This thread is awesome. Your write-ups in the OP have given me a lot to think about and influenced how I think about the game.

Do you include content from GGR? Because if so I think you should consider tossing in a few STR-based Monk multiclasses using minotaur which I think outperforms V Human. Although these are, as you put it, "non-Monky Monks." With point buy you get the Minotaur to 16 STR and CON, 13 DEX and WIS. Then you either start with a single Fighter level, or dip a level in Cleric (probably Forge, maybe War for martial prof) to get heavy armor + shield. This allows you to go STR>CON instead of DEX>WIS and has lots of advantages:

+much better AC early (18/19 with a shield, 16/17 with a 2 hander, vs 16 for a Monk). AC can now be improved hugely by magic armor in later levels, no longer capping at 20
+better weapon damage (you can flurry after attacking with a Greatsword)
+better HP in the later levels once you can start investing in CON
+better grapples
+better jumps (synergy with Step of the Wind)
+spells (cleric)


of course there are disadvantages:
-no martial arts dice
this is neatly patched by the Minotaur's horns, which actually deal more damage than martial arts in tier 1, the same amount in tier 2, and only falls off slightly in tiers 3 and 4.

-no bonus action unarmed strike
a significant loss, but the Minotaur still does equal or slightly better damage with a martial weapon + fighting style. Kensei patches this somewhat with Kensei's Shot; you'll have to take Darts as your ranged weapon since you're using STR.

-bad Stunning Strike DC due to lack of WIS
Seems painful at first, but Kensei comes to the rescue again; you won't want to spend your Ki on Stunning Strike so instead you'll be burning it all on Flurry, and later on Sharpen the Blade, which is fine.

-no Unarmored Movement
No way around this, really.


Basically it's a monk that trades away stuns and mobility for a lot more damage and survival. You can also start Barbarian for rage, but I'd hate to have you replaced your ninja turtle listed under monk/barb. Sorry if this is a flood, I guess I'm just gushing about STR Minotaur monk multiclasses, lol. Wondering what you think.