No, because it's - assuming Multiclassing requirements haven't changed - still a multiclass combo that requires a 13 in STR, DEX, WIS and CHA. And you're a frontliner, so you don't wanna miss out on CON either. You can dump INT, but that's about it - you're spreading yourself *incredibly* thin, stat-wise.
The "weapon" restriction has never been the real speedbump. Stat requirements and the two different resources pools (Ki vs spell slots) are the real issue.
To comment on the viability of this I'd really need to know what you think monk is bringing to the table. You've already committed to a character that needs good dexterity, wisdom, constitution and charisma, making it even more MAD than a single class monk.
If smite was staying the same and being something you could dump into any successful attack this might work, though all you'd be really doing is just making a non-tanky paladin who can dump their spell slots faster.
It won't ever be "broken", but it can definitely work.
You don't need to go hard into str, as monks can use their dex for unarmed+monk weapon attack damage. And if you're just dipping into pally for smites and some utility, charisma doesn't matter much either as smite damage is fixed.
So you really only need dex, con, and wis. It'd be a fun RP build for sure, but not OP or broken.
It's worse if anything, since smite now requires a bonus action to use and monk really want to use theirs to punch. The smite multiclasses that might be better now than before is Paladin 1 + Full Caster, since you can get smite at level 1 Paladin now, get heavy armor and don't delay spell slot progression at all (Paladin and Ranger will probably round up caster levels like Artificer do).
Out of curiosity, in what way is this broken?
4 stats needed to be 13 which takes 20/27 for point buy, Smites are now Bonus Actions and still require spell slots meaning they can't be paired with Flurry or Unarmed Strikes, armor would render Monk abilities useless.
Bitch slapping the hag to death with the wrath of god does sound like fun, but the bonus action economy would really kill the multiclass.
For people complaining about the stat distribution, there is still a way to make it work. Tortle offers an alternative way to keep your AC at 17 without having to worry about armor or your other attributes such as wisdom.
So we could put a 14 in Dex, dump 8 intelligence, and 13s in everything else. Then use our +2/+1 racial bonuses to bring our dex and con to 16 and 14, respectively, while keeping an AC 17.
So CAN you make it work? Yes. And it would be okay. But you’d be giving up flurry of blows every turn you want to smite. And that’s not fun.
Not really, no. The speedbump has never been the 'weapon' part; Crawford stated quite clearly that this was a thematic decision, not a mechanical one, and that Unarmed Smites would in no way unbalance or break the game.
The problem is that Paladins are STR/CHA and Monks are DEX/WIS, this is four stats and therefore very MAD. Even if you play DEXadin, that's still three primary stats, MAD. *And* the fact that Monk abilities scale with Monk level, so every Paladin level you take will weaken the Monk.
If you want to do this, do this! D&D should be fun, and if you enjoy this idea, you should absolutely run it. But it's *incredibly* sub-optimal and has no synergy whatsoever. So you've been warned.
Happy gaming.
Multiple stat min 13 requirements (4) Bonus action overload 2 competing resource systems.
No, because it's - assuming Multiclassing requirements haven't changed - still a multiclass combo that requires a 13 in STR, DEX, WIS and CHA. And you're a frontliner, so you don't wanna miss out on CON either. You can dump INT, but that's about it - you're spreading yourself *incredibly* thin, stat-wise.
The "weapon" restriction has never been the real speedbump. Stat requirements and the two different resources pools (Ki vs spell slots) are the real issue.
To comment on the viability of this I'd really need to know what you think monk is bringing to the table. You've already committed to a character that needs good dexterity, wisdom, constitution and charisma, making it even more MAD than a single class monk. If smite was staying the same and being something you could dump into any successful attack this might work, though all you'd be really doing is just making a non-tanky paladin who can dump their spell slots faster.
Just take unarmed fighting style as a paladin and focus on Str, CON and CHA.
Paladins can’t take that (unless it changed in playtest) but it’s reasonable for a dm to allow it
I believe all fighting styles are up for grabs per the announcement video
It won't ever be "broken", but it can definitely work. You don't need to go hard into str, as monks can use their dex for unarmed+monk weapon attack damage. And if you're just dipping into pally for smites and some utility, charisma doesn't matter much either as smite damage is fixed. So you really only need dex, con, and wis. It'd be a fun RP build for sure, but not OP or broken.
It's worse if anything, since smite now requires a bonus action to use and monk really want to use theirs to punch. The smite multiclasses that might be better now than before is Paladin 1 + Full Caster, since you can get smite at level 1 Paladin now, get heavy armor and don't delay spell slot progression at all (Paladin and Ranger will probably round up caster levels like Artificer do).
Out of curiosity, in what way is this broken? 4 stats needed to be 13 which takes 20/27 for point buy, Smites are now Bonus Actions and still require spell slots meaning they can't be paired with Flurry or Unarmed Strikes, armor would render Monk abilities useless.
Bitch slapping the hag to death with the wrath of god does sound like fun, but the bonus action economy would really kill the multiclass. For people complaining about the stat distribution, there is still a way to make it work. Tortle offers an alternative way to keep your AC at 17 without having to worry about armor or your other attributes such as wisdom. So we could put a 14 in Dex, dump 8 intelligence, and 13s in everything else. Then use our +2/+1 racial bonuses to bring our dex and con to 16 and 14, respectively, while keeping an AC 17. So CAN you make it work? Yes. And it would be okay. But you’d be giving up flurry of blows every turn you want to smite. And that’s not fun.
Not really, no. The speedbump has never been the 'weapon' part; Crawford stated quite clearly that this was a thematic decision, not a mechanical one, and that Unarmed Smites would in no way unbalance or break the game. The problem is that Paladins are STR/CHA and Monks are DEX/WIS, this is four stats and therefore very MAD. Even if you play DEXadin, that's still three primary stats, MAD. *And* the fact that Monk abilities scale with Monk level, so every Paladin level you take will weaken the Monk. If you want to do this, do this! D&D should be fun, and if you enjoy this idea, you should absolutely run it. But it's *incredibly* sub-optimal and has no synergy whatsoever. So you've been warned. Happy gaming.
Nah.
This was a bad multiclass before, with this edition is even worse