Dungeons and Dragons: How to Follow the Path of a Drunken Master Monk

 Fight your way to success with this subclass of drunken martial artists.

Dungeons and Dragons: How to Follow the Path of a Drunken Master Monk

Playing a monk in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition offers a unique opportunity to channel your inner kung-fu movie hero. While many martial artists in the game rely on mental and physical discipline to achieve heroic feats, the drunken master takes a different approach, embracing chaos and unpredictability with a touch of liquid courage.

Followers of the Way of the Drunken Master don't necessarily need to be inebriated to excel in combat, but they often keep a bottle close by for the occasional tipple. Let's delve into the features of the Way of the Drunken Master.

Way Of The Drunken Master Features

It's crucial to understand that monks who follow the Way of the Drunken Master don't actually stay drunk all the time. Instead, they mimic drunkenness to befuddle their opponents. At the third level, a Way of the Drunken Master monk acquires the Performance skill and gains access to Drunken Technique. This unique skill allows drunken masters to move erratically, granting them a free Disengage action and an additional 10 feet of movement whenever they employ Flurry of Blows.

To maintain their facade, these monks also become proficient with the brewer's supplies at level three, enabling them to craft their own libations.

By the sixth level, Tipsy Sway allows the monk to execute sudden, erratic swaying movements. Moreover, they can rise from a prone position by extending just five feet of movement, rather than half their total movement speed. This level also grants the ability to redirect enemy attacks when they miss, by spending one ki point. The redirected attack then targets another creature within five feet.

At level 11, Drunkard's Luck empowers the monk to negate disadvantage on any attack roll or saving throw by expending two ki points. And when they reach level 17, Intoxicated Frenzy lets the drunken master unleash up to three additional attacks during Flurry of Blows, resulting in a total of five unarmed strikes, provided each attack targets a different creature.

Best Species For A Way Of The Drunken Master Monk

While any species can be effective as a drunken master, certain species offer unique advantages for monks. Here are some suggested species to consider:

Bugbear: With an additional five feet of reach for each strike, Bugbears complement the monk's style. Their Dexterity and high potential turn order placement make the Surprise Attack feature more effective.

Duergar: Immunity to poison, charm resistance, and the free Enlarge/Reduce spell at level five make Duergar a solid choice.

Goblin: Fury of the Small enhances Flurry of Blows against larger targets, and goblins possess darkvision, charm resistance, and a bonus action hide ability.

Goliath: Stone's Endurance helps mitigate the monk's low health pool, and Goliath's offer useful skills and cold resistance.

Half-Orc: Savage Attacks benefits monks who make many attacks with Flurry of Blows, and Relentless Endurance keeps you fighting when your hit points reach zero.

Half-Elf: Half-elves provide three stat boosts and offer darkvision, skills, and charm resistance.

Human: Humans provide even more ability score increases than Half-elves, making them excellent for monks.

Owlin: Owlin's flying ability helps overcome the monk's vulnerability to flying creatures, along with stealth proficiency and darkvision.

Shifter: Shifters provide temporary hitpoints when they transform, which aids the monk's low HP pool. They also offer extra armor or movement speed, skill proficiency, and darkvision.

Tabaxi: Feline Agility enhances the monk's mobility, and Tabaxi possess a climb speed and darkvision.

Best Ability Scores For A Way Of The Drunken Master Monk

Effective Way of the Drunken Master monks need to focus on Dexterity, Wisdom, and Constitution. Dexterity powers your attacks and boosts your armor class, while Wisdom adds to your armor class further, and Constitution bolsters your hit points.

Strength, charisma, and intelligence can be safely neglected, although a bit of strength can be beneficial for the monk's physical prowess. If using D&D's point buy system, a suitable starting ability score distribution could be:

Strength: 12 (+1)

Dexterity: 16 (+3)

Constitution: 14 (+2)

Intelligence: 8 (-1)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 8 (-1)

Best Starting Equipment For A Way Of The Drunken Master Monk

Monks require minimal equipment to begin their journey, as they primarily rely on unarmed strikes. You can choose either a shortsword or a simple weapon, but unarmed strikes will likely become your primary mode of attack. A dungeoneer's pack can be more useful than an explorer's pack, and having 10 darts provides a ranged attack option.

Since your armor class relies on Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers when not wearing armor, you won't start with armor and are unlikely to use it during your adventure.

Best Feats For A Way Of The Drunken Master Monk

Most monks priority ability score increases over feats. However, if you're playing a human variant or your campaign grants a free feat at the start, consider these useful feats for a Way of the Drunken Master monk:

Alert: Prevents surprise attacks, denies attackers advantage when hidden, and boosts your initiative.

Lucky: Provides extra d20 rolls for crucial moments, which can save your squishy monk from failure or damage.

Mobile: Enhances your mobility with an extra 10 feet of movement, the ability to dash without difficulty in terrain, and avoidance of opportunity attacks.

Skill Expert: Helps improve your monk's limited skill set and offers expertise in a specific skill.

Tough: Mitigates the monk's squishiness by granting two extra hit points per level, increasing your survivability.