Monk Archetype

[EdsanDarkbane]

Anyone have ideas on a monk Archetype?

[Arkat]

Drunken Master? Sohei?

[EdsanDarkbane]

Drunken Master? Sohei?

I Have never heard of this one! Any more gems, like this for monk??

Thank you!

[unbongwah]

Zen Archer - let's get a proper monkcher, with new ranged feats replacing the melee monk feats like Quivering Palm.

We got an unarmed paladin archetype, so why not some sort of melee-weapon-based archetype which also gets Kensai as one of its trees instead of Shintao.

[Artos_Fabril]

Anyone have ideas on a monk Archetype?

Scaled Fist

[Pandjed]

Anyone have ideas on a monk Archetype?

Shadowblade.

Themed to be a monk of the Mockery, using one or two kamas. Don't get normal elemental stances, but a single special one and replaces shintao tree to avoid elemental stance synergies.

[Nugaot]

Samurai - Centered non-evasion monk w/ medium armor. Can be any Lawful OR any Chaotic. Path of light/dark choice replaced with samurai (lawful) or ronin (chaos) path at level 3. Gain Kensai & Samurai trees, lose Shintao & Henshin trees. Samurai tree is similar to Occult Slayer, focusing on defence and counter-offence. Get more tanky the longer you build up Ki. T5 has a big Ki attack that deals more damage based on how much Ki you have, draining your bar back to zero. Melee/Ranged agnostic throughout.

[Fisto_Mk_I]

OR any Chaotic.

Too OP, lol.

[Nugaot]

Too OP, lol.

Honest question - why do you think so? The only two things that I can imagine it opens up are bard and barbarian multiclasses. Rage would still break centering, you're still limited to monk weapons, which precludes most swashbuckling weapons, and you're missing out on many of the core monk features, like evasion, healing ki, jade strike/tomb, shadows cannot exist without light, henshin imbue etc. etc.. Is the trade-off still not enough? I can appreciate that crit range/multi is king, but considering how much you're giving up for the opportunity I think it's fairly reasonable, but I'm open to suggestions.

[Mindos]

Mockery Monk!

THE FLAYED HAND

Traditions: Way of Shadow
Typical Skills: Insight, Stealth
The Mockery is the lord of pain and vengeance, the deceiver who destroys. His monks embrace suffering; through ritual torture, they overcome weakness of body and mind. As part of this training, a monk flays strips of her skin, treating the muscle below with an alchemical substance that toughens it. Once an initiate has learned to endure pain, she is taught to inflict it. The monks of the Flayed Hand are master torturers and deadly warriors. A monk of the Mockery seeks communion with her god through violence and treachery. Many members of the order sell their services as mercenaries and assassins. Others cause pain in more subtle ways by destroying hopes and dreams instead of spilling blood.
Monks of the Flayed Hand are most likely to be found as antagonists. However, there is a critical factor here: the Mockery advocates treachery and terror, but nothing says that these tools can’t be deployed for a good cause. A Flayed Hand monk could be a mysterious figure—never seen without her mask and long gloves—who inflicts pain and terror only on vile and evil people. There’s a touch of Dexter or the general idea of “fighting fire with fire.”

https://keith-baker.com/monks/

In the ECS is there’s is the image of a monk follower of the Mockery… That looks a bit strange thinking that monks have to be lawful. Any thought on that?

We’ve never been too fixated on alignment in Eberron. The order in question is The Flayed Hand, and I’ve added an entry for them in the main article. But looking to alignment in this case: as I discussed when talking about good and evil, personal alignment is primarily about the manner in which you conduct your affairs, not the end goal. A lawful person can pursue an unlawful act; but they will do so in a disciplined, organized way. Lawful doesn’t mean “obeys the laws” — laws are a cultural construct and one nation’s laws may be abhorrent to someone from another culture. It means that they value structure, tradition, order, discipline, strategy — while a chaotic person is more driven to innovation, personal expression, acting without thinking of the consequences.
In 3.5 monks are lawful because their lives and traditions are extremely structured. They are entirely about mastering an ancient tradition and following an established path. In 5E I’d be happy to abandon this and present a monastic order connected to the Fury that is driven by ecstatic motion and spontaneous action. But I don’t mind the limit on the 3.5 monk. In the case of the Flayed Hand, again, the monks revere a god who encourages treacherous behavior on the battlefield… but that doesn’t mean chaotic behavior. That betrayal will be carefully planned and calculated.. and again, this is tied to tradition and extreme discipline.

[NemesisAlien]

Jester.

-4 Str, Con, Int, Wis, Cha on creation.

Locked 20 point built.

Only 1 skill point, usable on tumble.

Only inherent feats when level up.

On stats level up -1 Str, Con, Int, Wis, Cha

Unable to wear gear with more than 3 gimmicks.

Able to cast confuse even on undead, ooze and constructs. Works on bosses.

Int, Wis and Cha based mobs and bosses take Int, Wis and Cha stat damage just looking at him. On critical take Con damage with vomit blood animation.

[Memnir]

I'm betting on a Greatsword Monk or a Monk that can use two Runearms at once - at least based on how the Archetypes have gone so far.

[Fisto_Mk_I]

Honest question - why do you think so? The only two things that I can imagine it opens up are bard and barbarian multiclasses.

Yea, this.

Shuri-thrower bonk must be OP as hell. Can still wear outfit instead medium armor for evasion, Henshin imbues bugged anyway so not mandatory and easy replaced with NS Sting of the Ninja (or take 2lvl Rogue for Evasion and low fruits +3 ID and Rogue Assassin Venomed Blades better imbue).

[NemesisAlien]

You realize what ever they do monk is going to suffer right?

Since the 1st monk pass and everything after that makes monk suffer.

What monks should be.

Monk
Making a Monk
Alignment: Any lawful.

Table: The Monk
Hit Die: d8

Level Base
Attack Bonus Saving Throws Special Unarmed Attack Bonus
Attack Bonus Unarmed Damage* AC Bonus Unarmored Speed**
Fort Ref Will
1st 0 +2 +2 +2 Unarmed Strike, stunning attack, evasion +0 1d6 +0 30 ft.
2nd +1 +3 +3 +3 Defect Arrows feat +1 1d6 +0 30 ft.
3rd +2 +3 +3 +3 Still mind +2 1d6 +0 40 ft.
4th +3 +4 +4 +4 Slow fall (20 ft.) +3 1d8 +0 40 ft.
5th +3 +4 +4 +4 Purity of body +3 1d8 +1 40 ft.
6th +4 +5 +5 +5 Slow fall (30 ft.), Improved Trip feat +4/+1 1d8 +1 50 ft.
7th +5 +5 +5 +5 Wholeness of body, Leap of the clouds +5/+2 1d8 +1 50 ft.
8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 Slow Fall (50 ft.) +6/+3 1d10 +1 50 ft.
9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 Improved evasion +6/+3 1d10 +1 60 ft.
10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +7 Ki strike (+1) +7/+4/+1 1d10 +2 60 ft.
11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +7 Diamond body +8/+5/+2 1d10 +2 60 ft.
12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 Abundant step +9/+6/+3 1d12 +2 70 ft.
13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 Diamond soul, Ki strike (+2) +9/+6/+3 1d12 +2 70 ft.
14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +9 +10/+7/+4/+1 1d12 +2 70 ft.
15th +11/+8/+5/+2 +9 +9 +9 Quivering palm +11/+8/+5/+2 1d12 +3 80 ft.
16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 Ki strike (+3) +12/+9/+6/+3 1d20 +3 80 ft.
17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 Timeless body, Tongue of the sun and moon +12/+9/+6/+3 1d20 +3 80 ft.
18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +11 Slow fall (any distance) +13/+10/+7/+4/+1 1d20 +3 90 ft.
19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +11 Empty body +14/+11/+8/+5/+2 1d20 +3 90 ft.
20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +12 Perfect self +15/+12/+9/+6/+3 1d20 +4 90 ft.
*Small monks deal less damage. ** Small and dwarven monks are slower.

Class Skills
The monk's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).

Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with basic peasant weapons and special weapons whose use is part of monk training. The full list includes club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, shuriken, siangham, and sling.

A monk using a kama, nunchaku, or siangham can strike with his or her unarmed base attack, including her more favorable number of attacks per round (see below). His or her damage, however, is standard for the weapon (1d6, crit X2), not his or her unarmed damage. The weapon must be light, so a Small monk must use Tiny versions of these weapons in order to use the more favorable base attack.

A monk adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to AC, in addition to her normal Dexterity modifier, and her AC improves as she gains levels. (Only add this extra AC bonus if the total of the monk's Wisdom modifier and the number in the "AC Bonus" column is a positive number.) The Wisdom bonus and the AC bonus represent a preternatural awareness of danger, and a monk does not lose either even in situations when he or she loses her Dexterity modifier due to being unprepared, ambushed, stunned, and so on. (Monks do lose these AC bonuses when immobilized.)

When wearing armor, a monk loses her AC bonus for Wisdom, AC bonus for class and level, favorable multiple unarmed attacks per round, and heightened movement. Furthermore, her special abilities all face the arcane spell failure chance that the armor type normally imposes.

Unarmed Strike: A monk fighting unarmed gains the benefits of the Improved Unarmed Strike feat and thus does not provoke attacks of opportunity from armed opponents that she attacks.

Making an off-hand attack makes no sense for a monk striking unarmed.

A monk fighting with a one-handed weapon can make an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack, but she suffers the standard penalties for two-weapon fighting. Likewise, a monk with a weapon (other than a special monk weapon) in her off hand gets an extra attack with that weapon but suffers the usual penalties for two-weapon fighting and can't strike with a flurry of blows.

Table: Small Monk Unarmed Damage and Small Monk & Dwarf Monk Speed
Level Damage Speed
1-2 1d4 20 ft.
3 1d4 25 ft.
4-5 1d6 25 ft.
6-7 1d6 35 ft.
8 1d8 35 ft.
9-11 1d8 40 ft.
12-14 1d10 45 ft.
15 1d10 55 ft.
16-17 2d6 55 ft.
18-20 2d6 60 ft.
Flurry of Blows: The monk may make one extra attack in a round at her highest base attack, but this attack and each other attack made that round suffer a –2 penalty apiece. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it affects attacks of opportunity the monk might make before her next action. The monk must use the full attack action to strike with a flurry of blows. A monk may also use the flurry of blows if armed with a special monk weapon (kama, nunchaku, or siangham). If armed with one such weapon, the monk makes the extra attack either with that weapon or unarmed. If armed with two such weapons, she uses one for the regular attack (or attacks) and the other for the extra attack. In any case, her damage bonus on the attack with her off hand is not reduced.

Usually, a monk's unarmed strikes deal normal damage rather than subdual damage. However, she can choose to deal her damage as subdual damage when grappling.

Stunning Attack: The monk can use this ability once per round, but no more than once per level per day. The monk must declare she is using a stun attack before making the attack roll (thus, a missed attack roll ruins the attempt). A foe struck by the monk is forced to make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + one-half the monk's level + Wisdom modifier). In addition to receiving normal damage, If the saving throw fails, the opponent is stunned for 1 round. The stunning attack is a supernatural ability.

Evasion: If a monk makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, the monk instead takes no damage. Evasion can only be used if the monk is wearing light armor or no armor. It is an extraordinary ability.

Deflect Arrows: At 2nd level, a monk gains the Deflect Arrows feat, even if she doesn't have the prerequisite Dexterity score.

Fast Movement: At 3rd level and higher, a monk moves faster than normal. A monk in armor (even light armor) or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed. A dwarf or a Small monk moves more slowly than a Medium-size monk.

From 9th level on, the monk's running ability is actually a supernatural ability.

Still Mind: At 3rd level, a monk gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against spells and effects from the Enchantment school.

Slow Fall: At 4th level, the monk takes damage as if a fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. At 18th level, the monk can use a nearby wall to slow her descent and fall any distance without harm.

Purity of Body: At 5th level, a monk gains immunity to all diseases except for magical diseases.

Improved Trip: At 6th level, a monk gains the Improved Trip feat. She need not have taken the Expertise feat, normally a prerequisite.

Wholeness of Body: At 7th level, a monk can cure her own wounds. She can cure up to twice her current level in hit points each day, and she can spread this healing out among several uses. Wholeness of body is a supernatural ability.

Leap of the Clouds: At 7th level or higher, a monk's jumping distance (vertical or horizontal) is not limited according to her height.

Improved Evasion: At 9th level, a monk only takes half damage on a failed save.

Ki Strike: At 10th level, a monk's unarmed attack is empowered with ki. The unarmed strike damage from such an attack can deal damage to a creature with damage reduction as if the blow were made with a weapon with a +1 enhancement bonus. Ki strike is a supernatural ability.

Diamond Body: At 11th level, a monk gains immunity to poison of all kinds. Diamond body is a supernatural ability.

Abundant Step: At 12th level, a monk can slip magically between spaces, as per the spell dimension door, once per day. This is a spell-like ability, and the monk's effective casting level is one-half her actual level (rounded down).

Diamond Soul: At 13th level, a monk gains spell resistance. Her spell resistance equals her level + 10.

Quivering Palm: Starting at 15th level, a monk can use the quivering palm.

The monk can use the quivering palm attack once a week, and she must announce her intent before making her attack roll. Creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected. The monk must be of higher level than the target (or have more levels than the target's number of Hit Dice). If the monk strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the quivering palm attack succeeds. Thereafter the monk can choose to try to slay the victim at any later time within 1 day per level of the monk. The monk merely wills the target to die (a free action), and unless the target makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + one-half the monk's level + Wisdom modifier), it dies. If the saving throw is successful, the target is no longer in danger from that particular quivering palm attack (but may be affected by another one at a later time). Quivering palm is a supernatural ability.

Timeless Body: After achieving 17th level, a monk no longer suffers ability penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. (Any penalties she may have already suffered remain in place.) Bonuses still accrue, and the monk still dies of old age when her time is up.

Tongue of the Sun and Moon: A monk of 17th level or above can speak with any living creature.

Empty Body: At 19th level or higher, a monk can assume an ethereal state for 1 round per level per day, as per the spell etherealness. The monk may go ethereal on a number of different occasions during any single day as long as the total number of rounds spent ethereal does not exceed her level. Empty body is a supernatural ability.

Perfect Self: At 20th level, a monk is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid. Additionally, the monk gains damage reduction 20/+1.

Ex-Monks
A monk who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a monk but retain all monk abilities.

[Arkat]

I'm betting on a Greatsword Monk or a Monk that can use two Runearms at once - at least based on how the Archetypes have gone so far.

With Falchion proficiency (can get as a feat), this Falchion would make a GREAT Monk weapon!




(Sure, it's not a Greatsword, but it IS two-handed.)


EDIT: FYI, it really does NOT uncenter Monks.

[Nugaot]

Yea, this.

Shuri-thrower bonk must be OP as hell. Can still wear outfit instead medium armor for evasion, Henshin imbues bugged anyway so not mandatory and easy replaced with NS Sting of the Ninja (or take 2lvl Rogue for Evasion and low fruits +3 ID and Rogue Assassin Venomed Blades better imbue).

Ah, I see where you are coming from. Yes, you could multiclass to get back evasion, but what is the final class split like? You need at least 3 Bard to Swashbuckle, and 2 Rogue for Evasion, so you're at minimum 15 Samurai/3 Bard/2 Rogue, leaving you with no room to take Ranger levels for Sniper Shot, and for what? Some bonus crit range and Evasion? You'll be down a lot of DPS without a way to guarantee sneak attack. The opportunity cost of trying to pick up lost Monk features is quite high.

I am often wrong about things, though. Allowing Chaotics to pick up Ronin Samurai is my way of allowing more builds to pick up a Ki bar, but seeing as Monk, and subsequently Sacred Fist, have been alignment-restricted since their release, there could be unintended consequences. I appreciate the feedback either way!

[cru121]

https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/classes/baseCore/monk.html

[DaviMOC]

War breakdancer would be hilarious.

https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/War_Breakd...restige_Class)

[Fisto_Mk_I]

Ah, I see where you are coming from. Yes, you could multiclass to get back evasion, but what is the final class split like? You need at least 3 Bard to Swashbuckle, and 2 Rogue for Evasion, so you're at minimum 15 Samurai/3 Bard/2 Rogue, leaving you with no room to take Ranger levels for Sniper Shot, and for what?

Really, you need only 3 Monk lvl for ANT and Sting of the Ninja, personally i pref 6 Monk lvl so final Rogue/NS/SB split can be 2/3/15 or 2/6/12. Most and heavy part must be Swashbuckler anyway.

For what? For 3 ID from RA for only 7 AP +Evasion, for +2 crit range and +1 crit multiplier, for Uncanny Dodge, for +5-6 to weapon Enhancement bonus, for one from best 1d6 Sonic (almost irresistible) imbue, Blow By Blow (Ranged) with 3d6 scalable Sonic damage, Dashing Scoundrel (+6 to damage +10 to DS), Battering Barrage for Destruction/Improved Destruction, for all T5 Swash Enhancement, at end.

Some bonus crit range and Evasion? You'll be down a lot of DPS without a way to guarantee sneak attack. The opportunity cost of trying to pick up lost Monk features is quite high.

Here where your mistake. I play as shuri-swash before, and without ANT it worse than shuri-monk, but still very playable and amusing. And with ANT its just overperform any other ranged build, if use something like this.

Don't get me wrong, I would be glad to see such an archetype, but if the developers have a drop of common sense, we will never see it.

[Nugaot]

Really, you need only 3 Monk lvl for ANT and Sting of the Ninja, personally i pref 6 Monk lvl so final Rogue/NS/SB split can be 2/3/15 or 2/6/12. Most and heavy part must be Swashbuckler anyway.

For what? For 3 ID from RA for only 7 AP +Evasion, for +2 crit range and +1 crit multiplier, for Uncanny Dodge, for +5-6 to weapon Enhancement bonus, for one from best 1d6 Sonic (almost irresistible) imbue, Blow By Blow (Ranged) with 3d6 scalable Sonic damage, Dashing Scoundrel (+6 to damage +10 to DS), Battering Barrage for Destruction/Improved Destruction, for all T5 Swash Enhancement, at end.


Here where your mistake. I play as shuri-swash before, and without ANT it worse than shuri-monk, but still very playable and amusing. And with ANT its just overperform any other ranged build, if use something like this.

Don't get me wrong, I would be glad to see such an archetype, but if the developers have a drop of common sense, we will never see it.

That is fascinating, I actually never thought of doing a shuriken swashy before, but that's going on my list for sure. If I were to try and balance it, I suppose swashbuckling could break centering while active, but that might be why I am not a game systems designer.