JohnnyNitro
First Post
To the point: this works, right? Sorry if this is a redundant post, having a hard time perusing the forums on my phone...
D&D 5E Shillelagh + Martial Arts
- Thread starter JohnnyNitro
- Start date
It depends on what you mean by "this works".
When you use Shillelagh, you're using a bonus action to buff your weapon.
When you take the attack action with your buffed weapon, you use different stats for attack & damage.
Martial arts grants you a bonus action when you take the attack action using a subset of weapons.
So you can use WIS for one (or two, with Extra Attack) attacks with a club/quarterstaff, but the bonus action attacks must be using unarmed strike, which doesn't benefit from Shillelagh.
Beyond that, there's a little bit of challenges with action economy, e.g. that Shillelagh takes a bonus action to cast and Martial Arts grants you a bonus action. So yeah, it "works" but it's usually not as good as the default bonus Martial Arts grants you for using monk weapons.
Also, YMMV, but as DM I'd require either WIS/1d8 or DEX/monk damage, and not let a high level monk use WIS/1d10, but that interaction is a little less clear.
When you use Shillelagh, you're using a bonus action to buff your weapon.
When you take the attack action with your buffed weapon, you use different stats for attack & damage.
Martial arts grants you a bonus action when you take the attack action using a subset of weapons.
So you can use WIS for one (or two, with Extra Attack) attacks with a club/quarterstaff, but the bonus action attacks must be using unarmed strike, which doesn't benefit from Shillelagh.
Beyond that, there's a little bit of challenges with action economy, e.g. that Shillelagh takes a bonus action to cast and Martial Arts grants you a bonus action. So yeah, it "works" but it's usually not as good as the default bonus Martial Arts grants you for using monk weapons.
Also, YMMV, but as DM I'd require either WIS/1d8 or DEX/monk damage, and not let a high level monk use WIS/1d10, but that interaction is a little less clear.
JohnnyNitro
First Post
That's what I assumed. But after that 1st round, subsequent Bonus Actions could be dedicated to Martial Arts and Shillelagh would still be in effect and it's not Concentration, so with a decent WIS/DEX build its seems like a viable combo--but Hell's Bell's, I'm really just looking for Style over Substance here...Thanks, repliers! 
ClockworkNinja
Explorer
It "works", but there is not much advantage to be gained.
Shillelagh causes a club or quarterstaff to deal 1d8 damage instead of its normal damage die, and to count as a magical weapon.
Martial arts lets you use a bonus action to make an unarmed attack after making a regular attack with an approved monk weapon.
Approved monk weapons include clubs and quarter-staffs.
The thing is, the quarterstaff is a versatile weapon, and when held in two hands, it deals 1d8 damage anyway. In fact this is the recommended way to play an early-game monk.
Druids like Shillelagh because they often have a shield in one hand, but the monk does not have that issue as they cannot use shields.
The only way giving a monk Shillelagh would benefit them is if they had a higher WIS than DEX, or if they desperately need to bypass resistance to nonmagical weapons before the lvl 6 Monk class feature kicks in.
Shillelagh causes a club or quarterstaff to deal 1d8 damage instead of its normal damage die, and to count as a magical weapon.
Martial arts lets you use a bonus action to make an unarmed attack after making a regular attack with an approved monk weapon.
Approved monk weapons include clubs and quarter-staffs.
The thing is, the quarterstaff is a versatile weapon, and when held in two hands, it deals 1d8 damage anyway. In fact this is the recommended way to play an early-game monk.
Druids like Shillelagh because they often have a shield in one hand, but the monk does not have that issue as they cannot use shields.
The only way giving a monk Shillelagh would benefit them is if they had a higher WIS than DEX, or if they desperately need to bypass resistance to nonmagical weapons before the lvl 6 Monk class feature kicks in.
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