2020 Geek-A-Long: Monk

Some people just want to punch demons in the face. Others want to spin kick dragons or bop beholders on the back of their enormous heads. The Monk puts you in contact with monsters in a way that no other character class can — physically, and at high velocity. I love playing monks. It’s DnD’s take on martial arts and was clearly inspired by the martial arts movies of the 70s and 80’s. Playing a person standing in a battlefield of metal clad warriors while wearing only the clothes on their back and carrying no weapons means being underestimated by enemies who don’t know that the scariest people in a fight are those with the least armor. They’ll soon learn. 

In fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, Monks are devastating glass cannons. They can get in, swing three or four times, and make a big impact on the board. They can even stun an enemy, setting them up for a devastating defeat in only one or two good hits. Of course, something could go wrong. In that case, the Monk’s best friend is the healer. I’ve seen more Monks drop to 0 hp than I have Barbarians or Fighters, but that never stops them from running in the next time. 

How devastating are Monks? Well, one of the toughest monsters in DnD is the Terrasque. It’s Godzilla with a protective coating that bounces spells directly back at the caster. It eats cities, and it is rumored that you cannot truly kill it without a Wish or two. It causes fear in an enormous radius bringing even the bravest warriors to their knees. But if you want to take down the CR 30 terror, it takes less than 50 level seven Monks. My husband has done the math. The Monks run in, get afraid, shrug it off, and beat the ever living hell out of it until it rolls a 1, 2, or 3 on it’s saving throw against stun. It has to fail four times, but after that the 30 to 40 remaining monks can continue to wail on it until it basically melts back onto the core of the world to terrorize a city some other time. Or course, this assumes you have a monastery of 50 mid-level Monks, just hanging out in Limbo or something. And who has that?*

*They are called the Githzarai and are so incredibly neutral that they don’t care. I think my next campaign will involve convincing the lead monk to psychically move the monastery over a city to help fight off the Titan that some evil force has sent to destroy everything you love. 

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Monk pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~Megan-Anne

The Math

How To Kill a 5E Tarrasque by Kevin Myers

Assuming monks with Dex +4, Wis+2, Con +2

Meaning Monk DC 13 Wis save for Stunning Strike, Monk Wis save +2, and 52 HP. 

Monks have four attacks and a 3/20 chance to hit. That means that they roll a 18, 19, or 20 and that one third of hits are critical.  Average damage of 7. Crits are 10.

The Tarrasque has 3/20 chance to fail vs Stunning Strike. It has a 7/20 of being knocked prone by Open Hand Technique. (I did not do that math yet. I have to research how advantage works statistically because that will massively increase the number of early hits.) It generally takes two hits from the Tarrasque to kill a level seven monk.

304 monks

Tarrasque wins initiative (because why not). 

Turn 1 

T kills 4 (including 3 attacks from legendary actions)

Of the Monks 25% (75) resist fear. Between those 75, they get 300 attacks. 45 attacks hit. ⅓ of those are crits. Damage is 30 x 7 + 15 x 10 or 370. 

If all hits are stunning strikes the Tarrasque is stunned 6 times. 

Next round, the remaining monks all snap out of it and join in the punching. 

Wow that was way easier than I thought. 

104 monks. 

Turn 1

T kills 4 monks. 

25 monks resist fear for a total of 100 attacks. Only 15 hit, one third are crits. Damage is 70 + 50 = 120. Of those 15, let’s assume none of the stuns take. 

Rest of the monks use their turn to shake off fear with stillness of mind. 

Turn 2

T kills 4 more, 96 monks remain. None are feared

That’s 384 attacks. 57.6 (let’s say 57) hit. 19 are crits. 190+ 399= 589 damage total Tarrasque damage is 709. 

Tarrasque is dead.

50 monks

Turn 1

T kills 4. 46 remain. 

11 monks resist the fear.  44 attacks. Of those six hit, two are crits.28 + 20 = 48 damage. Assume none stun it. 

Monks alive :46

T HP: -48

Legendary Resistances: 3

Turn 2

T kills 4. 42 remain. 

Only 11 are susceptible to more fear and only two make the save. Leaving 33 monks to make 142 attacks. Of those 21 hits, 7 of those are crits.98 + 70 = 168. Now here’s where things get craaaaazy. Of those 21 hits it’s likely that 3 of them will be a successful stun. T burns all legendary resistance.

Monks Alive: 42

T HP: -216

Legendary Resistances: 0

Turn 3

T kills 4 monks. 38 remain. 

Only 2 are able to be feared. Neither make it. 

36 monks attack 144 times. 21 attacks hit. Damage is the same as last turn. An average of 3 stuns are effective. Now the stun takes hold. -168 damage. 

Monks alive 38

T HP:- 384

Turn 4

T is stunned. No monk is capable of being feared. 38 monks 

Same as last time, except with Advantage on all attacks and all hits are automatically crits. Now they just have to keep up the stun. STUN LOCK ACHIEVED. 

I haven’t added up how many Ki points each monk should have because that sounds like a pain in the ass. Each Monk would start with 7 and only use a point for Stunning Strike if it hits. Knocking it prone with Open Hand technique instead of as stunning would lead to a few more dead, but still a likely win. Combining the two makes it much easier as that triggers on each successful hit with fury of blows and then gives everyone advantage to attacks. 

*Please note that in my games every Tarrasque gets a massive tail swipe, unique roar, and breath weapon. It can only be stopped by a Mecha-Tarrasque or two halflings riding an enormous moth.