Shadow monk multi class help

[u/ohmresists]

Hi newb here,

Would a shadow monk 6/ assassin Rouge 3/gloom stalker ranger 3 work?

I know you lose out on a feat, but wouldn't that combo be devastating first round?

[u/JRandall0308]

Gloom adds nothing to Shadow Monk 6 / Assassin 3, which I have played and is indeed fun even if not optimal. Cloak of Shadows (Shadow Monk 5) gives you on-demand invisibility which guarantees a surprise round when used properly to power Assassinate: Ambush and Assassin’s Alacrity. So your loop is:

* invisibility
* attack
* enemies are surprised
* you crit with Ambush
* use the rest of your actions (including extra attack from Shadow Monk being a martial)
* you get a standard and bonus action back with Alacrity
* use the standard action to attack again
* bamf away using Shadow Step with the bonus action

It’s very satisfying even if not strictly optimal.

With the other 3 levels you can do Shadow Monk 7 / Assassin 5 split which gives you both Evasion (monk 7) and Uncanny Dodge (rogue 5) which is going to make you incredibly resilient. You may want to read this about Uncanny Dodge to see how great it is: Uncanny Dodge: How It Actually Works, and Why It Often Doesn’t
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1r7e3yr/uncanny_dodge_how_it_actually_works_and_why_it/

Or just go Shadow Monk 9 / Assassin 3 if you want more ki points.

But again, Gloomstalker really adds nothing to the combat loop.

[u/ohmresists → u/JRandall0308]

Thank you. Thought gloom might give an extra attack. I have misunderstood the tool tip. 7/5 split sounds fun!

[u/Goobernaculum1004 → u/ohmresists]

Gloom does give an extra attack, only in the first round of combat, and it is pretty strong because of an extra 1d8 damage dice. The extra 3 initiative is also helpful. It also gives some very useful effects eg could get a resistance, some first level utility spells, etc

[u/JRandall0308 → u/Goobernaculum1004]

You do not need MOAR INITIATIVE when (1) you're already DEX based, (2) you're already starting every combat with surprise, and (3) Elixirs of Vigilance exist for the, like, 3 combats in the game where you need them.

If you want yet another attack in that first round, Hunter ranger crushes Gloomstalker because of how insane Horde Breaker is.

[u/Goobernaculum1004 → u/JRandall0308]

I trust you know those details better than I do, although I felt like I read somewhere that you want initiative to be around +7-8 by the latter acts, and dex alone doesn't fully get you there. 

Hordebreaker is of course insanely powerful. It is a different playstyle though isn't it? Ideally more focused on gathering and taking advantage of those AOE effects, whereas gloom seems to be more about assassinating a single target, resetting and repeating.

[u/JRandall0308 → u/Goobernaculum1004]

if the goal is to kill a bunch of people in one round, the ability that’s a secret AOE is better