Kung Fu Fury: Barbarian/Monk Multiclass (5e Optimized Character Build)

Concept

An old and slow Tortle walked through town, giving kind waves to the various shop keepers on his way to the monestary. He always loved this town, it was his third time through it. However, almost trying to sour his day he spotted three men kicking something in the alley way. He could tell just looking at them they were up to no good. Maybe he should have kept walking, it was a record for him since he lost his temper. But soon he found himself approaching them. When he saw the young boy on the ground, more bruises and swelling now than anything else, something snapped. The tortle remembered one of the men tried to talk but in a red haze he smashed his sternum and rib cage. His friends tried to help, one getting launched into the ally and the other kicked through the wood wall next to them. That was probably the last time he could come to this town, but now he had a friend to join him on the road.

Want to be a master of brute force and martial skill? This guide will walk you through how to do this optimally and take advantage of its mechanics.

Race and Ability Scores

Race - Tortle: The tortle is so perfect for this class combination it feels intentional. While others are possible, they struggle with some of the inherent weaknesses this combination imposses.

• Strength +2, Wisdom +1: These stat boosts are perfect for what we want since we are rellying on strength for attacks and wisdom for various class features.

• Natural Armor: You have a flat 17 armor class. It's "restriction" is you can't wear armor but we already couldn't as a monk. This solves the major issue of wanting to max Dexterity for AC and Strength for rage attacks. Now we can just max Strength.

• Your other abilities are nice, but not mechanically relevant. Still, being able to weigh 450+ pounds makes you hard to drag or move.

Ability Scores: You'll need to meet both Barbarian and Monk multi-class requirements: Strength, Dexterity and Wisdom of at least 13.

• Standard Array: Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8

• Point Buy: Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 8

Leveling Guide

This is designed to keep you relevant throughout the campaign.

• Level 1 Monk: You start with it for proficiency in dexterity saving throws and so you can bonus action attack.

• Level 2 Barbarian: Pick this up early for a lot of extra tankiness and damage with rage.

• Level 3-6 Monk: You'll need to stick with monk until you unlock extra attack, a huge damage milestone. Delaying it is only okay because of the damage boost from rage and monks natural bonus action attacks or Flurry of Blows. You'll gain a subclass, discussed bellow. Increase your Strength by 2.

• Level 7-8 Barbarian: Take totem warrior for the best tankiness in the game. Also get reckless attacks for some even higher damage.

• Level 9+ Monk: Your looking to max out your Martial Arts die and gain all your subclass abilities. Pick up the Durable Feat, Max your Strength, and increase your Wisdom by 2 for your ASI.

Subclass

There are two highly viable monk options: Kensei from XGE and Astral Self from UA (possibly future release).

Kensei: this is a great option if your basing yourself off of Oogway or a Ninja turtle aesthetic.

• Increase Armor class from your kensei weapon and the Agile Parry ability.

• Slight Damage increase with Deft Strike

• Integrate a magical weapon into a class normally unable to use them effectively.

Astral Self: This is for straight damage.

• you can get up to 6 attacks in one turn. each of those can apply your rage modifier.

• Slight damage increase for Astral Mask.

• You can still use strength with your Astral fists.

Barbarian - Totem Warrior: This winds up being so much better than other options it is the only true option.

• Power is not based off of class levels, important since we only take 3 levels of it.

• Not reliant on Bonus Action, something consumed by the monk nearly every turn.

• Best tankiness in the game. Resistance to all damage (minus psychic) is hard to beat in any situation.

Variant Builds

The best builds usually have derivations to suit personal taste. If you have any for this class combo, list them here.

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