Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Thaenok May 17, 2015 20:22:40	Okay I admit it. I am a 38 year old fan of anime. I can't help it. Been watching it ever since I was a kid. Anyhow, I got to thinking a monk actually fits the robed anime super warrior I seem to be obsessed with. The problem is, I have exactly zero experience with monks of any edition. The wakizashi or short sword would be an awesome weapon and fit nicely since it is a monk weapon to. As far as building him, I'm stumped. I am using the point buy method of the adventure league for ability scores. Any advise for initial and upper level build? I can build a mage and a warrior and even a hybrid but monk is new and the nuances elude me. Any advise here? And yes, I actually plan on playing this character. Lol!
#2 Thaenok May 17, 2015 20:31:34	Also I am thinking I want 10str, 16dex, 13con, 10int, 15wis, and 12cha. That should cover the human bonuses and point buy nicely.
#3 FunkySpunk May 18, 2015 3:51:12	Thaenok wrote:
#4 Thaenok May 18, 2015 4:16:42	@FunkySpunk. Indeed it is. I can't believe It never crossed my mind.
#5 yakuba May 18, 2015 5:23:21	A lot of good advice in this guide for the Monk class: http://community.wizards.com/forum/player-help/threads/4149201   There are some options depending on how supernatural you want your anime monk to be. It'd help if you kind of describe cool things you'd like you're monk to be able to do. That would also affect what the best initial score set could be. All monks care about Dex and Wisdom, but the more supernatural you are the more you care about Wisdom. Also what kind of personality are you going for. Charisma and Intelligence often makes a good dump stats for Monks, but maybe you want to play a mystery solving monk or a monk with a magnetic personality. This will change the priorities.
#6 Thaenok May 18, 2015 5:49:08	I definitely want the sword but I'm not clear if the damage overall is better or worse than unarmed. As far as supernatural abilities I like it all honestly. I can go with or without power blasts and such. The monk seems to be the superhuman of the game as far as his abilities aren't magic per se but more akin to well, superhuman ( yes I say it again its an obsession). All the monk abilities are great to me which is why I am open to interpretation.
#7 jaappleton May 18, 2015 6:30:09	The best part about Monks and their weapons? Their damage die changes. When your fists does d8, so does your d6 short sword.
#8 Thaenok May 18, 2015 6:39:18	@jaapleton. That's just awesome. So what is an optimal wakizashi ( short sword) monk build? I looked at the guide but I'm not getting a sense of what to take when and if dex and wis should advance equally or one at a time. Things of that nature. Should I bother with feats or maximise ability scores? I don't know how they play at any level that's why I need a build.
#9 jaappleton May 18, 2015 7:15:53	First, decide on your archetype. Are you a ninja? A brawler? Can you use magic? Well that's Shadow, Open Hand and Four Elements, respectively. My opinion... While Four Elements is the most versatile, and really the only one that can do AoE, the Ki point cost of many of its abilities is simply too much, some abilities aren't worth it, and you only get a few abilities. Open Hand is sweet in it's abilities, but it's fairly one note in that it's all combat. Shadow is a nice balance, and thematically awesome. It's the one I like the most, and combines well with Rogue, and is the least reliant on Ki. A note about the Monk is that it's power comes from hitting a lot, not one big hit. Tons of rapid strikes. The way to ensure those hit is through getting advantage.
#10 jaappleton May 18, 2015 7:22:06	Dex, Wis and Con are your three big scores. Dex is your attacks, Wis determines your save DC on saving throws, those two combined helps your AC, and Con helps everyone with more HP. Dex is your main priority. Also, never underestimate the value of Stunning Strike. A stunned enemy is.... Well, the party will appreciate it, that's for sure! Sneaking around and you're spotted? Stun, muffle them, incapacitate. Stun and push them off a balcony. Running away? Stun and book it, you're the fastest class in the game. Another advantage of Shadow Monks is their lv6 teleportation, which can sometimes render your Step of the Wind ability useless so you don't have to spend Ki on extra movement.
#11 yakuba May 18, 2015 9:19:39	For a sword focused Monk, you want to prioritize you're dexterity. It will help alot to pick a +Dex race. Wood Elf is particularly good because +2 Dex and +1 Wis mean that you can take the standard array, put 15 in Wisdom, 14 in Dexterity and start with 16/16. If you use the point buy, and you want to improve your survivability a bit more you could use a  15/14/14/10/8/8, and start with a wood elf with 16/16/14 Dex/Wis/Con.
#12 Kithas48 May 18, 2015 13:40:22	To reiterate what the above has said what Kind of warrior would really help, if you could give a character from a series as an example thatd be great. All of the above advice is great but I would like to profer an alternative; The STR monk All of your martial arts let you add your dex instead of your str to your to hit/damage but none of them say you HAVE to. This means you can use either. That said you could multiclass between monk and barbarian, both give you options for your unarmored defense(you can only use one) personally I'd take the barbs if you are going more defensive and the monk's if you are going to be more offensive. Con is a more defensive ability than wisdom basically. Barbarian gives you Rages,which because your ki abilities(besides some 4 elements stuff) arent spells persay you can still use. My personal favorite ability of the game;Reckless attacks(that all-important advantage on attacks) and if you dip 5 levels in gives you another 10' movement too. That said itd be more stat-heavy as you'd want a good str,con/wis,and an ok dex for your ac. as far as feats; Mobile pretty great for you as you already have ~20' extra movement upping that to 30 and making your attacks negate opportunity attacks means you can dart in and out of combat. Grappler Very flavorful depending on what you are going for.  Having a higher str and raging means that getting someone in a grapple is relatively easy, then you can just wail on them. Dual Wielder Better damage (d8's) higher ac, and no cost for drawing 2 weapons? Yes please.   all in all it would help to know exactly what you're goin for
#13 Thaenok May 18, 2015 17:12:54	That's just it. I don't have any experience with them. I was wondering if somebody would suggest a build for me. My hope is someone who has experience will clue me in a build I can use to good effect.
#14 Jordan175 May 18, 2015 17:51:08	Thaenok wrote:
#15 Thaenok May 18, 2015 18:21:00	Sorry math error on my part. I used the point buy to purchase 15,14,13,12,9,9. With the human bonus to everything that would be 16,15,14,13,10,10. So yeah my stats were messed up. I wasn't in front of my books and thought I remembered them but obviously not. So in correction, I wanted 10str,16dex,14con,10int,15wis,13cha. That's with the standard point buy that actually buys the exact same as the array you can use if you don't want to roll. I just didn't want the 8 and shaved a point from the 10 and added to the 8. When you add the human bonuses you get 2 10's instead of the 11 and 9 you would otherwise.
#16 jaappleton May 18, 2015 18:36:03	Topic creator, can you tell us an anime character to use as a basis? Then we can recommend a build.
#17 Thaenok May 18, 2015 18:42:36	Alright. Well I have been watching a lot of this show called beach lately. The best way to describe it is samurai undead who have powers like blasts and in corporeality. They fight these things called hollows which are basically restless spirits who have become almost or exactly like demons. I haven't seen much of it yet but its pretty cool so I suppose that's a build suggestion.
#18 Whir May 18, 2015 18:58:07	You want to make Ichigo as a D&D character? Or one of the other Shinigami?   Either way, and it's been a very long time since I watched any of Bleach, I don't think the monk class is what you're looking for. I feel like a Shinigami would be more like a eldritch knight fighter or a fighter/sorcerer.
#19 Thaenok May 18, 2015 20:16:57	They don't use ki in bleach? As far as whom I don't need a model. Just a generic shinigami would be cool.
#20 durntaur May 18, 2015 20:52:21	Ki is just a mechanic of the class. You can reskin the source of power for whatever class you choose to use.   I'm currently playing a shadow monk and love. To answer the question I don't think has been answer for you yet, take ability score increases. Monks, regardless of their "way", have an excellent set of features as they progress.   Now, not being familiar with Bleach, I don't know if the class will get you what you want, but I can assure you it's fun to play.   Edit: I've been looking at the Bleach wiki and now believe I must watch this series, thanks.
#21 Thaenok May 19, 2015 2:58:50	@Durntaur. Its a good series. Weird name but very enjoyable and unique so far. I sat down and really looked at the monk class and it came together pretty easily. I think I am going with elemental monk. I'll take the stone skin and haste abilities for sure and one of the "blast" abilities. Strongly leaning toward the air blast punch( not in front of my books again) since it gives bludgeoning damage which will hurt more over all creatures and I can pump it up with ki. Endgame stats will be 10str,20dex,14con,10int,20wis,14cha. Thanks everyone.
#22 HermanTheWize May 19, 2015 5:52:40	Bleach characters, shingamis, all have a single sword called a Zanpakto. All shingamis start out with a single sword, katana like. As they get stronger they find out the name of their sword and can use it's power, called a release, and each sword is unique in this. When you release the swords apearance changes, from simple as design of the katana, all the way to a whole diffrent weapon. Later they learn its name further and get a second level power boost, called a bankai(Very few get to this level). All the shinigami in the bleach universe can use spells, like spells in D&D, basically almost all combat oriented though. Most of the spells are blasts or restraint spells, AOE and single target alike. These spells are called Hado, they are usally cast by a lines of words.   For what they use that is like KI, that stuff is called reiatsu or "spiritual pressure."   So he basically wants a magic using martial class with a sword that has special properties. And the sword becomes stronger later. Also as the cahracters get stronger, so do the spells, though not many people rely on the spells very much.    Hope this helps.         Edit: I think to make this exactly how you want, you might need to homebrew. Possibly your DM can help you out with this and give a speical weapon, mundane for several levels, but when you hit level X it gains a speical property. And level 2X you gian your Bankai and it gets a really nice boost.       Quick example Something like a longsword, reskinned as a Zanpakto, but when you finally release it turns into a +1 Maul that has a once per short rest power.  Maybe something like thunder strike, the maul deals an additional 2d4 damage and knocks the enemy prone on a DC 15 strength save.   Find a power you want and have the DM help you balance it. Hell give me a power that you wnt and I'll help you balance it.
#23 jaappleton May 19, 2015 6:00:02	Oh, I know the exact weapon he needs. It already exists, it's in the DMG. The Moonblade. It's power unlocks as it seems you worthy, and it can have tons of different abilities.
(Reply to #23) HermanTheWize	jaappleton wrote:
#25 HermanTheWize May 19, 2015 6:13:35	P.S. IF someone wants to make a Homebrew Shinigami, I'm down for that.
#26 Thaenok May 19, 2015 8:04:04	I actually don't need all that. I was just interested in the basic anime warrior that is usually in these episodes. From what I noticed a lot of anime characters have an energy blast, extremely durable and lightning fast. I just equated those to stone skin, haste, and one of the blast abilities. Elemental monk seems to pull of quite a few anime themes as far as abilities go. I do love the idea of all that the shinigami entails but that isn't necessary for me to enjoy the character and I didn't know about the second release thing. I'm not that far along.
(Reply to #26) HermanTheWize	Thaenok wrote:
#28 Thaenok May 19, 2015 8:36:55	Its okay and you don't need to apologise. I started watching it because I kept hearing about it so you are perfectly in your rights assuming I knew. Besides, even though the story is cool, the visuals are what are stimulating me the most. Its an awesome and visual show.
#29 BL00DB4NE May 19, 2015 8:51:34	Another class to consider is a Pact Blade Warlock. It gives you weapon morphing, leans heavily toward dexterity, has spell casting and has the etheral/eldritch feel you want. Invocations give you a strong variety of ways to tailor your Shinigami with powers you feel he or she would have. Warlock also happens to multiclass very well with minimal investment. If I can make an exceptional Monk/Paladin that still uses dex, something like a Monk/Warlock is even easier (due to less multiple attribute dependency). Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast invocation is a very strong ranged option and fits your requirement.
#30 jaappleton May 19, 2015 8:55:24	Very good point about the Warlock. Aside from Bard, it's really the most versatile class in the game.
#31 Thaenok May 19, 2015 8:56:34	@Blood bane. Star pact? The ancient power fueling the shinigami seems ancient rather than nefarious. Like maybe the First Death? The first mortal to die that upon his or her dying became death itself? Maybe that could be the old god that powers him and is tasked to keep death in balance. Upon reaching level 20 he could start getting boon of immortality and whatever else could explain him becoming a reaper. Is that what you are saying?
#32 durntaur May 19, 2015 9:19:28	BL00DB4NE wrote:
#33 Thaenok May 19, 2015 9:41:17	EB+AB? No clue what you are talking about.
(Reply to #32) BL00DB4NE	durntaur wrote:
(Reply to #33) BL00DB4NE	Thaenok wrote:
#36 jaappleton May 19, 2015 9:43:54	Eldritch Blast is a 1d10 cantrip that only Warlocks get. Agonizing Blast let's you add User Charisma modifier to the damage of that. Eldritch Blast scales, firing more beams as you level up. So the problem is, when you can do that, why focus on using g a weapon when you can stay at range and fire away?
#37 durntaur May 19, 2015 10:03:39	BL00DB4NE wrote:
(Reply to #37) BL00DB4NE	durntaur wrote:
#39 Thaenok May 19, 2015 10:15:15	Okay. I get it now about the EB+ab stuff. Armor is kind of a problem since I do like the idea of a robed warrior. The idea for the warlock is cool though. I was actually going to make a male version of Magik from Marvel comics using the blade pact warlock. If she isn't a infernal pact blade warlock I dont know what is.
#40 jaappleton May 19, 2015 10:19:05	Warlocks can take an invocation, Armor of Shadows. They always have Mage Armor active. AC is 13+Dex modifier.
#41 Thaenok May 19, 2015 10:24:22	True but it loses the additional ac that the monks wisdom gives in the end. If a monk didn't get more ac after all is said and done, I would jump at it. I am the only person in the party though so I need my defense. My DM offered to make an NPC to help but I don't feel right about that.
(Reply to #41) BL00DB4NE	Thaenok wrote:
#43 Thaenok May 19, 2015 10:51:52	Well, I can't answer that. The truth is I don't know what playing 5th is like. I can imagine it and do math to determine what I think are good builds but this will be my first time playing since coming back to DND. I am interested in a robed warrior but it isn't required but the monk by itself looked pretty capable of solo and seemed to fit the bill.
#44 durntaur May 19, 2015 10:57:53	It's like that notion in business where you have three metrics for a process/procedure/project/etc. and you can have two but must forsake the third: speed, expense, or quality. Similarly, we're (I include myself because I too like the concept) trying to realize the concept of an robed-magical-swordsman. But it seems that may not be possible: having no armor but an effective defense invariably requires investment in DEX; using one's spells most effectively require investment into INT/WIS/CHA; using anything resembling a katana or larger requires STR.   This is why I've resigned my bladelock preference to taking one level in fighter first, for armor/weapon proficiencies and fighting style, and then going STR/CHA fiend/bladelock. I imagine it as an armored samurai wielding a naginata (glaive). Of course, this doesn't help you make a decision, but I hope it helps you see how various options can come together.   Because you want the robed warrior (not necessarily swordsman?), I'd return to the monk. You can wield a spear, if the wakizashi is too small for the concept, and still use DEX for attack, thus having to only maintain DEX and WIS.
#45 Thaenok May 19, 2015 11:13:04	Oh I am fine with a short sword. They actually come in a size "close" to a normal size sword. 2 and a half feet of blade length and about 6 inches of hilt is 3 feet. That's a sword to me so yeah I'm cool with a short sword. Add on a curve (just for feel not making it an actual scimitar) and bam! Pure awesome. Its weird because I never really got into the monk until this edition. Maybe I just wasn't ready I think.
#46 durntaur May 19, 2015 11:24:07	Thaenok wrote:
(Reply to #43) BL00DB4NE	Thaenok wrote:
#48 durntaur May 19, 2015 11:27:30	BL00DB4NE wrote:
#49 Thaenok May 19, 2015 11:28:47	Curiuosly, where IS the unearthed arcana stuff? I can't seem to find any downloads people keep talking about. Is there a download page?
(Reply to #49) BL00DB4NE	Thaenok wrote:
#51 durntaur May 19, 2015 11:48:33	You may also want the EE Player's Companion.
#52 jaappleton May 19, 2015 12:22:28	Take a good, hard look at the Mobile feat. The Monk doesn't go toe to toe with his enemy. He moves in, strikes, and flips away. That means enemies might nail you with opportunity attacks. The Mobile feat takes that concept and laughs at it. Very good to have. Sure, you could spend Ki to use Disengage as a Bonus Action instead... But you need your Kids and Bonus Actions for other stuff.
(Reply to #52) BL00DB4NE	jaappleton wrote:
#54 durntaur May 19, 2015 12:45:12	BL00DB4NE wrote:
#55 Thaenok May 19, 2015 13:14:50	All very good options and advise. I have noticed that it isn't as hard to solo with this edition to at least in theory. I think even a wizard could do it if done just right.