Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Jay_Ibero_911 Aug 22, 2014 19:42:33	*That don't use a bonus action   With the monk's ability to dish out 4 attacks by spending a ki point per turn, getting advantage is critical to making those attacks count. So how can a monk manage this without multi-classing or using another party member's resources?
#2 Timborama Aug 22, 2014 20:20:44	Become friends with a 7th-level sorcerer, Bard, or Wizard who can cast Greater Invisibility?
#3 Overpromises Aug 22, 2014 20:24:41	Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
#4 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 20:29:42	Take the Ritual Caster Feat, and learn the Find Familiar spell as a ritual. Have your familiar use the Help action on its turn, granting you advantage on your attack. An owl works best for this as it has the Flyby feature, allowing it to ignore OAs due to its movement. Be a High Elf, or take the Magical Initiate or Spell Sniper Feats. Learn the True Strike cantrip. This will grant you advantage on one attack every 2nd turn. This trick is more useful to a rogue, as a result of Sneak Attack, although may be situationally useful for other classes. Be a race with Darkvision, and fight against your blinded foes in an area of natural darkness (situational).   Multiclassing opens up other options, but you specifically ruled that out. I am sure there are other options I have not considered, but the first two you might find useful.
#5 Jay_Ibero_911 Aug 22, 2014 20:51:40	Helpful familiar seems like the easiest route so far, costing only a feat and pittance of gold. Of course even that is only for one attack...
#6 Timborama Aug 22, 2014 21:09:32	5E, so far, has made it VERY difficult to get advantage, much less get it consistantly. Even harder to get it for multiple attacks over an entire turn. But not impossible...Three ideas:   1.) Take the Martial Adept feat and get trip, so you can punch+trip (if it fails a STR Save), punch punch punch with advantage (the reverse of the familiar idea, all BUT your first attack is with advantage, assume you hit). Only works for 1 round, though, as you'd use your special dice. 2.) Take the Monk Sub-Class that allows you to trip people for free (if it fails a DEX Save) with your Flurry of Blows attacks, then punch. It only adds one attack with advantage since you have to attack FIRST, then attack with Flurry #1, hit (hopefully), activate trip attempt, then have 1 punch left. You can do this more times than #1 but it uses a key resource for monks, and only works for 1 attack per round. 3.) Finally! Once you get an extra attack, you can use one attack to Shove (chosing the "knock prone" version) then punch (as your 2nd attack) punch punch (Flurry). No real good feats to add to this, though, so be proficient in Athletics! You sacrifice 1 full attack to get 3 attacks with advantage (if you succeed, that is!). A fair trade, and costs 0 feats!   I say either go with the Owl due to guaranteed advantage for 1 attack 1/round, or go for specializing in the Shove attack to trip. Heck, before level 5 you'd still get 2 attacks with advantage if the trip works. Not bad!
#7 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 21:29:12	Open hand monks can potentially gain advantage on at least one flurry attack each turn, assuming they hit with their first unarmed strike. Hit with first unarmed strike, force opponent to make a dexterity save or be knocked prone. The Prone condition grants advantage on attacks made within 5 feet. If this succeeds, your second unarmed strike will be made with advantage. This does not prevent the enemy from standing up however, and so it is of limited benefit. If combined with a helpful familiar - that nets you advantage on 1-2 attacks per turn, which is about as good as it gets.   A 5th level monk automatically gains Stunning Strike regardless of tradition. The best part is, you don't use the ability until you score a succesful hit.   By spending 1 ki point, you can potentially stun the enemy until the end of your next turn.  A stunned creature is incapacitated, unable to move, and grants advantage. An incapacitated creature cannot take actions or reactions. If you successfully stun the opponent with your first attack, that is two rounds of advantage, and it prevents the opponent from moving, or acting on its next turn. What is worse, a stunned creature automatically fails dexterity saving throws. As such, you can combine Stunning Strike with Open Hand Technique for the bargain price of 2 ki points in order to:   Stun, incapacitate, and prone the enemy, as well as gain 2 turns of advantage against said. Stun, incapacitate, and push the enemy 15 feet. The third option is redundant with the incapacitated condition and ignored. A monk has two very reliable methods of gaining advantage baked into their class abilities. They just lack such until 3rd or 5th level (depending on tradition). If you combine either of these abilities with one of the above, you should almost never lack for advantage against a single target.
#8 Jay_Ibero_911 Aug 22, 2014 22:13:28	Stunning fist is nice depending on target's con saves. Seems like a potent elemental monk nova could be to attack->Stun->2nd attack w/advantage->Bonus action for water whip dumping all remaining points into it for extra damage. Target automatically fails save spending ki points now for automatic damage seems better than spending later for other stuff. It's funny because only elemental SPELLS have a max ki point limit, unlike the other disciplines like water whip. So a 20th level monk could spend 1 ki point to stun, 2 to use water whip, and the remaining 17 for extra damage on it for an automatic 20d10 damage (plus other 2 base attacks). Sure, he's out of ki points, but that's a hell of a short rest nova. Then again a fighter's short rest nova is 16 attacks in 2 turns, so probably not that crazy....
#9 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 22:33:11	Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
#10 Jay_Ibero_911 Aug 22, 2014 22:50:09	Kalani wrote:
#11 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 23:05:44	Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
#12 tendentious Aug 22, 2014 23:20:40	Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
#13 Kalani Aug 22, 2014 23:26:07	tendentious wrote:
#14 Undrhil Aug 23, 2014 6:18:16	Easy advantage: buddy up with two Fighters.  One Fighter attacks and grapples, reducing the creatures speed to 0.  One Fighter attacks and Shoves, knocking the creature prone (assuming in both cases that the creature fails the contests) and then that creature, presumably, cannot stand up from prone until it escapes the grapple.  Then you can punch-punch-punch against this prone target until it dies.  Congratulations!  How does it feel to be a thug?
#15 Krux Aug 23, 2014 6:38:36	For reliably getting advantage on every attack with out the help of other party members I think you'd have to use Barbarian 2 for Reckless Attacks. Less reliably you could get access to faerie fire some how (multiclass, have a companion cast it, etc).
#16 Jay_Ibero_911 Aug 23, 2014 7:11:14	Undrhil wrote:
#17 Yunru Aug 23, 2014 7:11:43	Timborama wrote:
#18 ppaladin123 Aug 23, 2014 8:57:32	Elemental monk:  hold person at level 6. Autocrits too.
#19 mellored Aug 23, 2014 11:43:51	Take atheltics, and boost Str. Take 1 level in rogue for expertise in athletics.   1 attack: Trip (with double proficincy) 2 attack: Grab (with double proficency) 3-4: Beat up with advantage.  (and 1d6 sneak attack)   As long as they are grabbed, they can't stand up.   If they do spend thier action to try and escape,   Tavern brawler might also help.