D&D (2024) Is a heavy armored monk feasible?

[mellored]

Perhaps, though that would require filling out the rest of the subclass with its own stuff. "Let a Zealot Barb use both Rage and 2H weapons with Dex" is effectively the same result, but comes across as a smaller change.

Well again, Avenger attacked with Wisdom, not Dex.

As noted, I haven't asked for this and have no intent to do so, so it's a moot point either way.

Too late, you got me intrigued.


Level 3:
Holy Blade: You gain proficiency martial 2-handed melee weapon and can attack using your Dexterity modifier. The weapons damage is equal to your martial arts die and count as Monk Weapons
Oath of Enmity: you can spend 1 focus point
to choose a target you can see, no action required. You have advantage with melee attacks with 2-handed weapons against that target for 1 minutes, until you use this feature again, or become incapacitated.
In addition, when you use Deflect Attack to make a melee attack against your Oath of Enmity, you can do so with a 2 handed melee weapon instead of an Unarmed Attack.

6: Censure of Persuit: At the start of your turn you can expend 1 Focus point (no action required) to teleport to an unoccupied space adjacent to your Oath of Enmity target, as long as they are on the same plain.
Radiant Arms: Your weapon and Unarmed Strikes can deal radiant damage instead of their normal type.

11: Inescapable Assault: When you miss your Oath of Enmity with an attack, you can spend 1 focus point to reroll the attack. You must use the new results.

17: Death or Glory (a.k.a. One v One Me Bro): When you hit Oath of Enmity with a 2 handed melee weapon, you can choose to teleport yourself and your target to a pocket dimension. You and the target are always adjacent to each other and take 10 damage at the start of each of your turns. This damage can not be reduced in any way.
This effect ends once either you or the target are reduced to 0 HP. You both then return to the nearest unoccupied spot to where you left.
Once you use this feature you can't use it again until you take a long rest.

 

[ECMO3]

'd probably stick to fighter probably so you can forgo tavern brawler for you flurry of blow strikes. Or be a tavern brawler and combine two weapon fighting style with handaxe and scimitar.

If you want to punch people a lot, this is certainly the best way. I think the class works without either Tavern Brawler or the fighting style because grapple, shove and stunning strike are all still options. Without the fighting style or TB you would really be using your flurry for control and not tyring to get damage from it.

 

[MGibster]

What back in 1983, the GI Joe line had a vehicle called the S.N.A.K.E. battle armor used by Cobra. System Neutralizer Armed Kloaking Equipment. In the comic, Cobra would put prisoners into the armor and send them off to fight their enemies. It was a fairly insidious device as Joes couldn't risk destroying the SNAKEs without killing the hostage inside but they couldn't just ignore it because it was heavily armed.

I'm thinking a cursed armor some poor monk is trapped in sounds pretty cool.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

If you want to punch people a lot, this is certainly the best way. I think the class works without either Tavern Brawler or the fighting style because grapple, shove and stunning strike are all still options. Without the fighting style or TB you would really be using your flurry for control and not tyring to get damage from it.

Yes. This is really something I did not see at first glance. But I still want the option to do some damage if I just want to kill monsters. Tavern brawler is not terrible. I also like the idea of using improvised weapons if nothing else is at hand.

I will try some different builds with dndbeyond soon.
I guess paladin is actually out due to charisma as another stat requirement. Although divine favor soubds very tempting.

I can certainly see a cleric 1 with tavern brawler that goes monk thereafter straight to level 19. Having cure wounds or being able to cast bless and still being able to flurry seems nifty.
I first thought, war cleric is too bonus action heavy, but probably being able to use a big weapon instead of double fists might conserve some ki points. So maybe mixing in some more cleric levels if needed is not too bad at all.

Fighter is an obvious choice. Here I can see going battlemaster as an option to be a versatile fighter. And if you are found unarmored at some point, you will still dish out damage.

I still have not written off ranger. Free hunter's mark and if you go up a few levels for fighting style and subclass also seems like a great way to do it. Either you are satisfied with medium armor or since you won't be going higher than level 4 at most, using heavy armor won't kill your level 6 ability.

 

[jgsugden]

This is incredibly broken at all levels.

It is not helpful to state a conclusion without supporting your position.

 

[mellored]

When you’re hit by a melee attack by an adjacent creature while you’re wearing Heavy armor you may use a Ki/Focus point. If you do so, any Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage dealt to you by that attack is reduced by an amount equal to one roll of your Focus Dice and the attacker takes that much damage instead.

Seems redundant with Deflect Attack.
Also, while heavy armor is mostly flavor, shields are a big buff. You're not really trading away damage to get +2AC. Still doing full damage.

• As a reaction you may become the target of an attack targeting an adjacent creature.

Works.

Level 11:

• You've mastered ways to attach weapons to your armor in a way to extend your reach. Increase your reach by 5 feet with any weapon attack you make.

Don't see the flavor or synergies here. None of the other features requires a weapon.

Also, this is where heavy armor starts falling off. So probably needs an AC bump instead.
I.e.
The AC bonus from your Shield is equal to your 1+Wisdom modifier (minimum +3).

• Every melee attack against you deals your focus die damage back to the attacker when you're heavily armored.

This on the other hand, synergies with the lower level reaction. Not sure it's thematic though.

Perhaps
When you use your reaction to become the target of an attack, you can also use your Deflect Attack as part of the same reaction.

 

[NotAYakk]

Like I said, people really do have interesting readings!

So, to be clear ... you know the following ...

1. You cannot use a bonus action for an unarmed strike. Right?

You cannot use the level one monk ability to justify using a bonus action to make an unarmed strike.

If another feature in the game lets you use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike, nothing stops you from using that. Ie, a feat that says "if you have a creature grappled, you can make an unarmed strike on it as a bonus action" wouldn't be blocked just because you are wearing armor and are a monk.

2. At level one, monks gain the ability to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action if they aren't wearing armor. Just pointing out- this is how monks (unlike anyone else) is allowed unarmed strikes with a bonus action.

That is one way they can make unarmed strikes as a bonus action, when unarmored, not using a shield, and only wielding monk weapons (or unarmed).

The reason behind it? Without these restrictions, a monk dip becomes quite strong for every class. Just dip 1 level and get a 1d6+(str|dex) bonus action attack along side your usual attack routine.

This doesn't apply to the flurry of blows; it is a resource limited by the number of monk levels you take.

3. So ... if they wear armor, they lose the ability "to make an unarmed strike as a Bonus action." Can't do it. It's not a question of numbers, it's the ability to make unarmed strikes. Because that's the ability that grants it.

Martial Arts includes an option to use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. You lose that way to use a bonus action to make unarmed strikes if you don't qualify for it.

4. Nevertheless, later on, when they are allowed to spend a focus point to get two unarmed strikes (one more than they originally had) for their bonus action, they can ignore all of that.

Flurry of Blows is a separate ability than Martial Arts. It is called Monk's Focus.

Monk's Focus gives you 3 ways to use your bonus action. Flurry of Blows, which is 1 Focus point to make 2 unarmed strikes, Patient Defence which is Disengage as bonus action (and for 1 Focus point, add Dodge). And Step of the Wind, which is Dash as a bonus action (and for 1 Focus Point add in Disengage and 2x jump distance).

While Monk's Focus does interact with other abilities, it doesn't depend on them. Your Martial Arts ability gives you dex based Unarmed attacks and MA damage on unarmed attacks, which is quite useful for Flurry of Blows.

It also gives you a Focus-point free alternative to Flurry of Blows.

Now, this happens to not be a balance concern multi-class wise because Flurry of Blows is Focus-point limited. You have to burn your Focus Points to get those attacks; a 2 level dip in Monk doesn't scale ridiculously well with other classes.

The choice of which abilities require "monk gear" and which don't was actually made carefully. You lose:

+10' movement
Wall- and Water-running
10+Wis+Dex AC
1 unarmed attack as a BA
MA-die for unarmed damage.
Dex-based unarmed attacks.

So your Flurry doesn't scale quite as well, but is otherwise untouched.

Aside, the "there are other ways to get an unarmed strike as a bonus action" is not academic. I have seen some UA type content that includes it, but in the actual game, note that a level 1 monk wearing platemail can make unarmed strikes as a bonus action via:
Multiclass Berserker Barbarian (during Frenzy).
Being a high enough level Valor Bard and Eldritch Knight (after casting a spell).
Being a War Priest (wis times/day).
Taking the Charger 2014 feat (and charging)
Getting a critical hit and having Great Weapon Master

In all of these cases, you are making a weapon attack (which you can replace with an unarmed strike).