Drunken Master 5e: Way of the monk dnd class
The Drunken Master 5e ‘s manner teaches its pupils to move with all the jerky, unpredictable motions of a drunkard. The drunken master’s inconsistent stumbles hide a carefully executed dance of blocks, parries, advances, attacks, and retreats. A real master frequently enjoys playing the fool to bring gladness to the melancholy or demonstrate humility into the smug. Still, if the battle is joined, the drunken master may be a bothersome, equitable foe. Resource: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Introduction to Drunken master 5e
Of course, what type of drunken master would you be if you weren’t a little an actor? When you choose this tradition at the 3rd level, you gain proficiency at the Performance ability if you don’t already have it. Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with all the accuracy of a priest as well as the antics of a jester. Besides, you gain proficiency with brewer’s supplies if you don’t already have them.
That is a proficiency just drowning in flavor! Performance is what a Drunken Master 5e is greatest at. While you won’t conquer any Bards or Sorcerers that decide to pick up a lute, you will still be well-loved by the townsfolk.
Mechanically, Performance is by far the most GM-based ability on the list. Your Performance test will gather dust on your character sheet or save your party from death by a dragon. There is rarely a middle floor. Some GMs will allow you to utilize Performance to make money, so that’s certainly a consideration. Please speak with your GM to see what you could get away with it. There is no reason for Bards to possess all the fun!
| Author | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything + |
| Canon | true + |
| Class | Monk + |
| Features | Bonus Proficiencies +, Drunken Technique +, Tipsy Sway +, Drunkard’s Luck + and Intoxicated Frenzy + |
| Publication | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything + |
| Subclass | true + |
| Summary | This tradition utilizes deception and agility to surprise the opponent. |
Class Features of Drunken master 5e
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Drunken masters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Drink Like a Demon (Ex): A drunken master’s body handles alcohol differently in others. Each bottle or tankard of alcohol he absorbs during battle reduces his Wisdom and Intelligence by two points. Still, it raises his Strength or Constitution (character’s decision ) by two points. A drunken master may benefit from quite a few drinks equal to his class level. The length of both the punishment and the bonus is several rounds equal to the character of the drunken master level + 3.
Stagger (Ex): A 5e drunken master’s improvised weapon deals as much harm as his brute attack and an extra 1d4 points. Most improvised weapons deal bludgeoning damage, though a few (a broken glass bottle, by way of instance ) would cope with piercing or slashing damage. Whenever a drunken master rolls a natural one on an attack roll while utilizing an improvised weapon, that weapon breaks aside and becomes useless.
By tripping, stumbling, and staggering, a drunken grasp of 2nd level or higher can earn a charge attack that surprises his opponents. This ability has two beneficial aspects: First, the charge need not be directly linked, though the character can still proceed to twice his pace. Secondly, suppose a drunken master makes a DC 15 Tumble test before beginning a charge. In that case, his movement through endangered squares provokes no attacks of opportunity.
Swaying Waist
Swaying Waist (Ex): The character gains a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against anyone competitor he chooses during his turn.
AC Bonus (Ex): At 4th level, a drunken master gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class. This bonus enhances +2 at the 9th level.
Improved Improvised Weapons (Ex): A drunken grasp of 4th level or higher may use long improvised weapons (such as ladders) to reach weapons following their length, and improvised weapons that have many protrusions (such as seats ) provide a +2 bonus on competitions’ disarm attempts. Last, large objects with broad, flat surfaces (for example, tables) can be upended to become improvised tower protects.
Greater Improvised Weapons
Greater Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a 5e drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d8 points of damage instead of 1d4.
For Medicinal Purposes (Sp): At 8th level, a budding master gains the capacity to convert a single alcoholic beverage he has ingested into one potion of moderate cure wounds as if he’d only drunk a dose of the potion. To use this capability, the character must be under the effect of an alcoholic beverage (see Drink Like a Demon, previously ). When he transforms one drink of alcohol to a dose of this potion, his skill scores alter (+2 to Intelligence and Wisdom, –2 to Strength or Constitution) as if the length of the alcohol’s effect had died. This capacity can be used up to three times every day.
Corkscrew Rush (Ex): A drunken grasp of 9th level or higher can perform this maneuver, leaping forward and twisting his body in midair as he tries to head-butt a rival. However, if the bull rush attempt fails, then the drunken master lands prone before the opponent.
Superior Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 9th and higher, a drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d12 points of damage rather than 1d8.
Breath of Flame
Breath of Flame (Sp): A 10th-level drunken master can ignite some of that alcohol inside his own body and spew it forth out of his mouth as a free action. This breath of flame deals 3d12 points of fire damage to all within the 20-foot cone or half of the harm to those who make a Reflex save (DC 10 + the drunken master’s class level + the drunken master’s Con modifier).
Each time a drunken master employs breath of flame, it absorbs one beverage’s worth of alcohol from inside his own body, lessening the penalty into his Wisdom and Intelligence scores and lessening the incentive to his Strength or Constitution score (character’s decision ).
Multiclass Notice: A monk who becomes a drunken master can keep on advancing as a monk.
| Level of advancement | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
| 1st | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Drink like a demon, improvised weapons |
| 2nd | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Stagger |
| 3rd | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Swaying waist |
| 4th | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | AC bonus +1, improved improvised weapons |
| 5th | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | greater improvised weapons |
| 6th | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Improved Feint |
| 7th | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Improved Grapple |
| 8th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | For medicinal purposes |
| 9th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | AC bonus +2, corkscrew rush, superior improvised weapons |
| 10th | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | Breath of flame |
Intoxication in Drunken Master 5e
Brewer’s supplies are flavorful, but it will be rare for you to break those bad boys out for some cocktails. Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition has no baseline rules for intoxication. That means your GM would need to think of the disadvantage. And he benefits rolls for if you or your party are great at using this proficiency.
Depending on how aggressively your GM gets intoxication to a debuff, this may get some combat merit. Perhaps you could provide really hard liquor to get an event that you plan on slipping from. Or lower a keg of beer in front of some Goblins to produce a Goblin cave somewhat easier. You may have to stretch to make these proficiencies work. Still, GMs that reward creativity might let you eliminate a lot. That isn’t the reason to take this subclass, but you could make it why your character did.
Drunken Technique
By itself, this capacity changes the Monk’s playstyle — From a frontline brawler to a rather sneaky skirmisher. In the 3rd level, you learn how to twist and turn quickly as part of your Flurry of Blows. So, Attack of Opportunity hurts a tiny bit. It prevents anything using a reach of 5 feet from really stepping out of melee range without some means to do so firmly. Aking a sword to the back of the head is a pretty good incentive to stick to the fight. The Monk has the means to get Disengage as a bonus action, so you lose your extra punch from Martial Arts. Not to mention expending some ki.
Level 5
That adds Disengage into Flurry of Blows, something you’d like to devote Ki and action onto. At the start of your turn, you can attack and Flurry, throwing around four unarmed attacks at level 5. Then, you can zip across the battlefield to your next target before your opponent can even blink. Do recall that this does nothing if you take advantage of a motion activity before you strike; you need to proceed to provoke an attack of opportunity, after all. Use this only if you start your turn right next to someone.
The awful part of this ability is it technically costs a ki point. You can not Disengage without that point, which means you have a limited number of times to use it. Luckily, Flurry of Blows is a god-tier ability for Monks, which means you’re going to be given this enthusiast often. Swerve in and from a fight, and let your fellow melee warriors perform the tanking. You gain two bonuses at the 6th level, both of these rather significant.
Leap For Your Feet.
When you’re prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed. Leap to Your Feet is situational but keeps you in accord with your skirmishing attitude. Losing half of your movement rate as a monk can indicate you are not in punching space (A.k.a., not being very helpful!). And, as a result of Unarmored movement, you technically shed more speed than many personalities when you fall in your face. When situations come up where these things, you’ll be really happy, you have this benefit.
When a monster misses you with a melee attack roll, you can spend one ki stage as a reaction to cause that attack to hit one monster of your own choice other than the attacker, which you can see within 5 feet of you.
Weapon
Redirect attack will be a rather juicy alternative. Among the most frequently encountered boss fights in the game is “big thing with a big weapon.” During those struggles, that big thing tends to have one or two smaller things nearby. As long as they are anywhere near you, you can cause the boss to absolutely splatter his ally. That’s the best-case situation, but rarely will you find Redirect Attack isn’t worth a ki point. You are guaranteeing that somebody near you takes damage.
If you’re wondering if to save your ki, think about this; could that enemy’s attack strike harder than one punch? If the solution is yes, spend that ki. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, after all! Or one sword in the rib is worth two fists close to the face.
Level 11 ki points
In the 11th level, you receive a semi-reroll impact that is incredibly in-tune for a tipsy titan on your own. Beginning at 11th level, you always appear to get a lucky bounce at the right moment. When you make a skill check, an attack roll, or even a saving throw and have the disadvantage, you can spend two ki points to cancel the roll disadvantage. That is a lot better than it sounds.
Canceling drawback is generally worth as far as gaining the advantage. Suppose this ability stated two ki points to give yourself benefit to one roster for anything important in battle. It would be worth about the same as that.
For the Monk, getting the advantage on one attack roll isn’t worth it. Monks rely on a thousand papercuts instead of landing one lucky crit, so drawback doesn’t mean too much for them. You can theoretically use it to escape drawback if you knew this punch would finish the struggle, but that’s a pretty rare case.
The disadvantages of Drunken Master 5e
The disadvantage of skill checks can be rather unfortunate but rarely life-endangering. Instead of spending ki to negate disadvantage on Athletics, possibly find another way round. When there’s no solution to get around the disadvantage with no one spending charm slots, then it’s worth using this capability; Ki regenerates somewhat easier than most spells, after all.
Now, let us talk about save drawbacks. I’m sure a couple of people have had disadvantages in their save and watched in horror as their GM casts a spell at their character. Perhaps it ended up just being extra damage, or perhaps you got a permanent curse. Perhaps your character died for this. If you do not like any of these choices, spending two ki points is a low price to cover. Monks are inclined to be good at conserves, therefore enabling the dice to ruin your chances isn’t worth it.
Diamond Soul
Consequently, this does measure on Diamond Soul’s toes, only a little bit. If you need to select between one or the other, remember that the reroll only applies to one of those dice; you can reroll the worse dice, but if both of them fail, then you would have to shell out ki points. Use Drunkard’s Luck on very important saves that you are disadvantaged on, and Diamond Soul should believe saving the Ki is better. Your closing ability for the monk heritage is the only offensive option they get. It is quite a doozy!
Flurry of Blows
At 17th level, you gain the ability to make an overwhelming number of strikes against a bunch of enemies. When you utilize your Flurry of Blows, you can make up to three additional attacks with it (up to a total of five Flurry of Blows strikes ), given that each Flurry of Blows strikes targets a different creature on this turn.
So, at the foundation, this seems good but situational. You swing at a person, and then you get to hit up to five monsters that are close enough for you to punch. That is sort of not amazing, right? You don’t wish to be that near that many enemies, yeah? It’s an adequate field of impact, but what does that matter when five people surround you?
Recall the Drunken Technique? How you’ve got the benefits of this Disengage Action? And much more movement speed than a Monk generally does?
At level 17, you have +25 feet movement rate (+35 feet with D. T.). You’re able to move 65 ft for most races, punching five monsters in the face, and there is nothing they can do to stop you. That raises your overall number of strikes at this level to a whopping 8, with just a tiny situational penalty. That puts fighters to pity!
Make sure you pump your Attack, Extra Attack, and one Flurry into a single enemy. To be sure you’re not spreading your damage too sparse across a fight.
Best Race for Drunken Master 5e Monks
Not one of their abilities possesses DCs attached to them — instead augmenting Flurry of Blows. Thus, Wisdom isn’t a huge thing. Besides, they stay from the frontlines whenever they can, reducing the amount of AC they need. You will still want enough to get misses now and then for Redirect Attack. Still, Dexterity is considerably more significant — Obtain Dexterity, subsequently Wisdom or Constitution, depending upon your race.
The Elemental Evil Player’s Companion is free. Thus you can ask your GM to help you make the perfect skirmisher. The Aarakocra has Dexterity and Wisdom, ideal for harm and redirect. Additionally, it has a flight. That tends to push it over the edge for most GMs, but remember that flight makes you a much easier target for ranged attackers and spellcasters. You’ll be in danger a lot if you utilize your flight for more than fancy escape tactics. Talk with your GM about utilizing this, and then drunkenly flap your way throughout the battle!
Wood Elf 5e
On the lookout for something a little bit essential? Elves tend to be among the most commonly “good” races in the Player’s Handbook because Dexterity is fine. Pick a Wood Elf, and you also get Wisdom, a decent ranged choice, some bonus stealth, and even more movement speed. If you’d like your Monk to soar 75 ft per turn, hitting people from the face, then Wood Elf is the best way to get there. Besides this, now you can challenge a Dwarf into a drinking contest and likely win!
The Drunken Master 5E
Rather than offering new alternatives to devote Ki or additional flexibility past the base Monk skills, it turns Flurry of Blows into the action economy’s image. Regardless of this absence of options or significant adjustments, the Drunken Master is extremely enjoyable, fast, and among the most entertaining ways to perform Monk in the late game. We highly recommend trying this Monk archetype outside, but only if there is at least another individual to keep your casters safe; you’ll probably be on the other side of the battlefield!
Review of 5e Drunken Master: That way of the monk
Among my fondest adventures with someone playing a Monk was together with all the Drunken Master 5e Monk prestige courses in D&D 3.5. The personality was great; the participant was quite enthusiastic about the character’s mechanics and roleplaying notion. Seeing that Drunken Master is now one of those Monk archetypes out there from the Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, I’m very happy to see that it is even easier for somebody to perform one. That said, let’s take a look at whether it’s worthwhile to do so.
Level 11
To start, let us approach this structurally. You get two abilities at level 3, one at 6th, yet another at 11th, and closing at level 17. Pretty simple.
As for these abilities are, we will start with the 3rd-level abilities. Bonus Proficiencies and Drunken Technique. The bonus proficiencies are everything you would expect. Bonus proficiencies. Nothing too exciting there, frankly. Drunken Technique allows you to disengage if you make a flurry of blows assault and lets you move an extra 10ft when you do so. It is not the best thing globally, but it certainly helps you act as a type of skirmisher. You can close with an enemy, do some quick harm, and then gently draw to a distance. Not a game-changer, and it steers your build a small bit, but it has its uses.
You can leap to your feet when you felt vulnerable. That takes just 5ft of movement rather than the normal half motion. You may also divert attacks, spending ki points to redirect an enemy blow to target someone else. The leap to your feet is pretty situational, but it is useful enough when it’s needed. Redirecting sounds just like a ton of fun, particularly if you get into combat with some strong enemies. I would say this is a pretty good skill.
Summary
Level 11 grants you Drunkard’s Luck. You can invest two ki points to cancel disadvantage basically whenever you desire. Kind of an expensive cost, so I would not use it frequently, but it can be useful if there’s a key moment where it matters. Notice it cancels disadvantage, does not confer an advantage. Thinking about the methods for getting an advantage through the utilization of this help action or spells may be comparatively less useful than it might seem.
In the end, there’s Intoxicated Frenzy at level 17. You may make up to five Flurry of strikes, given they each goal another animal. That is good. Granted, spreading out damage is usually a bad idea. Nonetheless, in 5e, dragons are king. You will probably have the ability to get the number of goals necessary to make this happen. And if you combine this with your earlier skills, you can use this to assault and then disengage to go away. Great for setting something up that lets your celebration follow through and tidy up the mess you leave behind.
I don’t think the Drunken Master 5e drops flat in terms of the last assessment, but it doesn’t exactly stand out. It can do some really neat things with Flurry of Blows and is overall designed pretty well for audience control. But it lacks a great deal of the punch and pizazz of abilities that allow for novel activities or raw damage output. I don’t think it’s a bad choice by any means, but I think it works well for some specific parties. Therefore it may not be universally a fantastic choice, though I’d never believed it a terrible one.
Drunken Master 5e: Way of the monk dnd class
The Drunken Master 5e ‘s manner teaches its pupils to move with all the jerky, unpredictable motions of a drunkard. The drunken master’s inconsistent stumbles hide a carefully executed dance of blocks, parries, advances, attacks, and retreats. A real master frequently enjoys playing the fool to bring gladness to the melancholy or demonstrate humility into the smug. Still, if the battle is joined, the drunken master may be a bothersome, equitable foe. Resource: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Introduction to Drunken master 5e
Of course, what type of drunken master would you be if you weren’t a little an actor? When you choose this tradition at the 3rd level, you gain proficiency at the Performance ability if you don’t already have it. Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with all the accuracy of a priest as well as the antics of a jester. Besides, you gain proficiency with brewer’s supplies if you don’t already have them.
That is a proficiency just drowning in flavor! Performance is what a Drunken Master 5e is greatest at. While you won’t conquer any Bards or Sorcerers that decide to pick up a lute, you will still be well-loved by the townsfolk.
Mechanically, Performance is by far the most GM-based ability on the list. Your Performance test will gather dust on your character sheet or save your party from death by a dragon. There is rarely a middle floor. Some GMs will allow you to utilize Performance to make money, so that’s certainly a consideration. Please speak with your GM to see what you could get away with it. There is no reason for Bards to possess all the fun!
| Author | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything + |
| Canon | true + |
| Class | Monk + |
| Features | Bonus Proficiencies +, Drunken Technique +, Tipsy Sway +, Drunkard’s Luck + and Intoxicated Frenzy + |
| Publication | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything + |
| Subclass | true + |
| Summary | This tradition utilizes deception and agility to surprise the opponent. |
Class Features of Drunken master 5e
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Drunken masters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Drink Like a Demon (Ex): A drunken master’s body handles alcohol differently in others. Each bottle or tankard of alcohol he absorbs during battle reduces his Wisdom and Intelligence by two points. Still, it raises his Strength or Constitution (character’s decision ) by two points. A drunken master may benefit from quite a few drinks equal to his class level. The length of both the punishment and the bonus is several rounds equal to the character of the drunken master level + 3.
Stagger (Ex): A 5e drunken master’s improvised weapon deals as much harm as his brute attack and an extra 1d4 points. Most improvised weapons deal bludgeoning damage, though a few (a broken glass bottle, by way of instance ) would cope with piercing or slashing damage. Whenever a drunken master rolls a natural one on an attack roll while utilizing an improvised weapon, that weapon breaks aside and becomes useless.
By tripping, stumbling, and staggering, a drunken grasp of 2nd level or higher can earn a charge attack that surprises his opponents. This ability has two beneficial aspects: First, the charge need not be directly linked, though the character can still proceed to twice his pace. Secondly, suppose a drunken master makes a DC 15 Tumble test before beginning a charge. In that case, his movement through endangered squares provokes no attacks of opportunity.
Swaying Waist
Swaying Waist (Ex): The character gains a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against anyone competitor he chooses during his turn.
AC Bonus (Ex): At 4th level, a drunken master gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class. This bonus enhances +2 at the 9th level.
Improved Improvised Weapons (Ex): A drunken grasp of 4th level or higher may use long improvised weapons (such as ladders) to reach weapons following their length, and improvised weapons that have many protrusions (such as seats ) provide a +2 bonus on competitions’ disarm attempts. Last, large objects with broad, flat surfaces (for example, tables) can be upended to become improvised tower protects.
Greater Improvised Weapons
Greater Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a 5e drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d8 points of damage instead of 1d4.
For Medicinal Purposes (Sp): At 8th level, a budding master gains the capacity to convert a single alcoholic beverage he has ingested into one potion of moderate cure wounds as if he’d only drunk a dose of the potion. To use this capability, the character must be under the effect of an alcoholic beverage (see Drink Like a Demon, previously ). When he transforms one drink of alcohol to a dose of this potion, his skill scores alter (+2 to Intelligence and Wisdom, –2 to Strength or Constitution) as if the length of the alcohol’s effect had died. This capacity can be used up to three times every day.
Corkscrew Rush (Ex): A drunken grasp of 9th level or higher can perform this maneuver, leaping forward and twisting his body in midair as he tries to head-butt a rival. However, if the bull rush attempt fails, then the drunken master lands prone before the opponent.
Superior Improvised Weapons (Ex): At 9th and higher, a drunken master wielding an improvised weapon deals an extra 1d12 points of damage rather than 1d8.
Breath of Flame
Breath of Flame (Sp): A 10th-level drunken master can ignite some of that alcohol inside his own body and spew it forth out of his mouth as a free action. This breath of flame deals 3d12 points of fire damage to all within the 20-foot cone or half of the harm to those who make a Reflex save (DC 10 + the drunken master’s class level + the drunken master’s Con modifier).
Each time a drunken master employs breath of flame, it absorbs one beverage’s worth of alcohol from inside his own body, lessening the penalty into his Wisdom and Intelligence scores and lessening the incentive to his Strength or Constitution score (character’s decision ).
Multiclass Notice: A monk who becomes a drunken master can keep on advancing as a monk.
| Level of advancement | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
| 1st | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Drink like a demon, improvised weapons |
| 2nd | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Stagger |
| 3rd | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Swaying waist |
| 4th | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | AC bonus +1, improved improvised weapons |
| 5th | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | greater improvised weapons |
| 6th | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Improved Feint |
| 7th | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Improved Grapple |
| 8th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | For medicinal purposes |
| 9th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | AC bonus +2, corkscrew rush, superior improvised weapons |
| 10th | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | Breath of flame |
Intoxication in Drunken Master 5e
Brewer’s supplies are flavorful, but it will be rare for you to break those bad boys out for some cocktails. Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition has no baseline rules for intoxication. That means your GM would need to think of the disadvantage. And he benefits rolls for if you or your party are great at using this proficiency.
Depending on how aggressively your GM gets intoxication to a debuff, this may get some combat merit. Perhaps you could provide really hard liquor to get an event that you plan on slipping from. Or lower a keg of beer in front of some Goblins to produce a Goblin cave somewhat easier. You may have to stretch to make these proficiencies work. Still, GMs that reward creativity might let you eliminate a lot. That isn’t the reason to take this subclass, but you could make it why your character did.
Drunken Technique
By itself, this capacity changes the Monk’s playstyle — From a frontline brawler to a rather sneaky skirmisher. In the 3rd level, you learn how to twist and turn quickly as part of your Flurry of Blows. So, Attack of Opportunity hurts a tiny bit. It prevents anything using a reach of 5 feet from really stepping out of melee range without some means to do so firmly. Aking a sword to the back of the head is a pretty good incentive to stick to the fight. The Monk has the means to get Disengage as a bonus action, so you lose your extra punch from Martial Arts. Not to mention expending some ki.
Level 5
That adds Disengage into Flurry of Blows, something you’d like to devote Ki and action onto. At the start of your turn, you can attack and Flurry, throwing around four unarmed attacks at level 5. Then, you can zip across the battlefield to your next target before your opponent can even blink. Do recall that this does nothing if you take advantage of a motion activity before you strike; you need to proceed to provoke an attack of opportunity, after all. Use this only if you start your turn right next to someone.
The awful part of this ability is it technically costs a ki point. You can not Disengage without that point, which means you have a limited number of times to use it. Luckily, Flurry of Blows is a god-tier ability for Monks, which means you’re going to be given this enthusiast often. Swerve in and from a fight, and let your fellow melee warriors perform the tanking. You gain two bonuses at the 6th level, both of these rather significant.
Leap For Your Feet.
When you’re prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed. Leap to Your Feet is situational but keeps you in accord with your skirmishing attitude. Losing half of your movement rate as a monk can indicate you are not in punching space (A.k.a., not being very helpful!). And, as a result of Unarmored movement, you technically shed more speed than many personalities when you fall in your face. When situations come up where these things, you’ll be really happy, you have this benefit.
When a monster misses you with a melee attack roll, you can spend one ki stage as a reaction to cause that attack to hit one monster of your own choice other than the attacker, which you can see within 5 feet of you.
Weapon
Redirect attack will be a rather juicy alternative. Among the most frequently encountered boss fights in the game is “big thing with a big weapon.” During those struggles, that big thing tends to have one or two smaller things nearby. As long as they are anywhere near you, you can cause the boss to absolutely splatter his ally. That’s the best-case situation, but rarely will you find Redirect Attack isn’t worth a ki point. You are guaranteeing that somebody near you takes damage.
If you’re wondering if to save your ki, think about this; could that enemy’s attack strike harder than one punch? If the solution is yes, spend that ki. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, after all! Or one sword in the rib is worth two fists close to the face.
Level 11 ki points
In the 11th level, you receive a semi-reroll impact that is incredibly in-tune for a tipsy titan on your own. Beginning at 11th level, you always appear to get a lucky bounce at the right moment. When you make a skill check, an attack roll, or even a saving throw and have the disadvantage, you can spend two ki points to cancel the roll disadvantage. That is a lot better than it sounds.
Canceling drawback is generally worth as far as gaining the advantage. Suppose this ability stated two ki points to give yourself benefit to one roster for anything important in battle. It would be worth about the same as that.
For the Monk, getting the advantage on one attack roll isn’t worth it. Monks rely on a thousand papercuts instead of landing one lucky crit, so drawback doesn’t mean too much for them. You can theoretically use it to escape drawback if you knew this punch would finish the struggle, but that’s a pretty rare case.
The disadvantages of Drunken Master 5e
The disadvantage of skill checks can be rather unfortunate but rarely life-endangering. Instead of spending ki to negate disadvantage on Athletics, possibly find another way round. When there’s no solution to get around the disadvantage with no one spending charm slots, then it’s worth using this capability; Ki regenerates somewhat easier than most spells, after all.
Now, let us talk about save drawbacks. I’m sure a couple of people have had disadvantages in their save and watched in horror as their GM casts a spell at their character. Perhaps it ended up just being extra damage, or perhaps you got a permanent curse. Perhaps your character died for this. If you do not like any of these choices, spending two ki points is a low price to cover. Monks are inclined to be good at conserves, therefore enabling the dice to ruin your chances isn’t worth it.
Diamond Soul
Consequently, this does measure on Diamond Soul’s toes, only a little bit. If you need to select between one or the other, remember that the reroll only applies to one of those dice; you can reroll the worse dice, but if both of them fail, then you would have to shell out ki points. Use Drunkard’s Luck on very important saves that you are disadvantaged on, and Diamond Soul should believe saving the Ki is better. Your closing ability for the monk heritage is the only offensive option they get. It is quite a doozy!
Flurry of Blows
At 17th level, you gain the ability to make an overwhelming number of strikes against a bunch of enemies. When you utilize your Flurry of Blows, you can make up to three additional attacks with it (up to a total of five Flurry of Blows strikes ), given that each Flurry of Blows strikes targets a different creature on this turn.
So, at the foundation, this seems good but situational. You swing at a person, and then you get to hit up to five monsters that are close enough for you to punch. That is sort of not amazing, right? You don’t wish to be that near that many enemies, yeah? It’s an adequate field of impact, but what does that matter when five people surround you?
Recall the Drunken Technique? How you’ve got the benefits of this Disengage Action? And much more movement speed than a Monk generally does?
At level 17, you have +25 feet movement rate (+35 feet with D. T.). You’re able to move 65 ft for most races, punching five monsters in the face, and there is nothing they can do to stop you. That raises your overall number of strikes at this level to a whopping 8, with just a tiny situational penalty. That puts fighters to pity!
Make sure you pump your Attack, Extra Attack, and one Flurry into a single enemy. To be sure you’re not spreading your damage too sparse across a fight.
Best Race for Drunken Master 5e Monks
Not one of their abilities possesses DCs attached to them — instead augmenting Flurry of Blows. Thus, Wisdom isn’t a huge thing. Besides, they stay from the frontlines whenever they can, reducing the amount of AC they need. You will still want enough to get misses now and then for Redirect Attack. Still, Dexterity is considerably more significant — Obtain Dexterity, subsequently Wisdom or Constitution, depending upon your race.
The Elemental Evil Player’s Companion is free. Thus you can ask your GM to help you make the perfect skirmisher. The Aarakocra has Dexterity and Wisdom, ideal for harm and redirect. Additionally, it has a flight. That tends to push it over the edge for most GMs, but remember that flight makes you a much easier target for ranged attackers and spellcasters. You’ll be in danger a lot if you utilize your flight for more than fancy escape tactics. Talk with your GM about utilizing this, and then drunkenly flap your way throughout the battle!
Wood Elf 5e
On the lookout for something a little bit essential? Elves tend to be among the most commonly “good” races in the Player’s Handbook because Dexterity is fine. Pick a Wood Elf, and you also get Wisdom, a decent ranged choice, some bonus stealth, and even more movement speed. If you’d like your Monk to soar 75 ft per turn, hitting people from the face, then Wood Elf is the best way to get there. Besides this, now you can challenge a Dwarf into a drinking contest and likely win!
The Drunken Master 5E
Rather than offering new alternatives to devote Ki or additional flexibility past the base Monk skills, it turns Flurry of Blows into the action economy’s image. Regardless of this absence of options or significant adjustments, the Drunken Master is extremely enjoyable, fast, and among the most entertaining ways to perform Monk in the late game. We highly recommend trying this Monk archetype outside, but only if there is at least another individual to keep your casters safe; you’ll probably be on the other side of the battlefield!
Review of 5e Drunken Master: That way of the monk
Among my fondest adventures with someone playing a Monk was together with all the Drunken Master 5e Monk prestige courses in D&D 3.5. The personality was great; the participant was quite enthusiastic about the character’s mechanics and roleplaying notion. Seeing that Drunken Master is now one of those Monk archetypes out there from the Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, I’m very happy to see that it is even easier for somebody to perform one. That said, let’s take a look at whether it’s worthwhile to do so.
Level 11
To start, let us approach this structurally. You get two abilities at level 3, one at 6th, yet another at 11th, and closing at level 17. Pretty simple.
As for these abilities are, we will start with the 3rd-level abilities. Bonus Proficiencies and Drunken Technique. The bonus proficiencies are everything you would expect. Bonus proficiencies. Nothing too exciting there, frankly. Drunken Technique allows you to disengage if you make a flurry of blows assault and lets you move an extra 10ft when you do so. It is not the best thing globally, but it certainly helps you act as a type of skirmisher. You can close with an enemy, do some quick harm, and then gently draw to a distance. Not a game-changer, and it steers your build a small bit, but it has its uses.
You can leap to your feet when you felt vulnerable. That takes just 5ft of movement rather than the normal half motion. You may also divert attacks, spending ki points to redirect an enemy blow to target someone else. The leap to your feet is pretty situational, but it is useful enough when it’s needed. Redirecting sounds just like a ton of fun, particularly if you get into combat with some strong enemies. I would say this is a pretty good skill.
Summary
Level 11 grants you Drunkard’s Luck. You can invest two ki points to cancel disadvantage basically whenever you desire. Kind of an expensive cost, so I would not use it frequently, but it can be useful if there’s a key moment where it matters. Notice it cancels disadvantage, does not confer an advantage. Thinking about the methods for getting an advantage through the utilization of this help action or spells may be comparatively less useful than it might seem.
In the end, there’s Intoxicated Frenzy at level 17. You may make up to five Flurry of strikes, given they each goal another animal. That is good. Granted, spreading out damage is usually a bad idea. Nonetheless, in 5e, dragons are king. You will probably have the ability to get the number of goals necessary to make this happen. And if you combine this with your earlier skills, you can use this to assault and then disengage to go away. Great for setting something up that lets your celebration follow through and tidy up the mess you leave behind.
I don’t think the Drunken Master 5e drops flat in terms of the last assessment, but it doesn’t exactly stand out. It can do some really neat things with Flurry of Blows and is overall designed pretty well for audience control. But it lacks a great deal of the punch and pizazz of abilities that allow for novel activities or raw damage output. I don’t think it’s a bad choice by any means, but I think it works well for some specific parties. Therefore it may not be universally a fantastic choice, though I’d never believed it a terrible one.
