Ability Score Increases (ASI) at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level.
Monks rely on multiple abilities, meaning you need to dump some stats. The best thing to do is to focus on DEX, WIS, and then CON, in that order.
STR: Take some STR if you’d like to shove or grapple enemies, both of which can be quite good for monks.
DEX: Monks use DEX for everything. Attack rolls and damage rolls are calculated using DEX, and monks also want decent AC due to their average hit points. Deflect Missiles is also affected by DEX and helps to keep you alive.
CON: Don’t ignore CON. Letting your hit points fall behind as you level up because of a low CON score is a surefire way to be very vulnerable at higher levels.
INT: You probably need to dump INT to ensure a decent amount of DEX, WIS, and CON.
WIS: Unarmored Defense lets WIS contribute more to AC. Some of your ki abilities also rely on WIS.
CHA: You probably need to dump CHA to ensure a decent amount of DEX, WIS, and CON.
Monk Class Progression1st LevelHit Points: A d8 hit dice is pretty deadly considering that monks engage in melee combat. Luckily they sport a sizeable AC due to Unarmored Defense.
Saves: DEX saves happen all the time and monks will be great at succeeding at those. STR saves are typically less important but do come up more often than something like an INT save.
Weapon/Armour Proficiencies: Monks don’t get any options for armor or shields, but they don’t really want them anyway due to Unarmored Defense. Many of the monk weapons aren’t great either but being able to use DEX instead of STR bonuses should help some.
Skills: Only two skills and the list to choose from is pretty subpar.
Acrobatics (DEX): Sadly Acrobatics is quite an underutilized skill. Many situations use Athletics instead or there is already a rule in place such as for jumping distance. Some DMs like to be more lenient and let you use Acrobatics for skill checks if you ask.Athletics (STR): Good for grapples and moving around difficult environments, especially if you don’t completely neglect STR.History (INT): Can be nice if you enjoy lore and roleplaying, but you will make your DM work extra hard! Unfortunately your INT score won’t be high enough to take advantage of this skill.Insight (WIS): Monks typically have a good WIS score to take advantage of Insight. It’s a pity that this isn’t Perception though, since Perception is just better most of the time.Religion (INT): Same as History but sometimes more useful if your campaign includes gods. Unfortunately your INT score won’t be high enough to take advantage of this skill.Stealth (DEX): Since Monks have high DEX and don’t wear any noisy heavy armor they are a great option for sneaking around or scouting. Although if you have a Rogue in the party your usefulness in that regard becomes next to zero.Unarmored Defense: Once you hit 20 in both DEX and WIS you’ll manage to get 20 AC. Not too shabby for a character without armor but that won’t be until level 19 if you don’t take any feats.
Martial Arts: This is the key feature that makes the monk actually work as a class. It gives you an unarmed strike as a bonus action as long as you use your action to attack with an unarmed strike or monk weapon, which will be the case most often. Most importantly, STR can be dumped in favor of DEX and an extra attack as a bonus action helps keep damage more consistent with other classes.
2nd LevelKi: Ki features some fantastic options for combat that can use your bonus action to maximize action economy.
Flurry of Blows: You can either do Flurry of Blows for a total of three attacks or the extra attack from Martial Arts for two, not both. Still, Flurry of Blows is a solid way to get in more damage.Patient Defense: The Dodge action is a great way to avoid taking damage.Step of the Wind: Step of the Wind grants some good in-combat mobility options.Unarmored Movement: Increased speed is another reason to leave armor for your party members. Walking on water and vertical surfaces is also situationally useful.
Dedicated Weapon: Unfortunately, this doesn’t offer monks a very large boost. Yes, you can choose from a wider array of weapons and yes some ranged weapons can work, but at the end of the day the change will be small. For example, you can now wield a greatclub at do 1d8 damage, instead of the typical 1d6 you’d get from other monk-appropriate weapons. You can also use a shortbow, but it won’t matter much because you have to be up close to use Flurry of Blows and Stunning Strike.
3rd LevelDeflect Missles: Super cool if you manage to catch the missile and hurl it back at your foe. Obviously Deflect Missiles won’t work with spells, so its usefulness is limited.
Ki Fueled Attack: The monk’s basic class features allow you to use Ki Fueled Attack off of a Stunning Strike, which will net a ton of extra bonus action attacks over the course of even a single adventuring day. Subclasses like Four Elements, Shadow, Sun Soul, Kensei, and Mercy can also activate this ability off of their features.
Monastic Tradition: At 3rd level, monks get to choose their Monastic Tradition.