Variant Human Monk level 1 feat thoughts?

[ZorroGames]

Working on a PC and this came up in the planning.

Listed the top 4 that came out of this discussion.

1) Mobile gives you more movement and “Can’t touch this” OA aspect for moving into the caster archer back ranks even if your attacks don’t hit the meat shields as you move past them.

2) Resilient Wisdom gives a strong save proficiency addition.

3) Alert negates being surprised.

4) Lucky is self-evident.

Curious about thoughts from those outside my little social circle.

What feat, and why, would you pick for a VHu monk at level 1?

[Zeikin]

Preach. I’ve been struggling with this exact conundrum with 3 of those 4. I tossed lucky out, just overplayed at the table so I dropped it from the list.

[ZerohFG]

Observant.
+1 wisdom that goes towards your ac, and skills on several of the monk subclasses and boosts your passive perception. Can crack 30+ passive with max wisdom, and prof/expertise in perception. Nothing will escape your fists of fury. (you don't even have to dip rogue for the expertise, as a human you can snag prodigy later on)

[Yakmala]

Mobile

End of list.

It's the one feat every Monk that isn't Drunken Master needs.

1: You are not a tank, you are a skirmisher. Hit the bad guy then get the heck out of there! Mobile means not having to spend Ki to avoid Op Attacks which means more Ki for other things.

2: The rest of your ASI's are better spent raising your Dexterity, Wisdom and Constitution.

[Speely]

I would say Mobile for sure. You will get crazy benefit out of it, and you can raise your Wisdom later when Wisdom saves get more common and more dangerous. At lower levels, the extra movement and free disengage will matter more often against low to mid level enemies. Also, if you are going into higher levels, you will get Wis save proficiency at Monk 14, so I think Observant is a much better option than Res Wis in that case.

Also, a higher Wis for Stunning Strike becomes more important with leveling up, since you are often preventing more attacks at higher levels. Wisdom for a Monk is a stat that gains more importance as enemies get more dangerous, but Mobile is straight up crazy useful from level one.

[Quietus]

Mobile if you're taking anything other than Drunken Master subclass. If you ARE taking Drunken Master, then Observant and Alert are great.

[Arkhios]

If the Variant Class Features Unearthed Arcana is available, Weapon Master would be immensely good for a variant human monk.


Imagine being able to treat a longsword as a monk weapon (among other three weapons of your choice), then taking the Way of Shadow. You'd effectively be Ninja wielding a Katana.

[Man_Over_Game]

Shadow really benefits from Alert, since it means that blinding you and an enemy with Darkness means you attack normally while he gets penalized.

Mobile is...okay, but you already have means of duplicating its effect. There isn't much difference between 80 speed and 100 speed as a melee combatant.

I've been a big fan of Magic Initiate. Grab Jump, Shilellagh and Magic Stone for some great shenanigans.

Ritual Caster is good, since you won't get much to contribute out of combat otherwise.

And you can always talk to your DM about taking Tavern Brawler to increase your punch die by one size.

[djreynolds]

Human prodigy is actually very strong.
An extra skill
And expertise in one.
Assuming an 8 in strength... you're as good as fighter with a 20 strength. +11 at 17th level.
Expertise with perception and a higher wisdom score... Very strong.

Observant is awesome if just for the +1 wisdom. Now add in passive perception and investigation.

Lucky cannot ever be overlooked.

Level 14 diamond soul is way off... resilient wisdom or con are nice.

Assuming a short sword... defensive duelist is an option.

Magic initiate cleric... snag IMO protection from evil and guidance and sacred flame. Could grab bless also.

MI druid for goodberry or warlock for hex.

Tough is an option.

Ritual caster... even cleric or druid is nice

But mobile allows you to hit and run... KI and bonus action free.... even if you miss. KI runs out quickly... you miss with stunning strike... you might be out of KI for step of the wind, patient defense or even FOB. Mobile.

[HPisBS]

Basically in order:


Mobile
...
1: You are not a tank, you are a skirmisher. Hit the bad guy then get the heck out of there! Mobile means not having to spend Ki to avoid Op Attacks which means more Ki for other things.
...

If you'd start with an odd Wis, then probably

Observant.
+1 wisdom that goes towards your ac, and skills on several of the monk subclasses and boosts your passive perception. Can crack 30+ passive with max wisdom, and prof/expertise in perception. Nothing will escape your fists of fury. (you don't even have to dip rogue for the expertise, as a human you can snag prodigy later on)

There's also Alert for initiative bonus and surprise immunity, especially if you go Shadow Monk because

blinding you and an enemy with Darkness means you attack normally while he gets penalized.
...

It's true that, despite your natural max AC of 20, you're no tank – unless you go Defensive Duelist... though that only boosts your defense against a single attack / round, and requires you to use a shortsword instead of a quarterstaff.


Then, there's Magic Initiate (for Hex, as well as Mage Hand)

Lucky is awesome, but it's so awesome that it kinda feels cheap lol


(Alert and Defensive Duelist are roughly tied for 3rd, imo)

[Derpldorf]

Tavern Brawler is an amazing monk feat.

First you get +1 Strength or Constitution, which is a solid choice that can slot into any build.
Then, you gain proficiency with Improvised Weapons. This includes basically anything, most notably alchemical weapons. Wonderful, this would be the gem of the feat.
Okay, I'll admit the 1d4 unarmed isn't useful here, but it's solid for non monks.
Finally, anytime you hit something with an unarmed attack or Improvised weapon on your turn you get to initiate a Grapple as a Bonus Action. This is great, even for non grappling builds.

[stoutstien]

I like skulker for shadow, MI for 4-ele and sun soul, tough or duel wielder for kensei, mobile for openhand, observant for drunken (I find it humorous), healer for long death, and abarrant mark for all. Short rest shield works wonders for Monk.

[Man on Fire]

Athlete or observant for nice dex or con boost early on, depending on you starting abbility scores it can get you ahead nicely and free an asi later

[JumboWheat01]

I had a v.Human Four Elements Monk, I took Magic Initiate: Druid for some more elemental flair that wouldn't rely on Ki points. Produce Flame for a light source/ranged attack, Thorn Whip for some forced movement on enemies, and Fog Cloud for a bit of defense. Fire, Earth and Air.

Of course, this was mostly for thematics.

[ZorroGames]

Okay, here is more data on the build.

Edit Open Hand won out over a hard sell on Kensei.

S 10 role play purposes
D 16 as expected
Co 14 as expected
I 8 much as I like 10 usually this is a calculated low risk saving throw/skill cost
W 16 as expected
Ch 8 much like Intelligence but still debating how this role plays - most likely a guy who is the “quiet, sleepy-eyed introvert killer enjoying watching the extroverts dance and drink at the event while deciding who is the biggest threat to his associates.”

Background is going to be Sailor both for mechanics and to get away from my default Urchin selection. The concept is the guy who likes to be with a group if not always in the group. The guy who knows he can give it out but not necessarily take it to the same degree. The guy who doesn’t care who gets the kill credit as long as someone removes the threat. The team player who is not concerned about being flashy, just productive. For those Airedale’s like me, the bomber pilot making history while the fighter pilot makes headlines.

Point man where there is no rogue or rear guard in a large party. A ground based air strike attack - flash in, hit hard, evasive afterburner out - style. As a player I would focus in talk less, act more.

So far you guys are providing lots of great ideas, keep the thoughts rolling if you have more, please.

[KorvinStarmast]

1) Mobile gives you more movement and “Can’t touch this” OA aspect for moving into the caster archer back ranks even if your attacks don’t hit the meat shields as you move past them.

2) Resilient Wisdom gives a strong save proficiency addition.

3) Alert negates being surprised.

4) Lucky is self-evident.
a. Yes, I would pick vHuman monk at level 1. The quarterstaff attack and kick/punch bonus attack makes them handy for fighting low level fights.

b. My preferred feats in order:
1. Alert-getting to hit first more often is handy as all get out. +5 to initiative, and you are already +3 for your dex when you start out.
And never surprised-very handy!
The last feature, the invisible/in dark enemies do not have advantage on attacks against monk - comes up surprisingly often in play.

In play: I never once regretted the Alert feat; on a sorcerer, on a monk, and on a Fighter.

2. Reslient Wisdom - wis save proficiency is important for all 20 levels.

3. Mobile-sweet and tasty hit and run tactics without buring ki points. More speed is better also. Hard not to love this feat on a Monk.

4. Lucky- all around good feat
--------
As to your Monk.

Okay, here is more data on the build.

Open Hand S 10 D 16 Co 14 I 8 W 16 Ch 8
Background Sailor
Solid Choice.

Point man where there is no rogue or rear guard in a large party.
Alert will help here a lot.

[Keravath]

Just my two cents ...

I have a level 9 variant human shadow monk and I went with mobile at level 1 and have never regretted it. In my opinion, movement is a big feature of the monk, they move in, cover lots of ground, attack, stun and move on. They won't have AC or the hit points to stand in the front line. You might hold up at level 1 but even that is AC16 vs AC18 for medium or heavy armor users with a shield. In addition, monk AC is not nearly as easily boosted by magic. A +2 shield and +1 armor will boost that AC18 your buddies started with into the 20's and neither of those are likely than uncommon while bracers of defense is probably the only item to boost a monk AC (other than ring/cloak of protection) and all of those cost attunement slots.

All of this means that the free disengage ability of Mobile comes in extremely handy. You can uses your martial arts bonus attack or flurry of blows and not have to use ki for disengage. The ability to dash through difficult terrain without impediment also comes in handy from time to time.

If your movement is high enough then it is possible to move in, attack and move out of the usual movement range of the attackers in one round - or at least move far enough away that they probably won't want to follow you. With mobile you get a 60' base move at level 10. Without it level 18. I've found even the 45' vs 55' at level 6 can make a difference, especially if you want to reach a back row caster and stun them. (though since I play a shadow monk, the 60' shadow teleport comes in handy ... on the other hand, I could spend a ki to bonus action dash and get 110' vs 90').

So, my first choice would be Mobile.

----

Unfortunately, monks really need their ASIs for dex and wisdom - for AC, and stuns among other things. So you may not get much of a chance to pick up another feat for a while if at all.

Alert - convenient especially for a shadow monk but not as useful as mobile

Resilient wisdom - duplicates the level 14 feature AND you have a good wisdom stat that you will be boosting so your wisdom saves won't be that bad. If you know you will never play to a higher level and see a lot of control spells without a paladin around then maybe - otherwise I'd say no. (PS If this is for AL then definite No :) ).

Lucky - generally useless - where I play this sees so little use except for tier 4 where you run out of decent feats. Every other feat in this list does something more useful and reliable than Lucky. Unless you are looking to define the character around being occasionally lucky (i.e. a role play decision rather than a mechanical one) then I would give this a hard pass since there are far more useful feats out there for any character. (I've played characters with Lucky and if you actually record the number of times it makes a difference it is far smaller than you think - the one exception where Lucky can be used more or less reliably is to negate crits ... but if you save it for those you aren't using it for saves and other things and it is limited to 3 times/day ... on the other hand if your DM runs one combat/day and you get to dump all your resource then it gets more useful ... but playing a short rest class like a monk gets less useful :) ).

P.S. One item to be on the look out for is goggles of night. Being able to see in the dark will be very important unless your DM hand waves all the lighting issues ... but stealth and light sources don't go together. A shadow monk can cast darkvision with ki or a 3 level multiclass in gloomstalker ranger also picks up darkvision but the simplest choice for an open hand monk would be a magic item if you can find one.

[HPisBS]

Okay, here is more data on the build.

Edit Open Hand won out over a hard sell on Kensei.

S 10 role play purposes
D 16 as expected
Co 14 as expected
I 8 much as I like 10 usually this is a calculated low risk saving throw/skill cost
W 16 as expected
Ch 8 much like Intelligence but still debating how this role plays - most likely a guy who is the “quiet, sleepy-eyed introvert killer enjoying watching the extroverts dance and drink at the event while deciding who is the biggest threat to his associates.”

. . .

Point man where there is no rogue or rear guard in a large party. A ground based air strike attack - flash in, hit hard, evasive afterburner out - style. As a player I would focus in talk less, act more.

. . .[/B]

Now that you've said this, I'm going to stick to recommending your choice of Mobile or Alert.

- The former allows you to realize the flash in, hit hard, evasive afterburner out part without burning through so much ki for defense or having to rely on the no-reaction option of your flurry. Instead, use your trip or push to hit that much harder (well, to do more battlefield control, anyway)

- The latter lets you be a more vigilant guard for your party while leaning in to the killer enjoying watching the extroverts dance and drink at the event while deciding who is the biggest threat to his associates part of your RP concept.


... Or, if you don't mind all of that cheese, then Lucky is always an obvious choice lol.
Edit: to address the previous poster's dissatisfaction w/ it, in addition to helping your stuns connect, Lucky also lets you get super advantage / disadvantage – even when you'd otherwise be dealing with some unfortunate disadvantage / advantage. (i.e. You attack an invisible enemy at disadvantage, then spend a Luck pt to choose between all 3 d20s, thus effectively turning your disadvantage into super advantage)

[ad_hoc]

People love Mobile but it's largely a duplicate/diminishing returns on your Monk abilities. It doesn't give free avoidance of OA either, you need to spend attacks on targets you probably don't want to hit anyway to do it.

I'd rate Mobile as worth a 1/2 feat on Monks.

Resilient: Wisdom is great for a Monk. Probably the one I'm most likely going to gravitate towards. Lets you start with 16 Dex and 16 Wis which is huge. That +1 Wis modifier alone makes it stronger than Mobile. +1 AC and +1 Save DC is big.

Alert can be fun as it guarantees your reaction for Deflecting Arrows. The bonus initiative is party dependent I think. Don't want to get in the way of that incoming Fireball. Maybe even Monk subclass dependent too.

Mage Slayer and Prodigy can be character dependent fun feats to take.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Of the many monks I've helped build, I always try to find something to recommend that is as good as Mobile, and I always fail to find one. Being able to dart in and out without draining your ki is extremely helpful. And despite what you might think, you absolutely need more speed- enough to dart in, attack your target, and then make it beyond their attack range (you are a d8 class with MAD and low-ish armor for most of your career). The sooner you can do this, the better- that's a 65 foot minimum for most monsters, reachable at level 6 with Mobile, or 14th if you decide to wait EDIT- scratch that, it's ONLY reachable at all if you have Mobile, at level 14, barring some other way to increase your speed.. While you can, again, do this with ki, that's yet another expenditure that also eats your bonus action, meaning you can't both move beyond a creature's reach and avoid an attack of opportunity unless you take this feat. That alone should make this the no-brainer that it is.

EDIT 2: Besides the ki expenditure, don't forget that you already have two other excellent uses for your bonus action every single turn in 1-2 extra attacks via Flurry and Patient Defense for dodge. Even people lamenting the attacks needed on extra targets to get to whatever you want anyway, you are getting those extra attacks purely by not using Step of the Wind in the first place.

[HPisBS]

enough to dart in, attack your target, and then make it beyond their attack range... While you can, again, do this with ki, that's yet another expenditure that also eats your bonus action, meaning you can't both move beyond a creature's reach and avoid an attack of opportunity unless you take this feat. That alone should make this the no-brainer that it is.

(emphasis mine)

People seem to forget that Open Hand lets you rob targets of their reactions via Flurry, effectively giving you (and anyone else) a free disengage so long as you actually hit with your Flurry, and choose that option over attempting trip or push them.

Mobile makes the monk better at safely flashing in and out, but it's not quite accurate to say it's the only way an Open Hand can do so, even at lower levels.

(Mobile removing the opportunity cost from choosing that Flurry option is valuable, though. Because of that, I somewhat regretted choosing Magic Initiate over Mobile for my Vuman Open Hand.)

[KorvinStarmast]

EDIT 2: Besides the ki expenditure, don't forget that you already have two other excellent uses for your bonus action every single turn in 1-2 extra attacks via Flurry and Patient Defense for dodge. Even people lamenting the attacks needed on extra targets to get to whatever you want anyway, you are getting those extra attacks purely by not using Step of the Wind in the first place. Your ki conservation point is well made, and IME that will depend on whether or not you get a couple of short rests to recharge ki, or not, in your campaign during most adventure days.

If you are not going to have consistent recharge, your recommendation on Mobile spot on.
PS: I alomost never offer build advice above level 12. Too few campaigns get there. That's why Resilient Wisdom is offered as a good idea (and yeah, it's good on anyone) and it is true that it helps you from level 1 to level 20.

[Waterdeep Merch]

(emphasis mine)

People seem to forget that Open Hand lets you rob targets of their reactions via Flurry, effectively giving you (and anyone else) a free disengage so long as you actually hit with your Flurry, and choose that option over attempting trip or push them.

Mobile makes the monk better at safely flashing in and out, but it's not quite accurate to say it's the only way an Open Hand can do so, even at lower levels.

(Mobile removing the opportunity cost from choosing that Flurry option is valuable, though. Because of that, I somewhat regretted choosing Magic Initiate over Mobile for my Vuman Open Hand.)
That's true, I often forget that's an option. Mostly because I always suggest Mobile to these monks, and so they only use that ability to help protect an ally. The rest of the time they prefer the trip or push, which are also useful for avoiding AoO's but still have target limitations due to only working on the Flurry and being avoidable by the target.

Much like Mobile vs. Step of the Wind, it's value is in removing restrictions and opening up your options to do other things. Monks are spoiled for good bonus actions.

Your ki conservation point is well made, and IME that will depend on whether or not you get a couple of short rests to recharge ki, or not, in your campaign during most adventure days.

If you are not going to have consistent recharge, your recommendation on Mobile spot on.
PS: I alomost never offer build advice above level 12. Too few campaigns get there. That's why Resilient Wisdom is offered as a good idea (and yeah, it's good on anyone) and it is true that it helps you from level 1 to level 20.
I also consider Resilient: Wisdom to be a complete necessity on any character that doesn't innately get it, somewhere around late Tier 2-Tier 3. I've killed plenty of characters in my 5e career with Wisdom saves. Enough that the very idea of dumping Wisdom is obscene to me.

[ad_hoc]

Of the many monks I've helped build, I always try to find something to recommend that is as good as Mobile, and I always fail to find one. Being able to dart in and out without draining your ki is extremely helpful. And despite what you might think, you absolutely need more speed- enough to dart in, attack your target, and then make it beyond their attack range (you are a d8 class with MAD and low-ish armor for most of your career). The sooner you can do this, the better- that's a 65 foot minimum for most monsters, reachable at level 6 with Mobile, or 14th if you decide to wait EDIT- scratch that, it's ONLY reachable at all if you have Mobile, at level 14, barring some other way to increase your speed.. While you can, again, do this with ki, that's yet another expenditure that also eats your bonus action, meaning you can't both move beyond a creature's reach and avoid an attack of opportunity unless you take this feat. That alone should make this the no-brainer that it is.

EDIT 2: Besides the ki expenditure, don't forget that you already have two other excellent uses for your bonus action every single turn in 1-2 extra attacks via Flurry and Patient Defense for dodge. Even people lamenting the attacks needed on extra targets to get to whatever you want anyway, you are getting those extra attacks purely by not using Step of the Wind in the first place.


So, you're taking a feat at level 1 in hopes that you will benefit from it at level 14 if the campaign goes that long.

And then you're hoping that the creatures you're facing at level 14 don't have good movement options.

Many creatures in the game have great movement. They can easily follow you in 5e.

Bonus Action Disengage for 1 Ki is a bad option. The Dodge, when needed, is not though.

[HPisBS]

The OP is going Open Hand. Why aren't people looking at things holistically? I feel like I'm arguing from both sides lol.

- Mobile serves as a free disengage against anything you attack - whether you hit or not.
- Open Hand lets you get a somewhat similar effect, or knock them prone or back w/ a failed Dex or Str save.
– If you combine the two, then you can fairly reliably attack and kite any enemy that walks on land. Enemies, even. (Except those which are immune to prone or can stand up w/out spending much movement. But those are few and far between.)

[Waterdeep Merch]

So, you're taking a feat at level 1 in hopes that you will benefit from it at level 14 if the campaign goes that long.

And then you're hoping that the creatures you're facing at level 14 don't have good movement options.

Many creatures in the game have great movement. They can easily follow you in 5e.

Bonus Action Disengage for 1 Ki is a bad option. The Dodge, when needed, is not though.
No, but it is a notable benefit, and a reason that 10 feet of extra speed isn't wasteful, even on a roadster class like the monk. You won't always need a full haul to make it out of reach either- behind your tank is far enough, or at least so out there that they'd need to put themselves into a bad position to retaliate. The further you can poke, the more options you open up. It has synergy with bonus action Dash if you need it, too, though that should be a rare occurrence. As early as level 2, that's a 100 foot poke if you really, absolutely must. Gets more useful when there's a dangerous caster hanging back and you've got Stunning Fist primed.

I was thinking it was earlier than it was, but I forgot that I usually see wood elf monks and I like handing out starter feats- which makes that whole 'advantage' a moot point for most players. Hence the correction, though it's natively 'in play' at high levels should you reach there.

[djreynolds]

Okay so you know mobile great... it saves KI...... and it makes patient defense/step off the wind not a necessity.

With a 16 in wisdom. Lucky is stronger than resilient wisdom IMO. Stillness of the mind is at 7th. Resilient anything for you is worth +4 at the most. Lucky(basically advantage) is +5.

A case can be made for resilient con. Paralysis in melee sucks as does your 14 constitution. But AFB but you'll become immune to poison and disease.

Also I would go wood elf over vhuman
Dark vision. +2 dex.

Longbow longbow

[Yakmala]

For what it's worth, I've gotten two characters to 20 since I started playing 5E a few years back, one of which was a Variant Human Monk (Long Death). Here was my ASI/Feat progression, none of which I regret.

Starting Dex/Wis/Con: 16/16/14
Level 1 Feat: Mobile
Level 4 ASI: Dex +2 (18)
Level 8 ASI: Dex +2 (20)
Level 12 ASI: Wis +2 (18)
Level 16 ASI: Wis +2 (20)
Level 19 Feat: Alert (Getting that Stunning Strike off before the enemy can act)

Con was a bit lower than I would have liked, but with 70' of movement and the ability to avoid opportunity attacks, run up walls, deflect missiles and evade AoEs, I wasn't getting hit all that often to begin with.

[Man on Fire]

Okay, here is more data on the build.

Edit Open Hand won out over a hard sell on Kensei.

S 10 role play purposes
D 16 as expected
Co 14 as expected
I 8 much as I like 10 usually this is a calculated low risk saving throw/skill cost
W 16 as expected
Ch 8 much like Intelligence but still debating how this role plays - most likely a guy who is the “quiet, sleepy-eyed introvert killer enjoying watching the extroverts dance and drink at the event while deciding who is the biggest threat to his associates.”

Background is going to be Sailor both for mechanics and to get away from my default Urchin selection. The concept is the guy who likes to be with a group if not always in the group. The guy who knows he can give it out but not necessarily take it to the same degree. The guy who doesn’t care who gets the kill credit as long as someone removes the threat. The team player who is not concerned about being flashy, just productive. For those Airedale’s like me, the bomber pilot making history while the fighter pilot makes headlines.

Point man where there is no rogue or rear guard in a large party. A ground based air strike attack - flash in, hit hard, evasive afterburner out - style. As a player I would focus in talk less, act more.

So far you guys are providing lots of great ideas, keep the thoughts rolling if you have more, please.

Resilent-Wisdom or Observant with the plan to grab the other one at level 4.

[djreynolds]

For what it's worth, I've gotten two characters to 20 since I started playing 5E a few years back, one of which was a Variant Human Monk (Long Death). Here was my ASI/Feat progression, none of which I regret.

Starting Dex/Wis/Con: 16/16/14
Level 1 Feat: Mobile
Level 4 ASI: Dex +2 (18)
Level 8 ASI: Dex +2 (20)
Level 12 ASI: Wis +2 (18)
Level 16 ASI: Wis +2 (20)
Level 19 Feat: Alert (Getting that Stunning Strike off before the enemy can act)

Con was a bit lower than I would have liked, but with 70' of movement and the ability to avoid opportunity attacks, run up walls, deflect missiles and evade AoEs, I wasn't getting hit all that often to begin with.

This is perfect.

7th level you're basically immune to fear and charm. 16 wisdom gives you a good chance to pass saves... and there is a cleric or bard to fix you.

[Amechra]

A dumb suggestion (for a less optimized table): Martial Artist.

Yeah, yeah, I know that it's generally considered to be kind of terrible. On the other hand, being Stunned causes people to automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saves.

Grab something fun like Pushing Attack, and once per short rest knock a creature flying (smack someone and shove them 30ft!)

[Samayu]

Once you get Wall Running at level 9, you can get anywhere. Take Mage Slayer.

[Arkhios]

A dumb suggestion (for a less optimized table): Martial Artist.

Yeah, yeah, I know that it's generally considered to be kind of terrible. On the other hand, being Stunned causes people to automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saves.

Grab something fun like Pushing Attack, and once per short rest knock a creature flying (smack someone and shove them 30ft!)

Actually, this is a very good idea, because as an Open Hand Monk, Pushing Attack can be especially devastating, because nothing prevents you from provoking two saving throws with one attack.

Specifically I'm referring to the Open Hand Technique's 2nd bullet point:


Open Hand Technique
You can manipulate your enemy's ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target.


It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
It can't take reactions until the end of your next turn.



Pushing Attack
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to drive the target back. You add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, you push the target up to 15 feet away from you.

Just for reference, as written, same hit can trigger both instances.

[Amechra]

as an Open Hand Monk, Pushing Attack can be especially devastating, because nothing prevents you from provoking two saving throws with one attack.

Specifically I'm referring to the Open Hand Technique's 2nd bullet point:





Just for reference, as written, same hit can trigger both instances.

That's what I was referring to when I said that you can shove someone 30ft once per short rest.

[Arkhios]

That's what I was referring to when I said that you can shove someone 30ft once per short rest.

oops! (I was a bit too quick to reply and didn't quite digest everything you said)

although, my point was to support the idea, as I don't think it's a dumb suggestion at all.

[CapnWildefyr]

I am running a vhuman monk now. My party has me as the tank. I hadnt read these threads then, so I took Sentinel, which is exactly the opposite strategy as hit and run. Now, getting 3 or 4 attacks per round, and the other sentinel abilities is good -- especially given how badly I tend to roll some days. As the party tank I do successfully bind up the bad guys who would otherwise get to the squishies behind me.

The bad news is that I successfully bind up the bad guys on me. I need a lot of CPR. :smallcool:

I would have been better off with magic initiate, and taking 1 or 2 attack cantrips. Having a ranged renewable attack can be a good thing. (I cant access SA or my books at the moment-- I am assuming that M Init cantrips are 'at will,' that only the 1st level spell is 1x/long rest. Thats how I read it but... )

Edit: Not denying the advice of others Re: mobile and such. Just sharing my experiences. My wish for the MI feat is partly role playing - just wanting to be able to lob fire at people - and partly versatility. DPR is probably not as good long term, but then again, as you know HTH against some critters is a bad idea.