Quick Links
Of all the monk subclasses inDungeons & Dragons, the Way of the Open Hand is the most monk-like. You learn how to improve your unarmed strikes by knocking people over, you become attuned to your body, you achieve spiritual enlightenment, and then you learn how to control the energy within living beings to make them not living beings.
The Way of the Open Hand might be one of the oldest monk subclasses, but it remains one of the most potent and versatile options for those considering the unarmed subclass. If you’re ready to embark on the Way of the Open Hand, read on to learn how.
Way Of The Open Hand Monk Features
Following the Way of the Open Hand meanshoning one’s mind and bodyto manipulate the life energy in all things.
Starting at level three,Open Hand Techniqueenhances your Flurry of Blows feature with one of three additional effects: the target must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone, it must succeed a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away, or it can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.
At level six,Wholeness of Bodyallows you to regain hit points worth three times your monk level as an action once per long rest. At level 11,Tranquilityprovides the benefits of the Sanctuary spell until you finish your next long rest (or until the spell ends when you attack).
Finally,Quivering Palmat level 17 lets you spend three ki points to cause your targets life energy to begin vibrating. As an action, you may cause those vibrations to end and force the target to make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, the target drops to zero hitpoints, and if it it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.
You may alsochoose to end those vibrations without causing damageif you want to, for example, pressure someone into providing information.
Best Species For A Way Of The Open Hand Monk
Followers of the Way of the Open Hand are similar to most other monks, soany species that works as a monk will do great here. Below are a few species that make excellent monks.
Bugbear
Bugbears make great monks.Five extra feet of reachfor your melee attacks provides significant flexibility. High Dexterity means you’re more likely to go earlier in the turn order, makingSurprise Attackmore effective.Stealth proficiency,charm resistance, andDarkvisionare all great perks.
Duergar
The poison resistance isn’t too useful since monks eventually gain immunity, butadvantage against being charmed and stunnedis still good.Enlarge/Reduceis a great spell for a monk to know as it can increase your damage, andInvisibilityprovides interesting sneaking options.
Goblin
Fury of the Smallcan really help your damage output.Darkvision,charm resistance, andhiding as a bonus actionare also nice to have, although your bonus action will typically be used up spending ki points.
Goliath
Monks don’t get nearly as many hit points as their melee-focused combat requires.Stone’s Endurancehelps with that.Cold resistanceandAthleticsproficiency are also good perks.
Half-Orc
Monks make a lot of attacks, and that means they’re making critical hits more often than most classes.Savage Attacksmake those crits deal more damage, whileRelentless Endurancekeeps a monk fighting when their hit points hit zero.Darkvisionis also nice too.
Half-Elf
Monks in general want a lot of stats to be effective. Half-elves getthree stat boosts,Darkvision, and evenmore skillsto add to your burgeoning repertoire.
Human
If it’s stats you want, humans got it. You can alsogo variant human to get a featoff the jump.
Owlin
Monks struggle against flying things.Owlin can fly, making it easy to hit other flying things. Neither monks nor owlin like wearing armor, which also works in this species' favor.Darkvisionand stealth proficiency are nice to have.
Plasmoid
UsingAmorphousis hard to do while wearing armor or wielding weapons, but monks don’t like either of those, making them the perfect plasmoid class.Darkvision,resistance to acid and poison damage, andadvantage on grapple checksare also great pairings for any monk subclass.
Shifter
Shifters help with a monk’s poor HP pool by providinga bunch of temporary hitpointswhenever they shift.Extra armor,movement speed,askill proficiency,andDarkvisionare all good to have.
Tabaxi
Monks don’t use claws, butFeline Agilitymeans you never have to worry about being too far away to get into combat.Climbing speedhelps with those pesky flying critters a bit, andDarkvisionis always a boon.
Best Ability Scores For A Way Of The Open Hand Monk
Like other monks, followers of the Way of the Open Hand wantDexterity,Wisdom, andConstitutionto be effective. Dexterity empowers your strikes, Wisdom helps with your armor class and monk features such as Stunning Strike, and Constitution provides all-important hit points.
Strength,Intelligence, andCharisma can be entirely ignored. You’re going to want your core three attributes boosted as high as you can, and these don’t provide much benefit.
If you’re using D&D’s point buy system,a good starting ability score spreadmight look something like this:
8(-1)
17(+3)
15(+2)
16(+3)
Best Starting Equipment For A Way Of The Open Hand Monk
A monk’s body is their weapon, which means you’re not likely to require much in terms of equipment. You can choose either a shortsword or another simple weapon, but most of your abilities require unarmed strikes to use, sodon’t expect to use either weapon much.
Yourunarmed attacks will eventually surpass a short sword’s damagestarting at level 11.
Adungeoneer’s packis a little more useful than an explorer’s pack, and10 dartscan help you engage flying targets.
Since your armor class is based on both your Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers while you’re not wearing armor,you don’t get any armor to start, and you’re not likely to ever need it.
Best Feats For A Way Of The Open Hand Monk
Most monkswant to maximize both their Dexterity and Wisdom before reaching level 20. This doesn’t leave much room for taking feats, so you’re not likely to need this section at all.
That said, if you somehow stumble across a free feat over the course of your campaign,here are a few good ones to consider.
Alert
Never get ambushed again. Alertprevents you from being surprised,can’t gain advantage against you if they attack while hidden, and youget an additional five to your initiative score. If you may combine this with the bugbear’s Surprise Attack, you’ve got a potent combo.
Athlete
Climbing speedequal to your movement speed can be very helpful if you don’t already fly or are a tabaxi.Getting up from pronewithout using half your movement can also be good too. Take theDexterity score increasehere.
Crusher
Since your unarmed strikes are all bludgeoning damage, Crusherlets you move a creature five feetwith every strike.Crits also make it easierfor both you and your entire partyto hit your target, too.
Healer
If you want to lean even further into your role as a healer, the Healer feat gives youanother option to heal your friends. It’s generally not as good as your Hand of Healing ability, but more healing is certainly useful for longer dungeon dives.
Lucky
Nobody likes to fail their rolls.Lucky provides you with extra d20sto spend on your most important moments. You can also use Lucky d20s to prevent damage to your squishy monk.
Mobile
Mobility matters for melee classes. Anextra 10 feet of movementhelps get you into combat faster, whiledash actions that ignore difficult terrainkeep you free of crowd control effects.Avoiding attacks of opportunityis also nice.
Skill Expert
Complement your skillsby having more of them. You can alsogain expertisein a skill you already have.
Tough
Monks are squishy. Tough makes things less squishy by giving themtwo extra hitpoints per level.
Next:Dungeons & Dragons: Best New Monsters In The Book Of Many Things
