J-H
2020-12-01, 11:41 PM
Most monks are Dexterity-based, for good reason. Sometimes, you want to play a big, burly muscle-bound, instead of the skinny, wiry one that is a bit more optimal.
Here's what I've come up with as a reasonably functional solution for this.
27 point buy, Tortle, Open Hand Monk.
Tortle gets us a reasonable AC from day one, without requiring a 4th key stat (Dex) and without multiclassing.
Starting stats:Str 14(+2 racial), Con 14, Wis 14(+1 racial), remainder at 10. Technically, Dex could be dumped, but it's nice to benefit from Evasion at least sometimes, and there's not a lot to gain.
Background to taste.
ASIs into STR +3, Wis +1, and then the Crusher feat (Str+1) at level 12. Monk DCs key off Wisdom, but you have to hit to force those saves in the first place.
By level 12:
AC 17. A Dex monk who just swapped his Str & Dex scores around would have AC 18, so we're really only one point behind. At higher levels, he drops 1-2 more points of AC behind, but there are magic items for that. In a pinch, there's also Patient Dodge to force disadvantage, but that costs a BA & Ki point we usually don't want to spend. He also has Deflect Missiles once per round for 1d10+12.
Hits at +9 for 1d8+5 3 times per round, maybe 4. This is the same base damage a Dex 20 monk does at level 12.
Athletics score of +9... unlike most monks, this one can grapple, wrestle, make strength saves, etc.
The Open Hand monk starts his day with Sanctuary... the first fight of the day, until he attacks, foes have to make Wisdom saves to attack him, losing their action if they fail. This is a nice 1x/day tanking ability.
Casting fist:
Crusher: Once per turn, when he hits, he can move an enemy of size Large or smaller 5' to an unoccupied space, no save. This is pretty much "move one enemy 5' automatically every round of combat." Plenty of uses for this.
Crusher: Critical. When he scores a crit, all attack rolls against that creature are made with advantage until the start of his next turn. At 3 attacks per round in a typical round, that's a 15% chance of triggering per round. If he gets advantage another way, the odds go up to a 30% chance per round.
Stunning Strike: Con save or stunned. Costs 1 ki point.
Open Hand: Dex save or fall prone, with Flurry of Blows attacks only. Costs nothing.
Open Hand: Str save or shove 15', with Flurry of Blows attacks only. Costs nothing.
Open Hand: Target can't take reactions until the end of the monk's next turn. FoB only, costs nothing.
The monk can reliably move enemies around the battlefield, has two different ways to generate advantage for allies (prone & critical), and can target all 3 enemy physical saves reasonably at will.
The monk's AC and HP aren't great, but it's a monk, not a primary tank, so that's pretty much par for the course for a monk.
So what makes this different from a Dex monk, aside from which stat we're keying off of?
-You get to play a hulking brute who moves quickly and bashes people around with his powerful punches.
-Crusher grants free enemy movement, and sometimes triggers advantage-granting.
-Athletics proficiency
-Magic item availability. The DMG has several magic items that take Strength beyond 20. There are no magic items that take Dexterity beyond 20. A Strength monk has the potential to reach a higher final to-hit bonus than a Dex monk as a result. Varies by campaign.
Disadvantages:
-If you don't go Tortle, you have a lower AC, or you have to invest in boosting your Dexterity, or find a Dexterity item, or multiclass. The usual MAD problem. Not all campaigns allow Tortles, and not everyone wants to play a Tortle anyway.
This is the best I've come up with. It's certainly good enough to play a Strength monk with and still have a character who is pretty good. It doesn't require any specific background, so there's still plenty of room to pick a background and out-of-combat skills to taste.
An interesting point I realized after writing this post is that Crusher can also be used to boost CON. An elven or half-elf Dex monk could take Crusher to even out an odd Con score, and get the same free enemy movement, plus Elven Accuracy for triple advantage to help boost the Crusher crit rates. Unlike most other sources of advantage, Crusher's advantage-granting bonus persists even if the enemy who was hit by it moves away from the barbarian, gets up from prone, etc. Consider this a good argument for a Dexterity monk also.
Here's what I've come up with as a reasonably functional solution for this.
27 point buy, Tortle, Open Hand Monk.
Tortle gets us a reasonable AC from day one, without requiring a 4th key stat (Dex) and without multiclassing.
Starting stats:Str 14(+2 racial), Con 14, Wis 14(+1 racial), remainder at 10. Technically, Dex could be dumped, but it's nice to benefit from Evasion at least sometimes, and there's not a lot to gain.
Background to taste.
ASIs into STR +3, Wis +1, and then the Crusher feat (Str+1) at level 12. Monk DCs key off Wisdom, but you have to hit to force those saves in the first place.
By level 12:
AC 17. A Dex monk who just swapped his Str & Dex scores around would have AC 18, so we're really only one point behind. At higher levels, he drops 1-2 more points of AC behind, but there are magic items for that. In a pinch, there's also Patient Dodge to force disadvantage, but that costs a BA & Ki point we usually don't want to spend. He also has Deflect Missiles once per round for 1d10+12.
Hits at +9 for 1d8+5 3 times per round, maybe 4. This is the same base damage a Dex 20 monk does at level 12.
Athletics score of +9... unlike most monks, this one can grapple, wrestle, make strength saves, etc.
The Open Hand monk starts his day with Sanctuary... the first fight of the day, until he attacks, foes have to make Wisdom saves to attack him, losing their action if they fail. This is a nice 1x/day tanking ability.
Casting fist:
Crusher: Once per turn, when he hits, he can move an enemy of size Large or smaller 5' to an unoccupied space, no save. This is pretty much "move one enemy 5' automatically every round of combat." Plenty of uses for this.
Crusher: Critical. When he scores a crit, all attack rolls against that creature are made with advantage until the start of his next turn. At 3 attacks per round in a typical round, that's a 15% chance of triggering per round. If he gets advantage another way, the odds go up to a 30% chance per round.
Stunning Strike: Con save or stunned. Costs 1 ki point.
Open Hand: Dex save or fall prone, with Flurry of Blows attacks only. Costs nothing.
Open Hand: Str save or shove 15', with Flurry of Blows attacks only. Costs nothing.
Open Hand: Target can't take reactions until the end of the monk's next turn. FoB only, costs nothing.
The monk can reliably move enemies around the battlefield, has two different ways to generate advantage for allies (prone & critical), and can target all 3 enemy physical saves reasonably at will.
The monk's AC and HP aren't great, but it's a monk, not a primary tank, so that's pretty much par for the course for a monk.
So what makes this different from a Dex monk, aside from which stat we're keying off of?
-You get to play a hulking brute who moves quickly and bashes people around with his powerful punches.
-Crusher grants free enemy movement, and sometimes triggers advantage-granting.
-Athletics proficiency
-Magic item availability. The DMG has several magic items that take Strength beyond 20. There are no magic items that take Dexterity beyond 20. A Strength monk has the potential to reach a higher final to-hit bonus than a Dex monk as a result. Varies by campaign.
Disadvantages:
-If you don't go Tortle, you have a lower AC, or you have to invest in boosting your Dexterity, or find a Dexterity item, or multiclass. The usual MAD problem. Not all campaigns allow Tortles, and not everyone wants to play a Tortle anyway.
This is the best I've come up with. It's certainly good enough to play a Strength monk with and still have a character who is pretty good. It doesn't require any specific background, so there's still plenty of room to pick a background and out-of-combat skills to taste.
An interesting point I realized after writing this post is that Crusher can also be used to boost CON. An elven or half-elf Dex monk could take Crusher to even out an odd Con score, and get the same free enemy movement, plus Elven Accuracy for triple advantage to help boost the Crusher crit rates. Unlike most other sources of advantage, Crusher's advantage-granting bonus persists even if the enemy who was hit by it moves away from the barbarian, gets up from prone, etc. Consider this a good argument for a Dexterity monk also.