Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. The Monk’s Features at Level 5:
3. Unarmored Defense
4. Martial Arts
5. Ki (Including Ki Features)
   • Flurry of Blows
   • Patient Defense
     • About Dodge
   • Step of the Wind
     • About Disengage
     • About Dash
   • Deflect Missiles 
     • What happens when you catch a Missile using Deflect Missiles? 
   • Stunning Strike
   • About Ki Points 
     • How do you Recharge Ki Points?
   • Monastic Tradition (Specialization Abilities for Ki)
     • Way of the Open Hand
     • Way of Shadow
     • Way of the Four Elements
6. Ability Score Improvement
7. Slow Fall
8. Extra Attack
9. Conclusion

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Introduction

The Warforged Monk is faced with a dilemma. A wraith desperately wants to rid the dungeon of a spectator who is holding precious magic at the building next door. –However, the adventurers are already aware of the spectator, having already dealt with the planar monster. And now they are looking at the ghostly treasures the wraith keeps but can’t use. Greedy bastard. A trap is sprung, and it’s time to take the fight to the solo spirit. 

Luckily, you, the Monk, go first. 

As the Monk, you announce that you attack the wraith and end your turn. 

“With your fists? Just the once?” The DM asks. 

“Yes, and yes,” you say.

“Okay then…”

The wraith takes 1d6, which is then halved due to being resistant to bludgeoning. Some of the more seasoned players take psychological damage, too. Meanwhile, the Monk smiles, pleased with themselves that they did…something?

The rest of the players swiftly take care of the wraith before it can react, so the fight doesn’t end terribly. However, the party members eye their Monk teammate sideways. What about the next battle? 

In this article, I aim to highlight the many features available to the Monk. –Particularly at the 5th level. I chose level 5 to give beginning players an idea of what to expect at that specific level of play and also provide a general baseline for other players to compare to. For simplicity, I’ll only touch on Monk features in the Player’s Handbook (PHB). If you don’t already have it, I recommend getting one so you know what’s what.

I’ve already touched on the Barbarian at Level 5. The Fighter at level 5, too, if you want to check those articles. 

The features will be described from the 1st level up to the 5th level. I plan to explain some possible combos as we go down the list. 

The Monk’s Features at Level 5: 

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Unarmored Defense

A level 5 monk should know they do not need to wear armor to gain a significant advantage to their Armor Class (AC). 

• Your Monk’s AC is 10 + Dexterity modifier. 
• Remember that you cannot wear armor or shields for this effect to apply. 

Martial Arts

This feature is the bread and butter for Monks, and it gets stronger as you achieve higher levels. Particularly at the 5th level, Monks can enjoy dishing out 1d6 worth of damage for the first time (Earlier levels have the Monk dishing out 1d4 damage). There are other benefits:

• You benefit from the Martial Arts Feature only if you are unarmed or have monk weapons (short swords, simple melee weapons that do not have the two-handed or heavy properties). 
• Instead of Strength, you use the Dexterity modifier for attack and damage rolls. 
• You can roll 1d6 to damage enemies with an unarmed strike or monk weapon (as mentioned above). 
• On your turn, attacking with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon grants you the right to do another unarmed strike as a bonus action (Make sure you haven’t expended a bonus action already). 

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Ki (Including Ki Features)

If Martial Arts is the bread and butter of Monks, then the Ki Feature is the pizza and french fries of Monks, too. A 5th-level monk will have access to 5 Ki Features:

Flurry of Blows

Remember the part of the martial arts feature that gives you the chance to take an unarmed strike as a bonus action? With Flurry of Blows, spending one ki point will allow two unarmed strikes instead of one on that bonus action. 

This move is excellent for adding damage. Thanks to your Martial Arts dice, it only gets more potent at higher levels.

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Patient Defense

• When you spend one ki point on your turn, you can take the Dodge Action on your turn. 

This is great for mitigating the worst attacks you have to endure. 

About Dodge

• Enemies that attack you get disadvantage on their attack rolls against you. 
• You receive advantage for all Dexterity saving throws.
• This benefit is only lost if you are incapacitated or your speed drops to 0. (Like when your character has exhaustion level 5).  

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Step of the Wind

• When you spend one Ki point, you can choose two abilities as a bonus action: Disengage, or Dash. 
• Your jump distance is also doubled. 

Out of combat, I see Step of the Wind as handy for climbing buildings and making it easier to traverse rooftop environments. 

About Disengage

• You can move out of range of enemies without provoking Opportunity Attacks. 

It’s beneficial for moving out of the way of crowds or getting away from the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG). 

About Dash

• You can move double your movement speed (plus any qualifying modifiers, if available). 

This is excellent for getting in battles quickly if you are too far, and you can still attack on your same turn. 

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Deflect Missiles 

This one is one of the coolest Ki features available. Great for defending and attacking against ranged opponents! 

• As a reaction, you can deflect a missile (or projectile) when hit by a ranged weapon attack. 
• The damage is reduced by 1d10 + DEX modifier + Monk level (5). 
• If the damage is reduced to 0, you can spend one ki point to catch the missile if you have a free hand that can hold it. 

What happens when you catch a Missile using Deflect Missiles? 

• During the reaction, you can make a ranged attack with the projectile you caught (including thrown weapons like Javelins). 
• This reaction attack is made with proficiency, and the weapon will have the same damaging effects as a monk weapon. So cool! 

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Stunning Strike

This move is excellent for stopping a creature in its tracks! Great for ending chases, stopping rituals, and fighting the BBEG. 

• When hitting a creature with a melee weapon, you can spend one ki point to do a Stunning Strike.
• The creature you hit must make a Constitution saving throw (8 + Monk proficiency + Monk Wisdom modifier). 
• The creature is stunned until the end of your next turn if it fails the saving throw.

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About Ki Points 

The five features above require at least one Ki point to be spent to use. At level 5, a monk will have 5 ki points (You gain 1 ki point per level). This means a lot of versatility, especially with the Monk’s Monastic Tradition (This will be introduced shortly). 

How do you Recharge Ki Points?

Ki points are recharged by meditating for at least 30 minutes. This can be done by using a short rest or long rest. 

This makes the Monk really useful for getting back into fights quickly, whereas spellcasters would have to wait much longer. Specifically, monks should have their ki points charged and ready between watches during a long rest. 

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Monastic Tradition (Specialization Abilities for Ki)

In the PHB, there are three Monastic Traditions that Monks can choose to specialize in their classes and differentiate themselves from other Monks. At level 5, Monks can only access one ability from their Monastic Tradition tree. Remember that there are more abilities in these specializations in the PHB, so I recommend reading up on that if you are curious. 

As the famous Ugandan Knuckles from VRChat would say…

Do you know the Way?

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Way of the Open Hand

If you choose this tradition, you can access the Open Hand Technique, which further improves the Flurry of Blows Ki ability. When a creature is successfully attacked by a Flurry of Blows Unarmed Strike, you can choose to impose additional effects the target must save for: 

Open Hand Technique:

1. Trip them! 

Your target must make a Dexterity saving throw (8 + Monk Proficiency Bonus + Monk WIS modifier). If they fail, they are knocked prone!  

2. Push them! 

Your target must make a Strength saving throw (8 + Monk Proficiency Bonus + Monk WIS modifier). If they fail, they are pushed 15 feet away! 

3. Suppress them! 

Your target cannot take reactions until your next turn ends! 

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Way of Shadow

Way of Shadow gives you several stealth-related spells by expending Ki points! This tradition is an excellent pick for players who want a stealthy build. –Perhaps a multiclass with Rogue? It sounds like a good combo for preventing the dragon in this article from eating you. 

• You can spend 2 Ki points to cast one of the following spells, which have simplified explanations: 
  • Darkness: You can create a 15 ft. radius of magical darkness. Even darkvisioned creatures are affected, and the darkness can spread around corners. It can be used on objects!
  • Darkvision: You can touch a willing creature to give it Darkvision for 8 hours. –But only if they are within 60 ft. of you. 
  • Pass Without Trace: You and your companions get a bonus on Stealth checks (+10 DEX)! They cannot be tracked except through magic, and any creature with this bonus leaves no tracks or traces. 
  • Silence: You can create a 20 ft. radius sphere on a chosen point. Any creature inside is immune to thunder damage, and creatures inside are deafened. Casting verbal spells inside is impossible. 
• You attain the minor illusion cantrip. 

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Way of the Four Elements

This one is quite a complicated tradition! If you wanted your Monk to have elemental spellcasting ability, why not give them the powers of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender through the Way of the Four Elements? A level 5 Monk will be able to choose two novel abilities that either augment Monk abilities or give the ability to cast an elemental spell using Ki. Remember, the options listed below are for level 5 monks. Still, there are many more at higher levels, with the added ability to switch between disciplines at certain levels. 

1. You learn the Elemental Attunement discipline:
   • You can use an action to move the elements, causing one of the following effects:
     • Create a harmless sensory effect related to the elements, like sparks, wind, mist, or rumbling stones. 
     • Light and extinguish fire. 
     • Chill or warm objects (nonliving) for up to an hour.
     • Form any element within a 1 ft. cube to any crude shape you wish for one minute. 
2. You also learn one of the following disciplines of your choice:
   • Fangs of the Fire Snake:
     • Using 1 ki point, your range of unarmed strikes increases by 10 ft on your turn. They also deal fire damage. 
     • If you spend an additional ki point on an attack that hits, you deal another 1d10 fire damage. 
   • Fist of Four Thunders:
     • Using 2 Ki points, you can cast Thunderwave!
     • Every creature in a 15 ft. cube must make a CON save or take 2d8 thunder damage. They are also pushed 10 ft away. 
     • If they succeed in the save, they take half as much damage and aren’t pushed. 
     • Loose objects are pushed 10 ft. away. 
     • A thunderous boom emits from 300 ft. outwards. 
   • Fist of Unbroken Air:
     • Using 2 Ki points, you can take an action to choose a creature 30 ft. away. They must make a STR save. If they fail, they take 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus 1d10 for each additional ki point you may want to spend. 
     • They are also pushed 20 ft. away and knocked prone. 
     • If they save, they take half the damage and aren’t pushed. 
   • Rush of the Gale Spirits:
     • Using 2 Ki points, you can cast Gust of Wind!  
     • For up to 1 minute, you can cast a line of strong wind (60 ft. long, 10 ft. wide), and you can use a bonus action on each turn to change the direction of the ability!
     • A creature caught in the line must make a STR saving throw or be pushed 15 ft. away. 
     • The ability can disperse gas or vapor and extinguish unprotected flames (lanterns have a 50% chance of extinguishing). 
   • Shape the Flowing River:
     • Using 1 Ki point, you can choose a 30 ft. wide space of ice or water within 120 ft. of you as an action. 
     • You can change the water to ice (and vice-versa) and reshape ice in any manner you choose (Raising elevation, creating trenches, making walls, pillars). The max range is half the dimension of the water you have affected (30 ft. cube area water = 15 ft. high walls). 
     • Ice cannot be shaped to trap or injure a creature. 
   • Sweeping Cinder Strike:
     • Using 2 Ki points, you can cast burning hands!
     • Flames shoot from your fingertips in a 15 ft. cone!
     • Every creature in the cone must make a DEX save or take 3d6 fire damage.
     • If they save, they take half damage. 
     • Any loose and flammable objects in the cone will ignite (except worn/carried items). 
   • Water Whip:
     • Using 2 Ki points, you can create a whip made of water that can shove or pull creatures!
     • A seen creature within 30 ft. must make a DEX save or take 3d10 bludgeoning damage. 
     • If you spend an additional ki point, you can deal another 1d10 damage, knock them prone, and push/pull them 25 ft. 
     • If they make the save, the creature takes half damage and cannot be knocked around. 
3. Monks at 5th level can only spend 3 Ki points to use a discipline (This max doesn’t increase until level 9). 
4. Any spells in a chosen discipline follow general spell rules. — but do not require any components to cast. Only Ki points. 

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Ability Score Improvement

Your Monk should have been able to increase their ability scores! 

Choose one of the following:

• 2 points for one ability score,
• 1 point for two ability scores. 

You cannot move an ability score past 20. 

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Slow Fall

You can use a reaction to reduce fall damage equal to 5 times your Monk level. Thus, Level 5 Monks will be able to mitigate 25 fall damage. 

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Extra Attack

• You can attack twice for an action on your turn! 

Combining extra attack with your Ki abilities is paramount to combo moves that would make a Fighter jealous. At the 5th level, the Monk’s capabilities start to shine bright. 

For example, one excellent combo for a Monk to deploy against a single enemy would be to attack twice (Thanks to Extra Attack) and commit Flurry of Blows as a bonus action to do two unarmed strikes. A total of four potential hits to the enemy! –And if they have Way of the Four Elements tradition, you can take it even further to hit enemies from 10 ft. and deal 1d10 fire damage with the Fangs of the Fire Snake discipline! 

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Now You Know the Basics of the Level 5 Monk! 

I learned much more about the Monk just by writing this article. The crazy thing is that this article only covers what’s offered in the PHB. One player for my Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign currently uses the Way of Mercy Specialization offered in the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything module. This subclass of Monk is healing-based. I might do an article on it later. 

I hope this helped you with whatever you were looking for regarding abilities that the Monk class generally enjoys! My favorite subclass from the PHB version is definitely the Way of the Four Elements. There’s so much versatility that you can give your Monk. The Way of the Shadow is my second favorite because I immensely like subterfuge characters. What’s your favorite Monk subclass? Did I miss anything in particular in this article? Please let me know! 

Thanks for reading.