Shadow Monk Multiclass?

[PhantomVector]

Rolled up for a new character as were about to boss fight and I’m only alive right now thanks to a free greater restoration from the DM and with 2 17s, and a 16 I wanted to play a more MAD class, and I always wanted to try the monk. Just so I have a new character ready in case I die, or for another campaign. I’m also debating on a Scourge Aasimar for the laughs of being a ninja who glows brightly and can teleport around in his own dim light. Dunno if I really wanna deal with positioning around the other melee classes so I might go guardian, buffs Wis anyways.

I was thinking rogue for cunning action, hard to hate on being able to not have to use ki points for mobility. But fighter jumped out at me too for action surge and possibly battlemaster, extra utility from maneuvers and extra dice for damage is always appreciated. Cleric and Ranger are a little behind but on the table since they’re wis based. With Aasimar and a 14 I could drop 16 into cha and play a sorcerer or paladin as well.

What’s an interesting multiclass you guys would suggest?

[GorogIrongut]

The best shadow monk multi class I've seen in my games is arcane trickster. There are so many synergies... and you always have something to do.

[Amdy_vill]

monk, rouge, warlock is interesting but you can always do just monk and rouge as that is a solid and fun combo. there are others that work well with monk like fighter if you want to be more aggressive. i have always a love the barbarian monk combo. A well trained monk becoming enraged and fighting wildly. but you seem to have a stealth think so i would suggest any class the shares the theme. rouge, ranger, wizard(if you have the spells), and bard are all good choices

[PhantomVector]

monk, rouge, warlock is interesting but you can always do just monk and rouge as that is a solid and fun combo. there are others that work well with monk like fighter if you want to be more aggressive. i have always a love the barbarian monk combo. A well trained monk becoming enraged and fighting wildly. but you seem to have a stealth think so i would suggest any class the shares the theme. rouge, ranger, wizard(if you have the spells), and bard are all good choices

Yeah we don’t really have much in the way of stealth, 2 paladins a barbarian, homebrew spellcaster, and a Druid. So I kinda have to cover that, although I don’t really mind.

Does rage damage apply I thought that was str based only?

[PhantomVector]

The best shadow monk multi class I've seen in my games is arcane trickster. There are so many synergies... and you always have something to do.

I was thinking that or assassin, with 11 monk where you can always be hidden in dim/darkness and the assassin’s free Crits from stealth stacks pretty nicely.

[GorogIrongut]

Assassin is pretty much a waste of a sub class. It's terribly difficult to set up it's assassinate ability (even as a shadow monk). And it only gets used infrequently. Arcane Trickster gets used ALL of the time. The magical abilities it provides are a hundred times more useful than assassinate.

[PhantomVector]

Assassin is pretty much a waste of a sub class. It's terribly difficult to set up it's assassinate ability (even as a shadow monk). And it only gets used infrequently. Arcane Trickster gets used ALL of the time. The magical abilities it provides are a hundred times more useful than assassinate.

I haven’t touched arcane trickster how does it help a monk? Or is it just the addition of spell casting?

What level split would you suggest? I don’t really know monk or arcane trickster. I’ve read through guides but i haven’t seen for myself. I know you don’t wanna lose too many monk levels or you nerf your damage die, but a good amount of the higher level monk features can be a bit meh.

Or is it just a basic 17/3 split?

[Spacehamster]

Assassin is pretty much a waste of a sub class. It's terribly difficult to set up it's assassinate ability (even as a shadow monk). And it only gets used infrequently. Arcane Trickster gets used ALL of the time. The magical abilities it provides are a hundred times more useful than assassinate.

Everyone seems to forget the best part of assassin; free advantage on first round(most important round)if you go before the enemy you attack, not at all a waste of a subclass if you ask me. :)

[GorogIrongut]

They both have lots of good things. So it's kind of up to you.

Shadow monk at a bare minimum has to go to level 6 so you can get your shadow teleport. Then you just have to figure out how much magic you want? Monks get more ki points and damage the higher up they go. But arcane trickster gets magic spells and sneak attack the higher up that goes.

So my recommendation would be to Shadow Monk 6, and then try out Arcane trickster. See how much you like what it has to provide you. And with experience you will figure out how many levels of each you want. Especially as you'll have to take ASI's into account with how you decide to do your levelling.

At the roughest of guesses, I'd go either Shadow Monk 6/ Arcane Trickster 14 or Shadow Monk 8/Arcane Trickster 12, with your first 6 levels being that of a Shadow Monk.

[GorogIrongut]

Everyone seems to forget the best part of assassin; free advantage on first round(most important round)if you go before the enemy you attack, not at all a waste of a subclass if you ask me. :)

I would happily argue that Arcane Trickster provides a lot more shiny stuff than the above. That said, if you wanted this and more, then just go Revised Ranger. It synergizes with the reliance on Wisdom, gives a lot of shiny stuff and is a half caster.

[Spacehamster]

I would happily argue that Arcane Trickster provides a lot more shiny stuff than the above. That said, if you wanted this and more, then just go Revised Ranger. It synergizes with the reliance on Wisdom, gives a lot of shiny stuff and is a half caster.

Depends if you want combat prowess or some utility through painfully slow spellprogression I guess. :) Don’t have the patience for 1/3 casters myself. :)

[DigitalCharlie]

I played a shadow monk / battlemaster for a long time, and had a blast with it.

That said, I'm intrigued by a shadow monk / gloomstalker because 1. getting a bonus to initiative is always nice, 2. an extra attack (to potentially stun with) on the opening round is great, and 3. ensnaring strike pairs with stunning strike really well. Use it after stunning an enemy and they auto fail the save, regardless of their size. Which means they are restrained until they use an action to break free.

[white lancer]

Gloom Stalker was my first thought as well. It's pretty cool thematically, and it gives you some really nice bonuses. Maybe not quite as much as Rogue, but all the stuff Charlie mentioned is pretty cool, the Darkvision bonuses are great for a ninja-themed character (even if you already have Darkvision, like an Aasimar, though a race without Darkvision would obviously kill for that), and you even get a few minor bonuses like a skill proficiency and longbow proficiency (for when you're unable to mix it up in melee). Not to mention the Ranger spells and Dueling Fighting Style.

[Lombra]

It's really hard to multiclass out of monk. I am playing a shadow monk and pndered about multiclassing either rogue or ranger, but... more ki is so good. And don't underestimate the 9th level movement bonus, it makes me the only guy in the party that can easily get where one's needed. And more ki is just so GOOD (I know I repeated myself, but that's how good it is). Pass without trace is the only thing you need to help your party doing stealth really.

[Nifft]

Shadow Monk is one of my personal favorite all-the-way-to-20 classes, but as long as you get to level 6 (for the all-night teleportation effect) you won't necessarily regret multi-classing.

Rogue is good because Cunning Action removes some Ki Point expenditures, and losing out on Ki Point progression can be painful. So throwing in a few levels of Rogue will functionally increase the Monk's main resource.

Arcane Trickster is good because, well, Cantrips. Then two levels later, you get Uncanny Dodge, and the level after that you get another Expertise.

Monk 14 / Rogue 6 is a fine split, and taking that last Rogue level as your capstone feels nice -- Expertise feels great when your Proficiency bonus is +6. You still get Diamond Soul (eventually), which to me is very iconic of Monks.

[Vogie]

I was also going to mention Gloom Stalker, but that's already been done. The downside is there aren't many fighting styles for unarmed fighting, although UA adds Mariner and Tunnel Fighter

Perhaps following the theme and going either shadow sorcerer or Warlock to be able to generate your own darkness. A GOO Lock has telepathy, which would be useful if you like using Silence as a normal part of your attacks. A Raven Queen Warlock will give you a faux-miliar with a blend of benefits. A Seeker Warlock will give a ton more utility, including the Star Chain, which may be more useful for you than the other pacts.

[Caelic]

Gloom Stalker also synergizes extremely well with Shadow Monk.

1. Both are Wisdom-Dexterity driven; between the two, you get Wisdom to AC and Initiative.
2. Gloom Stalker allows you to be invisible in the darkness very early on.
3. Flurry plus Dread Ambusher makes for a real pummeling on the first round.


EDIT: ...and I see those points have been covered already. My fault for not reading the whole thread.

[Spacehamster]

I was also going to mention Gloom Stalker, but that's already been done. The downside is there aren't many fighting styles for unarmed fighting, although UA adds Mariner and Tunnel Fighter

Perhaps following the theme and going either shadow sorcerer or Warlock to be able to generate your own darkness. A GOO Lock has telepathy, which would be useful if you like using Silence as a normal part of your attacks. A Raven Queen Warlock will give you a faux-miliar with a blend of benefits. A Seeker Warlock will give a ton more utility, including the Star Chain, which may be more useful for you than the other pacts.

Dueling is great, use a magic shortsword or smthn for the two attack action attacks and add +2 to them. :) And with gloom stalker first round its +6 damage cus of the extra attack, not bad tbh. :)

[LordNibbler]

While using up an ASI slot, the Mobile feat negates the need for 2 levels of rogue to get Cunning Action as it also gives you a way to disengage for free after you attack without spending ki. One level of rogue is good for Expertise in Stealth and Perception if you want to really boost those. Using a short sword as your monk weapon let’s you get sneak attack damage when applicable.

[Malifice]

What’s an interesting multiclass you guys would suggest?

Shadow monk just screams Ninja to me.

Personally 11 of Assassin, 6 of Monk and 3 of Gloomstalker ranger makes a damn fine sneaky ninja assassin.

Half Elf. Take 6 levels of monk (Elven accuracy as your feat at 4th). Then 3 levels of Assasin (Expertise in Stealth and Acrobatics for the fluff), then 3 levels of Gloomstalker, then take Assasin the rest of the way.

Easy access to advantage due to stunning strike, shadow jaunt, advantage before they have an action on turn 1, invisbility and stealth. Advantage = tri-vantage thanks to elven accuracy. Solid damage, good mobility, status effects, and skills.

[Caelic]

Swashbuckler is actually an underappreciated combo with Shadow Monk. The ability to sneak attack without a flanking ally is great, given your tendency to pop up next to an enemy halfway across the planet from your group, and the built-in Mobility also works very well.

If I were to build Nightcrawler as a 5e character, he'd be a Shadow Monk/Swashbuckler.

[Spacehamster]

Shadow monk just screams Ninja to me.

Personally 11 of Assassin, 6 of Monk and 3 of Gloomstalker ranger makes a damn fine sneaky ninja assassin.

Half Elf. Take 6 levels of monk (Elven accuracy as your feat at 4th). Then 3 levels of Assasin (Expertise in Stealth and Acrobatics for the fluff), then 3 levels of Gloomstalker, then take Assasin the rest of the way.

Easy access to advantage due to stunning strike, shadow jaunt, advantage before they have an action on turn 1, invisbility and stealth. Advantage = tri-vantage thanks to elven accuracy. Solid damage, good mobility, status effects, and skills.

Why half elf? CHA is not needed for any of the 3 suggested classes? Would not wood elf be much better? :)

[Jethro]

I did a shadow monk x/warlock 2 multiclass.

Three things I would do differently:

1. Don't multiclass. Monk is one of the few classes that really REALLY shines solo. If anything I'd only tack on 1 or 2 levels...but even then I'd do that after level 14 and Diamond Soul...though probably wait till 18 and that ridiculous ability gained.

2. IF you really want to multiclass, take only 1 level. I never needed more than 1 of Warlock for Hex. The invocations were nice, but unnecessary. Rogue 1 gets you expertise, which may be worth it for stealth and perception.

3. I also wouldn't multiclass till level 9 at the earliest, 12 would be the next break point. Just break down what you're getting at each level and it's hard to pass up: 5 - stunning strike, 2nd attack; 6 - shadow step; 7 - evasion and slippery mind; 8 - ASI; 9 - can run up walls (first level worth skipping potentially); 10 - immune to poison and disease; 11 - d8 martial arts die, can turn invisible. Biggest reason for waiting that late is the MAD class itself, you want all those ASI to hit 20/20 in dex/wis.

With a 17, 17, 16 stats you can really choose any race and have it work, but I'd probably go variant human and take mobile feat. Early on you're fairly squishy up close, so free disengage is damn useful (not to mention not wasting ki on disengages). But half elf, wood elf, or lightfoot halfling (really anything that will net you 18/18 or 19/17 or better in dex/wis) would be perfect as well, free up ASI's after level 8 for feats. Mage Slayer? yes please. Mobile? for sure. Sentinel? why not! Defensive dualist? darn skippy! Prodigy? maybe the best pick of all...

It's a super fun class that really doesn't need much in the way of multiclassing to be fun and effective. You are the Bard of Melee classes, good, not great, at almost everything. Attackin? 4 strikes and stuns are great. Control? Stun a BBEG and watch him go down in a heap in one round. You can be a solid scout, decent rogue, and can take anyone on 1 v 1. Mobility is such an underrated skill in and of itself.

[Malifice]

Why half elf? CHA is not needed for any of the 3 suggested classes? Would not wood elf be much better? :)

I like the skills.

[Arkhios]

Personally I like Way of Shadow Monk paired with a couple of Rogue levels (probably either Swashbuckler* or Assassin). If I'd play a Monk, however, I would definitely strive to reach at least 14 levels in Monk. The rest could well be in Rogue or something else.

*Yes, Swashbuckler. Even if I had horrible Charisma.