The Tavern Brawler Monk is one of the most lethal builds in Baldur’s Gate 3, and yet most players don’t even know it exists. This is because Tavern Brawler isn’t a Monk subclass, but rather a unique combination of feats, ability scores, and subclass choices that create an unstoppable melee monster when combined correctly.
Because the “subclass” doesn’t technically exist, no tutorials or tips in the game will be able to help you create a Tavern Brawler Monk—you’ll need a great deal of game knowledge or a guide such as this one to make the most of this build. Here’s how to create and customize a Tavern Brawler Monk in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Tavern Brawler Monk build overview
Before getting into an exact build guide, it’s important that you understand what a Tavern Brawler Monk is and why the build works. Following a guide verbatim will allow you to create an OP monster, but understanding the build allows you to customize that monster to your liking and adapt on the fly to any situation the game throws your way.
The entire foundation of this Monk build relies on a single Feat: Tavern Brawler. This Feat makes it so that your Strength Modifier is added twice to all attack and damage rolls for unarmed attacks, improvised weapons, and thrown objects.
The Feat was not made with Monks specifically in mind, as Monks usually don’t use Strength as a primary Ability Score but strictly speaking, they can. Monks can attack more in a single turn than any other class, provided they’re using unarmed attacks. That fact combined with this Feat and a significant departure from the recommended Ability Point distribution allows for outrageously high damage output from what is usually more of a control and utility-based class.
Picking up the Tavern Brawler Feat and dumping all your points into Strength will give you an offensive beast, but figuring out the exact right balance between Strength, Dexterity, and Wisdom is crucial if you don’t want to suffer in areas other than damage output. You can experiment with this balance yourself, or you can read on for an exact outline of the most optimal build and take it from there.
Tavern Brawler Monk build guide
Because you don’t get your first Feat until level four, this build doesn’t really exist in the very early game. Before then, you have two options: play a Monk and focus on Strength (this will be a hindrance until level four), or start out as a “normal” Monk with high Dexterity, and then have Withers respec your character at level four. The choice is yours.
Best Tavern Brawler Race
Your character’s Race isn’t going to play a huge role in the Tavern Brawler build, so you can choose whatever you want here and still be a menace down the road. With that said, I recommend either a Wood-Half Elf for their extra movement speed or a Githyanki for their free Jump (level three) and Misty Step (level five) spells.
Best Tavern Brawler Ability Scores
I highly suggest using the recommended Ability Score distribution for Monk’s from levels one to three, and then respeccing at level four once you have access to the Tavern Brawler Feat. You need Strength for the build to work, but it won’t help you at all until you have Tavern Brawler. For levels one to three, you should use:
- Strength: 12
- Dexterity: 17
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: Eight
- Wisdom: 14
- Charisma: 10
The Strength score here is way lower than we want it to be, but that won’t matter until level four, at which point we will respec. These scores just make it so that reaching level four won’t be miserable. Once you’re able to get the Tavern Brawler Feat, you should respec your Scores to:
- Strength: 17
- Dexterity: 14
- Constitution: 10
- Intelligence: Eight
- Wisdom: 16
- Charisma: Eight
Strength is the Tavern Brawler Monk’s primary stat, but your Wisdom still needs to be high to increase your Save DC and ensure some of the later Monk Features work as intended. We’re keeping Dexterity high because you’ll lose your Unarmored Movement if you wear any armor, so Dexterity needs to be decent to prevent you from being too squishy. Higher Dexterity also means better Initiative, so you’ll be able to use your high Strength to kill enemies before they get a chance to attack.
Best Tavern Brawler Monk Subclass
Because Tavern Brawler is a Feat and not a Subclass, you still get to pick something separate. There really is only one right answer here, and that is the Way of the Open Hand. Open Hand Monks are designed around unarmed attacks, and Tavern Brawler Monks are designed around unarmed attacks. Select the Open Hand Subclass at level three.
Levels One to Three
You should use the recommended Monk Ability Scores here and plan on respeccing at level four to increase your Strength. If you chose the best Tavern Brawler Monk Scores at level one, you don’t need to respec—just be sure to choose Way of the Open Hand at level three.
Level Four
This is where the Tavern Brawler Monk can begin to take shape—and when you will become a monster. Respec to the Ability Scores outlined in the previous section (if you didn’t start with them at level one), and then choose Tavern Brawler as your level four Feat.
The Feat also allows you to increase either Strength or Constitution by one; you should absolutely choose Strength. You will now have 18 Strength at level four, which means that all three of your unarmed attacks get +8 to damage and +10 to attack rolls. Assuming they all hit (as they almost always will given the huge attack roll bonus), you will deal between 27 and 42 damage each turn.
Level Eight
Levels five to seven will add some powerful tools to your arsenal, but there aren’t any decisions to be made. Just sit back, use new Monk Features as they come, and enjoy playing as One-Punch Man. At level eight, it’s time to choose your next Feat. You should choose Ability Score improvement, but there are options for which Ability you actually improve.
- Strength—increasing your Strength to 20 will bump your +8 to damage rolls to +10, which actually adds a massive amount of damage each turn because you’re making so many attacks.
- Dexterity—getting this up to 16 helps solidify your already decent Initiative to ensure that you’re getting the jump on everyone. It also helps with your Evasion passive feature, and of course, your AC.
- Wisdom—you can reach 18 Wisdom here, which is huge for your Saving Throws and DCs. Higher Wisdom will ensure that you’re landing all of your utility effects, which can mean life or death.
- Constitution—getting your Constitution up to 12 will give you a significant hit point buff, but personally I think you’re better off putting that into Dexterity if it’s survivability you’re after.
All four options are great choices, it really just depends on what area you want to improve in.
Levels Nine to 12
Now that you have eight levels in Monk the Tavern Brawler build is in full swing, and where you go from here can branch out. Here are just a few things you can try out:
- Monk 9, Rogue 3—a ninth Monk level gives you access to Ki Resonation attacks, which allow you to make unarmed attacks even with two weapons equipped. As such, you can dual-wield weapons purely for the bonuses and features they give and still have your hands free for attacking. Three levels in Rogue give you an extra Bonus Action via the Thief Subclass, which synergizes greatly with the Monk’s unarmed bonus attacks.
- Monk 8, Rogue 4—same as above, but you’ll trade off Ki Resonation for another Feat that can be used to increase another Ability by two (or select a different Feat).
- Monk 12—the Sanctuary passive feature Monks get at level 11 is fantastic, and this also allows you to get a third Feat at level 12.
When you’re in Act Three, the 100 gold required to respec might as well be negligible, so don’t be afraid to experiment often. The Tavern Brawler build is essentially finished at level eight, and anything beyond this point is more about shifting to your preferences and finding what’s most fun for you.
