Aarakocra Monk for Princes of the Apocalypse

[KingWhipsy]

Hey all, rolled up stats for an Aarakocra Monk that I will be playing in a group of 4 for the Princes of the Apocalypse campaign. Our party is going to consist of a Eladrin Bladesinger, a Tiefling hexblade, and an earth genasi barbarian. This will be my first time playing as a monk and I rolled pretty great stats (16, 16, 16, 15, 15, 12) we will be level 3 to start and ending around 14ish. I'm wondering the best way to optimize my build and what I should do with my ASI's. We are playing completely RAW as that's something we haven't done before and would like to experience the game that way. Let me know general advice on monks, what to do with ASI's, and anything else you think I might need to know!

[ChainsawFlwrcld]

For Monks I try to put the first two ASI to Dex for the obvious AC Boost. After that it's personal preference, I'd like to boost up some ranged ability. Perhaps Sharpshooter or Crossbow Expert? Depending on your DM you might be able to use Sharpshooter with darts to get your Martial Arts damage dice, after all small thrown weapons are very Monkly.

[kardar233]

As you have a fly speed (and a quick one, being a Monk), you might want to consider the old lifta-droppa strategy: grapple an enemy, pull them into the air as you get your hits in, then drop them for fall damage.

Your party looks pretty hitty and tanky, so I’d consider going Open Hand to set your friends up for advantage by knocking enemies prone. Keep in mind that you can force a save (or whichever effect you choose) each time you hit with Flurry of Blows, so you can force two saves vs prone or one save and prevent reactions, etc. Shadow monk might also be nice as your party seems light on stealth. Kensai would let you patch your party’s lack of ranged attacks.

As for feats, I’d probably look at getting Mobile, which means you don’t have to stand next to the bruisers to get your hits in, making you much harder to kill.