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Most monks inDungeons & Dragons Fifth Editioneschew all material possessions, training their bodies to become their weapon of choice. Not the Way of the Kensei. Monks that walk this path instead embrace weapons as part of their very being, regarding such tools as extensions of their body rather than separate and apart.
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With a lifetime of training, the Way of the Kensei eventually becomes one with their chosen implements, unlocking fantastic abilities that allow them to excel on the field of battle. Thankfully, you don’t need to spend an entire lifetime to become a master of this martial art. Read on to learn how to build a Way of the Kensei monk.
Way Of The Kensei Monk Features
Like all monks, a Way of the Kensei monk first begins by learning martial arts and how to harness their ki. Starting at third level upon choosing the Way of the Kensei, monks of this path maychoose two weapons to become their kensei weapons. One must be melee, the other ranged, and neither can have the heavy or special properties. You maychoose additional weapons at sixth, 11th, and 17th level.
With these weapons, you gain access to theAgile Parryfeature. This provides an additional +2 AC if you make an unarmed strike while holding your melee kensei weapon.Kensei’s Shotallows you to use your bonus action to add 1d4 damage to any attack made with a ranged kensei weapon.
Way of the Brushprovides proficiency with either calligrapher’s supplies or painter’s supplies.
At level six,One with the Bladeturns your kensei weapons into magic weapons for the purposes of overcoming resistance or immunities, whileDeft Strikeallows you to spend 1 ki point to deal extra damage equal to your Martial Arts die.
Sharpen the Bladeat level 11 allows you to expend up to three ki points to provide a bonus to your attack and damage rolls equal to the number of ki points spent. This bonus lasts one minute and requires your bonus action to activate.
Finally,Unerring Accuracyat level 17 allows you to reroll one missed attack per turn with one of your kensei weapons.
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Best Species For A Way Of The Kensei Monk
Most species are adept at becoming a Way of the Kensei monk, however, some species lend themselves to a lifetime spent devoted to mastering the martial arts more than others. Here area few species that make better Way of the Kensei monks.
Human
Monks needa lot of attribute points, and the standard human provides a lot of those. Or you can choose the variant human andstart the game with a useful feat, such as Sharpshooter.
Bugbear
An extrafive feet of reachis a huge boon for melee characters, and Surprise Attack pairs well with any high-Dex characters as they tend to go earlier in the turn order.
Giff
Firearms can be kensei weapons, so giff make excellent Way of the Kensei monks.Astral Sparkfurther enhances your damage, although the lack ofDarkvisioncan be bothersome.
Goblin
You can’t use a Longbow as a goblin due to your size, butFury of the Smallmakes up for this.Darkvisionand being able to hide as a bonus action are also nice to have.
Goliath
Monks often feel like they lack the hitpoints of fighters or barbarians, andStone’s Endurancecan help make up the difference.
Half-Orc
You’ll be making lots of attacks as a monk, and that means you’re more likely to roll a crit.Savage Attackswill improve your damage, whileRelentless Endurancewill keep you fighting beyond your standard hitpoint total.
Half-Elf
Like humans, half-elves providemore ability scores. They also provideDarkvisionand a few crucialskill proficiencies.
Owlin
Your best flying option, owlin provideDarkvision,stealth proficiency, and aflyingspeed. You really don’t need anything else.
Shifter
Stackingtemporary hitpointsonto your monk can help close the hitpoint gap with other frontline fighters. Pretty much all beast-form options are good here.Darkvisionanda skill proficiencyare nice to have too.
Tabaxi
Feline Agilitycan make your monk supremely mobile, able to dive right into the thick of battle basically on turn one. Claws aren’t as useful, butDarkvisionandclimbingare quite good.
Best Ability Scores For A Way Of The Kensei Monk
Monks need three things to be effective:Dexterity,Wisdom, andConstitution. Dexterity fuels your attacks and damage, while Wisdom fuels your ki and abilities. Constitution keeps you in the fight by providing much-needed hit-points. Strength, Charisma, and Intelligence can all be safely ignored.
If you’re playing with D&D’s points-buy system,a good starting ability score spreadmight look something like this:
12(+1)
16(+3)
14(+2)
8(-1)
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Best Starting Equipment For A Way Of The Kensei Monk
Monks don’t start with much. You have no need for armor, and you may pick ashortswordorany simple weaponas your starting weapon. A shortsword is probably your best bed to start, but you should look to upgrade before reaching level three.
Adungeoneer’s packis generally more useful than an explorer’s pack, and 10 darts provide you with limited ranged attacks early on.
Before reaching level three and becoming a Way of the Kensei Monk, you’ll want to find more effective weapons to become your kensei weapons.A longbow is likely your best ranged weaponoption, although you’re able to be fairly effective with crossbows so long as you take the Crossbow Expert feat to avoid reloading.
Alongsword,battleaxe,flail,morningstar,warhammer, orwar pickare your best options for your melee kensei weapon, so try to find one of these before reaching level three.
Best Feats For A Way Of The Kensei Monk
Monks aren’t likely to opt for feats due to their voracious hunger for ability score improvements. That said, if a feat lands in your lap during a campaign, these are yourmost useful feats as a Way of the Kensei monk.
Sharpshooter
Unlike most monks, a Way of the Kensei monk has no problem with dealing damage at range, and Sharpshooter helpsimprove that damage dramatically.
Crossbow Expert
The best way to use a crossbowas a monk as Crossbow Expert alleviates the reloading attribute.
Alert
Stay alert,stay safe. This feat pairs particularly well with the bugbear’s Surprise Attack ability.
Elven Accuracy
This only works if you’re an elf or a half-elf, but if you are, this is a great feat toimprove your long-range attacks.
Lucky
Keeping track of luck points on top of your ki points can be a pain, but Lucky issuch a great featthat it’s hard to ignore.
Savage Attacker
With multiple attacks and multiple dice rolls, being able tore-roll the lower numberscan be a great way to ensure consistently high damage.
More hitpointsare always good, and especially useful for a monk.
