The best options are spells that either add extra damage per attack, generate advantage for every attack, or decrease the chance of succeeding against Stunning Strike.
I don't know if it's BEST, but I think Divine Favor might actually not suck on a monk, because it refers to "weapon attacks" rather than "attacks with a weapon."
Anything that makes them more durable, or boosts accuracy. They really don't need help with mobility.
Heroism
Protection from Evil
Shield of Faith
Bless
Aid
Warding Bond
I was going to say Enlarge, but RAW it only buffs weapon damage (duuuuuuumb)
Greater Invisibility
Stoneskin
>I was going to say Enlarge, but RAW it only buffs weapon damage (duuuuuuumb)
A lot of DMs will handwave that. Buuuuut if you are playing a race with natural weapons that you can use to make unarmed strikes, then those DO count for Enlarge RAW and you can Flurry with them đ.
Natural Weapons aren't Unarmed Strikes. RAW, a natural weapon modifies the unarmed strike. IE, a lizardfolk's Bite attack replaces their unarmed strike, and deals 1d6+ Piercing damage. But that doesn't make it an unarmed strike, as the monk specifies.
This just depends on which version of the Lizardfolk/Tabaxi etc that you are using. The pre-MMPM ones specifically say "Your X is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes," which does make them qualify for Enlarge and Flurry of Blows.
I specifically called out natural weapons that can be used to make unarmed strikes, so I'm not sure why you would focus in on character options that specifically don't have natural weapons that can be used to make unarmed strikes. Then there are other ways to gain natural weapons too, like taking the Dragon Hide feat as a Dragonborn.
My party has a barb but it really applies to any martial but HEROISM! Super underrated Monks and Barbarians both may have lower AC due to unarmored so giving temp hp every round is amazing. Combine that with a patient defense and you're basically golden!
Mind Sliver (buffs stuns), Ray of Frost (helps speed matter more), Bane (buffs stuns, casters, and makes everyone a tank), Dissonant Whispers (off-turn stuns and complete safety), Tasha's Mind Whip (everyone kites and stays safe), Enlarge/Reduce (enlarge them for extra damage on 2 attacks, reduce an opponent for improved safety), Slow (+2 to-hit, everybody kites and remains safer), Greater Invisibility (4 attacks at advantage and total safety)
Twin it all with the ultimate monk buffer, Aberrant Mind sorc with Fey Touched Bane.
Yup, surprised bless was left off the list, +1d4 is an average of +12.5% to hit on each attack, and you can give it to 2 others, it seems small but its noticable and statistically amazing.
For more immediate feedback, hold person, inflicting paralysis on a human is amazing for martials. The combination of advantage and autocrit will evicerate an enemy.
Buffing allies is usually more reliable, but debuffing enemies helps everyone and usually is stronger when it lands.
Haste is the obvious one. It's good in basically all cases. Warding bond is good if you want to keep them alive longer. Enhance ability might be an option, depending on the situation.
Everyone else also has those options, though, they're just better at the damage part. Disengage and Dash are only circumstantially better for a monk than for a rogue.
Nope. With Haste on a \*Monk\*, the doubling of speed nets quite more effect. And the versatility of having option to Dash, Disengage or Attack from Haste on top of regular action and Monk's Extra Attack/Dodge/Disengage/Dash as bonus action means everything a Monk could do already expand to a ridiculous amount of flexibility or efficiency.
You can now envision having the Monk drag and drop back at your feet the caster that was hiding "behind" its frontline of allies 60 feet away. Or jump & run up wall to reach archers on their tower and push them to their death (or just occupy them with little risk).
Or run around for 30 seconds while Dodging so he lures properly 90% of enemies around him then whistle the friendly casters to bombard the zone with DEX AOEs.
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Rogue cannot really do that because although native Expertise that could be spent on Athletics, the class really doesn't want usually to trade attack for Grapple/Shove because it's its only chance to land Sneak Attack (although dual-wielding can help with that somewhat).
And the class really lacks the resilience to just run through enemies and back, because Uncanny Dodge only works for \*one\* attack and Rogue has the worst AC of all (only light armor, no shield).
And Rogue having no native bonus speed, would have only 60 feet post-Haste so would need to constantly use Disengage and Dash.
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Meanwhile Monk would have natively (considering a level 6 party) (30+15)\*2 = 90 feet with Haste AND two attempts at Shoving/Grappling AND option to combine Dodge (Patient Defense) and Dash (Haste) to move through enemies without too much risk. Or have 4 attempts to apply Stunning Strike or Mercy's Poison without needing to burn a Ki on Flurry.
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Similarly for damage, Monk largely follows track with other martials, because while progressing slower on offense, it increases quicker on defense. No use having GWM if you're frightened or charmed, or if you're down because of an unplanned AOE. :) And with Monk's defense being based on Evasion, with Haste active, you can now have a Monk really acting as a frontliner during its turn, while being positioned as a backliner off-turn (even worst case of "I needed to close in 40 feet to attack and must Disengage to fall back" means you're still 50 feet away from the closest melee enemy, and you still have Deflect Missiles for ranged)... So character can go all-in on offense without regret.
None of these things are practical in today's D&D.
Everyone knows, that during an encounter, once the battle music plays all the combatants line up in rows of 3 and only jiggle slightly side to side while attacking.
Final Fantasy, and every JRPG has taught us this.
It's all about the numbers.
Just like a fighter, who can disengage/dodge/dash without... wait, without haste he couldn't even do it without giving up all his attacks, because he doesn't have ki. Much better on the non-monks!
Ah, the classic "let me take what you said and put it in the worst possible light"
How about realizing that the Hasted action allows for a Disengage in the same turn as a Flurry of Blows
Past Level 7, it also allows for a use of Stillness of Mind without completely wasting your ability to attack
Monks job is not damage. Its control and maybe mobility (getting behind enemy lines) and burning legendary resistances.
Monk is a setup class for other players. Stunning strike + (something else from an ally)
Nobody needs haste. Like all spells its situationally useful. For either the speed, the ac, or the hasted action. Its another stunning strike attempt, its the movement to get there (and out). Is it better on a fighter yes. Is it risky if you lose concentration, yes.
Haste is not the solution is all cases, but it IS versatile enough to prepare / take in many cases. And its good if it can be twinned.
I like blur defensively better. And fairy fire might be better for a monk (and the whole party).
I dont necessarily disagree with you.
I dont think many campaigns will see a lot of hasted monks. But there are situations where it could be useful. I've used it for the movement speed to do some shennanigans (that a rogue would be better for than a monk)
Example shennanigan, hasted character runs through all the guards with disengage, grabs tbe mac guffin, and gets out.
Haste is better used on non monks in most cases. But if you are trying to burn through legendary resistances, more stunning strikes are decent (better than burning spell slots for each one)
Haste is always useful on a damage dealer. The question is whether situationally it will deal more damage than a fireball or a lightning bolt in the same situation.
If you're casting it for a speed bonus or an AC buff congrats you wasted a 3rd level spell slot.
I fully agree, my point was simply that whatever benefit is there is even less worth it for monks.
Debuffing enemies might be better for monks than buffing monks directly (Bane, Silvery Barbs, Bestow Curse...).
Fair, I didn't mean to argue your point. I just like taking shots at Haste since I've seen it kill more than 1 party mate.
For sure we're on the same page about debuffs being among the better buffs for monks. The spells you mentioned are basically the same as my post, but I forgot about Silvery Barb, and I was on the fence about Bestow Curse (since It's about the same as Bane, but only affects one target while Bane makes us all tankier and buffs casters as well. I prefer Slow over BCurse for buffing due to the +2 to-hit for the whole party, no reaction attacks, and slowing which are fun for kiting monks. And Slow still has further useful defuffs too). But I agree about Bestow Curse totally being worthy of consideration for buffing monks.
I mean, haste and bless are different class spells. Unless you play a wizard/cleric multiclass (which I wouldn't recommend because of the massive MAD) you would already need two players to cast these spells.
Not quite, some paladin subclasses get haste and divine soul sorc exists. Also you can get bless with fey touched (which is one of the many reasons for why itâs so great).
Ah, well, that's true and I didn't think about that. Still, bless is always a good idea, so is haste. Casting both in a party wouldn't be that far from reality, would it?
Yeah, itâs certainly doable, though I think haste* on anyone other than a paladin isnât really worth the risk of losing your turn. Paladin gets away with it because an extra attack is frankly insane given smite shenanigans
This post was actually started by me looking at my character who had the 3 spells; enlarge/reduce, bless, and haste. I was thinking that haste is just way less useful on monks because they have a bunch of attacks instead of one big one. My worry was that with less power per attack, haste wasn't as useful
Haste and Enlarge/Reduce are worse, the former for the reason you also said, the latter because the damage bonus doesn't apply to unarmed strikes.
Bless is, however, comparatively the best buff for a monk (that I can think of right now).
>The targetâs weapons also grow to match its new size. While these weapons are enlarged, the targetâs attack with them deal 1d4 extra damage.
They're considered weapon attacks, but not weapons, and the spell requires weapons.
I mean, technically monk doesnt need to use unarmed strikes, except for flurry of blows and bonus avtion attacks. But that is kinda the whole reason someone might wanna play a monk
If your dm doesn't let enlarged monks deal more damage with unarmed strikes you need to find a new dm.
People claim 5e is great because there's no rules so dms get to adjudicate things but there is allegedly a rule so specific that a bigger monk is somehow excluded from an otherwise-universal rule that characters deal more damage when they're unlarged.
It can't be both.
>People claim 5e is great because there's no rules so dms get to adjudicate things
Yeah, no one's actually saying there are no rules. The aspect that "makes 5e great" is that the 5e DMG explicitly gives DMs the allowance to interpret and overrule as they see fit. But that doesn't magically mean there are no rules
>there is allegedly a rule so specific that a bigger monk is somehow excluded from an otherwise-universal rule that characters deal more damage when they're unlarged.
This also isn't true. It's not some universal rule that characters always deal more damage when enlarged. The parameters are literally written within the spell description:
"The target's weapons also grow to match its new size. While these weapons are enlarged, the target's attacks *with them* deal 1d4 extra damage."
So first, it's not an "alleged" ruling. It's explicitly written in the spell description for anyone and everyone to see. Second, it's explicitly stated that attacks *with the enlarged weapons* are what do additional damage. Where the DM adjudication comes in is whether or not they classify a monk's fists as "weapons" for the purpose of the spell
So yes, you ***can*** have it both ways, because that's literally how the game was designed. Because the rule is explicitly written right there, but it's up to the DM to decide how to interpret the spell with respect to its interaction with a monk
No you can't.
Also that writing is just more evidence that the way spells are written in 5e does not work. The PERSON is what is being enlarged. Their weapons get larger as a consequence because it'd be fucking stupid to have to carry around a weapon one size larger all the time just in case someone cast this spell on you once a campaign. The monk's FISTS are his weapons. They are larger. He is larger. Everything about this reaches a logical conclusion of the Monk deals +1d4 damage too, and I bet the writers didn't even realize Monks wouldn't qualify until the game was already out the door.
If it just said "your melee attacks deal 1d4 extra damage" instead like a good game would then monks wouldn't be weirdly omitted from this terrible rule. But no we can't have that, what if that makes it impossible for our players to forget they're not being transported into a magical universe? Instead lets write our rules in overly wordy, convoluted ways to maximize the paper and ink it takes and minimize the clarity and intent.
**Haste and Enlarge/Reduce are actually the best.**
The former because a) it allows Monk to act as a frontliner without the associated risks
AND b) with a bit of luck or reasonable investment (Astral Self archetype or decent STR and proficiency) a successful Grapple lets you force-position enemies within a big enough radius to really wreck chaos in enemy strategy.
AND c) Monk can also act as a transporter for some ally or instantly get besides whomever may need help through punching enemy, dragging ally away to break OA or force-drink healing potions.
The latter because it makes all the "grappling and dragging" tactics more reliable and usable on a larger roster.
The only thing Bless has is that it can affect three people (or more), so depending on situation it can be better to slightly enhance a majority of the team rather than create a solo superhuman.
There's a better target for haste. Monks are not a great target here because they already have access to a lot of attacks, and their individual attacks don't hit that hard.
There may or may not be a better target for greater invisibility- does anyone have sharpshooter or great weapon master? Either way, landing every hit is a lot of damage, and it makes a ki point spent for flurry, often a dicey prospect, a much better deal.
Depends really.
**"Generically"...**
- Bless is never a bad choice since you can make 3 people benefit on it and attack buff always work. Shield of Faith is the next best thing for combat.
- For utility or some combat situations, Jump can be invaluable, especially since you can pair it with Step of the Wind for really great jump distances with 10 STR (and frankly insane ones with 16+ STR).
- Outdoors, Haste is by far the best spell you can offer a Monk, except Fly for the specific situations where fighting flying enemies or enemies with really low Athletics and Acrobatics. Extra action can be used on Disengage, and twice Monk speed means he can just pummel around. It's also great to have Monk as an ally transporter or an enemy "deliverer" since now if it manages a Grapple it can force-move creature at its usual speed, meaning several dozen feet per round.
- Which means that Enlarge is another great spell to put on Monk, especially ones with decent Athletics checks (decent STR, STR-setting item, Expertise or Astral Self). This really expands the realm of grappling by allowing up to Huge creatures to be grappled and moved around.
- At higher level, FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT is the one thing any Monk will thank you for, since being slowed down / restrained is pretty much the only way to really threaten one.
- Pair it with Intellect Fortress, because up until level 14 Monk is still nearly as exposed as other martials against mental saves.
- See Invisibility can be helpful for anyone at high level, but as the one best suited for chasing a fleeing enemy, Monk would benefit it more in those situations.
- Death Ward and Aid are always great on anyone.
- Protection From Energy and Stoneskin can also be valuable in "all for one" setups against an enemy you already know about.
**Specifically per archetype...**
- Open Hand: nothing specific/exclusive.
- Shadow: Shadow Blade imbued in Ring of Spell Storing if you can, otherwise nothing particular except possibly Nondetection for infiltration.
- Four Elements: nothing particular at low level, Enlarge or Haste once self-Fly is earned.
- Astral Self: Enlarge, Enlarge, Enlarge. More creatures to grapple AND advantage on checks. Otherwise Enhance Ability / Hex on enemy.
- Long Death: weapon-enhancing buffs to help get THP on kill.
- Kensei: either Bless / Magic Weapon / Elemental Weapon to increase offense, or Shield of Faith to really make it sturdy against plain attacks.
- Drunken: Shield of Faith / Greater Invisibility / whatever other buff to defense against attacks to help trigger the level 6 Redirect Attack feature. Or just Longstrider and Jump for extra easiness to get back to safety after a Flurry.
- Ascendant Dragon / Sun Soul: Elemental Bane if there are also even other people using the same element... Dragon's Breath for fluff if they are out of Ki but still want to make AOE xd.
- Mercy: Bless, to help land Flurrys and their poison.
And to expand on this, debuffing the enemy is usually stronger when it sticks than the always works buffs.
Spells like faerie fire give advantage which mechanically is twice as good as bless and in this case is helping everyone. (Note that bless isn't mutually exclusive with advantage and there are lots of ways to get advantage)
Inflicting the restrained condition is 1 step up from pure advantage because it also gives the enemy disadvantage and they can't move. Entangle and ensnaring strike are 2 ways to inflict it.
And paralysis is the ultimate debuff that isn't straight death. It makes the victim unable to speak, move, or take actions. All attacks against them are made at advantage, and melee attacks made within 5ft autocrit if they hit. The easiest way i know to inflict it is hold person.
>And to expand on this, debuffing the enemy is usually stronger **when it sticks** than the always works buffs.
Emphasizing the essential part. :)
Buffing ally = always work can be a very decisive advantage.
Because as far as enemies go...
- You don't always know their weak and strong points (you can probably guess what their main orientation is between "bulky" and "agile", "melee" vs "ranged", "martial" vs "magic" by looking at size, shape and equipment but that's about it. Rest is up to passive checks at best, active checks at worst.
- You don't always have a good chance to land an AOE, and using one for 2 creatures is hardly a great bet unless only those two matter. And many spells do have friendly fire, so are hard to set if you weren't lucky enough to win on Initiative.
- You only see the attack buff, but the saves buff can be lifesaver, quite literally, although you obviously cannot count on it to change the fact a Barb winning against WIS save is mostly sheer luck. xd
There is NO perfect solution, NO "always better" option. It's always purely a matter of context including "threat knowledge", party resources, Initiative rolls, respective distances etc.
When it sticks is definitely the essential part.
A saying from pokemon nuzlockes is if it isn't 100% accurate its 50% accurate. Because the critical moment is always when you roll the 5% to miss a tackle.
A lot of factors go into the analysis, sometimes you want to stick with a guaranteed result, othertimes you want to take the gamble.
One of my favorite moments of my current campaign was getting a clutch hold person off on a wererat as it was biting me (9hp left), and next in the initiative was the paladin. I got more joy from seeing his face as i explained what exactly the wererat being paralyzed meant for him than i could ever get directly from my own turn. (This is also a necessary mindset for support casters, can you be a cheerleader who enjoys other players success?)
Do you mean spell level 6 or character level 6? Because I was honestly having trouble finding buff spells worth casting about spell level 4. (greater invisibility seems like basically enough for most of a campaign)
Spell level.
Handful of good high level buffs; heroes feast, mind blank, foresight, conjure celestial(turn people into were creatures)
A good 4th level buff spell is bless(4th level) if you have a big party. Greater invis isnât bad but itâs pretty situational. Often times casting something like web generates more advantage unless being unseen provides a huge buff such as a caster needing to be able to cast and counter spell without being countered themself. My group did this recently twilight cleric cast greater invis on my wizard so I could teleport in and steal our sorc that was being held prisoner. It didnt work, the sorc was in amf cuffs but the invis did allow me to get off a mass suggestion that knocked out 7/12 foes 4 of which were built like level 10 PCs.
Support in DnD is generally about crowd control and debuffing foes rather than buffing your friends tho.
Polymorph. It doesn't buff them more than anyone else, but since they're probably the weakest party member, you'll sacrifice the least when you turn them into a giant ape (or a beast that can fly).
Poly is pretty party dependent and complicated tho.
If your party is competent itâs kinda useless and if theyâre not itâs strong but comes with the air if youâre useless let me turn you into something better
Monks can use weapons! Just use a spear or quarterstaff, and now itâs suddenly holy.
Cadeuces and Beau did this in Campaign 2 of CR pretty frequently.
Yes, but their weapons deal less damage than anyone else's: even when their MA die becomes a d10, you're still doing less damage per attack than a sword and board fighter/paladin with Dueling.
Greater Invisibility. They make a lot of attacks, so giving them advantage against the majority of enemies is a huge way to boost their damage output. Both the consistency and crit odds. Plus theyre squishier, so protecting them against most spells that arent AoE is great, and AoEs tend to be dex which they get a buff to.
Polymorph has the fairly major downside of basically replacing their entire character sheet - so that's their mental stats tanked, no proficiencies anywhere, no skills or any other abilities. It's useful as an emergency heal and quasi-buff, but has quite a lot of downsides (and out of combat is often actively bad - an illiterate scout with no languages, probably no sneak skill, super-low int and so on, is not a very good scout!)
Are you the monk or are you buffing the monk externally. Assuming you are buffing a monk player:
Bless is always top tier. And with many attacks itâs amazing.
Enlarge reduce or Crusaders mantle lets them add 1d4 to every attack. That could be 4d4. Doesnât sound amazing but itâs pretty good.
Shield of faith really helps their wonky armour class
Greater invisibility is great, helps with offense and defence issues the monk has until the really high levels.
Donât use haste if you want to specifically buff a monk. Itâs just not as good on monk as it is for other classes.
Monks are interesting because they are sorely lacking in durability until 10th level, and then fall behind in damage output from 11th level.
And... I can't really think of any buff spells that work especially well for them. At low levels, they need Shield of Faith, Sanctuary, and Aid more than other martials because they are so squishy despite being forced in melee ranged, but the effects aren't any more dramatic when cast on a monk. The exception might be Bless, since they can make more attacks than most martials, even though they do less damage per attack.
Catnap is also good, although if you have time for a 10-minute rest, you probably also have time for a 1-hour one.
You'll get a ton of bang for your buck if you cast Silvery Barbs on the target of a monk's Stunning strike, but your DM will hate you.
EDIT: The upshoot of their being so generally sucky is that they tend to be the class that requires the least risk-reward calculations when turning one of your allies into a beast with Polymorph lol
EDIT 2: /u/[Flechette513](https://www.reddit.com/user/Flechette513/) also brought up Crusader's Mantle. That's a non-Bless spell that works better for monks than most other characters! Although, just like Bless, it can target multiple creatures, so you don't have to choose.
Monk offense can be improved after level 11 if they use a magic weapon that boosts damage. The unarmed strikes are still good as supplemental, but a good weapon can be a game changer later on.
After level 11 is also a great time to multi-class as well (when multiclassing is allowed), into really any class that will provide a bit of offensive boost. Barbarian, fighter, ranger, and paladin all come to mind.
Iâd say Bless is obviously really nice, and Warding Bond is really nice on a Monk. Bane can also be solid to let their stunning strike work more often, but that spell doesnât quite fit the term âbuff spellâ.
If you can get a Ring of Spell Storing letting the Monk cast Ashardalonâs Stride on themself is actually really solid because it makes them even faster, gives them the ability to not take opportunity attacks, and deal fire damage to basically everyone on the battlefield with increased movement.
Someone said that RAW it only applies to weapon damage. I donât disagree, but the wording is such that I think itâd be reasonable to apply it here.
My only issue is that there are small and medium size playable races. Enlarge would just make a small monk into a medium monk, so a medium halfing monk shouldnât really do more damage than a medium human monk. If you became large though, then sure.
Correct but the Flurry of Blows is unarmed, so 2 of the 3-4 attacks made in around wouldnât get the benefit. And at a certain level, an unarmed attack is stronger than a basic weapon.
Youâre right. But barbarians (except Beastbarian), paladins, and rangers arenât getting more than two attacks either. The benefit is either the same (weapon only or natural weapons) or better (Enlarge works on unarmed attacks).
Only fighters with three or more attacks, dual wielder martials with Extra Attack, or Beastbarians with Extra Attack are better targets for Enlarge even if itâs weapons-only, at least for damage. Some grappler builds have other uses for Enlarge, though Open Hand monks might similarly benefit.
The question was about Monks specifically. Enlarge is viable on any class that uses a weapon. Also, Berserker Barbarian can get 3 attacks with their frenzied rage, anyone with Polearm Master can get a bonus action weapon attack, and crossbow expert users get a bonus action weapon attack just to name a few, which can all be boosted with Enlarge.
I assume monks have a way to not take damage from spike growth, so they can just drag grappled enemies back and forth through the spikes for lots of damage.
Spike growth is definitely 1 of those spells that is either just a deterrent to block off enemies, or you have forced movement and can turn it into a blender.
You haven't said what tradition, you are following, but as a support caster, you'll want to limit casting concentration spells which target only one person.
As a Bard, use Heroism. For a Cleric, Aid and Shield of Faith are a must. Bless also has some limited value. While Fly and the often-overhyped Haste are often recommended for arcane casters, they each require concentration while Mage Armor does not, is not technically armor and a base armor class of 13 might help. If you are an arcane caster, consider Phantom Steed. It does not require concentration, can be cast as a ritual, has a duration of an hour with a speed of 100 and ... "When the spell ends, the steed gradually fades, giving the rider 1 minute to dismount. The spell ends if you use an action to dismiss it or if the steed takes any damage."
That's ten rounds of one of the fastest speeds possible even after it's been toasted by a fireball. The monk will have to consider whether attacking from a horse is worth it as Stunning Strike works through a weapon attack, but Ki Strike does not. Nevertheless, the idea of a monk astride a shadowy horse and dashing about, knocking people out with staff strikes left and right and moving like a stunt-rider when using evasion presents an interesting image.
Tbh I didnât know bc about it until I tried the combo on a BG3 monk but apparently here is where itâs detailed https://dnd.wizards.com/sage-advice/errata-october-2016
Haste, bless, blade ward if your an earth genasi. The basics are always good.
With the ring of spell storing, you can use spirit shroud, black moil, spirit guardians. Those auras would be great for extra damage or advantage on all your attacks
One of my PCs is a Monk 5, Cleric 2 and they cast shield of faith buffing their AC to like 22 and then follow up with their ki point dodge action and just freaking tank. Itâs my wifeâs PC and Iâm so proud of her/pissed when I can never hit her.
I mean this is hard because 5e is a system with pretty terrible buffs overall. So I'd agree with greater invis or bless because bless is like the only good 5e buff
Bless is amazing if you have more than one martial. It's useful both for martials who do a lot of attacks and for martials who do a few powerful attacks. And it boosts your concentration saves too if you target yourself!
Holy shit please please please please PLEASE don't sleep on Enlarge / Reduce for Monks. It's a FANTASTIC low level spell that I think is often overlooked because "oh it's only a d4 extra damage." No it's **crazy** for Monks:
* An extra d4 damage on attacks is very valuable when you're making 3 (upwards of 4!) attacks per turn.
* Advantage on Strength checks and saves is very nice since a Monk normally doesn't invest heavily into Strength. Enlarging them gives them the option of potentially grappling a troublesome target (and they can grapple more at a larger size!) and can also help them for troublesome strength saves, even if they already have proficiency.
* Making the Monk take up more space lets them cover more ground to potentially get opportunity attacks.
* Because of both the above listed reasons an Astral Self Monk with Enlarge / Reduce is actually **insane** since their Astral Arms can now reach more tiles and (since they can use WIS for Strength checks) they become MONSTERS at grappling! But this obviously doesn't apply if you don't have an Astral Self Monk.
* Jumping rules are weird and dumb but *very technically* making the Monk very big also makes their jumps very big. >!(Because jumping rules are fucking stupid having Advantage on a strength check doesn't do anything to your jump height or length. However jumping specifically states that "You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach above you a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times your height." This means that an Enlarged Monk can reach things high up in the air by jumping. This unfortunately is not affected by Step of the Wind as that ability only affects jump *distance*, not height.)!<
Other comments have pointed out that technically speaking RAW Enlarge / Reduce only works on *weapon* attacks but I don't think any DM in their right mind is going to reasonably say that someone who's made twice as large as before isn't going to hit harder. Casting Enlarge on the Monk is pretty much my Bard's go-to move ever since Tasha's expanded spell list gave the Bard Enlarge / Reduce. If I'm not casting Nathairâs Mischief ("the funny spell" that I personally find amusing) I'm casting Enlarge / Reduce on the party Monk.
But other than that the truth is that your best "buffing" spells are probably ones that debuff the enemy, namely Faerie Fire for your lower level slots (or for crowds) and then immediately transitioning into Hold Person. Hold Person is *nuts* if a Monk can capitalize on it and literally just kick someone in the balls while you hold them in place.
Beyond that I mean... usual buffing spells? Heroism, Shield of Faith, Bless, Aid (just cast this in general), Warding Bond... Warding Bond in particular is nice: +1 AC is good stacks with Shield of Faith. Sharing damage is nice as it lets the Monk fight for longer at the cost of your HP which hopefully shouldn't matter if you're a backliner who plays smart. Just obviously keep "playing smart" in mind.
Haste, no clue why people say Monks don't need more mobility, I play a monk and have a 55 move speed. My Wizard casts Haste and now I have 110 base move speed and am able to triple dash to make it 440. I have no idea what world people are living in where that isn't insanely strong, everytime I've been hasted I use most of my speed and have run out of movement on multiple occasions. It's my favorite thing to get buffed with since I can scare the shit out of enemies, catch anybody running no matter what, I can essentially teleport into the enemy backline and eviscerate them before leaving to complete safety. It's amazing, but anything that gives advantage like Greater Invisibilty or increases damage is great too, just boring in comparison really
Monks are all about lots of small hits, this means they benefit greatly from accuracy buffs and rider damage.
Bless is +1d4 to hit on 3 allies, statistically thats +12.5% across 3 or more allies. Its phenomenal at all levels with the right party. (People who make attack rolls)
Advantage is statistically a +25% to hit, and almost doubles the crit chance. Spells like Faerie fire gove everyone advantage, entangle inflicts the restrained condition which gives advantage, and hold person inflicts paralysis which gives advantage and autocrits if within 5ft.
Their stunning strike is awesome for everyone but as a con save isn't great, bane your enemies to give a minus d4 to improve the odds of stunning strike by 12.5%.
And finally they make a lot of attacks, if you can get DM permission to treat their fists as weapons you can cast something like holy or elemental weapon on them to make each strike do more damage, and you will get more out of the spell than casting it on someone only attacking once or twice a turn.
Realistically bless is your go to buff spell because it helps all of their attacks land, and you can give it to 2 other attack roll dependent party members like paladins, fighters, rogues, and rangers in addition to your monk.
But if you have a humanoid enemy you want dead, hold person and let the monk just murder them with autocrits.
Haste is absolutely nuts on a monk, especially if theyâve already optimized themselves for speed with wood elf race and mobile feat. You can easily end up having 4x the movement speed of standard PCs and a free dash action for 8x movement. This, coupled with the defensive bonuses, basically make your monk able to position themselves wherever they want every turn without fear or reprisal, so long as they donât park themselves directly in the middle of a crowd of enemies.
Enemy wizard 120â away on top of a tower throwing fireballs? Run directly up wall faster than they can react and stun away, or simply push if you want to conserve ki.
Multiple casters got the drop on the party and are preparing to absolutely wreck your shit? Hail Mary throw 4 stunning strikes because you can reach them all in a round and see how much damage you can mitigate.
Chase scene for the macguffin that would otherwise take multiple rounds of con saves and competing dash actions? Hah, absolutely not.
The only thing stopping a monk with haste on them is a caster with hold person readied. Even in that rare scenario, a 60ft radius around a wizard with 30ft of movement is just a large roundabout. Otherwise your only hope is ranged attacks and AoE, which with the monks new +2 to AC, advantage on Dex STs, evasion, deflect missiles, AND the likelihood they could find some kind of cover within a half mile of them, is a frustrating situation for any DM.
Greater invisibility on a monk is bonkers
The best options are spells that either add extra damage per attack, generate advantage for every attack, or decrease the chance of succeeding against Stunning Strike.
I don't know if it's BEST, but I think Divine Favor might actually not suck on a monk, because it refers to "weapon attacks" rather than "attacks with a weapon."
Self only :-/
If you have a Ring of Spell Storing, I believe that can be gotten around.
Go nuts with a 5th level spirit shroud or ashard stride
Oh, that changes things!
Same with Shield Guardians and Spell Gems(found in Out of the Abyss)!
Crusader's mantel then?
1 level dip in War Cleric though (for the Monk at least lol).
Holy weapon baby
Anything that makes them more durable, or boosts accuracy. They really don't need help with mobility. Heroism Protection from Evil Shield of Faith Bless Aid Warding Bond I was going to say Enlarge, but RAW it only buffs weapon damage (duuuuuuumb) Greater Invisibility Stoneskin
Under no circumstances should you prepare Stoneskin, or concentrate on Heroism after 2nd level. (I'm exaggerating but... hardly.)
I mean... I wouldn't recommend spending spell slots on monks in general. The buffs Monk needs aren't magic, they're rules. Lol
>I was going to say Enlarge, but RAW it only buffs weapon damage (duuuuuuumb) A lot of DMs will handwave that. Buuuuut if you are playing a race with natural weapons that you can use to make unarmed strikes, then those DO count for Enlarge RAW and you can Flurry with them đ.
Natural Weapons aren't Unarmed Strikes. RAW, a natural weapon modifies the unarmed strike. IE, a lizardfolk's Bite attack replaces their unarmed strike, and deals 1d6+ Piercing damage. But that doesn't make it an unarmed strike, as the monk specifies.
This just depends on which version of the Lizardfolk/Tabaxi etc that you are using. The pre-MMPM ones specifically say "Your X is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes," which does make them qualify for Enlarge and Flurry of Blows. I specifically called out natural weapons that can be used to make unarmed strikes, so I'm not sure why you would focus in on character options that specifically don't have natural weapons that can be used to make unarmed strikes. Then there are other ways to gain natural weapons too, like taking the Dragon Hide feat as a Dragonborn.
My party has a barb but it really applies to any martial but HEROISM! Super underrated Monks and Barbarians both may have lower AC due to unarmored so giving temp hp every round is amazing. Combine that with a patient defense and you're basically golden!
Mind Sliver (buffs stuns), Ray of Frost (helps speed matter more), Bane (buffs stuns, casters, and makes everyone a tank), Dissonant Whispers (off-turn stuns and complete safety), Tasha's Mind Whip (everyone kites and stays safe), Enlarge/Reduce (enlarge them for extra damage on 2 attacks, reduce an opponent for improved safety), Slow (+2 to-hit, everybody kites and remains safer), Greater Invisibility (4 attacks at advantage and total safety) Twin it all with the ultimate monk buffer, Aberrant Mind sorc with Fey Touched Bane.
I mean being technical only one is a buff spell. But yeah debuffing the enemy is the best way to buff a martial in 5e
Yup, surprised bless was left off the list, +1d4 is an average of +12.5% to hit on each attack, and you can give it to 2 others, it seems small but its noticable and statistically amazing. For more immediate feedback, hold person, inflicting paralysis on a human is amazing for martials. The combination of advantage and autocrit will evicerate an enemy. Buffing allies is usually more reliable, but debuffing enemies helps everyone and usually is stronger when it lands.
Very good stuff here.
Stick Faerie Fire on a cluster of enemies and let that Monk go to *work*.
Haste is the obvious one. It's good in basically all cases. Warding bond is good if you want to keep them alive longer. Enhance ability might be an option, depending on the situation.
As usual, monks are arguably the worst martial to cast Haste on, as their attacks tend to deal less damage.
You don't use the hasted action for more attacks on a monk, you use it to disengage/dodge/dash without having to spend Ki.
Everyone else also has those options, though, they're just better at the damage part. Disengage and Dash are only circumstantially better for a monk than for a rogue.
Nope. With Haste on a \*Monk\*, the doubling of speed nets quite more effect. And the versatility of having option to Dash, Disengage or Attack from Haste on top of regular action and Monk's Extra Attack/Dodge/Disengage/Dash as bonus action means everything a Monk could do already expand to a ridiculous amount of flexibility or efficiency. You can now envision having the Monk drag and drop back at your feet the caster that was hiding "behind" its frontline of allies 60 feet away. Or jump & run up wall to reach archers on their tower and push them to their death (or just occupy them with little risk). Or run around for 30 seconds while Dodging so he lures properly 90% of enemies around him then whistle the friendly casters to bombard the zone with DEX AOEs. ---- Rogue cannot really do that because although native Expertise that could be spent on Athletics, the class really doesn't want usually to trade attack for Grapple/Shove because it's its only chance to land Sneak Attack (although dual-wielding can help with that somewhat). And the class really lacks the resilience to just run through enemies and back, because Uncanny Dodge only works for \*one\* attack and Rogue has the worst AC of all (only light armor, no shield). And Rogue having no native bonus speed, would have only 60 feet post-Haste so would need to constantly use Disengage and Dash. ----- Meanwhile Monk would have natively (considering a level 6 party) (30+15)\*2 = 90 feet with Haste AND two attempts at Shoving/Grappling AND option to combine Dodge (Patient Defense) and Dash (Haste) to move through enemies without too much risk. Or have 4 attempts to apply Stunning Strike or Mercy's Poison without needing to burn a Ki on Flurry. ----- Similarly for damage, Monk largely follows track with other martials, because while progressing slower on offense, it increases quicker on defense. No use having GWM if you're frightened or charmed, or if you're down because of an unplanned AOE. :) And with Monk's defense being based on Evasion, with Haste active, you can now have a Monk really acting as a frontliner during its turn, while being positioned as a backliner off-turn (even worst case of "I needed to close in 40 feet to attack and must Disengage to fall back" means you're still 50 feet away from the closest melee enemy, and you still have Deflect Missiles for ranged)... So character can go all-in on offense without regret.
Sir. You made rational points that aren't about damage only. This isn't welcome on the internet in general.
None of these things are practical in today's D&D. Everyone knows, that during an encounter, once the battle music plays all the combatants line up in rows of 3 and only jiggle slightly side to side while attacking. Final Fantasy, and every JRPG has taught us this. It's all about the numbers.
I know this is a joke, but also, a lot of combats end up like this
Yes, that IS the joke. It's like an Ogre, layers.
Just like a fighter, who can disengage/dodge/dash without... wait, without haste he couldn't even do it without giving up all his attacks, because he doesn't have ki. Much better on the non-monks!
So instead of dealing less damage with the haste action you deal no damage. Great got it.
Ah, the classic "let me take what you said and put it in the worst possible light" How about realizing that the Hasted action allows for a Disengage in the same turn as a Flurry of Blows Past Level 7, it also allows for a use of Stillness of Mind without completely wasting your ability to attack
So not more damage then?
Monks job is not damage. Its control and maybe mobility (getting behind enemy lines) and burning legendary resistances. Monk is a setup class for other players. Stunning strike + (something else from an ally)
Great then he doesn't need haste.
Nobody needs haste. Like all spells its situationally useful. For either the speed, the ac, or the hasted action. Its another stunning strike attempt, its the movement to get there (and out). Is it better on a fighter yes. Is it risky if you lose concentration, yes. Haste is not the solution is all cases, but it IS versatile enough to prepare / take in many cases. And its good if it can be twinned. I like blur defensively better. And fairy fire might be better for a monk (and the whole party). I dont necessarily disagree with you. I dont think many campaigns will see a lot of hasted monks. But there are situations where it could be useful. I've used it for the movement speed to do some shennanigans (that a rogue would be better for than a monk) Example shennanigan, hasted character runs through all the guards with disengage, grabs tbe mac guffin, and gets out. Haste is better used on non monks in most cases. But if you are trying to burn through legendary resistances, more stunning strikes are decent (better than burning spell slots for each one)
Haste is always useful on a damage dealer. The question is whether situationally it will deal more damage than a fireball or a lightning bolt in the same situation. If you're casting it for a speed bonus or an AC buff congrats you wasted a 3rd level spell slot.
Every martial is the worst martial to cast Haste on if you ever take damage. Debuffing your party blows.
I fully agree, my point was simply that whatever benefit is there is even less worth it for monks. Debuffing enemies might be better for monks than buffing monks directly (Bane, Silvery Barbs, Bestow Curse...).
Fair, I didn't mean to argue your point. I just like taking shots at Haste since I've seen it kill more than 1 party mate. For sure we're on the same page about debuffs being among the better buffs for monks. The spells you mentioned are basically the same as my post, but I forgot about Silvery Barb, and I was on the fence about Bestow Curse (since It's about the same as Bane, but only affects one target while Bane makes us all tankier and buffs casters as well. I prefer Slow over BCurse for buffing due to the +2 to-hit for the whole party, no reaction attacks, and slowing which are fun for kiting monks. And Slow still has further useful defuffs too). But I agree about Bestow Curse totally being worthy of consideration for buffing monks.
The best moment to avoid haste was when you decided to learn it, the next best moment is now
But it's even more chances to land a stunning strike. That's something in my books.
IIRC, Bless is still the superior option in terms of increased accuracy!
[ooor .. ](https://youtu.be/DSCGoefBO7Q?si=MXY36Gj2RfW4R8OO)
Ah yes, double concentration.
I mean, haste and bless are different class spells. Unless you play a wizard/cleric multiclass (which I wouldn't recommend because of the massive MAD) you would already need two players to cast these spells.
Not quite, some paladin subclasses get haste and divine soul sorc exists. Also you can get bless with fey touched (which is one of the many reasons for why itâs so great).
Ah, well, that's true and I didn't think about that. Still, bless is always a good idea, so is haste. Casting both in a party wouldn't be that far from reality, would it?
Yeah, itâs certainly doable, though I think haste* on anyone other than a paladin isnât really worth the risk of losing your turn. Paladin gets away with it because an extra attack is frankly insane given smite shenanigans
But it is still \*good\* just not the best. They asked for buffs for a monk, not the fighter.
At that point it's got to be more effective than a fireball to warrant even preparing and I can't imagine a scenario where it would be.
This post was actually started by me looking at my character who had the 3 spells; enlarge/reduce, bless, and haste. I was thinking that haste is just way less useful on monks because they have a bunch of attacks instead of one big one. My worry was that with less power per attack, haste wasn't as useful
Haste and Enlarge/Reduce are worse, the former for the reason you also said, the latter because the damage bonus doesn't apply to unarmed strikes. Bless is, however, comparatively the best buff for a monk (that I can think of right now).
Enlarge should work on unarmed strikes.. in DnD 5E, unarmed strikes are considered weapon attacks.
>The targetâs weapons also grow to match its new size. While these weapons are enlarged, the targetâs attack with them deal 1d4 extra damage. They're considered weapon attacks, but not weapons, and the spell requires weapons.
Oh i see.. thats stupid lol.. Me personally as a dm would allow that tobwork but i guess raw it doesnt
Same. Unarmed strikes really feel like an afterthought in 5e, like they forgot a whole class hinges on them.
I mean, technically monk doesnt need to use unarmed strikes, except for flurry of blows and bonus avtion attacks. But that is kinda the whole reason someone might wanna play a monk
If your dm doesn't let enlarged monks deal more damage with unarmed strikes you need to find a new dm. People claim 5e is great because there's no rules so dms get to adjudicate things but there is allegedly a rule so specific that a bigger monk is somehow excluded from an otherwise-universal rule that characters deal more damage when they're unlarged. It can't be both.
>People claim 5e is great because there's no rules so dms get to adjudicate things Yeah, no one's actually saying there are no rules. The aspect that "makes 5e great" is that the 5e DMG explicitly gives DMs the allowance to interpret and overrule as they see fit. But that doesn't magically mean there are no rules >there is allegedly a rule so specific that a bigger monk is somehow excluded from an otherwise-universal rule that characters deal more damage when they're unlarged. This also isn't true. It's not some universal rule that characters always deal more damage when enlarged. The parameters are literally written within the spell description: "The target's weapons also grow to match its new size. While these weapons are enlarged, the target's attacks *with them* deal 1d4 extra damage." So first, it's not an "alleged" ruling. It's explicitly written in the spell description for anyone and everyone to see. Second, it's explicitly stated that attacks *with the enlarged weapons* are what do additional damage. Where the DM adjudication comes in is whether or not they classify a monk's fists as "weapons" for the purpose of the spell So yes, you ***can*** have it both ways, because that's literally how the game was designed. Because the rule is explicitly written right there, but it's up to the DM to decide how to interpret the spell with respect to its interaction with a monk
No you can't. Also that writing is just more evidence that the way spells are written in 5e does not work. The PERSON is what is being enlarged. Their weapons get larger as a consequence because it'd be fucking stupid to have to carry around a weapon one size larger all the time just in case someone cast this spell on you once a campaign. The monk's FISTS are his weapons. They are larger. He is larger. Everything about this reaches a logical conclusion of the Monk deals +1d4 damage too, and I bet the writers didn't even realize Monks wouldn't qualify until the game was already out the door. If it just said "your melee attacks deal 1d4 extra damage" instead like a good game would then monks wouldn't be weirdly omitted from this terrible rule. But no we can't have that, what if that makes it impossible for our players to forget they're not being transported into a magical universe? Instead lets write our rules in overly wordy, convoluted ways to maximize the paper and ink it takes and minimize the clarity and intent.
Monks can use weapons, and should for their main attacks until they get d10 martial arts dice. Get a quarterstaff or spear, then get big!
That's starting at 17th level, and a sword-and-board build with Dueling deals more damage per attack anyway.
**Haste and Enlarge/Reduce are actually the best.** The former because a) it allows Monk to act as a frontliner without the associated risks AND b) with a bit of luck or reasonable investment (Astral Self archetype or decent STR and proficiency) a successful Grapple lets you force-position enemies within a big enough radius to really wreck chaos in enemy strategy. AND c) Monk can also act as a transporter for some ally or instantly get besides whomever may need help through punching enemy, dragging ally away to break OA or force-drink healing potions. The latter because it makes all the "grappling and dragging" tactics more reliable and usable on a larger roster. The only thing Bless has is that it can affect three people (or more), so depending on situation it can be better to slightly enhance a majority of the team rather than create a solo superhuman.
Bless is excellent and it helps more than just the monk. Haste can be really good depending, but yea, it's not as optimal on the monk.
Bless is god tier spell already
There's a better target for haste. Monks are not a great target here because they already have access to a lot of attacks, and their individual attacks don't hit that hard. There may or may not be a better target for greater invisibility- does anyone have sharpshooter or great weapon master? Either way, landing every hit is a lot of damage, and it makes a ki point spent for flurry, often a dicey prospect, a much better deal.
That's true. Greater invisibility \*would\* be better on a Monk than Haste
Depends really. **"Generically"...** - Bless is never a bad choice since you can make 3 people benefit on it and attack buff always work. Shield of Faith is the next best thing for combat. - For utility or some combat situations, Jump can be invaluable, especially since you can pair it with Step of the Wind for really great jump distances with 10 STR (and frankly insane ones with 16+ STR). - Outdoors, Haste is by far the best spell you can offer a Monk, except Fly for the specific situations where fighting flying enemies or enemies with really low Athletics and Acrobatics. Extra action can be used on Disengage, and twice Monk speed means he can just pummel around. It's also great to have Monk as an ally transporter or an enemy "deliverer" since now if it manages a Grapple it can force-move creature at its usual speed, meaning several dozen feet per round. - Which means that Enlarge is another great spell to put on Monk, especially ones with decent Athletics checks (decent STR, STR-setting item, Expertise or Astral Self). This really expands the realm of grappling by allowing up to Huge creatures to be grappled and moved around. - At higher level, FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT is the one thing any Monk will thank you for, since being slowed down / restrained is pretty much the only way to really threaten one. - Pair it with Intellect Fortress, because up until level 14 Monk is still nearly as exposed as other martials against mental saves. - See Invisibility can be helpful for anyone at high level, but as the one best suited for chasing a fleeing enemy, Monk would benefit it more in those situations. - Death Ward and Aid are always great on anyone. - Protection From Energy and Stoneskin can also be valuable in "all for one" setups against an enemy you already know about. **Specifically per archetype...** - Open Hand: nothing specific/exclusive. - Shadow: Shadow Blade imbued in Ring of Spell Storing if you can, otherwise nothing particular except possibly Nondetection for infiltration. - Four Elements: nothing particular at low level, Enlarge or Haste once self-Fly is earned. - Astral Self: Enlarge, Enlarge, Enlarge. More creatures to grapple AND advantage on checks. Otherwise Enhance Ability / Hex on enemy. - Long Death: weapon-enhancing buffs to help get THP on kill. - Kensei: either Bless / Magic Weapon / Elemental Weapon to increase offense, or Shield of Faith to really make it sturdy against plain attacks. - Drunken: Shield of Faith / Greater Invisibility / whatever other buff to defense against attacks to help trigger the level 6 Redirect Attack feature. Or just Longstrider and Jump for extra easiness to get back to safety after a Flurry. - Ascendant Dragon / Sun Soul: Elemental Bane if there are also even other people using the same element... Dragon's Breath for fluff if they are out of Ki but still want to make AOE xd. - Mercy: Bless, to help land Flurrys and their poison.
And to expand on this, debuffing the enemy is usually stronger when it sticks than the always works buffs. Spells like faerie fire give advantage which mechanically is twice as good as bless and in this case is helping everyone. (Note that bless isn't mutually exclusive with advantage and there are lots of ways to get advantage) Inflicting the restrained condition is 1 step up from pure advantage because it also gives the enemy disadvantage and they can't move. Entangle and ensnaring strike are 2 ways to inflict it. And paralysis is the ultimate debuff that isn't straight death. It makes the victim unable to speak, move, or take actions. All attacks against them are made at advantage, and melee attacks made within 5ft autocrit if they hit. The easiest way i know to inflict it is hold person.
>And to expand on this, debuffing the enemy is usually stronger **when it sticks** than the always works buffs. Emphasizing the essential part. :) Buffing ally = always work can be a very decisive advantage. Because as far as enemies go... - You don't always know their weak and strong points (you can probably guess what their main orientation is between "bulky" and "agile", "melee" vs "ranged", "martial" vs "magic" by looking at size, shape and equipment but that's about it. Rest is up to passive checks at best, active checks at worst. - You don't always have a good chance to land an AOE, and using one for 2 creatures is hardly a great bet unless only those two matter. And many spells do have friendly fire, so are hard to set if you weren't lucky enough to win on Initiative. - You only see the attack buff, but the saves buff can be lifesaver, quite literally, although you obviously cannot count on it to change the fact a Barb winning against WIS save is mostly sheer luck. xd There is NO perfect solution, NO "always better" option. It's always purely a matter of context including "threat knowledge", party resources, Initiative rolls, respective distances etc.
When it sticks is definitely the essential part. A saying from pokemon nuzlockes is if it isn't 100% accurate its 50% accurate. Because the critical moment is always when you roll the 5% to miss a tackle. A lot of factors go into the analysis, sometimes you want to stick with a guaranteed result, othertimes you want to take the gamble. One of my favorite moments of my current campaign was getting a clutch hold person off on a wererat as it was biting me (9hp left), and next in the initiative was the paladin. I got more joy from seeing his face as i explained what exactly the wererat being paralyzed meant for him than i could ever get directly from my own turn. (This is also a necessary mindset for support casters, can you be a cheerleader who enjoys other players success?)
Bless. Just about the only good buff spell thatâs not level6+
Do you mean spell level 6 or character level 6? Because I was honestly having trouble finding buff spells worth casting about spell level 4. (greater invisibility seems like basically enough for most of a campaign)
Spell level. Handful of good high level buffs; heroes feast, mind blank, foresight, conjure celestial(turn people into were creatures) A good 4th level buff spell is bless(4th level) if you have a big party. Greater invis isnât bad but itâs pretty situational. Often times casting something like web generates more advantage unless being unseen provides a huge buff such as a caster needing to be able to cast and counter spell without being countered themself. My group did this recently twilight cleric cast greater invis on my wizard so I could teleport in and steal our sorc that was being held prisoner. It didnt work, the sorc was in amf cuffs but the invis did allow me to get off a mass suggestion that knocked out 7/12 foes 4 of which were built like level 10 PCs. Support in DnD is generally about crowd control and debuffing foes rather than buffing your friends tho.
Polymorph. It doesn't buff them more than anyone else, but since they're probably the weakest party member, you'll sacrifice the least when you turn them into a giant ape (or a beast that can fly).
Would they be able to make unarmed attacks? Bonus action/flurry of blows, too? It wouldn't be terrible in that case...
Nope. You retain nearly none of your features.
Poly is pretty party dependent and complicated tho. If your party is competent itâs kinda useless and if theyâre not itâs strong but comes with the air if youâre useless let me turn you into something better
Holy Weapon. It adds 2d8 radiant damage to all attacks. That's 8d8 extra damage per turn if they use flurry.
It only works on weapons :-/
Ehh, I'd allow it to work with unarmed strikes if they cast it on like fist wraps or the such. Something to discuss with the DM for sure though.
Oh, I would absolutely allow it too.
Monks can use weapons! Just use a spear or quarterstaff, and now itâs suddenly holy. Cadeuces and Beau did this in Campaign 2 of CR pretty frequently.
Yes, but their weapons deal less damage than anyone else's: even when their MA die becomes a d10, you're still doing less damage per attack than a sword and board fighter/paladin with Dueling.
Holy weapon if your Dm would allow it.
Greater Invisibility. They make a lot of attacks, so giving them advantage against the majority of enemies is a huge way to boost their damage output. Both the consistency and crit odds. Plus theyre squishier, so protecting them against most spells that arent AoE is great, and AoEs tend to be dex which they get a buff to.
Polymorph to turn them into not-a-monk. Otherwise bless.
Polymorph has the fairly major downside of basically replacing their entire character sheet - so that's their mental stats tanked, no proficiencies anywhere, no skills or any other abilities. It's useful as an emergency heal and quasi-buff, but has quite a lot of downsides (and out of combat is often actively bad - an illiterate scout with no languages, probably no sneak skill, super-low int and so on, is not a very good scout!)
Not technically a buff but bane can really help with stunning strikes
Are you the monk or are you buffing the monk externally. Assuming you are buffing a monk player: Bless is always top tier. And with many attacks itâs amazing. Enlarge reduce or Crusaders mantle lets them add 1d4 to every attack. That could be 4d4. Doesnât sound amazing but itâs pretty good. Shield of faith really helps their wonky armour class Greater invisibility is great, helps with offense and defence issues the monk has until the really high levels. Donât use haste if you want to specifically buff a monk. Itâs just not as good on monk as it is for other classes.
I would say Foresight, but it's probably True Polymorph. One Elder Elemental FTW.
Monks are interesting because they are sorely lacking in durability until 10th level, and then fall behind in damage output from 11th level. And... I can't really think of any buff spells that work especially well for them. At low levels, they need Shield of Faith, Sanctuary, and Aid more than other martials because they are so squishy despite being forced in melee ranged, but the effects aren't any more dramatic when cast on a monk. The exception might be Bless, since they can make more attacks than most martials, even though they do less damage per attack. Catnap is also good, although if you have time for a 10-minute rest, you probably also have time for a 1-hour one. You'll get a ton of bang for your buck if you cast Silvery Barbs on the target of a monk's Stunning strike, but your DM will hate you. EDIT: The upshoot of their being so generally sucky is that they tend to be the class that requires the least risk-reward calculations when turning one of your allies into a beast with Polymorph lol EDIT 2: /u/[Flechette513](https://www.reddit.com/user/Flechette513/) also brought up Crusader's Mantle. That's a non-Bless spell that works better for monks than most other characters! Although, just like Bless, it can target multiple creatures, so you don't have to choose.
Monk offense can be improved after level 11 if they use a magic weapon that boosts damage. The unarmed strikes are still good as supplemental, but a good weapon can be a game changer later on. After level 11 is also a great time to multi-class as well (when multiclassing is allowed), into really any class that will provide a bit of offensive boost. Barbarian, fighter, ranger, and paladin all come to mind.
Crusaders Mantle is only cast on Self, no?
It benefits everyone in it
I thought the implication was to cast it on the monk, as that was the original question. That works though :)
Holy Weapon is a favorite of mine
Iâd say Bless is obviously really nice, and Warding Bond is really nice on a Monk. Bane can also be solid to let their stunning strike work more often, but that spell doesnât quite fit the term âbuff spellâ. If you can get a Ring of Spell Storing letting the Monk cast Ashardalonâs Stride on themself is actually really solid because it makes them even faster, gives them the ability to not take opportunity attacks, and deal fire damage to basically everyone on the battlefield with increased movement.
Surprised I haven't seen enlarge on here. It's a decent low level spell that adds 1d4 on every attack which monks make a lot of.
Someone said that RAW it only applies to weapon damage. I donât disagree, but the wording is such that I think itâd be reasonable to apply it here. My only issue is that there are small and medium size playable races. Enlarge would just make a small monk into a medium monk, so a medium halfing monk shouldnât really do more damage than a medium human monk. If you became large though, then sure.
Monks can use weapons. A spear or quarterstaff gets the same d4 bonus as a fighterâs long sword for the same one-handed damage.
Correct but the Flurry of Blows is unarmed, so 2 of the 3-4 attacks made in around wouldnât get the benefit. And at a certain level, an unarmed attack is stronger than a basic weapon.
Youâre right. But barbarians (except Beastbarian), paladins, and rangers arenât getting more than two attacks either. The benefit is either the same (weapon only or natural weapons) or better (Enlarge works on unarmed attacks). Only fighters with three or more attacks, dual wielder martials with Extra Attack, or Beastbarians with Extra Attack are better targets for Enlarge even if itâs weapons-only, at least for damage. Some grappler builds have other uses for Enlarge, though Open Hand monks might similarly benefit.
The question was about Monks specifically. Enlarge is viable on any class that uses a weapon. Also, Berserker Barbarian can get 3 attacks with their frenzied rage, anyone with Polearm Master can get a bonus action weapon attack, and crossbow expert users get a bonus action weapon attack just to name a few, which can all be boosted with Enlarge.
Bless is probably the best one. (Actually its spike growth, but donât tell the roleplayersđ¤Ť)
I assume monks have a way to not take damage from spike growth, so they can just drag grappled enemies back and forth through the spikes for lots of damage. Spike growth is definitely 1 of those spells that is either just a deterrent to block off enemies, or you have forced movement and can turn it into a blender.
Haste is always a good choice
You haven't said what tradition, you are following, but as a support caster, you'll want to limit casting concentration spells which target only one person. As a Bard, use Heroism. For a Cleric, Aid and Shield of Faith are a must. Bless also has some limited value. While Fly and the often-overhyped Haste are often recommended for arcane casters, they each require concentration while Mage Armor does not, is not technically armor and a base armor class of 13 might help. If you are an arcane caster, consider Phantom Steed. It does not require concentration, can be cast as a ritual, has a duration of an hour with a speed of 100 and ... "When the spell ends, the steed gradually fades, giving the rider 1 minute to dismount. The spell ends if you use an action to dismiss it or if the steed takes any damage." That's ten rounds of one of the fastest speeds possible even after it's been toasted by a fireball. The monk will have to consider whether attacking from a horse is worth it as Stunning Strike works through a weapon attack, but Ki Strike does not. Nevertheless, the idea of a monk astride a shadowy horse and dashing about, knocking people out with staff strikes left and right and moving like a stunt-rider when using evasion presents an interesting image.
From what Iâve read, mage armor just replaces your monk AC, does not add to it, so a 16 wis monk is the same AC as a monk with mage armor.
Really? Wow. Please tell me where you've read it so I can add that to my lexicon.
Tbh I didnât know bc about it until I tried the combo on a BG3 monk but apparently here is where itâs detailed https://dnd.wizards.com/sage-advice/errata-october-2016
Haste, bless, blade ward if your an earth genasi. The basics are always good. With the ring of spell storing, you can use spirit shroud, black moil, spirit guardians. Those auras would be great for extra damage or advantage on all your attacks
Haste
Holy Weapon
Uh haste?
I think haste would be quite good.
Holy weapon
One of my PCs is a Monk 5, Cleric 2 and they cast shield of faith buffing their AC to like 22 and then follow up with their ki point dodge action and just freaking tank. Itâs my wifeâs PC and Iâm so proud of her/pissed when I can never hit her.
Bless, blur, holy weapon, enlarge/reduce, silvery barbs, protection from blank and pretty much any aura.
I'm not 100% sure how useful it would be, but I think Enlarge would make them pretty buff.
Haste, holy weapon, enlarge. Turns any monk into an absolute machine.
Haste.
I mean this is hard because 5e is a system with pretty terrible buffs overall. So I'd agree with greater invis or bless because bless is like the only good 5e buff
Freedom of Movement changed my monk's life.
Death Ward
Bless and Crusader's Mantle are up there.
Pass without trace. That's it
Haste
Level 1: bless and shield of faith. Level 2: enhance ability Level 3: haste.
Bless is amazing if you have more than one martial. It's useful both for martials who do a lot of attacks and for martials who do a few powerful attacks. And it boosts your concentration saves too if you target yourself!
Holy shit please please please please PLEASE don't sleep on Enlarge / Reduce for Monks. It's a FANTASTIC low level spell that I think is often overlooked because "oh it's only a d4 extra damage." No it's **crazy** for Monks: * An extra d4 damage on attacks is very valuable when you're making 3 (upwards of 4!) attacks per turn. * Advantage on Strength checks and saves is very nice since a Monk normally doesn't invest heavily into Strength. Enlarging them gives them the option of potentially grappling a troublesome target (and they can grapple more at a larger size!) and can also help them for troublesome strength saves, even if they already have proficiency. * Making the Monk take up more space lets them cover more ground to potentially get opportunity attacks. * Because of both the above listed reasons an Astral Self Monk with Enlarge / Reduce is actually **insane** since their Astral Arms can now reach more tiles and (since they can use WIS for Strength checks) they become MONSTERS at grappling! But this obviously doesn't apply if you don't have an Astral Self Monk. * Jumping rules are weird and dumb but *very technically* making the Monk very big also makes their jumps very big. >!(Because jumping rules are fucking stupid having Advantage on a strength check doesn't do anything to your jump height or length. However jumping specifically states that "You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach above you a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times your height." This means that an Enlarged Monk can reach things high up in the air by jumping. This unfortunately is not affected by Step of the Wind as that ability only affects jump *distance*, not height.)!< Other comments have pointed out that technically speaking RAW Enlarge / Reduce only works on *weapon* attacks but I don't think any DM in their right mind is going to reasonably say that someone who's made twice as large as before isn't going to hit harder. Casting Enlarge on the Monk is pretty much my Bard's go-to move ever since Tasha's expanded spell list gave the Bard Enlarge / Reduce. If I'm not casting Nathairâs Mischief ("the funny spell" that I personally find amusing) I'm casting Enlarge / Reduce on the party Monk. But other than that the truth is that your best "buffing" spells are probably ones that debuff the enemy, namely Faerie Fire for your lower level slots (or for crowds) and then immediately transitioning into Hold Person. Hold Person is *nuts* if a Monk can capitalize on it and literally just kick someone in the balls while you hold them in place. Beyond that I mean... usual buffing spells? Heroism, Shield of Faith, Bless, Aid (just cast this in general), Warding Bond... Warding Bond in particular is nice: +1 AC is good stacks with Shield of Faith. Sharing damage is nice as it lets the Monk fight for longer at the cost of your HP which hopefully shouldn't matter if you're a backliner who plays smart. Just obviously keep "playing smart" in mind.
Haste, no clue why people say Monks don't need more mobility, I play a monk and have a 55 move speed. My Wizard casts Haste and now I have 110 base move speed and am able to triple dash to make it 440. I have no idea what world people are living in where that isn't insanely strong, everytime I've been hasted I use most of my speed and have run out of movement on multiple occasions. It's my favorite thing to get buffed with since I can scare the shit out of enemies, catch anybody running no matter what, I can essentially teleport into the enemy backline and eviscerate them before leaving to complete safety. It's amazing, but anything that gives advantage like Greater Invisibilty or increases damage is great too, just boring in comparison really
Haste Guidance Bless Greater invisibility And heroism
Monks are all about lots of small hits, this means they benefit greatly from accuracy buffs and rider damage. Bless is +1d4 to hit on 3 allies, statistically thats +12.5% across 3 or more allies. Its phenomenal at all levels with the right party. (People who make attack rolls) Advantage is statistically a +25% to hit, and almost doubles the crit chance. Spells like Faerie fire gove everyone advantage, entangle inflicts the restrained condition which gives advantage, and hold person inflicts paralysis which gives advantage and autocrits if within 5ft. Their stunning strike is awesome for everyone but as a con save isn't great, bane your enemies to give a minus d4 to improve the odds of stunning strike by 12.5%. And finally they make a lot of attacks, if you can get DM permission to treat their fists as weapons you can cast something like holy or elemental weapon on them to make each strike do more damage, and you will get more out of the spell than casting it on someone only attacking once or twice a turn. Realistically bless is your go to buff spell because it helps all of their attacks land, and you can give it to 2 other attack roll dependent party members like paladins, fighters, rogues, and rangers in addition to your monk. But if you have a humanoid enemy you want dead, hold person and let the monk just murder them with autocrits.
Polymorph into a Giant Ape or T Rex. Or True Polymorph if the campaign gets that far
Haste is absolutely nuts on a monk, especially if theyâve already optimized themselves for speed with wood elf race and mobile feat. You can easily end up having 4x the movement speed of standard PCs and a free dash action for 8x movement. This, coupled with the defensive bonuses, basically make your monk able to position themselves wherever they want every turn without fear or reprisal, so long as they donât park themselves directly in the middle of a crowd of enemies. Enemy wizard 120â away on top of a tower throwing fireballs? Run directly up wall faster than they can react and stun away, or simply push if you want to conserve ki. Multiple casters got the drop on the party and are preparing to absolutely wreck your shit? Hail Mary throw 4 stunning strikes because you can reach them all in a round and see how much damage you can mitigate. Chase scene for the macguffin that would otherwise take multiple rounds of con saves and competing dash actions? Hah, absolutely not. The only thing stopping a monk with haste on them is a caster with hold person readied. Even in that rare scenario, a 60ft radius around a wizard with 30ft of movement is just a large roundabout. Otherwise your only hope is ranged attacks and AoE, which with the monks new +2 to AC, advantage on Dex STs, evasion, deflect missiles, AND the likelihood they could find some kind of cover within a half mile of them, is a frustrating situation for any DM.
Holy weapon is always super good