Monks with Str or Con to AC instead of Dex?

[Mr.Spastic]

Would you allow a monk to use their str or con score in place of their dex for their AC? The picture I have in my mind is basically JoJo's parts 1 & 2 where they fight with their fists but they don't wear armor... and they are all so outrageously hunky.

[Tetrasodium]

Would you allow a monk to use their str or con score in place of their dex for their AC? The picture I have in my mind is basically JoJo's parts 1 & 2 where they fight with their fists but they don't wear armor... and they are all so outrageously hunky.

you mean like a barbarian? What about the other non-ac wis based monk stuff?

[Squeeq]

Honestly? For sure. if they switch to STR instead of DEX for their primary stat and have STR and WIS for ac instead of DEX and WIS, the main takeaaway is going to e they're losing initiative, and dropping their Dex save for their Str save - they aren't going to be picking up any real EDGE that way.

[Foxhound438]

Honestly? For sure. if they switch to STR instead of DEX for their primary stat and have STR and WIS for ac instead of DEX and WIS, the main takeaaway is going to e they're losing initiative, and dropping their Dex save for their Str save - they aren't going to be picking up any real EDGE that way.

in a lot of cases you'd have to consider the different weapons a class could abuse based on different scores used, but monks hard restrict what your weapon options are anyways. So strength would probably be fine. I guess the one real difference you might see would be jump distance with their high strength and step of wind to double that distance.

[Capac Amaru]

Feels like it would be a monastic tradition.

Way of the Unstoppable Force (str)

and

Way of the Immovable Object (con)


Way of the Unstoppable Force
Monks of the Way of the Unstoppable Force are the strongest of the strong. They focus their ki into unstoppable attacks that push the limits of human endurance. They can lift many times their own weight, and their attacks can shatter stone.

Steel Spirit
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your ki to reinforce your attacks. Whenever you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend a ki point to increase the damage die by one for all unarmed strikes you make until the beginning of your next turn. Any attacks made in this way against inanimate objects automatically hit and are critical hits.

Mortal Reserves
At 6th level, you gain the ability to restore your ki, but at a cost. As an action, you can regain ki points at the cost of 1/4 of your Total HP, rounded down.

Implacable
Beginning at 11th level, when you successfully hit any creature with an attack, you can follow through. You move through the targets space, and occupy the space on the far side without using any of your movement. You can then choose to move away from the creature without provoking an attack of opportunity from them.

Devastating Blow
At 17th level, you can focus your ki to make a devastating killing blow. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 4 ki points to focus all of your strength into a small area, amplifying the force and destructive power. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it takes 10d10 force damage. If it succeeds, it takes 5d10 force damage. Regardless of success or failure, the force of the blow continues, dealing the same damage to another hostile creature adjacent to the first target.

[Vexacia]

If you don't want to put in the work designing and playtesting your homebrew or vetting/playtesting someone else's homebrew, then it would be very safe to simply DM fiat switch "Dexterity" with "Strength" in the following class & subclass features: Unarmored Defense, Deflect Missiles, Open Hand Technique, Water Whip, Radiant Sun Bolt.

"Dexterity" only appears in two other places: Martial Arts and Evasion. In Martial Arts the wording doesn't give you anything Strength doesn't already get, and in Evasion changing the wording would be a severe unwarranted nerf. Thus, ignore these two features when you do a Find & Replace with "Dexterity" -> "Strength" on the Monk Class.

If your Strength Monk player wants to multiclass you could also change the MC requirements from 13 DEX / 13 WIS to 13 STR / 13 WIS. But that one's up to you.

[djreynolds]

Just take barbarian 1st. Focus on dex and con. Use rage as a defensive buffer for half damage.

Also, mage armor is easy to obtain. Magic initiate or even a willing caster. With a 20 in dexterity its an 18AC.

You could grab draconic sorcerer for 1 level, and then proceed as a monk. 13 charisma is all you need at creation.

It's just that monk needs wisdom for a lot of its extra stuff. But you don't need it if you just want to punch and skip out on stunning fist.

[Vexacia]

Just take barbarian 1st. Focus on dex and con. Use rage as a defensive buffer for half damage.

Also, mage armor is easy to obtain. Magic initiate or even a willing caster. With a 20 in dexterity its an 18AC.

You could grab draconic sorcerer for 1 level, and then proceed as a monk. 13 charisma is all you need at creation.

It's just that monk needs wisdom for a lot of its extra stuff. But you don't need it if you just want to punch and skip out on stunning fist.
yes, OP should definitely get a 20 dexterity and 13 charisma on their checks notes ... strength monk.