How would you build an astral self monk?

[Rfkannen]

Astral self monk looks like a ton of fun, but I am not sure how to build it. Mobile seems less nececary since you have range, im not sure on the stat spread since you need dex for ac still but don't need it for attacks.

What do you think? Any races/feats/skills seem particularly well suited to it?

[PattThe]

I've been waiting for a thread like this.

Bugbear Astral Self Monk. 15 ft spectral throat punches +2d6 sneak attack if you surprise someone. The rest of the build is.. a tad more complex.

[Rfkannen]

I've been waiting for a thread like this.

Bugbear Astral Self Monk. 15 ft spectral throat punches +2d6 sneak attack if you surprise someone. The rest of the build is.. a tad more complex.

Sounds fun! whats the rest of the build?

[Sorinth]

With point buy I'd start with 16/16 Dex and Wis, boost Wis to 20 but not really bother boosting Dex, so there's room for some feats. Skill Expert for Athletics being a prime candidate.

I'd be very tempted by Protector Aasimar, flight is great on anyone but especially so when you have reach so never get in melee range and a strong grapple for picking people up and dropping them off cliffs is always fun. I'd probably refluff a lot of the astral self abilities to be celestial in origin and be the Aasimar unlocking more of their angelic ancestry. So for instance the astral arms would be holding swords of light, etc...

[Foxhound438]

The bugbear pick seems fun to me as well, though I would put ASI's into constitution rather than taking too many feats. There's benefits to taking both fey touched and shadow touched, as those still boost your wisdom while giving you useful spells, but after maxing wisdom there's not a lot that would appeal to me. Maybe alert or observant if you're into those, maybe ritual caster if your party is lacking a full caster, maybe crusher so you can move things out of opportunity attack range if they ever get to you, but more con is probably never too bad.

Of course, in Adventurer's League land this is impossible, because Adventurer's League is the worst. There's not a whole lot that I would do differently on an astral self monk if I had to pick a PHB race, as the benefits of 15' reach over 10' is probably somewhat marginal. Most enemies will either be bamboozled with the 10' range or have something to deal with you practically regardless of your reach. Biggest difference is I would personally skip shadow touched, since the big appeal for bugbear is to get easy surprise attack damage. Invisibility is good utility either way, but it's not something I would seek out on most builds.

[PattThe]

Alright, here's the nonsense. I'm going to assume all features listed are understood by those reading. Quick lookups aren't hard to find.

>Bugbear Acolyte point buy 10 16 14 8 16 10
Level 1 Rogue. Expertise in Stealth and Perception. This is the starting class, so Dex and Int ST's. I like taking proficiency in saving throws for my dump stat when multiclassing.
Level 1 Twilight Cleric. All armor and shield proficiency but more importantly martial weapon proficiency. 300 ft darkvision with a passive perception of 15 to start? Nice. Also, advantage on initiative if you keep your blessing close to the chest. Sleep and Faerie Fire are LOVELY for what's to come.
Level X Astral Self Monk. Ki infused weapon or whatever it's called every morning on your whip which you are now proficient in. Eventually you can use your Wisdom for attacks.

You now have the potential to sneak up on someone without getting into even a 10 ft range, likely making that stealth a lot easier. Advantage on
initiative means your Bugbear Sneak Attack is more likely to go off even if you aren't full-on assassinating someone. Bugbear Snack atak is during surprise rounds if you go first, not specifically on completely unawares surprised targets. If you use your whip that's 3d6 extra damage on what will quickly become a Whip with a very large damage die. 2 levels behind on monk but carried with the social features of Rogue and the spellcasting utility (maximized wis over time will get you even more cleric versatility) so it shouldn't hurt too bad.

Obviously 15 ft spirit throat punches are great but having a consistent 15 ft whip is amazing when you can (after much hard work) get it to be a monk weapon. It's nothing crazy and 15 ft whip attacks aren't anything new but it's nice to be able to use the finesse weapon to get that 1d6 extra damage from sneak attack (likely to find an ally somewhere engaging an enemy in a 30 ft diameter sphere) before using your spirit punches for the attacks you can't use a whip for- the Flurry of Blows etc. I just think if I ever played a spirit monk, I'd want it to be a Bugbear. And if I'm going bugbear, I'm taking the whip. You can get the whip for free with a one level fighter dip but.. come on. Twilight cleric is busted, and 1d6 per round for life can add up.

Obviously I'm not hedging my bets on Feats because of the 2 level handicap. Max wisdom by total level 10. After that your campaign should tell you what you need to do. AC or HP.
Although.. if you wanted to delay max Wis you could modify the build so you have a 17 Wis at level one, and take one of those fey teleport feats at total level 6 or later.
Teleporting with your 30ft diameter sphere (stunning strike by spirit punch to the throat is sick, right?) is monumental to stay relevant in high level combat. The thing is are you going to survive long enough to get both Fey Teleport and Sentinel..

[Hael]

Astral monk gets devil sight, which kinda wants access to the darkness spell. So you can either beg the DM to get the UA version of the shadow touched feat, or you mc into it.

Astral monk also does pretty well with grappling builds, so there’s that route. Either way, crusher feat seems good. It also pairs well with druids and spells like spike growth.

I would say the Astral monk is much less feat/asi starved than most monks, so he gets roughly 1.5 - 2 free feats relatively speaking.

[bendking]

Here's a grappling Astral Self Monk.

Race: Custom Origin - Skill Expert (Athletics), +1 WIS
Point Buy: 8/15/15/8/18/8
ASIs: +2 WIS, +1/+1 DEX/CON, X

Basically, it's just an Astral Self Monk with awesome grappling.
This lets you grapple and push people from 10ft away, meaning you're free to ghost punch them without them being able to retaliate (as long as their reach is 5ft).

[KorvinStarmast]

Astral monk gets devil sight, which kinda wants access to the darkness spell. Maybe a drow astral monk? IIRC, they get darkness as a racial spell.

[Naanomi]

The one I wrote up was a Tortle, something about dumping both STR and DEX is an appealing monk concept to me (Loxodon would also work)

[fert1g]

I'd go for the following:
Variant Human:
Feat: Skill Expert (+1 Dexterity, proficiency in whatever, expertise in athletics)
Str 8
Dex 15 +1 (Skill Expert)
Con 15 +1
Int 8
Wis 15 +1
Cha 8

Monk 20 (multiclassing will starve the build of Ki)

Feats:
Lvl. 4: Wis +2
Lvl. 8: Wis +2
Lvl. 12: Ritual Caster (Wizard)
Lvl. 16: Lucky
Lvl. 19: Tough

[Sorinth]

For those bringing up the Crusher feat keep in mind the astral arms do force damage not bludgeoning.

[samcifer]

I've been waiting for a thread like this.

Bugbear Astral Self Monk. 15 ft spectral throat punches +2d6 sneak attack if you surprise someone. The rest of the build is.. a tad more complex.

I did this same build (with 1 level of warlock) at lvl. 12) with a whip as my monk weapon for a one-shot a few weeks ago. I felt like Jotaro Jostar from season 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and played him as such.

[PattThe]

I did this same build (with 1 level of warlock) at lvl. 12) with a whip as my monk weapon for a one-shot a few weeks ago. I felt like Jotaro Jostar from season 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and played him as such.

How'd you get whip proficiency?

[fert1g]

For those bringing up the Crusher feat keep in mind the astral arms do force damage not bludgeoning.

My mistake, I'd instead take the ritual caster (wizard) feat instead and have constitution start at 16. I've edited my previous post to account for these changes.

[Witty Username]

With love, care and maybe clay and a bit of see through colored paper for the extra arms. :)

[samcifer]

How'd you get whip proficiency?

The new monk feature from TCoE that lets you take any weapon as a monk weapon. Forget what it's called, but it's one of the new class variant features.

[J-H]

No Tasha's yet, but I have access on D&D Beyond. It looks like it's just "Monk, but with Wis-based reach force damage, Deflect Arrows for energy damage, and +2 AC." That's it?
It's kind of...one dimensional and boring. I guess it's good in a low-magic campaign where there are no magic weapons being handed out.

[Nidgit]

No Tasha's yet, but I have access on D&D Beyond. It looks like it's just "Monk, but with Wis-based reach force damage, Deflect Arrows for energy damage, and +2 AC." That's it?
It's kind of...one dimensional and boring. I guess it's good in a low-magic campaign where there are no magic weapons being handed out.
It's fantastic flavor but kind of bland generalist abilities. Definitely strong at higher levels but increased SAD-ness and force damage are a bit difficult to build around.

[Foxhound438]

No Tasha's yet, but I have access on D&D Beyond. It looks like it's just "Monk, but with Wis-based reach force damage, Deflect Arrows for energy damage, and +2 AC." That's it?
It's kind of...one dimensional and boring. I guess it's good in a low-magic campaign where there are no magic weapons being handed out.

You also get more damage at higher levels. Level 11 comes with a bonus monk damage die once per turn, and 17 comes with 3X attack. It's not a whole lot more, but even the 1d10 over a typical shadow monk using opportunist is enough to get most powergamers excited. I agree that there isn't a lot to it mechanically, but I feel that it's a decent execution of a concept that no other build really delivers right now. It's a bit more exciting than kensai to me anyways.

[Hael]

You also get more damage at higher levels. Level 11 comes with a bonus monk damage die once per turn, and 17 comes with 3X attack. It's not a whole lot more, but even the 1d10 over a typical shadow monk using opportunist is enough to get most powergamers excited. I agree that there isn't a lot to it mechanically, but I feel that it's a decent execution of a concept that no other build really delivers right now. It's a bit more exciting than kensai to me anyways.

They also get an aoe on attack worth two rolls of their martial arts die. Reach. Devil sight. Advantage on insight and intimidation. Wis for str checks...

It’s a pretty strong chassis and definitely the best striker subclass for monks. It is true that they lose crusher bc of the force rider unless they want to step in range and use their regular arms (but that’s no different than any other monk).. might still be worth it, although one attack will not be SAD. And yea, a drow or half drow would be good here.

[Omni-Centrist]

I was thinking the other day it would be a great 3 level dip for a Druid or Cleric looking for Melee Prowess. You can focus on Wis for spellcasting DC, and you can still be a semi-backline with the 10ft reach for concentration maintaining. Heck, if you're a spores druid you might even be able to make use of that bonus 1d6 melee damage now.

[Witty Username]

Here's a grappling Astral Self Monk.

Race: Custom Origin - Skill Expert (Athletics), +1 WIS
Point Buy: 8/15/15/8/18/8
ASIs: +2 WIS, +1/+1 DEX/CON, X

Basically, it's just an Astral Self Monk with awesome grappling.
This lets you grapple and push people from 10ft away, meaning you're free to ghost punch them without them being able to retaliate (as long as their reach is 5ft).
I feel like your level 1 and 2 would hurt to play through, by 3 when you actually get to use your wis it's much smoother. If you are starting at 3+ it fine though.

[PattThe]

The new monk feature from TCoE that lets you take any weapon as a monk weapon. Forget what it's called, but it's one of the new class variant features.
I was talking about the ki bonded weapon ability from Tasha's. That lets you spend time on a weapon you are proficient in to make it a Monk Weapon for the day.

How did you get proficiency in the whip?
That's the whole reason my bugbear has Twilight Cleric level 1. You need martial proficiency for the whip....

[Sorinth]

I was talking about the ki bonded weapon ability from Tasha's. That lets you spend time on a weapon you are proficient in to make it a Monk Weapon for the day.

How did you get proficiency in the whip?
That's the whole reason my bugbear has Twilight Cleric level 1. You need martial proficiency for the whip....

You could always take the Gladiator background.

[samcifer]

I was talking about the ki bonded weapon ability from Tasha's. That lets you spend time on a weapon you are proficient in to make it a Monk Weapon for the day.

How did you get proficiency in the whip?
That's the whole reason my bugbear has Twilight Cleric level 1. You need martial proficiency for the whip....

Oh... well when you say that, it's stops being legal, huh? Oops? Well, the dm was aware and allowed it. I'll remember that for the future, then. I clearly misunderstood the feature and what it did.

[AttilatheYeon]

You could always take the Gladiator background.

Gladiator doesn't give you proficiency. It gives you a whip you may or may not be proficient in.

[PattThe]

There was a reason my build had Twilight Cleric! Martial weapon proficiency, I said it right in my original post!
If you want a dope monk-weapon you have to multiclass, have racial weapon training, or take...... Weapon Master.... (Vomit! :smallsigh:)

[Sorinth]

Gladiator doesn't give you proficiency. It gives you a whip you may or may not be proficient in.

Hmm, I guess I had misread that. Makes it pretty pointless (Not that background stuff is supposed to be powerful).

[Skyrender]

I looked at this monk path and thought that it seemed like a great way to reproduce All Might (from My Hero Academia). You can decide how it looks, so even if you're a scrawny wimp with sunken cheeks and 50 bags under each eye, when you switch on One for All... err, summon your Astral Self, you can look like a blonde movie star with a mountain of muscles. Since you do force damage with your unarmed strikes and have additional reach, this fits with being bigger than you are, as well as relying upon the energy emitted by your quirk to do the job your shrunken real-life muscles never could. Your wisdom provides the power when shoving stuff around, jumping, climbing, throwing punches, etc. In essence, your inner core, your fighting spirit, is doing the fighting for you.

Level 2 (monk): Your superspeed starts to kick in, both running (fast move), defense (patient defense), and attack speed (flurry).

Level 4 (monk): Superhero landing. 'Nuff said.

Level 6 (subclass): makes you seem even more impressive than you are, grinning like a maniac 24/7, as well as letting you see even in darkness (normal or magical). And you get to tell the whole world...

I AM HERE!

Level 7 (monk): Evasion. Despite what my DM seems to tell everyone all the time, this is a huge deal, letting you dodge a lot of the villains' Quirks, especially energy blasts and the like. Also, the ability to instantly, voluntarily shake off a charm or fear effect is nothing to sneeze at.

Level 9 (monk): superspeed again, both running along walls and across water.

Level 10 (monk): makes you immune to disease and poison. You might cough up blood a hundred times a day, but hey, at least you know you don't have to worry about COVID, right?

Level 11 (subclass): You get your costume, allowing you to bat away energy blasts with your bare hands, or to just tank them (assuming you can't simply evade them in the first place), as well as letting you hit harder once on each of your turns, if you need the extra power.

Level 12 (monk): Heroism is something everyone understands, and you speak it fluently.

Level 14 (monk): This is an interesting one to note, as you gain proficiency in all saves. This is a big boost to your defenses, although a lot of people gloss over just how helpful it can be to not have to worry about an enemy targeting you with effects that require saves against your dump stat. You can even use up some of your ki to give yourself a reroll when you roll a nat 1 against a save-or-die/save-or-suck effect!

Level 15 (monk): This job isn't easy. You know that better than anyone. You always have to look like you're at your best, even when you're at your worst. You use One For All to stave off the natural consequences of getting older, but at what cost? Maybe you should start a long hunt for a worthy successor...

Level 17 (subclass): You don't have much time left, but you make up for it by hardening your physical defenses even further and speeding up to the point you can take an additional extra attack every round.

Level 20 (monk): Even when you are completely out of power, completely, utterly drained, you manage to summon forth just a bit more.

It's time for a lesson. Time to show them what it means...

...to Go Beyond...

PLUS ULTRAAAA!!!