A Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk can be as swift as the wind, as stealthy as the shadows, and as sharp as a blade – all without needing to wield a weapon. Looking to live out a martial arts fantasy? The BG3 Monk might just be for you – and here you’ll find all you need to create one.
The DnD Monk has its problems in the original tabletop RPG – and while Larian has tweaked plenty to make the Baldur’s Gate 3 class more powerful, its DnD character builds still need careful crafting to shine, even as you approach the BG3 max level.
But worry not – pick the right Baldur’s Gate 3 races and Baldur’s Gate 3 companions to fill out roles in your party, and your Monk can still punch and kick their way to victory, whether you’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3 co-op or solo.
Here’s all you need to know about the Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk:
The basics of a Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk
| Saving throws | Strength, Dexterity |
| Armor proficiencies | – |
| Weapon proficiencies | Simple, Shortsword |
| Skill proficiencies | Athletics, Acrobatics, History, Religion, Insight |
Here’s the base class features for a Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk:
Ki
Level: One
Ki is a type of magic that flows through all living things. A BG3 Monk can tap into this to perform supernatural feats with their body.
Mechanically, this means you get a certain amount of Ki points to spend per short rest. At level one, you start with two Ki points, and you’ll gain another each time you level up.
Flurry of Blows
Level: One
As a bonus action, you punch twice in quick succession, dealing 1d4+4 bludgeoning damage with each hit. Uses Ki points.
Unarmored Defense
Level: One
While not wearing DnD armor, your Monk adds their Wisdom modifier to their armor class.
Martial Arts: Dexterous Attacks
Level: One
As long as Dexterity is your higher stat, attacks made with Monk weapons and unarmed attacks scale with your Dexterity instead of your Strength.
Martial Arts: Deft Strikes
Level: One
Attacks with Monk weapons and unarmed attacks deal 1-4 bludgeoning damage unless their normal damage would be higher.
Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike
Level: One
After making an unarmed attack or attacking with a Monk weapon, you can make an additional unarmed attack as a bonus action.
Unarmored Movement
Level: Two
Your movement speed increases by 3m while you’re not wearing armor or using a shield. This increases at levels six and ten. At level nine, your Unarmored Movement also means you’re not slowed by difficult terrain and you can jump an extra 6m when not using armor or a shield.
Patient Defense
Level: Two
Spend a bonus action, and attack rolls against you have disadvantage. Additionally, you have advantage on Dexterity saving throws. Both effects last a single turn, and this ability uses Ki points.
Step of the Wind: Dash
Level: Two
Spend Ki and a bonus action to double your movement speed for a turn. You can also jump without using a bonus action.
Step of the Wind: Disengage
Using Ki and a bonus action, you can disengage from combat. Jumping also doesn’t require a bonus action for a turn.
Deflect Missiles
Level: Three
You can use a reaction to reduce the damage you take from a ranged weapon attack. The damage reduces by 1d10 plus your Dexterity modifier and Monk level. If you reduce the damage to zero, you spend a Ki point to totally deflect the missile.
Slow Fall
Level: Four
If you fall, you can spend a reaction to gain resistance to fall damage.
Extra Attack
Level: Five
You can make one free attack after making a weapon or unarmed attack.
Stunning Strike
Level: Five
Spend an action and some Ki on this melee attack. If your target fails a Constitution saving throw, they will be Stunned. Additionally, if the attack is an unarmed attack, you deal 1d6+3 bludgeoning damage.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Level: Six
Unarmed attacks now count as magical attacks – very helpful if you’re up against a foe that’s resistant to non-magical damage.
Evasion
Level: Seven
When a spell or effect would deal half damage to you on a successful Dexterity saving throw, you take no damage instead. If you fail the saving throw, you take half damage instead of full damage.
Stillness of Mind
Level: Seven
If you become charmed or frightened, you automatically cast Stillness of Mind to remove the condition.
Purity of Body
Level: Ten
Your Monk is now immune to poison damage and can’t be poisoned or affected by disease.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk builds
Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk stats
Dexterity is the main stat you should buff for a Monk, with Wisdom as a secondary priority. With these covered, you can ensure your attacks and armor class are kept at healthy levels. Constitution should be a tertiary concern during character creation, as this will help boost your kind-of-average HP max.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk races
The best DnD race for your Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk is the Wood Half-Elf 5e. Like the Wood DnD Elf, this race gives you an extra 1.5m of movement speed, which is critical for keeping your Monk agile.
Unlike the Wood Elf, you get a bit more flexibility with weapon proficiencies. Monk weapons need to be wielded one-handed to gain all the relevant bonuses of the class, and the only option the Wood Elf offers is shortswords. A Wood Half-Elf is proficient with shortswords – as well as Versatile DnD weapons like the spear.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk background
While you may want to pick a DnD background that best fits your character’s flavor, we think the Urchin offers the best skills to complement your Monk build. The Urchin gains proficiency with Sleight of Hand and Stealth – two Dex-based DnD skills that’ll help you fill more of a DnD Rogue role in your party.
With Stealth covered, we recommend choosing Acrobatics and Insight as your remaining skill proficiencies.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk subclass
Once you hit level three, you’ll need to choose a Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk subclass. Your options are:
- Way of the Four Elements – lets you cast Monk spells with Ki, with a range of effects.
- Way of the Open Hand – goes all in on buffing your unarmed strikes.
- Way of the Shadow – offers magical ways to enhance Stealth, but not much combat utility until later levels.
The Monk can be a tricky class to optimize on its own. The Way of the Shadow is by far the most interesting, but it doesn’t offer much power until at least level six. The Way of the Open Hand provides some nice buffs to your unarmed attacks, but you’re still more fragile and puny than a DnD Fighter or DnD Barbarian. And the Way of the four Elements is infamously disappointing in the original tabletop RPG – Larian may have done some rebalancing, but we’re still inclined to stay away.
If you’re looking to exclusively play a Monk, we reckon Way of the Open Hand is your best bet. However, we’d seriously recommend a bit of DnD multiclassing.
A Way of Shadow Monk pairs nicely with the Assasin Rogue if you want to be the stealthiest stealther that ever stealthed. An Open Hand Monk and Battlemaster Fighter beefs you up a bit. And the Circle of Spores DnD Druid has temporary health and damage-dealing abilities that bulk out your Flurry of Blows.
Our Baldur’s Gate 3 review is still in progress, so we’re constantly updating our guides with the latest details. Check back regularly for tips on Baldur’s Gate 3 romances, Baldur’s Gate 3 feats, and Baldur’s Gate 3 Mind Flayer powers.