At this level you have 20 Ki Points, so you're probably spending a Ki Point every turn. AarakocraEGtW: See above under the general Races section. GoliathEGtW: See above under the general Races section. Tranquility gives you the option of being a pacifist.

Perfect Self helps if you get surprised by an encounter before you've had a chance to rest and recharge. The save DC won't match a spellcaster's, but it should be good enough to protect you sometimes. You might also consider getting Athletics proficiency so that you can be better at grappling. Str: Monks get good Strength saves, which reduces the need for Strength, but a little bit of Strength will help stretch the effectiveness of that proficiency. Monks are excellent Defenders and Strikers, and typically fill a role in party as the Fighter-equivalent.

Game Mechanics : Able to use non-Monk weapons, including the longbow, and gain additional weapon choices as …

Natural armor allows you to defer increasing your Wisdom score while you focus on your Dexterity, and the Constitution increase and Hungry Jaws will make you abnormally durable.

Stillness of Mind is better than you might except. Dungeons & Dragons: Best Monk Builds.

It removes the need for Strength, and gives you all the benefits of two-weapon fighting without the need for weapons, feats, or combat styles. As a front-line melee character you're going to be targeted by AOE damage effects. This section does not address every published background, as doing so would result in an ever-growing list of options which don't cater to the class. Timeless Body: Almost never matters in-game. CentaurMOoT: See above under the general Races section.

Dwarf: The Constitution bonus is nice, but many of the Dwarf's abilities are either useless or redundant for the Monk. Game Mechanics: Gains additional skills in performance and brewing.

Their obsessive-like focus of death can either be a source of intimidation or compassion.

Change ). Purity of Body: Disease and Poison can both be debilitating, and become more common as you gain levels.

AarakocraEEPC: Dexterity, Wisdom, and flight. Wholeness of Body isn't terribly exciting, but it's a big pule of healing as an action so you can use it in combat in a pinch. Which races are best suited for being Monks? Stunning Strike introduces another costly way to turn your Ki into better attacks.

Slow Fall: Situational, but it'll save your life when it comes up.

At this level a Constitution increase comes with a big pile of extra hit points.

LoxodonGGTR: Constitution and Wisdom is helpful for a Monk, but you'll lag offensively until you pick up some Ability Score Increases to boost your Dexterity.

HalflingPHB: Good Dexterity, and Lucky is fantastic when you make as many attack rolls as a Monk does. Athletics is also a nice option if you want to Shove enemies prone.

Theme: Summoning their own ki energy as a weapon, these monks train on how to send their energy in an outward burst to defeat their opponents.

Those who follow the Way of the Cobalt Soul devote their entire lives to unfold life’s secrets.

However, when it comes up it's a cool defensive option, and the math is really solid. Weapons. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.


Eventually Monks pick up Diamond Body, giving them proficiency in all saves.

ShifterERLW: Darkvision is great, but the Monk is heavily reliant on their Bonus Action for things like Martial Arts, so Shifting is a difficult proposition when the benefits do so little for the Monk. Ki: Some basic, but extremely potent uses for your Ki pool which every Monk will rely upon.

We'll take Insight and Stealth. Stillness of Mind: Situational, but a lot of enemies have Charm and/or Fear effects.

That’s why we’ve compiled a 5e monk guide to make this game easier for you. Con: With only 1d8 hit points, Constitution is very important for the Monk. The Elven Accuracy facial feat is tempting, but monks survive on making numerous attacks rather than putting a bunch of effort behind a single attack. Tongue of the Sun and Moon: This would be more helpful if Monks were any good at talking to things. Instead, this section will cover feats which I think work especially well for the class or which might be tempting but poor choices.

Unless your background comes with clothes, you may start without pants or shoes. Game Mechanics: Gain health from killing opponents. Human is by far the simplest race. Deception isn't a great skill for a Monk, but Stealth and Thieves' Tools lets us stand in for a Rogue very nicely. With Shadow Step at the 6th level, you can teleport from one dim-lit spot to another. Play-style: You like passive abilities which manipulate the elements and love the idea of a character who is connected to nature. While creating a Monk character, you should keep in mind their class features.

Play-style: You want to have a good time in combat, if not mock it. If you need a functional build with nothing fancy or complicated, this is a great place to start. TortleEGtW: See above under the general Races section.
MinotaurGGTR: Terrible ability scores for the Monk. Here, you’ll learn all that you need to know about this class.