Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is one of the most exciting films coming out in 2023 for tabletop nerds everywhere. Its actual quality, whether genuinely good or so-bad-it’s-good, is secondary to the hype it will bring to the hobby.
One of the most exotic classes to newbies will probably be Monk. In contrast to the old spell slingers and sword swingers, the Monk is unique. They fight with bare fists and Wuxia-like finesse and come with a swathe of subclasses to pick from. Still, some are better than others.
10 Four Elements
Unfortunately, one of the coolest premises for a Monk, essentially the Avatar, is also one of the most mediocre subclasses in 5e. Despite the plethora of new features for monks to play with, the monk’s biggest problem turns its ugly head. The expensive chassis is the ki system.
All of the class features that focus on “bending” cost absurd amounts of ki which mean most Monks will run out of gas too quickly to capitalize on their features. While the effects themselves are not bad per se, the fact that they are tied to the very limited ki resource makes them underwhelming when compared to spell slots.
9 Sun Soul
Sun Soul is another example of Monk having a cool concept that expands the Monk’s offensive capabilities but is limited by the Ki chassis. In addition, the effects themselves are too underpowered, close to the Arcane Archer subclass from Fighter in terms of underwhelming impact.
Searing Arc Strike is a solid offense, but again, the expensive ki costs mean it burns out rather quickly. Radian Sunburst is an inferior Fireball, and Sun Shield basically turns the Monk into a walking lamp. This being the class’s final feature is severely disappointing. For that alone, many dislike the Sun Soul’s features.
8 Ascendant Dragon
Time for an encore of the “ki system is inherently flawed” talking point because it’s a consistent failure in the game’s design. Ascendant Dragon suffers from the issues that Four Elements and Sun Soul suffer from. That being said, Ascendant Dragon does have a few benefits over the two.
Draconic Disciple offers ways to disable opponents with the fright debuff or work around vulnerabilities and resistances through Draconic Strike. Breath of the Dargon is a powerful AoE attack that is tied to Martial Arts dice. The aspect of the Wyrm and its upgrades really make the player feel like a powerful Dragonborn. Unfortunately, they are still limited to the small ki pool, so not a great subclass for Marvel’s Iron Fist builders out there.
7 Drunken Master
Drunken Master is a fantastic subclass, though slightly too specialized in crowd control. Drunken Technique allows for the Monk to bake the benefits of Disengage after Flurry of Blows is proc’d, avoiding any and all opportunity attacks while increasing speed. Tipsy Sway allows for quick recovery from being knocked prone, and more importantly, redirects melee attacks.
Drunkard’s Luck cancels out any disadvantage, and Intoxicated Frenzy amps up Flurry of Blows to absurd degrees. It’s a very powerful style when used properly, but does tend to struggle against singular, tough foes. That said, if any martial can shake off a random bar fight without a scratch, it’s Drunken Master.
6 Long Death
While Drunken Master avoids death through confusion fu, Long Death pretty much just says “nope” to it. Touch of Death lets Death Monks siphon hitpoints from fallen enemies. Hour of Reaping allows for an attempt to frighten a creature against one’s Wisdom saving throw. Their bread and butter, Mastery of Death, is their most impressive one by far.
This feature allows the Long Death Monk to live up to their name by allowing Monks to spend a ki point to prevent death, with no ki required. This means Long Death Monks will stay as long as they are gassed, which is easy since they have no class feature ki uses. Plus, with the reworks from Tasha’s, feats such as Fey Touched work incredible with them.
5 Astral Self
Astral Self is the subclass that takes one of the most iconic imagery associated with monks, that of the many spiritual arms surrounding their backs. Seen in classic Buddhist and Hindu art, as well as Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, this looks and feels just as cool as people would expect.
Arms of the Astral Self summons two extra arms for the player, that uses Wisdom in place of Strength when making Strength-related checks. Wisdom can also replace attack modifiers and damage rolls They also extend unarmed strikes by 5 feet, and change the damage type to force. With the arms coming at an affordable 1 ki point, Astral Self is a reliable Monk class.
4 Shadow
Ninjas are one of the most iconic professions for fantasy martial artists, so it would be remiss of 5e to not have a subclass for them. Way of the Shadow is the archetypal ninja build, and the ki spending is actually quite efficient. Access to spells such as darkness, darkvision, pass without trace and silence is incredible for a stealth martial build.
Shadow Step allows for a free improved Misty Step while in dim light or darkness, plus an advantage on the first melee attack. Cloak of Shadows allows for invisibility as an action while in the same light conditions previously met. Notice how the ki is only spent on Shadow Arts, and the rest of the features are given for free. That alone elevates the class.
3 Kensei
For those that want nothing more than to be a whirlwind of fists and steel, Kensei Monk is the perfect subclass. Path of the Kensei allows for a Monk to get really good with their preferred weapons. Agile Parry boosts AC while performing unarmed strikes in battle (which for a monk is pretty much all the time) and Kensei’s Shot, which boosts ranged damage.
One with the Blade and Sharpen the Blade are basically more damage, plus magical benefits. Unerring Accuracy allows Monks to reroll misses once for free. While Kensei isn’t making waves flavorwise, there’s no denying its simple effectiveness from a combat standpoint.
2 Mercy
The Way of Mercy is one of the most flavorful and mechanically versatile subclasses provided to Monk. They are masters of life and death, providing support to allies in battle whilst simultaneously dealing death to those beyond their help. Their proficiencies in Medicine and Insight give them some great utility outside of just combat.
Hands of Harm turns the Flurry of Blows into a Flurry of Healing, restoring hit points equal to the damage that they would have dealt. In contrast, Hands of Harm does extra necrotic damage. Physician’s Touch allows for the curing of physical debuffs during a Flurry or poison foes with Hands of Harm. Hands of Healing becomes free after the 11th level, and Hand of Ultimate Mercy resurrects any creature that died within 24 hours, provided a corpse is present.
1 Open Hand
Without a doubt the most classic and reliable subclass of Monk, Open Hand is pretty much what people imagine when they think of Monk. Open Hand Technique enhances Flurry of Blows with ways to knock back, knock down or prevent reactions during a turn for enemies. Wholeness of the Body provides quick healing when needed. Tranquility grants the Sanctuary buff until the start of the next long rest or ends early as it usually would.
Then, the lynchpin of the entire subclass in Tier 4, Quivering Palm. With a measly 3 ki points, any creature hit by an unarmed strike must succeed a Constitution saving throw. If they fail, they are reduced to 0 hitpoints immediately. If they succeed, they still take 10d10 necrotic damage. Basically, players get to say “You are already dead” like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star.