monk open-hand tavern-brawler thief fighter honour-mode

Tavern Brawler Monk

Solo: Open Hand Monk 6 / Thief Rogue 4 / Fighter 2 · Party: Open Hand Monk 9 / Thief Rogue 3

Single-target DPS / turn control / mobility Difficulty: Moderate Karlach (solo) or Astarion (party) Updated 2026.07.18
Key levels
  1. L3
  2. L4
  3. L5
  4. L8
  5. L12

One of the hardest hitters in the party — Tavern Brawler adds STR modifier TWICE to unarmed attack and damage. Stunning Strike deletes enemy turns, Flurry of Blows takes lives, Ki refunds on short rest. Solo split adds Fighter for armour + Action Surge; party split gets Evasion + 1d8 Ki Resonation. Act 3 damage is 'much much higher' with full itemisation.

Tavern Brawler Monk (Honour Mode)

Final composition:

  • [SOLO]: Open Hand Monk 6 / Thief Rogue 4 / Fighter 2
  • [PARTY]: Open Hand Monk 9 / Thief Rogue 3

Why this split

Tavern Brawler adds the strength modifier twice to unarmed attack and damage rolls — that’s the engine. Stunning Strike removes enemy turns entirely; Flurry of Blows removes lives. Ki points come back on short rest, making the monk a perfect candidate for Potions of Angelic Reprieve. The Fighter levels in solo provide armour proficiencies + Action Surge to beef up the action economy; the party build instead gets the upgraded 1d8 Ki damage, Evasion, and Ki Resonation.

Origin: Karlach [2d4 Fire damage from Act 1] or Astarion [1d10 Necrotic in Act 3]. ⚠️ Soul Coins are bugged: they last until long rest, don’t require Karlach to be raging or at low health, and add 2d4 Fire (not the intended 1d4) to unarmed attacks.

Character Creation

FieldPick
OriginKarlach (solo) or Astarion (party)
Race—
BackgroundPlayer’s choice
ClassMonk (Open Hand)
SkillsAthletics required, rest player’s choice

Stats (solo): STR 8, DEX 17, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 16, CHA 8

How Tavern Brawler Works on Punches (read once)

  • Unarmed attack roll: +STR mod twice (Tavern Brawler adds it again).
  • Unarmed damage: +STR mod twice.
  • With Elixir of Hill Giant Strength at level 4: 21 STR → +5 mod → +10 to attack and damage, +20 per Flurry of Blows. “GG.”
  • Act 3 finisher: the Resonance Stone (setup item) grants an aura of psychic damage vulnerability.

Level-by-Level

L1 — Monk 1

  • Bonus Action Unarmed Strike, Deft Strikes, Flurry of Blows, Unarmoured Defence.

L2 — Monk 2

  • Patient Defence; Step of the Wind: Dash + Disengage; Unarmoured Movement.

L3 — Monk 3 — Open Hand — power spike

  • Deflect Missiles; Flurry of Blows: Push / Stagger / Topple (Topple = prone + shove).

L4 — Monk 4

  • Tavern Brawler (+1 CON). Elixir of Hill Giant Strength = 21 STR — the build comes online.

L5 — Monk 5

  • Stunning Strike — “simply delete the enemy turn.”

L6 — Monk 6

  • Manifestation of Body / Mind / Soul; Wholeness of Body.

L7 — Monk 7

  • Evasion (party build); Stillness of Mind.

L8 — Monk 8

  • Feat: Alert.

L9 — Monk 9

  • Ki Resonation: Punch / Blast (party build — 1d8 damage).

L10 — Rogue 1

  • Skills: Athletics, Stealth.

L11 — Rogue 2

  • Cunning Action: Dash / Disengage / Hide.

L12 — Rogue 3 — Thief

  • Fast Hands — the second bonus action. “Nutty” action economy.

Build Variants

VariantSplitNotes
Solo6 OH Monk / 4 Thief / 2 FighterStats 8/17/15/8/16/8. Fighter levels = Action Surge for endgame round-ones (Raphael, Ansur). If low AC hurts early, take a Fighter level for armour + medium armour instead — slows martial progression but may be worth it.
Radiant Orb (Impossible Challenge)Solo: 1 Fighter / 6 OH / 4 Thief / 1 Fighter · Party: 1 Fighter / 8 OH / 3 ThiefStats 8/17/15/8/16/8 (solo), 8/16/15/8/16/10 (party). Radiating Orbs shed light and reduce the afflicted’s attack rolls by −1 per orb (cap −10). Holy Lance Helm applies radiant on a miss → Luminous Gloves apply orbs to radiant-damage targets → Luminous Armour applies orbs to enemies around you → at monk 6 unarmed hits do radiant → the feedback loop becomes extremely powerful.

Key Items

ItemActWhy⭐
Elixir of Hill Giant Strengthgeneral21 STR from level 4 — the build’s online switch⭐
Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo1-2Gloves
Disintegrating Nightwalkers2Boots
Wavemother’s Cloak1-2Cloak
Crusher’s Ring1-2Ring
Bow of Awareness / Titanstring1-2Ranged alt
Adamantine Mace1-2⚠️ its “ignores bludgeoning resistance” property applies to unarmed attacks too⭐
Adamantine Shield1-2Offhand alt
Resonance Stone3Setup: psychic damage vulnerability⭐
Shadeclinger Armour3Equip/remove for advantage on saves
Elixir of Hill Giant / Cloud Giant StrengthgeneralConsumables⭐

Combat Pattern

  1. Initiative: high DEX + Alert — set up Stuns/Prone on the hard target first, or pick off small enemies to swing the action economy.
  2. Standard turn: Flurry of Blows (Topple = prone + shove) → Stunning Strike the priority target → Cunning Action (Hide/Dash) + Fast Hands.
  3. Act 3: equip the Resonance Stone — psychic damage vulnerability on everything.
  4. Resources: Ki refunds on short rest — chain Potions of Angelic Reprieve; save Action Surge (solo) for boss round-ones.

Act-by-Act Priority

ActPriorityNotes
1Hill Giant elixir, Karlach soul coins (bugged 2d4)Online at level 4 — +20 flurry
2Evasion, Disintegrating Nightwalkers, Crusher’s RingFull control kit
3Resonance Stone, Cloud Giant elixir, full itemisation”Damage in Act 3 will be much much higher”

Honour Mode Reminders

  • ⚠️ Single-target only — the party must handle AOE threats while you delete the boss.
  • Elixir-dependent: if you lose the Hill Giant elixir window, damage drops hard.
  • Melee needs Constitution — keep the +1 CON from Tavern Brawler and the elixir CON.
  • Solo: solve AC early (Fighter armour or Shield — you give up Unarmoured Movement speed and the WIS-to-AC bonus).
  • Turn Buffering tech (see Tips) pairs perfectly with short-rest Ki recycling.

Source