"Not-Sure-If-Dragon" Dragonborn Monk Build

[CatofRiddles]

I've been working with a character concept for a Dragonborn that thinks he's an actual dragon. I’m presenting this build in hopes of gaining constructive criticism to further improve upon it. This is not an optimized build, as my main priority was to flavor him as close to a dragon as I could while dealing a reasonable amount of damage.

Unfortunately, this build is not Adventurers League Legal. Although this build assumes your DM interprets the Rules As Intended/Written a certain way, and uses an Unearthed Arcana Feat, these are the only exceptions I’m giving myself in order to avoid confrontation between the Player and DM.

So, why not just build a Dragonborn Sorcerer? You could achieve a similar result with the Draconic Bloodline Origin taking less feats and pure character progression. While Draconic Ancestry has a lot of traits that would be good for a tanky character, but Sorcerer doesn't seem like it has a lot of options for the frontline. I wanted a character that was more in-your-face, with the full fury of a Dragon (or at least close to it) in melee combat.

In addition to the Player’s Handbook, the sources i drew from are: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, the Unearthed Arcana: Feats for Races and the Monster Manual.

Please note that I made this before Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything was released, so I am currently unaware of any features that it contains.

So without further ado, I present my “Not-sure-if-Dragon” Dragonborn Monk Build.

I modeled my build off of the stats of the Brass Dragon Wyrmling from the Monster Manual. These stats and abilities seemed like ones I would most likely be able to mimic. I have made the numbers close to it as well, with the exception of Dexterity and Wisdom. I should also mention that this character is meant to be unarmed and unarmored, so i have no suggestions as to weapons or equipment.

I used the Standard Point Array, so Point Buy or rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest could grant you better stats.

Race: Brass Dragonborn (Draconblood)
Class: Monk

STR: 14 or 10
DEX: 15
CON: 12
INT: 8 (+2)= 10
WIS: 13
CHA: 10 (+1)=11 or 14 (+1)=15

This is the point where I’m expecting to hear the most protesting. The Draconblood’s stat bonuses (Int +2, Cha+1) are where a Monk least needs them. Choosing the Ravenite Subrace (or a standard Dragonborn) would probably give you better stats, but you’d lose Darkvision or Forceful Presence, and your lore-friendly tail unless your DM is kind and grants it to you. The main trade off for the subraces’ new abilities is the loss of damage resistance to your Draconic Ancestor’s element. You still get your Breath Weapon though.

Charisma is only low because Wisdom and Dexterity are needed more for the class, but if you choose, you could probably also swap Strength and Charisma to improve your social skills. I stick with Strength as the higher one, relying on Forceful Presence to make up for his lack of social ability.

Needed Feats

I’ll get to the Monk Class and Discipline in a bit, but it would explain a lot of things if I explain my first two feat choices first.

Dragon Hide (XGtE)

This feat is what inspired my build. You can increase Strength, Constitution or Charisma by 1. (I chose Charisma, but your choice may differ depending on your preferences) Your AC becomes 13 + Dex, which, unless you rolled really good on BOTH Dexterity and Wisdom, should start out higher than your Monk’s Unarmored Defense.(AC= 10+Dex+Wis). Dragon Hide also allows you to carry a shield if you choose, which you can then ditch if you get to the point where it is outclassed by Unarmored Defense.

Also, you get retractable Dragon Claws as unarmed weapons. This is where things might get a little fuzzy in terms of what your DM allows.

The ruling that I favor would simply mean that you can choose between Bludgeoning and Slashing for your Unarmed Strikes, using the Monk’s Martial Arts to increase the hit die and replace the STR modifier with DEX.

The other ruling (and, unfortunately, what seems to happen in character creators because of file setup) is that in addition to your Monk’s Unarmed Strike (1d4+STR, Bludgeoning) that benefits from Martial Arts and all your Monk features, you get an additional “Dragon Hide” Unarmed Strike (1d4+STR, Slashing) that does not.

Work it out with your DM, and choose your stats accordingly.

Dragon Wings (UA:Feats for Races)

I chose this feat mainly for flavor, but it has benefits too. Dragon Wings give you the Dragon look, plus you can fly without magic. You don’t really need armor due to Dragon Hide (or Unarmored Defense) and your only other limit is your carrying capacity. Unfortunately, the only other way to get non-magical wings like this (without having to settle for Angelic, Demonic or Fey wings) is to take FOURTEEN levels in Sorcerer. I mean, you could choose a different feat or Ability Score Improvement, but then your draconic influence would be limited to the ground.

Ability Score Improvement: Round off your Dexterity and Wisdom.

Monk Class (PHB)

Melee is the point of this build, and while Dragons do use magic, they usually use melee. (at least in my experience)

The Martial Arts Feature you gain at Level 1, which I already referenced, depends on your DM’s ruling on Dragon Hide’s Unarmed Strike. Even if your DM chooses not to let you use it with Martial arts, the Monk’s unarmed strike is still pretty cool. The best of which grants you the ability to make an additional unarmed strike as a bonus action when you attack.

Unarmored Defense is what you’ll be using until you get Dragon Hide, but you could get it back once you get both your Wisdom and Defense high enough to outclass it.

The Ki Feature you gain at level 2 is the reason I kept the Wisdom Score pretty high. While Dragon Hide overshadows Unarmored Defense for a while, you still have to use Wisdom for your Ki Save DC.

The rest of these features aren’t changed by your dragon traits, and only add to your draconic majesty. To keep this post a reasonable length, i’ll skip explaining why the rest of the Monk Skills fit and reference you to the Player’s Handbook.

You’re free to choose whichever Monk subclass suits the type of dragon you plan on playing, but I chose the Way of the Four Elements to gain more fire attacks.

Background and Skills

Hoard of the Dragon Queen offers an optional background feature called “Dragon Scholar”. If your DM allows, replace your Background Feature with it to give your dragonborn a bit of dragon knowledge to back up your story.

I took the Sailor Background, so i could attempt some sort of Stowaway or Dragon Egg story.

From the Sailor Background, took:

• Athletics
• Perception

And from Monk, I took

• Insight
• Stealth

At Level 12, You should have Stats and bonuses similar if not better than a Brass Dragon Wyrmling. The only features I was not able to include are:

• Elemental Damage Resistance/Immunity
• Truesight
• Burrowing Speed
• Sleep Breath

If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve this build, I’d love to hear them.

[thoroughlyS]

After doing some research and tooling with some concepts, I have some recommendations for your build.

Dragonborn(Ravenite, any color) Far Traveler
Barbarian 1/Battle Master Fighter

• STR 17 (15 + 2) OR STR 16 (14 + 2)
• DEX 14
• CON 14 (13 + 1) OR CON 15 (14 + 1)
• INT 8
• WIS 10
• CHA 12

Feats: Dragon Fear, Dragon Wings
Maneuvers: Menacing Attack, Riposte

I recommend Ravenite Dragonborn, which also gets darkvision but has vastly better ASIs and a more useful racial trait. It really is easier to just ask for a tail. I went with the Far Traveler background, with the idea that acting like a dragon is sure to draw the attention of onlookers. Instead of trying to replicate a Brass Wyrmling's stats exactly, I went with trying to reflect which stats are usually higher on a dragon. To this end, I focused on Strength, Constitution, and Charisma. At 1st level, you play like a pretty standard barbarian, except you fight unarmed so your damage output is going to be really mediocre. Your Unarmored Defense let's you fight without armor, but you won't really have a great AC (starting off at 14). At 2nd level, you switch to progressing as a straight fighter. Taking the Unarmed Fighting Fighting Style (at the end of UA: Class Feature Variants) immediately bumps your damage back up to respectable levels when you tear into someone with both hands. At 4th level, taking Battle Master also boosts your damage, and gives you access to two very flavorful maneuvers: Menacing Attack (to replicate Frightful Presence), and Riposte (to give you pseudo-Legendary Actions). At 5th, you can take Dragon Fear to give you even more draconic versatility. You will be missing out on Extra Attack for this level, which will feel like a drag... but that can't really be helped. At 7th level, you can take Dragon Wings, and finally feel like a full-on dragon.

The major decision point is whether you want to prioritize damage or defense at 5th level. If you want to keep up with the damage curve, start with a 17 STR and boost it to 18 with Dragon Fear. If you want to boost AC, start with a 15 CON and boost it to 16 with Dragon Fear.

There are some serious drawbacks to pursuing this build. Your damage will never really compete with something like Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter. On top of that, your AC will be significantly worse than a character who simply opts to wear heavy armor. As long as you can accept these limitations, I can see this being a very fun character to roleplay.

There is one aspect of character building that I don't often pursue, because the attitudes in regard to it are often so varied, but in this case I feel it warrants a mention: magic items. If your DM is willing to give you a Dragon Mask (from the Rise of Tiamat storyline), it will bestow a lot of draconic features to your character. These five masks are each individually legendary items, but don't actually provide massively impactful features. I believe obtaining one at 5th level wouldn't seriously disrupt the inter-party balance, but would really make you feel like a true dragon. I recommend the White Dragon Mask, which can bring your damage up significantly if you are at half health.

[CatofRiddles]

After doing some research and tooling with some concepts, I have some recommendations for your build.

Dragonborn(Ravenite, any color) Far Traveler
Barbarian 1/Battle Master Fighter

• STR 17 (15 + 2) OR STR 16 (14 + 2)
• DEX 14
• CON 14 (13 + 1) OR CON 15 (14 + 1)
• INT 8
• WIS 10
• CHA 12

Feats: Dragon Fear, Dragon Wings
Maneuvers: Menacing Attack, Riposte

I recommend Ravenite Dragonborn, which also gets darkvision but has vastly better ASIs and a more useful racial trait. It really is easier to just ask for a tail. I went with the Far Traveler background, with the idea that acting like a dragon is sure to draw the attention of onlookers. Instead of trying to replicate a Brass Wyrmling's stats exactly, I went with trying to reflect which stats are usually higher on a dragon. To this end, I focused on Strength, Constitution, and Charisma. At 1st level, you play like a pretty standard barbarian, except you fight unarmed so your damage output is going to be really mediocre. Your Unarmored Defense let's you fight without armor, but you won't really have a great AC (starting off at 14). At 2nd level, you switch to progressing as a straight fighter. Taking the Unarmed Fighting Fighting Style (at the end of UA: Class Feature Variants) immediately bumps your damage back up to respectable levels when you tear into someone with both hands. At 4th level, taking Battle Master also boosts your damage, and gives you access to two very flavorful maneuvers: Menacing Attack (to replicate Frightful Presence), and Riposte (to give you pseudo-Legendary Actions). At 5th, you can take Dragon Fear to give you even more draconic versatility. You will be missing out on Extra Attack for this level, which will feel like a drag... but that can't really be helped. At 7th level, you can take Dragon Wings, and finally feel like a full-on dragon.

The major decision point is whether you want to prioritize damage or defense at 5th level. If you want to keep up with the damage curve, start with a 17 STR and boost it to 18 with Dragon Fear. If you want to boost AC, start with a 15 CON and boost it to 16 with Dragon Fear.

There are some serious drawbacks to pursuing this build. Your damage will never really compete with something like Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter. On top of that, your AC will be significantly worse than a character who simply opts to wear heavy armor. As long as you can accept these limitations, I can see this being a very fun character to roleplay.

There is one aspect of character building that I don't often pursue, because the attitudes in regard to it are often so varied, but in this case I feel it warrants a mention: magic items. If your DM is willing to give you a Dragon Mask (from the Rise of Tiamat storyline), it will bestow a lot of draconic features to your character. These five masks are each individually legendary items, but don't actually provide massively impactful features. I believe obtaining one at 5th level wouldn't seriously disrupt the inter-party balance, but would really make you feel like a true dragon. I recommend the White Dragon Mask, which can bring your damage up significantly if you are at half health.

I originally considered building My dragonborn this way, but there were a few things that made me switch to Monk.

The first and foremost is the Unarmed Damage. As far as i can tell, the unarmed damage dice for an Unarmed Fighter don't scale with your level; You're stuck with a d6, unless you use both hands, then you're stuck with a d8. Also, your damage remains strictly physical. if you wanted to deal magical damage, you'd be forced to pick up a magical weapon. I'm not against magical weapons, but that kinda goes against the unarmed theme of the build.

I like the stat setup though. if i could get around the magical damage problem, i might have chosen this build.

I was going to go for a Dex build, but it felt... wrong, somehow. I made the Strength score high just in case i learned how to Grapple.

[Nhorianscum]

Tashas does let you swap out the dragonbornes base bonuses for more synergistic ones.

[thoroughlyS]

The first and foremost is the Unarmed Damage. As far as i can tell, the unarmed damage dice for an Unarmed Fighter don't scale with your level; You're stuck with a d6, unless you use both hands, then you're stuck with a d8. Also, your damage remains strictly physical. if you wanted to deal magical damage, you'd be forced to pick up a magical weapon. I'm not against magical weapons, but that kinda goes against the unarmed theme of the build.

I don't see the problem with having a static damage die. That is how most attacks work in the game. I can sympathize with the lack of magical damage. Unfortunately, the only way I can think of to gain magical damage on this build is another magic item, the Insignia of Claws (Hoard of the Dragon Queen).

Another direction you could take this build would be the Beast Barbarian (UA 2020: Subclasses, Part 1). It gives you magical damage at 6th level, like the monk, but allows you to focus on Strength and Constitution. The biggest problem then is that your damage suffers at 1st and 2nd level.

[CatofRiddles]

I don't see the problem with having a static damage die. That is how most attacks work in the game. I can sympathize with the lack of magical damage. Unfortunately, the only way I can think of to gain magical damage on this build is another magic item, the Insignia of Claws (Hoard of the Dragon Queen).

Another direction you could take this build would be the Beast Barbarian (UA 2020: Subclasses, Part 1). It gives you magical damage at 6th level, like the monk, but allows you to focus on Strength and Constitution. The biggest problem then is that your damage suffers at 1st and 2nd level.

Wow! I like this subclass. I might make a version of the build to fit this. it gets closer to what I was going for than this build.

[thoroughlyS]

Dragonborn(Ravenite, any color) Far Traveler
Beast Barbarian 8/Battle Master Fighter +

• STR 17 (15 + 2)
• DEX 14
• CON 14 (13 + 1)
• INT 8
• WIS 10
• CHA 12

Feats: Dragon Fear, Dragon Wings

If you make the Beast Barbarian the basis for your build, you can go straight barbarian for eight levels to get both feats and Extra Attack on time. After that, I would recommend taking fighter until at least 3rd level for maneuvers. This time your fighting style is a little more up in the air. I would consider the mariner fighting style for the AC bump. After that, I would recommend continuing fighter, and potentially splashing in one more level of barbarian to bump up your rage damage.

[CatofRiddles]

Thank you for the advice!

I fell in love with the first two features of Path of the Beast. Unfortunately, the group i'm play with doesn't allow the unarmed fighting style (at least in its current form)

I've combined the build to be about Barbarian 6/Monk X; i haven't made up my mind about whether to go to 8 in Barbarian and pick up a feat, or stop at 6 so i can pick up Diamond Soul near the end.

It's come down to whether i want a min-max build (with Ravenite) or a more balanced build (with Draconblood).

[thoroughlyS]

I've combined the build to be about Barbarian 6/Monk X; i haven't made up my mind about whether to go to 8 in Barbarian and pick up a feat, or stop at 6 so i can pick up Diamond Soul near the end.

It's come down to whether i want a min-max build (with Ravenite) or a more balanced build (with Draconblood).

Monk comes with a lot of features that don't really complement the build (e.g. deflect missiles, stunning strike, evasion). I recommend fighter because it just expands the parts of combat that you'd expect a dragon to be good at.

Draconblood doesn't give you anything that you will be using, so I wouldn't call it "more balanced". I would just call it "nonsupportive".