The Monk: A Currency-Based Combat Machine
The Monk is one of the most mechanically dense classes in the Player’s Handbook, and it earns that complexity. By 7th level alone, you have Stunning Strike, Ki-Empowered Strikes, Evasion, and Deflect Missiles running simultaneously. Very few classes front-load this much usable material.
The Ki Economy
Ki is the engine everything runs through. You get a number of ki points equal to your monk level, and you recover them after a short or long rest, provided you spend 30 minutes meditating. Think of it less like spell slots and more like a rechargeable action economy. Flurry of Blows costs 1 ki point and adds two unarmed strikes to your bonus action. Patient Defense lets you Dodge as a bonus action for 1 ki point. Step of the Wind does the same for Dash or Disengage. Three options, one resource, all available from level 2.
The ki save DC follows the same formula as a spell save DC: 8 plus proficiency bonus plus your Wisdom modifier. This is why Wisdom is your second priority stat. Stunning Strike, available at 5th level, lets you spend 1 ki point after hitting to force a Constitution saving throw against that DC. Fail, and the target is stunned until the start of your next turn. One ki point for a full turn of control on a hit is a genuinely powerful trade.
The Speed Math Nobody Warns You About
Unarmored Movement adds 10 feet to your speed at 2nd level and scales to 30 extra feet at level 18. This is where things get interesting. A Wood Elf Monk at level 18 has a base speed of 65 feet. Add the 30-foot bonus, use your action to Dash, then spend 1 ki point to Dash again with Step of the Wind. That is 195 feet of movement in a single turn, without multiclassing. At 9th level, you can also run across vertical surfaces and liquids without falling, as long as you end your turn on solid ground.
The Capstone Problem
The Monk’s late-game features are genuinely strong, right up until the very end. Diamond Soul at 14th level grants proficiency in all saving throws and lets you spend 1 ki point to reroll any save you fail. At 18th level, you can spend 4 ki points to go invisible for a minute with resistance to all damage except Force, or spend 8 to cast Astral Projection without material components.
And then Perfect Self at 20th level gives you 4 ki points if you enter a fight with none. After Flurry of Blows and Step of the Wind and Stunning Strike have been running the whole campaign, the capstone is essentially emergency backup currency. It is fine. It is not satisfying.
For full class details, see the Player’s Handbook Chapter 3, the Monk section.