Haven't played since 3.5. Thoughts on this character idea?

[danzibr]

Hey all! Been a while since I visited this part of the forum.

Going to start a campaign here soon (well, I'm a player). No clue about the rules, probably level 1, nothing out of the ordinary.

I was thinking to play a Warforged trying to find his place in the planes. Doesn't understand living creatures, emotions, religion, spirituality, et cetera, et cetera.

This makes me want to go Hermit Monk. However, I know Monk was awful awful awful in 3.5. This still true?

Also, flavor-wise, Hermit Monk might be like the future state of my character. After all, my Warforged (I was going to call him Lone, like L One, like L1, like L19M4) might have been created and used for some other purpose. Maybe warlike. Or roguelike. Or anythinglike, really.

For actual questions (other than whether or not Monks still stink in 5e)... any general advice for someone with a background in 3.5 wanting to play a confused Warforged? Monk seems not optimal due to the overlapping armor stuff.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I think Warforged is a good choice for Monk, since your integrated protection feature does allow you to use your martial arts. The lowest tier is considered unarmored and you'll most likely calculate your AC using unarmored defense since monks come without light armor proficiency which is essential to making that tier of integrated protection competitive with regular armor.

Warforged, how they're currently published in WGTE are incredibly versatile and I really believe they could function as any class.

Monks, as a whole, are not terrible. They offer some of the best utility in the game in the form of Stunning Strike and some of the best later level class features in the game. The general issue is that a few of the subclasses that are available are lacking in having some (if any) useful features. Way of the Four Elements and Kensai are fairly weak and it's hard to argue against Open Hand and Shadow being the best options available.

Monks also tend to be MAD, requiring Dex and Wisdom for their AC and Save DC (which is integral to how useful they'll be in combat) as well as a decent Con score since they're a d8 hit die melee oriented class that will usually only reach a middling AC even under the best conditions.

Take this Monk information with a grain of salt, I myself have yet to play one and my opinion is based off second hand knowledge from what I've read or been told about. It's always good to look for second opinions.

For this specific character archetype you've chosen, Monk seems like a fantastic choice. Barbarian or Ranger with the Outlander or Far Traveler background could also function very well.

[Nifft]

5e Monks can be great. I also highly recommend either Shadow and Open Hand.

Warforged Monk is weird. You lose out on one of the better Warforged features (the integrated armor thing), but the image of a robot ascetic meditating for an entire season without needing to eat or sleep is kinda awesome.

L1 could also be pronounced "Elwan", which sounds fantasy-ish.

[furby076]

You use either warforged armor to calculate AC or monk, not both. So no stacking. I believe warforged is still under playtesting.

Monks are great, take a search for some of the monk thread. Recently someone posted a monk build where you essentially move at something like 250 MPH. Insane. The elements monks kid of suck, but the rest are good. Just search for the thread in this 5e forum and read on it. The details are amazing.

I came from 3.x, and Pathfinder rules in eberron.

My only mistake, was deciding to play a paladin. Not because they aren't great, they are beasts, but because I played a pally in the previous game (eberron) and after getting to level 5, I'm kinda bored with him...just because it's replaying a 10 year old character (yea it was a 10 year old campaign)

[Asmotherion]

A) Nothing really sucks in 5e. Get a concept, and you can work your way from there to optimise that concept. Monks work quite well too.

B) Warforged have nice RP, especially for someone who doesn't know a lot about the world around him. Gives you a "fresh" perspective on things. Who are you, what are you etc. Allows you to dig in things in a bit of a phylosophical aspect as well, if you're into that sort of thing.

C) If you're looking to optimise, have a look at the optimisation guides on this forum. They include a lot of nice options for each class. You don't need to follow them strictly, just have a rough idea of what to look for, as curveballs, and what "traps" to avoid. I suggest to avoid optimising around Race/Backround since this is Concept Binding. From that point, work on your attacks, name them if you like, and make a theme for them.

Again, since 5e includes Bounded Accuracy, nothing really sucks in it, so feel free to NOT optimise, and just CREATE your character concept. It will be cool, as long as you put details into it, a solid backstory, ideals, battles he's been in etc.

I strongly suggest looking at Xanathar's Character Creation Tables, for more ideas, if you have it avalable. It's wonderful.

[sophontteks]

Monks are awesome. They are a very distinct and effective playstyle now and as long as you play like a monk (not like a fighter) you'll do fine.

So, there are three big things about monks. Their mobility, their CC, and their defenses.

mobility- They move faster then other classes, and get faster as they level. They can also withdraw from combat with ki, allowing them to kite the enemy. On its own thats a cute little perk, but monks can also scale walls and run on water at their movement speed. They can even take massive falls without taking damage, so fall intentionally! Its a great ambush tool.

Crowd Control- Two words. Stunning fist. You can add stunning fist to any number of successful attacks you make, forcing the enemy to roll vs. being stunned for a round. Nothing is immune to this either. You can stun anything. And since monks can attack multiple times in one round, you can add stunning fist multiple times in one round, burning a bosses legendary resistance, or ensuring a successful stun if the first didnt stick.

Defenses-Monks are much squishier then other martials in a brawl. But they can catch arrows, they have evasion vs. dex saves (like fireball) and they get profeciency in all saving throws, eventually. Immunity to poison and disease, and a way to break charms is the cherry on top.

So add this all up and you got yourself a striker. Monks ignore all the rules of engagement. They run right up to the back line, take the most dangerous enemy out of the fight, and get out unscatched. Melee opponents can't catch them, they can catch ranged attacks, and they are very resistant to spells.

And thats just vanilla. My fav. Archtypes are:
Drunken fist, because they are faster and more evasive.
Open hand, because they have more CC.

[Particle_Man]

If you make it to 14th level, monks add their proficiency bonus to all saves.

That includes the death save, which is really hard to otherwise get modifiers for.

By the way, are you a Douglas Adams fan?

[Nifft]

By the way, are you a Douglas Adams fan?

"So Long and Thanks for All the Fists"




PANIC!

[danzibr]

Thanks for the responses, all! And nope, haven't read Douglas Adams.

Hmm, I might indeed go Monk. Glad they don't stink any more.

However, RP-wise, I might multiclass into Monk. Like, designed for something else, *then* becoming all philosophical.

Other starting options are Barbarian (specifically Berserker, with Rage being refluffed as some sort of program), Fighter (duh, this is Warforged we're talking about), Rogue (probably Assassin Droid, can throw in some backstory stuff that made him want to change).

EDIT: Oh yeah, any nonlethal/pacifist options?

[sophontteks]

Thanks for the responses, all! And nope, haven't read Douglas Adams.

Hmm, I might indeed go Monk. Glad they don't stink any more.

However, RP-wise, I might multiclass into Monk. Like, designed for something else, *then* becoming all philosophical.

Other starting options are Barbarian (specifically Berserker, with Rage being refluffed as some sort of program), Fighter (duh, this is Warforged we're talking about), Rogue (probably Assassin Droid, can throw in some backstory stuff that made him want to change).


EDIT: Oh yeah, any nonlethal/pacifist options?

I recommend you don't multiclass. 5e classes are solid and the only way you can really screw yourself is by multiclassing. Pretty much everything the monk has scales strictly with monk levels, the best parts of their kit don't come online until later, and many monk abilities aren't compatable with those from other classes.

You can multiclass a monk but you better have a clear plan.

Pacifist options. They were going to make one but decided against it. Look up the tranquility monk UA. Its actually really good. I'm pretty sad it'll never be made official.

[Nifft]

Hmm, I might indeed go Monk. Glad they don't stink any more.

Monks are great. You'll have fun.

However, RP-wise, I might multiclass into Monk. Like, designed for something else, *then* becoming all philosophical.

That's what Background is for. Don't multi-class, just pick a background which showcases your "something else".

Don't take Barbarian levels, take the Outlander background.
Don't take Rogue levels, take the Urchin background.
Don't take Fighter levels, take the Soldier background.
Etc.

[ProsecutorGodot]

EDIT: Oh yeah, any nonlethal/pacifist options?

Redemption Paladin is the only published subclass that has any pacifist skills.

[Corpsecandle717]

That all said subdual damage is gone. Now you just choose on your final hit if you kill it or not.

[Thanatos 51-50]

That final-hit-can-be-nonlethal thing comes with a few caveats.
It only applies to melee attacks, for instance. Dealing that final blow with a Thunderwave, Longbow, or even just Chill Touch? Nah, amigx, the other guy is dead.
The character dealing the blow is the one that gets to make the decision. Your monk can pull their strike at the last moment to only knock unconscious their opponent for whatever reason, but if the Barbarian gets that last blow in and they're not so much for the talky-talky afterwards? There's good chance the target is dead, even if the Barbarian only swooped in at the last second to deal the killing blow.

My, uh... my current DM got a bit annoyed with us always interrogating the folk we fought, so we looked up and got real specific with the rules.

Monks are great. They're definitely strikers, but they're also single-target lockdown strikers, and, even at early levels, can be great for just picking an enemy (such as a spellcaster), and removing that enemy from the fight. Multiple attacks per round also mean you proc multiple Concentration checks every round.
A few friendly bits of advice:

• You are absurdly mobile.
• You are still proficient in short bows.
• Thrown daggers benefit from Martial Arts. Darts do not.
• Spears are better than quarterstaves.

[Louro]

As a DM I can tell monks are annoying as f. Specially the shadow -ninja- one.

[sophontteks]

As a DM I can tell monks are annoying as f. Specially the shadow -ninja- one.

Dm- "You see the enemy mage cackling on a distant ledge. Much too far to jump across. He cackles as he begins casting spells from behind cover. What do you do?"

Monk: "How cute. I take a bonus action dash across the wall at 90 feet movement speed and attack him three times using stunning fist on each hit."

DM: "I hate you."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Nope. You only get one bonus action per turn, so no extra hit from Martial Arts for you if you use Step of the Wind.

[strangebloke]

Nope. You only get one bonus action per turn, so no extra hit from Martial Arts for you if you use Step of the Wind.

Could be hasted or any other number of things.

[Nifft]

As a DM I can tell monks are annoying as f. Specially the shadow -ninja- one.

Plot twists?

Got fists!

[sophontteks]

Nope. You only get one bonus action per turn, so no extra hit from Martial Arts for you if you use Step of the Wind.

Oh, your right, two hits. For some reason I was thinking the single extra attack didn't require the bonus action .

More reason to love drunken fist.
55 feet of movement at mid level without dash plus two extra attacks and not proccing reactions all for one ki. A pity its kinda their one thing

[danzibr]

Thanks all!

Due to party composition, I ended up going Rogue.

Gotta admit, I think I'm going to like 5e.

[dmteeter]

Plot twists?

Got fists!

This may be my new favorite line

[danzibr]

Hey folks!

Sorry, delayed response.

Due to reasons (other party members), I ended up going Rogue. Having a lotta fun.

Just figured I’d give you an update :)

[The Valiant Turtle]

Hey folks!

Sorry, delayed response.

Due to reasons (other party members), I ended up going Rogue. Having a lotta fun.

Just figured I’d give you an update :)

Can I ask what the purpose of going rogue was? If you are concerned about locks & traps you don't need to be a rogue. All you need is a decent dex (which most Monks have) and proficiency with thieves tools (which you could pick up with Urchin background or other means). Since detecting traps is usually a perception (Wis) roll, monks are usually going to be better at that part anyway. That's all there is to locks and traps in 5E, no special class features are needed.

If it's not about traps and locks then it's perfectly fine - it's really fine regardless and you said your having fun so just go with it, but know that many roles are more flexible than they were in previous editions. Anybody who doesn't dump Dex can handle traps and locks (I've done it on my wizard occasionally).

[sophontteks]

Can I ask what the purpose of going rogue was? If you are concerned about locks & traps you don't need to be a rogue. All you need is a decent dex (which most Monks have) and proficiency with thieves tools (which you could pick up with Urchin background or other means). Since detecting traps is usually a perception (Wis) roll, monks are usually going to be better at that part anyway. That's all there is to locks and traps in 5E, no special class features are needed.

If it's not about traps and locks then it's perfectly fine - it's really fine regardless and you said your having fun so just go with it, but know that many roles are more flexible than they were in previous editions. Anybody who doesn't dump Dex can handle traps and locks (I've done it on my wizard occasionally).

My halfling wild sorcerer is the party locksmith :P

[superstrijder15]

My halfling wild sorcerer is the party locksmith :P

Although so far untested, I think there would be a contest in our party between the Tiefling Criminal Rogue and the Dragonborn Paladin. Although I expect the latter will try to lockpick on STR.

[danzibr]

Can I ask what the purpose of going rogue was? If you are concerned about locks & traps you don't need to be a rogue. All you need is a decent dex (which most Monks have) and proficiency with thieves tools (which you could pick up with Urchin background or other means). Since detecting traps is usually a perception (Wis) roll, monks are usually going to be better at that part anyway. That's all there is to locks and traps in 5E, no special class features are needed.

If it's not about traps and locks then it's perfectly fine - it's really fine regardless and you said your having fun so just go with it, but know that many roles are more flexible than they were in previous editions. Anybody who doesn't dump Dex can handle traps and locks (I've done it on my wizard occasionally).

Sure thing!

We’re a bunch is casuals, playing for flavor. Primarily.

I was thinking Monk, Barb, or Rogue, each with different backstories in mind. Soul-searching robot, robot with rage programming, or assassindroid.

Someone in front of me picked Monk. I was 2nd to last. The last 2 both couldn’t decide between Barb and Rogue. We rock-paper-scissorsed. I got Rogue.