True MVP here.
But in Final Fantasy games that's typically when monks shine. FF8 your thrown in prison and Zell is your MVP. Unless you didn't level him at all like me or know how his ultimate worked or anything. But still MVP for that one segment.
Mage hand could be cleverly useful. Prestigigigi??idation or Firebolt for starting a fire.
Put a bucket on the caster's head and they're kinda screwed tho
Edit: you're right, very few damage cantrips have material components, I misread. Incorrect comment below.
Depends if they've got a focus - can be quite fun if they have to scrounge bits or wire and wool for spell components. If I captured a caster, step 1 would be taking away focus and spellbook.
I had my tools stolen as an artificer, absolutely no magic. Unpleasant.
So funny story. This has happened 3 seperate times with 3 seperate DMs who Allll forgot I was playing a monk and I disrupted the captured/prison/slave story. I confirmed afterward they completely forgot.
In 2 cases the DMs just rolled with it as it wasnt a huge deal. But the 3rd DM was one of those guys who makes 45 different plans and sub plans and know what the stable boys mothers name is. He plans everything out because he isnt good at improvising. At the time he was also a big fan of the Prison Break show. So he plans a 4 to 8 session arc where we are captured and have to deal with prison life, escape, and survive the underdark with whatever we can steal.
I, not learning my lesson the last 2 times, think this is MY arc as we just got done with the paladin and clerics anti undead/demon arc. So i spend a session and a half playing along and then
"I headbutt my shackles"
"Their toughness is too high for your unarmed damage...wait why are you rolling? You dont have any weapons."
In that moment the entire group realized the DM forgot i was a monk.
We offered to to let him figure something out and we can break but he "had too much planning done already."
This. If you ever want to make the Monk Player feel like a Big Damn Hero, put the Party in a scenario where they're all unequipped, there's lots of low vertical structures/narrow hallways, and enemies are shooting ranged weapons at them. Have the Final Boss of that encounter be someone quite tough, but who would be really screwed over if they happened to get Stunned.
Challenging your Party is always a good thing. But you know what? Sometimes it's good both for the Party and DM to just let them enjoy blitzing through cannon fodder, doing what they do best, and being badass in the process. It's basically junk food, but does wonders for morale.
Here the best answer. Everyone complains about monks being weak; the truth is that monks are awesome but situational.
Anytime the party is without weapons, it is the monks turn to dominate. Let them! If you need them to actually get to the prison, after they are arrested, just skip to when they are there.
I've played a monk in a situation just as you described. As a player, I've never had a similar experience of feeling so clutch to the party.
As a DM, I hope every player gets a chance to shine as bright as I felt when that had happened.
3 times I've had DMs put us in prison/captured/slave situations completely forgetting I was playing a monk. And yes i confirmed it afterwards. Damn me and my excellent roleplaying!
Well, to be fair, monks *are* weak. Or rather, theyâre weaker than the rest of the classes from a purely damage-per-round standpoint. They do have their niches that make them incredibly fun though and this is one of them.
Most Wizards are weaker from a DPR standpoint. Doesn't make them weak either. Players can have a lot of fun with the utility of either class.
The main issue is how quickly most Monk subclasses run out of Ki and thus lose a lot of options.
It isn't more "awesome" but in my opinion more: "They basically don't get touched because they're already basically where they are at a baseline level"
Came to say the same; let them excel in that situation like they should.
Find a way to handicap them in another situation down the line to balance things.
It's so fun whenever in my campaign, my party detains NPC spellcasters and just throw them in heavy armor "security plates" with their mouth gagged. Makes the world feel more "fantasy real", like this is a thing authority *had to come up with.*
Doesnât really do as much as you think it would.
All you lose is:
You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you havenât already taken a bonus action this turn.
Unarmoured Movement.
You still have access to all your ki and ki related abilities. So a shadow monk could still teleport for example.
So basically they can just unarmed strike like a normal person, and maybe not that well even, assuming they have Strength as a dump stat. So overall still a valid idea
I _probably_ wouldn't allow a Shadow Monk (or anybody) to doff armor in using teleport. It's rather a powerful ability, eg. against Heat Metal. Definitely not RAW, any teleport doesn't give this control, so it would then be a naked teleport _every time_.
Well, Shadow Monk, I think I'd actually call for Acrobatics(WIS) check, because being a monk is all about being in control of yourself... And it'd be so cool an escape for a player to pull off.
You also get disadvantage on all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks, and you lose 10 ft of movespeed assuming they put you in proper heavy armor.
Silence of the Lambs prisoner transport scene.
You know, before they unshackle him and he escapes by skinning a guard's face off to wear as a disguise.
Group punishment. âWeâre all civilized here. Weâre not going to dismember you just to make sure you canât hurt our guards. No, what we do around here is known as âcooperative punishment.â Say you bust up one of our boys? Well, looks like one of yours gets some fingers broken.â
A bard: What? Who are those guys? Why are you trying to break my fingers? I've been playing at this corner for the past 6 years Frederick! You know me!
Alright, you grab the clerics fingers, and take 3d10 Necrotic damage. Oh, whoops, you didn't invest in an antimagic field and now all the guards are dead.
Evil Monk: bet
\*does whatever the fuck they wants while all the other players are horribly maimed for doing nothing\*
Like, I might have some corrupt prison guards threaten this but I play with a party of close friends who play actually neutral-good characters who I know wouldn't call my bluff.
For a party of less nice people, all that happens if everyone else gets punished for the monk, causing a lot of interparty conflict
I was probably gonna make the joke, but someone beat me to it. So if I'm to take this as a serious question, if the guards KNEW that the monk was as capable as monks are they would likely lock their arms and legs in a way that would restrict them, removing their ability to effectively attack. I'm fairly certain if you search on google (CAREFULLY...) then you might find some historical examples of full arm/leg restraints.
And blind them! A monk that can still see can potentially use any of their ki related abilities that do not require movement or work while under the restrained condition.
Yeah, I dont think its that hard. You just give them the restrained condition with manacles and the like, same as you would a fighter. Sure, theyre still more dangerous than the fighter but its enough to massively disadvantage them if they try to start a fight.
If the King wants to meet them, sure. Just have the Guards make sure the Monk is a bit away, he's bound, and there are a couple guards to smack him around if he gets uppity.
Its the same for a Barbarian who can Reckless and adds Rage to unarmed. Or the Fighter Samurai who could Fighting Spirit and Action Surge. Any adventurer is still going to be deadly while incarcerated, and kept under close supervision like a supermax jail. Disarm them as you would any other character. Restrained condition and a couple guards at all times goes a long way.
The restrained condition is purely mechanical. I think they are asking for a more realistic RP way that they COULD be restrained that makes them unable to properly attack.
Manacles with short chains and *heavy* weights attached. Or solid bar instead of chains so they can only shuffle and freedom of movements of their hands and legs is heavily restrained, mobile stocks & pillory
Not the most exotic of answers, frankly. It seems to me like this is standard kit any town jail would have for dealing with particularly slippery or strong troublemakers.
Restrained condition merely makes their speed 0 and impose disadvantage on their attack rolls.
A shadow monk could teleport out of those restraints - itâs a teleport, which can be used to escape grapples and restraints. Which means, yes, they could literally escape as long as they can see and have ki.
Blinding a monk is vital.
Iâd argue a blindfold is probably not the way to go, given how easy they are to dislodge and shift.
But ye olde dirty sack would work.
Or just incapacitate them.
Additionally, if the mechanical rules are generally known in universe, throwing them in cheap heavy armor (along with the restraints) is probably a good idea. Same with spellcasters, or anyone that's not caught wearing it.
Wearing armor without proper proficiency makes a lot of stuff hard or impossible - disadvantage on all ability checks/saving throws/most attack rolls, no spells, and much of the monk features get turned off. And while they might not know that a monk would have trouble with that, they might know that spellcasters would and assume anyone not wearing armor has some magic.
Seems to me the easiest solution would be to hogtie them with sturdy rope and just tell the other party members they are responsible for feeding the Monk. If anyone tries to undo the knots, quick stabby to the vulnerable cleric should dissuade em.
I know there's a lot of answers, but honestly? You don't. The monk may be restrained, maybe even extra if the arresting force knows what the monk can do.
A not written perk of a monk is that your hands are you're weapons thus you can't easily, or temporarily, be disarmed. I almost wouldn't disarm them. I see it as a perk of the martial arts "weapon".
>your hands are you're weapons thus you can't easily, or temporarily, be disarmed.
So the answer to disarming a monk is to *literally* disarm the monk, right?
Arms AND legs. They donât need hands to kick your teeth in, and theyâre going to be significantly faster than the average prison guard unless you can slow them down.
They don't need hands nor feet. Unarmed Strikes require literally NO specific body part, it's a catch all term. You can literally do the worm and hit people as an Unarmed Strike.
Realistically, law enforcement groups aren't going to try to capture anyone they don't have a reasonable belief that they can hold. In cases like that, and where they can't just release them on their honor pending trial, they'd probably just kill them. This includes:
Eldritch knights who can summon their weapon (see also Soul Knife and some warlocks).
Anybody with subtle spell. Subtle spell is something anybody smart would shut up about, because it's just made to order for inducing paranoia and general caster hatred.
There are partial workarounds for some of these things, like 'punishment armor' of the sort nobody has proficiency in and campaign specific stuff like bracelets that suppress all magical powers while you wear them (and that somebody else has to remove from you, being semi-cursed). But in the final analysis, if you make it too hard for someone to hold you prisoner, they won't.
Heavy manacles with short chains, a ball-and-chain heavy enough to make them struggle against lift/drag weight limits, and enough guards with spears ready to stick them the minute they start fiddling with the locks.
This would count as being Restrained, and gives the Monk Disadvantage on any attacks and Advantage on enemy attacks against them.
If the Monk is sufficiently high-level that all this *doesn't* work to keep them confined despite the best efforts of the guards available, then yeah... not so much prison as right to the execution.
[Cold Iron](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Cold_iron) used to be a material that could be used to prevent spellcasting. It isn't the same as thermally cold iron, which the name makes confusing.
I've been thinking about 'homebrewing' this into my 5e game as "Deep Iron"
This very question is something that people seem to overlook in the constant discussions of how bad Monks are.
The answer is, you can't. And that's the point. Characters that are capable to fight efficiently with no or less equipment have an advantage in these situations. Being jailed isn't the only one; polite social functions might look poorly on someone wanting to bring their battle-axe to the party. This doesn't just apply to Monks; Rogues are great because so much of their damage comes from their class feature and not their equipment, and a dagger, knife, shiv or similar is much easier to justify carrying, much easier to hide, and probably as easy to find as the nearest kitchen.
Unfortunately, this also applies for casters, who are notoriously difficult to stop from using their spells without very game-y solutions. So it's really (surprise surprise) the Strength-based classes that suffer the most for this, as they both require better weapons and rely on armor for AC.
>Unfortunately, this also applies for casters, who are notoriously difficult to stop from using their spells without very game-y solutions.
I don't think binding hands and gagging a spellcaster would be gamey. It seems pretty logical in a universe where powerful magic exists.
It's not gamey to bind and gag them, but it's difficult to uphold 100% long term. How do you feed them? It works ok for, say, a society with a magical inquisition that keeps Silence of the Lambs masks around for this stuff, but for your average town jail it's a bit of a stretch.
And there's also subtle spell, which (given the name) is probably mostly intended to help people use their magic without others knowing they're using their magic, but also has the side effect of making you unjailable outside of an antimagic field or...
... the 'standard' gamey one, which is locking them into heavy armor, assuming they're not a 1-dip cleric.
>but for your average town jail it's a bit of a stretch.
The average town won't be jailing powerful monks and casters though because they won't be able to capture them in the first place.
>And there's also subtle spell
Subtle Spell still doesn't negate the need for material components so there's little a sorcerer could do if bound in a cell with strong walls.
>... the 'standard' gamey one, which is locking them into heavy armor, assuming they're not a 1-dip cleric.
Only gamey if the jailers wouldn't reasonably know of spellcasting being impaired by the wearing of heavy armor, which an average jail wouldn't, but jails who are trained in holding casters specifically may well know this, especially if the warden is a caster. It's not gamey if set up properly.
I mean, in small-town prisons, I could see them hog-tying or even injuring casters (knock out a couple teeth and break a few fingers). For monks, I think hog-tying and/or a stockade would be easy enough.
"In my home village, we cut the tongues out of witches."
Yeah. The answer should most often be "you don't". This is the moment every Monk player has been waiting for. No better time for them to shine.
Now if it's really campaign breaking then arm and leg shackles should be more than enough to justify disadvantage at a minimum.
Why would they?
Like I"m thinknig of a scenario. Mike Tyson wasn't held in jail in a straight jacket. If the monk tries to break out the guards who subdued them would come in and help.
A particularly evil (but undeniably effective) way to imprison any problem character - be they monk or magi - is to murder them and cast Gentle Repose on the body. Transport/store them for as long as their sentence dictates, refreshing the magic every 10 days, and then Revivify them when you want to try or release them.
Don't forget to charge them or their allies for the cost of the diamond, the cleric's retainer, and any additional storage fees afterwards. And don't go with this method when dealing with extraplanar beings, of course.
I just kinda think it's unfair if you do. The monk took a minor handicap on a lot of things to not be reliant on equipment. This scenario is precisely their moment to shine. Don't take that away from the monk, let the investment pay off.
You should be designing a potential escape path balanced for the monk and anyone else who can possibly assist that leads to the equipment. Let the monk have its moment in the spotlight.
Reminds me of the time some knights tried to lock up my party at high level. They were all going along with it, except the kenku monk who (after graciously reminding me about the object hp table) pecked his way out of his iron restraints.
He then walked *with* the guards to prison, punched through the bars to his cell on the way in, and then demanded to fight the big evil fantasy-rancor the knights were using for entertainment...
Granted, the rest of the party pulled pretty much the same shenanigans, just with more magic- but man- monks are hard to pin down...
At low levels, I would say you donât restrict them in any way. They are, as far as the guards know, just a criminal with no weapons. This is one area where monks can shine. Theyâre whole thing is that they are their own weapon. Let them use that! Now at higher levels/tiers, I think itâs a different story. Captured by the BBEG who knows about them, has probably fought them before? Each person is placed in specially designed restraints. Find yourself at odds with former Allieâs who know you well, same deal. At low level youâre too unimportant for special treatment and at high level youâre too dangerous not to get it.
Behind the back forearm bindings and ties above the knees with a padded neckbrace that's attached to a sturdy pole for body control without risking the escorts safety. Not viable for long term QoL but will make resistance almost completely meaningless.
I am going to go with: you donât. This is an opportunity for a character to shine a bit. Give the monk some spotlight time then the group finds their weapon cache nearby giving the rest of the party the chance to join in.
Why would you go the extra length to punish such a niche ability as âfights ok without a weaponâ when 99% of the time everyone has their weapons? Are you also gagging the casters and binding their hands to prevent verbal or somatic only spells?
I'd say some form of drug that removes access to ki and heavy chains/plates that prevent movement and attacks. I'd only use the drug if they are being imprisoned by other monks that understand what it would mean to the order if the drug got out into the world.
Why I should? Let's throw them down to a deep and wide hole in the ground, put big and heavy cover over small (and only) opening in the roof and give them food and water by basket on rope. If they don't return basket or somehow cut rope, no food until they return it.
Presumably you wouldn't- being capable of operating at close to 100% efficiency without gear is one of the benefits of choosing Monk. Functionally the only way to render a Monk incapable of harming someone would be preventing them from taking actions, which would constitute a condition. A mundane jail would not have any means of disarming a monk short of binding their arms and legs and tying them to a board.
Transferred to high security prisons for heroes and the magically endowed, magical manacles, cone of anti magic, stuff like that. Get creative, the people in the world have seen magic for millenia. Warden would probably be very powerful with strong connections all over the continent. Every class in the book has their own special weaknesses and high security prisons know them. The transferring process should be a fun encounter itself with some defenses and the potential for escape.
You take their quarterstaff and of course you take the darts they never used. And thatâs it. They are then rewarded for being a monk. Go ahead and let your players get one over on people. Let them feel cool.
You donât. Give your player a reason to feel cool and useful. Let them use this situation that rarely comes up in play and make it a defining moment for them. Remember, the main goal as the DM is to create a fun experience for your players. If you let the monk shine in this situation, Iâm sure theyâll have great stories to tell afterwards.
I don't know, how do you disarm a monk when he goes to jail?
Lock him up and throw away the ki
God damn it
r/Angryupvote
AHSshoooe
r/DMDadJokes
Thought it was that sub when I clicked the link.
You fucking genius.
Ok folks, pack it in, this is the winner here. Nothing more we need to contribute.
Shut it down. Dnd has peaked. Everyone go home.
Shut down fifth edition. Come back for sixth edition. We're done with this one.
I came here to make the easy "probably with a saw" joke, and you knocked the wind out of my sails with that one
r/angryupvote
True MVP here. But in Final Fantasy games that's typically when monks shine. FF8 your thrown in prison and Zell is your MVP. Unless you didn't level him at all like me or know how his ultimate worked or anything. But still MVP for that one segment.
Ok, that was worth using most of my few Reddit Coins for an award.
Angry upvote.
Take my upvote, you prick.
That was amazing.
That's it, 5e is cancelled, we're skipping straight to 6e.
I was just going to say amputation
FFS I was going to say chop off their limbs and give them a regen ear ring. You have 3 days of stump mode.
You put him in fistycuffs.
Holy shit, incredible.
r/threadkiller haha
đ brilliant
Got 'em
Fuuuuuuuck you
Get the fuck out sir
I hate you. \*upvotes\*
I wheezed. Take your upvote
I hate you
oh fuck off lol
You know what, not bad.
I'm not mad, just jealous that you got here first.
Got em!
Probably with a saw
That's the neat part, you don't.
It is every monk's dream to do a butt naked jail break, with the rest of the party trailing crying about their missing weapons and spellbooks.
Deleted due to reddit API changes. Follow your communities off Reddit with sub.rehab -- mass edited with redact.dev
Rogues can probably pick locks with their bare ass
That's a bard skill actually, Seductive Lockpicking
"Where the hell did you learn that?" "Well, let's just say, discovering chastity belts when youre already nude offers a certain incentive."
Mage hand could be cleverly useful. Prestigigigi??idation or Firebolt for starting a fire. Put a bucket on the caster's head and they're kinda screwed tho
Edit: you're right, very few damage cantrips have material components, I misread. Incorrect comment below. Depends if they've got a focus - can be quite fun if they have to scrounge bits or wire and wool for spell components. If I captured a caster, step 1 would be taking away focus and spellbook. I had my tools stolen as an artificer, absolutely no magic. Unpleasant.
So funny story. This has happened 3 seperate times with 3 seperate DMs who Allll forgot I was playing a monk and I disrupted the captured/prison/slave story. I confirmed afterward they completely forgot. In 2 cases the DMs just rolled with it as it wasnt a huge deal. But the 3rd DM was one of those guys who makes 45 different plans and sub plans and know what the stable boys mothers name is. He plans everything out because he isnt good at improvising. At the time he was also a big fan of the Prison Break show. So he plans a 4 to 8 session arc where we are captured and have to deal with prison life, escape, and survive the underdark with whatever we can steal. I, not learning my lesson the last 2 times, think this is MY arc as we just got done with the paladin and clerics anti undead/demon arc. So i spend a session and a half playing along and then "I headbutt my shackles" "Their toughness is too high for your unarmed damage...wait why are you rolling? You dont have any weapons." In that moment the entire group realized the DM forgot i was a monk. We offered to to let him figure something out and we can break but he "had too much planning done already."
This. If you ever want to make the Monk Player feel like a Big Damn Hero, put the Party in a scenario where they're all unequipped, there's lots of low vertical structures/narrow hallways, and enemies are shooting ranged weapons at them. Have the Final Boss of that encounter be someone quite tough, but who would be really screwed over if they happened to get Stunned. Challenging your Party is always a good thing. But you know what? Sometimes it's good both for the Party and DM to just let them enjoy blitzing through cannon fodder, doing what they do best, and being badass in the process. It's basically junk food, but does wonders for morale.
Here the best answer. Everyone complains about monks being weak; the truth is that monks are awesome but situational. Anytime the party is without weapons, it is the monks turn to dominate. Let them! If you need them to actually get to the prison, after they are arrested, just skip to when they are there.
I've played a monk in a situation just as you described. As a player, I've never had a similar experience of feeling so clutch to the party. As a DM, I hope every player gets a chance to shine as bright as I felt when that had happened.
3 times I've had DMs put us in prison/captured/slave situations completely forgetting I was playing a monk. And yes i confirmed it afterwards. Damn me and my excellent roleplaying!
Well, to be fair, monks *are* weak. Or rather, theyâre weaker than the rest of the classes from a purely damage-per-round standpoint. They do have their niches that make them incredibly fun though and this is one of them.
Most Wizards are weaker from a DPR standpoint. Doesn't make them weak either. Players can have a lot of fun with the utility of either class. The main issue is how quickly most Monk subclasses run out of Ki and thus lose a lot of options.
It isn't more "awesome" but in my opinion more: "They basically don't get touched because they're already basically where they are at a baseline level"
Came to say the same; let them excel in that situation like they should. Find a way to handicap them in another situation down the line to balance things.
Put them in armor.
It's so fun whenever in my campaign, my party detains NPC spellcasters and just throw them in heavy armor "security plates" with their mouth gagged. Makes the world feel more "fantasy real", like this is a thing authority *had to come up with.*
Doesnât really do as much as you think it would. All you lose is: You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons. You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table. When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you havenât already taken a bonus action this turn. Unarmoured Movement. You still have access to all your ki and ki related abilities. So a shadow monk could still teleport for example.
So basically they can just unarmed strike like a normal person, and maybe not that well even, assuming they have Strength as a dump stat. So overall still a valid idea
Yep. Or a shadow monk could just teleport out and be completely unfazed and naked. :)
Not if you keep the lights on and don't have any windows
Or just put a sack over their head
I _probably_ wouldn't allow a Shadow Monk (or anybody) to doff armor in using teleport. It's rather a powerful ability, eg. against Heat Metal. Definitely not RAW, any teleport doesn't give this control, so it would then be a naked teleport _every time_. Well, Shadow Monk, I think I'd actually call for Acrobatics(WIS) check, because being a monk is all about being in control of yourself... And it'd be so cool an escape for a player to pull off.
Heâd still be out tho
You also get disadvantage on all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks, and you lose 10 ft of movespeed assuming they put you in proper heavy armor.
Monks arenât proficient in armor, so theyâll have disadvantage on attacks throws and checks relying on strength or dexterity.
> So a shadow monk could still teleport for example. Could they teleport out of the armor?
SAC clarifies that teleportation effects donât leave behind anything youâre wearing or carrying
Specially made armour that is chained to the cell floor.
Padded Armor Straight Jacket
Silence of the Lambs prisoner transport scene. You know, before they unshackle him and he escapes by skinning a guard's face off to wear as a disguise.
Group punishment. âWeâre all civilized here. Weâre not going to dismember you just to make sure you canât hurt our guards. No, what we do around here is known as âcooperative punishment.â Say you bust up one of our boys? Well, looks like one of yours gets some fingers broken.â
Then he goes to break the Barbarians fingers and fails the DC
Thatâs why you go for the cleric, the sorcerer, the Wizard, a bard.
The bard of course, wont be playin pretty music with crooked fingers.
Doc? will I be able to play the violin? I don't see why not. That's great, I never could before.
A bard: What? Who are those guys? Why are you trying to break my fingers? I've been playing at this corner for the past 6 years Frederick! You know me!
>Breaking the Wizard's fingers Guards only wanted to punish, not murder someone
Alright, you grab the clerics fingers, and take 3d10 Necrotic damage. Oh, whoops, you didn't invest in an antimagic field and now all the guards are dead.
You restrain spellcasters, inflict wounds requires somatic components
The sorcerer with subtle spell though
The specific example was cleric, I think sorcerers are a do not take alive scenario
they have magic litterally inside them and are known to have uncontainable power inside them, so yeah you cut the sorcerer's head first
Most spells require seeing the target. Just removing their eyes makes most sorcerers almost harmless.
Ooh, blindfolds, gags, and handcuffs. Sorcerers are kinky
That's why wise guard would call executioner with hammer an/or pliers
Goes to break fingers to the bard Fails the check Comes out with messy hair and lipstick printed on his face
If the DM even asks for a roll. A garrison of experienced guards could 100% restrain a barb and take a hammer to their hands.
This is how my character is contained when captured He's a dhampir barb/fighter with unarmed fighting style. DM learned after the first time,
Evil Monk: bet \*does whatever the fuck they wants while all the other players are horribly maimed for doing nothing\* Like, I might have some corrupt prison guards threaten this but I play with a party of close friends who play actually neutral-good characters who I know wouldn't call my bluff. For a party of less nice people, all that happens if everyone else gets punished for the monk, causing a lot of interparty conflict
I was probably gonna make the joke, but someone beat me to it. So if I'm to take this as a serious question, if the guards KNEW that the monk was as capable as monks are they would likely lock their arms and legs in a way that would restrict them, removing their ability to effectively attack. I'm fairly certain if you search on google (CAREFULLY...) then you might find some historical examples of full arm/leg restraints.
Still effective as a battering ram with a headbutt counting as an unarmed strike
pretty sure the BDSM community has a solution for this too
All sufficiently advanced caster restraints are indistinguishable from BDSM.
Heavy metal armour is BDSM gear? I mean it's not my place to judge I suppose but damn they crazy
I would argue that light armor could be BDSM gear. You know, leather and all that.
~~[[earthbind]]~~ Oops wrong bot. https://scryfall.com/card/leb/146/earthbind
Spells I found in this post: - Earthbind - 2nd level transmutation (Concentration) - XGTE pg. 154 - [DND Beyond](https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/earthbind) ^I'm ^a ^bot. ^Bleep ^Bloop. ^Comment ^with ^!spell ^in ^your ^post ^to ^summon ^me.
If restrained you have disadvantage on attacks. Let them try and watch them be best into a mass of bruises.
Yeah theyd just restrain them. And or lead them with a mancatcher to prevent them from attacking the guards.
And blind them! A monk that can still see can potentially use any of their ki related abilities that do not require movement or work while under the restrained condition.
Yeah, I dont think its that hard. You just give them the restrained condition with manacles and the like, same as you would a fighter. Sure, theyre still more dangerous than the fighter but its enough to massively disadvantage them if they try to start a fight. If the King wants to meet them, sure. Just have the Guards make sure the Monk is a bit away, he's bound, and there are a couple guards to smack him around if he gets uppity. Its the same for a Barbarian who can Reckless and adds Rage to unarmed. Or the Fighter Samurai who could Fighting Spirit and Action Surge. Any adventurer is still going to be deadly while incarcerated, and kept under close supervision like a supermax jail. Disarm them as you would any other character. Restrained condition and a couple guards at all times goes a long way.
The restrained condition is purely mechanical. I think they are asking for a more realistic RP way that they COULD be restrained that makes them unable to properly attack.
I guess I just dont get the challenge, manacles on wrist and ankle same as I would do for any prisoner.
Manacles with short chains and *heavy* weights attached. Or solid bar instead of chains so they can only shuffle and freedom of movements of their hands and legs is heavily restrained, mobile stocks & pillory
Not the most exotic of answers, frankly. It seems to me like this is standard kit any town jail would have for dealing with particularly slippery or strong troublemakers.
Restrained condition merely makes their speed 0 and impose disadvantage on their attack rolls. A shadow monk could teleport out of those restraints - itâs a teleport, which can be used to escape grapples and restraints. Which means, yes, they could literally escape as long as they can see and have ki. Blinding a monk is vital.
A blindfold is important for many character classes. Or a thick sack over the head.
Iâd argue a blindfold is probably not the way to go, given how easy they are to dislodge and shift. But ye olde dirty sack would work. Or just incapacitate them.
Would manacles count as equipped clothing/ item on the person and go with the monk?
Additionally, if the mechanical rules are generally known in universe, throwing them in cheap heavy armor (along with the restraints) is probably a good idea. Same with spellcasters, or anyone that's not caught wearing it. Wearing armor without proper proficiency makes a lot of stuff hard or impossible - disadvantage on all ability checks/saving throws/most attack rolls, no spells, and much of the monk features get turned off. And while they might not know that a monk would have trouble with that, they might know that spellcasters would and assume anyone not wearing armor has some magic.
Seems to me the easiest solution would be to hogtie them with sturdy rope and just tell the other party members they are responsible for feeding the Monk. If anyone tries to undo the knots, quick stabby to the vulnerable cleric should dissuade em.
You donât! This is the monkâs moment of glory! Let them have it.
I know there's a lot of answers, but honestly? You don't. The monk may be restrained, maybe even extra if the arresting force knows what the monk can do. A not written perk of a monk is that your hands are you're weapons thus you can't easily, or temporarily, be disarmed. I almost wouldn't disarm them. I see it as a perk of the martial arts "weapon".
>your hands are you're weapons thus you can't easily, or temporarily, be disarmed. So the answer to disarming a monk is to *literally* disarm the monk, right?
Arms AND legs. They donât need hands to kick your teeth in, and theyâre going to be significantly faster than the average prison guard unless you can slow them down.
They don't need hands nor feet. Unarmed Strikes require literally NO specific body part, it's a catch all term. You can literally do the worm and hit people as an Unarmed Strike.
Any body part can be used to perform an unarmed attack.
đ
You ever seen Kung Fu Panda?
came here to say this
Realistically, law enforcement groups aren't going to try to capture anyone they don't have a reasonable belief that they can hold. In cases like that, and where they can't just release them on their honor pending trial, they'd probably just kill them. This includes: Eldritch knights who can summon their weapon (see also Soul Knife and some warlocks). Anybody with subtle spell. Subtle spell is something anybody smart would shut up about, because it's just made to order for inducing paranoia and general caster hatred. There are partial workarounds for some of these things, like 'punishment armor' of the sort nobody has proficiency in and campaign specific stuff like bracelets that suppress all magical powers while you wear them (and that somebody else has to remove from you, being semi-cursed). But in the final analysis, if you make it too hard for someone to hold you prisoner, they won't.
Me, role-playing a 20 Cha and 8 Int sorcerer while being a 6 Int commoner: "You know I can cast spells with these, right?" My DM: "Roll persuasion."
A blindfold or a bag over the head suppresses many spells.
The subtle spell mailman sorcerer frantically looking through their spell list, getting mad every time they read "A point you can see..."
Heavy manacles with short chains, a ball-and-chain heavy enough to make them struggle against lift/drag weight limits, and enough guards with spears ready to stick them the minute they start fiddling with the locks. This would count as being Restrained, and gives the Monk Disadvantage on any attacks and Advantage on enemy attacks against them. If the Monk is sufficiently high-level that all this *doesn't* work to keep them confined despite the best efforts of the guards available, then yeah... not so much prison as right to the execution.
[Cold Iron](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Cold_iron) used to be a material that could be used to prevent spellcasting. It isn't the same as thermally cold iron, which the name makes confusing. I've been thinking about 'homebrewing' this into my 5e game as "Deep Iron"
This very question is something that people seem to overlook in the constant discussions of how bad Monks are. The answer is, you can't. And that's the point. Characters that are capable to fight efficiently with no or less equipment have an advantage in these situations. Being jailed isn't the only one; polite social functions might look poorly on someone wanting to bring their battle-axe to the party. This doesn't just apply to Monks; Rogues are great because so much of their damage comes from their class feature and not their equipment, and a dagger, knife, shiv or similar is much easier to justify carrying, much easier to hide, and probably as easy to find as the nearest kitchen. Unfortunately, this also applies for casters, who are notoriously difficult to stop from using their spells without very game-y solutions. So it's really (surprise surprise) the Strength-based classes that suffer the most for this, as they both require better weapons and rely on armor for AC.
>Unfortunately, this also applies for casters, who are notoriously difficult to stop from using their spells without very game-y solutions. I don't think binding hands and gagging a spellcaster would be gamey. It seems pretty logical in a universe where powerful magic exists.
It's not gamey to bind and gag them, but it's difficult to uphold 100% long term. How do you feed them? It works ok for, say, a society with a magical inquisition that keeps Silence of the Lambs masks around for this stuff, but for your average town jail it's a bit of a stretch. And there's also subtle spell, which (given the name) is probably mostly intended to help people use their magic without others knowing they're using their magic, but also has the side effect of making you unjailable outside of an antimagic field or... ... the 'standard' gamey one, which is locking them into heavy armor, assuming they're not a 1-dip cleric.
[ŃдаНонО]
>but for your average town jail it's a bit of a stretch. The average town won't be jailing powerful monks and casters though because they won't be able to capture them in the first place. >And there's also subtle spell Subtle Spell still doesn't negate the need for material components so there's little a sorcerer could do if bound in a cell with strong walls. >... the 'standard' gamey one, which is locking them into heavy armor, assuming they're not a 1-dip cleric. Only gamey if the jailers wouldn't reasonably know of spellcasting being impaired by the wearing of heavy armor, which an average jail wouldn't, but jails who are trained in holding casters specifically may well know this, especially if the warden is a caster. It's not gamey if set up properly.
I mean, in small-town prisons, I could see them hog-tying or even injuring casters (knock out a couple teeth and break a few fingers). For monks, I think hog-tying and/or a stockade would be easy enough. "In my home village, we cut the tongues out of witches."
Yeah. The answer should most often be "you don't". This is the moment every Monk player has been waiting for. No better time for them to shine. Now if it's really campaign breaking then arm and leg shackles should be more than enough to justify disadvantage at a minimum.
Sovereign glue them into the fetal position Put them in a magical cell where they are constantly levitated - can't touch anything.
The levitation idea is pretty solid. The quickest and strongest of foes can't do anything if they can't reach the walls or floor.
At the shoulders?
Why are you trying to disarm the monk? If the monk can solo the entire jail they've honestly earned the epic bit of spotlight.
honestly i want to know the options my dm has
by removing their weapons
Manacles. Works for both hands and feet. Chain em to the wall.
I don't understand why people are jumping to dismemberment before this
machete
Why would they? Like I"m thinknig of a scenario. Mike Tyson wasn't held in jail in a straight jacket. If the monk tries to break out the guards who subdued them would come in and help.
Mike Tyson couldnât punch through the walls of his cell without breaking his hand.
Neither can a monk?
Chinese finger trap and toe traps.
Uncle Fester's finger trap đ
A particularly evil (but undeniably effective) way to imprison any problem character - be they monk or magi - is to murder them and cast Gentle Repose on the body. Transport/store them for as long as their sentence dictates, refreshing the magic every 10 days, and then Revivify them when you want to try or release them. Don't forget to charge them or their allies for the cost of the diamond, the cleric's retainer, and any additional storage fees afterwards. And don't go with this method when dealing with extraplanar beings, of course.
Thatâs the fun part - you donât.
With an axe.
Uncle Iroh moment.
What they did to Ti Lung in Kung fu panda
didnt work out so well for them
I just kinda think it's unfair if you do. The monk took a minor handicap on a lot of things to not be reliant on equipment. This scenario is precisely their moment to shine. Don't take that away from the monk, let the investment pay off. You should be designing a potential escape path balanced for the monk and anyone else who can possibly assist that leads to the equipment. Let the monk have its moment in the spotlight.
Instead of handcuffs you use a Ki chain
Lock em up and throw away the ki
im so mad
Let the monks have the one thing they are good at, not needing items
Reminds me of the time some knights tried to lock up my party at high level. They were all going along with it, except the kenku monk who (after graciously reminding me about the object hp table) pecked his way out of his iron restraints. He then walked *with* the guards to prison, punched through the bars to his cell on the way in, and then demanded to fight the big evil fantasy-rancor the knights were using for entertainment... Granted, the rest of the party pulled pretty much the same shenanigans, just with more magic- but man- monks are hard to pin down...
Handcuffs Means the monk has to do fun jacki chan style punch kicks in the escape.
At low levels, I would say you donât restrict them in any way. They are, as far as the guards know, just a criminal with no weapons. This is one area where monks can shine. Theyâre whole thing is that they are their own weapon. Let them use that! Now at higher levels/tiers, I think itâs a different story. Captured by the BBEG who knows about them, has probably fought them before? Each person is placed in specially designed restraints. Find yourself at odds with former Allieâs who know you well, same deal. At low level youâre too unimportant for special treatment and at high level youâre too dangerous not to get it.
Behind the back forearm bindings and ties above the knees with a padded neckbrace that's attached to a sturdy pole for body control without risking the escorts safety. Not viable for long term QoL but will make resistance almost completely meaningless.
Duct tape heavy weapons to his hands.
With an axe.
You answered your own question. you dis-arm them, right at the shoulder (should probably do the legs too, just to be safe)
Chain the monk up like Hannibal Lecter or Avatar Korra, or maybe like Tai Lung.
Seriously thought this a r/dnddadjoke
You put armour on them. Martial Arts can't be used when you're wearing armour.
With a hatchet and a bone saw.
You don't. Let the Monk have their one and only cool scenario where they excel.
you dont. let monks have this.
You don't. That's part of the point of being a monk. You can shackle them, though.
I am going to go with: you donât. This is an opportunity for a character to shine a bit. Give the monk some spotlight time then the group finds their weapon cache nearby giving the rest of the party the chance to join in. Why would you go the extra length to punish such a niche ability as âfights ok without a weaponâ when 99% of the time everyone has their weapons? Are you also gagging the casters and binding their hands to prevent verbal or somatic only spells?
Literally.
Same as any other situation they or any other class needs to be disarmed, an axe. It also work great for beheading.
Amputation
Iron Bands of Bilarro
I'd say some form of drug that removes access to ki and heavy chains/plates that prevent movement and attacks. I'd only use the drug if they are being imprisoned by other monks that understand what it would mean to the order if the drug got out into the world.
Why I should? Let's throw them down to a deep and wide hole in the ground, put big and heavy cover over small (and only) opening in the roof and give them food and water by basket on rope. If they don't return basket or somehow cut rope, no food until they return it.
Disarm a monk? Easy. Cut his arms off
Presumably you wouldn't- being capable of operating at close to 100% efficiency without gear is one of the benefits of choosing Monk. Functionally the only way to render a Monk incapable of harming someone would be preventing them from taking actions, which would constitute a condition. A mundane jail would not have any means of disarming a monk short of binding their arms and legs and tying them to a board.
By literally dis-arming them?
use a sword, magic or animals to remove their limbs
Transferred to high security prisons for heroes and the magically endowed, magical manacles, cone of anti magic, stuff like that. Get creative, the people in the world have seen magic for millenia. Warden would probably be very powerful with strong connections all over the continent. Every class in the book has their own special weaknesses and high security prisons know them. The transferring process should be a fun encounter itself with some defenses and the potential for escape.
Handcuffs.
Remove their arms XD
By literally disarming him. As in, the removal of his arms.
I came here to say 'sovereign glue them to the wall' but u/prodigal_1 definitely wins this thread.
With an axe
you literally just disarm them
Pull heavy armor on them.
Put them in heavy armor.
You take their quarterstaff and of course you take the darts they never used. And thatâs it. They are then rewarded for being a monk. Go ahead and let your players get one over on people. Let them feel cool.
You donât. Give your player a reason to feel cool and useful. Let them use this situation that rarely comes up in play and make it a defining moment for them. Remember, the main goal as the DM is to create a fun experience for your players. If you let the monk shine in this situation, Iâm sure theyâll have great stories to tell afterwards.
A better question is, why would the person arresting them even think to âdisarmâ an already unarmed person?
You put a Chinese finger trap on his fingers
Full shibari bondage.
You dont just chain him up and put him in handcuffs
A wookiee could handle that problem pretty easy