and bonus action economy (monk options + paladin spells like Sanctuary and Shield of Faith), AC 21, awesome saves, excellent ranged attacks and crowd control, and the amusing ability to smite + Stunning Strike someone twice with your sword and then Flurry of Blows to punch him some more + Stunning Strike. (You can't use normal Martial Arts on your bonus action without spending ki though.) You can use your four to five ASIs to e.g. take Defensive Duelist and Spell Sniper (Booming Blade). At low levels you're pretty much just an extra-tanky spell-less paladin with a weak spot at level 5 (because your Extra Attack is delayed, but at least you've got bonus action Dodge/Dash). By level 7 you start to come into your own with at-will Fear, and by level 10 you can lay down at-will Fear + a bonus spell like Sanctuary or Shield of Faith pretty much whenever you face a lot of enemies, and when facing a few you can hammer away with your Agonizing Repelling Eldritch Blast and/or with Booming Blade + Divine Smite. By 20th level you have saves almost as good as a regular monk's, better in some ways (Wisdom and Charisma saves get double benefit; allies benefit too) and worse in others (no re-roll with ki), you've got the Death Monk's nigh-immortality shtick where you're almost impossible to kill, you've got a much better AC than a standard monk (AC 21 + 6 instead of AC 20), and you have maxed Charisma for your Eldritch Blast attacks plus three ASIs (Defensive Duelist, Spell Sniper, and Lucky are solid). Thanks to good Strength, Athletics proficiency, and a little bit of Hex, you are even a good grappler when that is important.

I love the idea of a 20th level Sith Lord catching an arrow or a giant's boulder in mid-air and then blasting right back with Force Lightning^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HEldritch Blast before jumping over a wall or chasm with Force Jump^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HStep of the Wind.

Dress in black plate armor and act grave but be valiant, merciful, trustworthy, and utterly without fear. "Valar morghulis" would be a good motto.