D&D 5E What playable race would make the worst/oddest Monk?

[bedir than]

I'm willing to include even those in SCAG, Player's Guide to Elemental Evil or the expected listings in Volo's Guide.

Tonight, I was thinking about my homebrew, and how the goblinoids would make interesting monks. This would be especially true for the hobgoblin and bugbear versions as those are forced to serve the smaller goblins. Lots of fluff explains that servitude, but the thought is that a high STR/CON Monk could be interesting.

Which then spurred the thought of "What's the worst monk?" I'm a 1e/2e soul that dipped back in with 5e so Dwarven Mages strike me as crazy.

Half-orc Monk would be pretty wild, but I could see the case of the outsider forced to use common tools as weapons.

I guess a gnome wouldn't feel right... what else would be an odd monk?

 

[Prakriti]

Firbolg, according to this week's Volo's Guide preview.

 

[Lanliss]

I'm willing to include even those in SCAG, Player's Guide to Elemental Evil or the expected listings in Volo's Guide.

Tonight, I was thinking about my homebrew, and how the goblinoids would make interesting monks. This would be especially true for the hobgoblin and bugbear versions as those are forced to serve the smaller goblins. Lots of fluff explains that servitude, but the thought is that a high STR/CON Monk could be interesting.

Which then spurred the thought of "What's the worst monk?" I'm a 1e/2e soul that dipped back in with 5e so Dwarven Mages strike me as crazy.

Half-orc Monk would be pretty wild, but I could see the case of the outsider forced to use common tools as weapons.

I guess a gnome wouldn't feel right... what else would be an odd monk?

Dragonborn doesn't get any bonuses that really help with Monk. I played a gnome monk, and she was fun, especially her small size plus the acrobatics, I got up to some antics. Any race that is well known for being wide makes an odd monk, like Dwarves or Orcs, IMO at least. A Kobold might be odd too. Lastly, probably Aarakockra, since their flight pretty much makes monk speed and mobility irrelevant.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Firbolg, according to this week's Volo's Guide preview.

Which is weird, considering they've a strong boost to wisdom, and nothing to detract from being good monks.

Hrm....I can't really think of any.

Gnomes make excellent monks, dwarves maybe? I mean...nah they're ok too. A good hardy monk.

But in 5e it's hard for a race to be actively bad at a class. Is there a Cha/int race with no benefits that do anything for a monk?

 

[Lanliss]

Which is weird, considering they've a strong boost to wisdom, and nothing to detract from being good monks.

Hrm....I can't really think of any.

Gnomes make excellent monks, dwarves maybe? I mean...nah they're ok too. A good hardy monk.

But in 5e it's hard for a race to be actively bad at a class. Is there a Cha/int race with no benefits that do anything for a monk?

Isn't Tiefling Cha/Int? Don't have my PHB with me right now.

 

[Horwath]

Isn't Tiefling Cha/Int? Don't have my PHB with me right now.

PHB Tiefling has +1 int, +2 cha, with some usefull spells

SCAG Tiefling has +2 dex instead of cha and flying. Goes from worst race for a monk to maybe the best.

 

[PMárk]

I played a tiefling shadow monk. It was fun. Spamming darkness without spending ki, hellish rebuke, darkvision, fire resistance (my friend was a light cleric...). Good times.

Also I always saw the bonuses not for the "main" ability as an opportunity instead as a hindrance. It results in a more rounded character.

 

[Horwath]

I played a tiefling shadow monk. It was fun. Spamming darkness without spending ki, hellish rebuke, darkvision, fire resistance (my friend was a light cleric...). Good times.

Also I always saw the bonuses not for the "main" ability as an opportunity instead as a hindrance. It results in a more rounded character.

That is cool, but maybe not as cool as round-house-kicking a dragon in mid air.

Winged tiefling sun soul monk? Flying Liu Kang

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I'm willing to include even those in SCAG, Player's Guide to Elemental Evil or the expected listings in Volo's Guide.

Tonight, I was thinking about my homebrew, and how the goblinoids would make interesting monks. This would be especially true for the hobgoblin and bugbear versions as those are forced to serve the smaller goblins. Lots of fluff explains that servitude, but the thought is that a high STR/CON Monk could be interesting.

Which then spurred the thought of "What's the worst monk?" I'm a 1e/2e soul that dipped back in with 5e so Dwarven Mages strike me as crazy.

Half-orc Monk would be pretty wild, but I could see the case of the outsider forced to use common tools as weapons.

I guess a gnome wouldn't feel right... what else would be an odd monk?

Depends on whether you mean worst based on fluff or mechanics. I am not a big number cruncher or min-maxer and combine class and race more for what sounds fun, so I could not tell you what is worst based on numbers. As for fluff, I would say a dwarf, because their greed and desire for treasure seems to be completely opposite the beliefs and lifestyle of a monk. A dwarf drawn to being a monk would be a very odd character. In the same way, I would think a monk/thief multi-class would be a very incompatible combo.

 

[Lanliss]

Depends on whether you mean worst based on fluff or mechanics. I am not a big number cruncher or min-maxer and combine class and race more for what sounds fun, so I could not tell you what is worst based on numbers. As for fluff, I would say a dwarf, because their greed and desire for treasure seems to be completely opposite the beliefs and lifestyle of a monk. A dwarf drawn to being a monk would be a very odd character. In the same way, I would think a monk/thief multi-class would be a very incompatible combo.

Depends on what you start as. A thief who learns some monk skills for the convenience is pretty easy to imagine. A bit harder to see a monk going to thief, but I could still see it in certain circumstances.