DnD 5e 4 Elements Monk Build: Mastering The Art of Shape the Flowing River
A Four Elements Monk Battlefield Control Build
“As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to choose an area of ice or water no larger than 30 feet on a side within 120 feet of you. You can change water to ice within the area ad vice versa, and you can reshape ice in the area in any manner you choose. You can raise or lower the ice's elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes cant't exceed half the area's largest dimension. For example, if you affect a 30-foot square, you can create a pillar 15 feet high, raise or lower the square's elevation by up to 15 feet, dig a trench up to 15 feet deep, and so on. You can't shape the ice to trap or injure a creature in the area”Shape the Flowing River is both a defensive and offensive beast of ability allowing you massive control of the battlefield via reshaping water and ice for the low cost of one ki point.
Considerations for Shape the Flowing River
What does “Trap” mean?
What “trap” means here seems to be very laxHere’s JC’s statement on what doesn’t work(link)Here's JC’s statement on what does work(link)
It seems if the ice isn’t physically holding down the creature being affected it is all good. Remember: Talk to your DM about the limits of the ability.
Notes on Indirect Injury:
There are many ways you could create ice setups to indirectly injure your opponent, however, many require permission from your DM, So make sure you ask before attempting.
Notes on Water Volume:
Reshape water is strange despite stating it reshaping it seems to add more water and ice due to its changes such as the ability to create a pillar 15 feet high, raise or lower the square's(notice it mentions square’s here) elevation by up to 15 feet, dig a trench up to 15 feet deep. Furthermore, Shape the Flowing River doesn’t even mention volume as the ability only takes account of the area within judging the limits of its ability to reshape. With that said, I think when dealing with areas of water that are quite low it’s better to simply expand what one means by “reshape” instead of trying to create custom rules and limitations for what the ability cannot do as the ability only describes its limitations in two dimensions(it talks about squares and areas) and has no reference to three-dimensional things like volume.
Alternately if the amount of water is still an issue, you can say you made “super-condensed, hard, and extremely thin sheets of ice”, so now you can have the mechanics line up with the presentation of the amount of water. By using the Shape the Flowing River in such a way of there's nothing mechanically that should disbar you from using your ice in the way you wish since you don't have to take account of volume for any reason.
The Durability of Your Ice
Because you have the ability to reshape the ice into what you want, the best form to reshape it is a large and resilient form giving the ice based on the object hp numbers 13AC, and 27Hp if attacked(Link).
Shape the Flowing River Tactics
Many of these tactics can be used at the same time within the area you control. Generally, you're reshaping 30ft cubes and larger, and in some cases making tiny mountains.
Ice Trench:
SFR allows you to dig 30ft trench 15ft down, if they don’t have the ability to jump up, they will be easy pickings for you and your team.
Ice Surround:
Simply box the 30ft area surrounding your opponent with Ice, check with your DM it's unclear if surrounding your opponent with ice is considered trapping.
Ice Pillar:
Lift yourself and your party up 15ft in the air making it hard to almost impossible for some creatures to reach you.
Slippery Ice:
You Also should be able to generate this type of ice found in the DMG and within the spell Sleet storm
"Slippery ice is difficult terrain. When a creature moves onto slippery ice for the first time on a turn, it must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fall prone."
Item Creation
In addition, we can Reshape the water to be simulacrums of various items, objects, and even builds such as shines. Make sure you ask your DM about the creative limits of doing this.
Shape Water
RPGBOT has some creative ways one could use the spell Shape Water some of which can be applied here(link)
We also can create Frigid Water for our Ice Trenches, a terrible fate for monsters who fall in and don't have the ability to jump out.
Frigid Water
"A creature can be immersed in frigid water for a number of minutes equal to its Constitution score before suffering any ill effects. Each additional minute spent in frigid water requires the creature to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion. Creatures with resistance or immunity to cold damage automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do creatures that are naturally adapted to living in ice-cold water."
Water/Ice Generation Spells
Create or Destroy Water
“You either create or destroy water.
Create Water. You create up to 10 gallons of clean water within range in an open container. Alternatively, the water falls as rain in a 30-foot cube within range, extinguishing exposed flames in the area.
Destroy Water. You destroy up to 10 gallons of water in an open container within range. Alternatively, you destroy fog in a 30-foot cube within range”
Create or Destroy Water is the spell we will be using the most, using the spell creating rain within a 30ft area and then using and then shaping for our needs. We can quicken the spell using meta magic allowing us to use the Shape the Flowing River first round.
Notes on Create and Destroy Water:
Does the water disappear after we use the spell?
No, creating rain is like creating the water in the container; it does not simply disappear as it is created by the spell not maintained by it.
Sleet Storm
“Until the spell ends, freezing rain and sleet fall in a 20-foot-tall Cylinder with a 40-foot radius centered on a point you choose within range. The area is heavily obscured, and exposed flames in the area are doused. The ground in the area is covered with slick ice, making it Difficult Terrain. When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, it falls prone.If a creature is concentrating in the spell's area, the creature must make a successful Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or lose Concentration”.
This end game spell is amazingly powerful adding multiple rider effects in addition to Shape the Flowing River’s control, making it even harder for opponents to withstand the assault
Notes on Sleet Storm:
Do we need sight to use Shape the Flowing River?
No, there’s no mention of sight in Shape the Flowing River’s text, you have the ability to morph the ice and rain in sleet storm any way you like even when dealing with heavy obscurement.
Wall of Water
“You create a wall of water on the ground at a point you can see within range. You can make the wall up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 1 foot thick, or you can make a ringed wall up to 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. The wall vanishes when the spell ends. The wall’s space is difficult terrain.
Any ranged weapon attack that enters the wall’s space has disadvantage on the attack roll, and fire damage is halved if the fire effect passes through the wall to reach its target. Spells that deal cold damage that pass through the wall cause the area of the wall they pass through to freeze solid (at least a 5-foot-square section is frozen). Each 5-foot-square frozen section has AC 5 and 15 hit points. Reducing a frozen section to 0 hit points destroys it. When a section is destroyed, the wall’s water doesn’t fill it.”
Make a 30ft long and 25 feet high wall, or make a 30 foot high ringed wall of ice. How you use your tiny mountain is up to you.
Stats and Race
Race Human Variant
15CHA(1+), 13CON(1+), 13WIS, 14Dex
Level 1 Feat: MetaMagic Adept
Notes on MetaMagic Adept
Meta magic adept is important for it allows you to have both metamagic & front magic at level 2, a level earlier than without it, and secondly it gives us an additional quicken magic use giving us another encounter to use SFR first turn.
Alternative Race: Triton
Triton is an amazing pick for this build giving you an early fifth level use of Water Wall
Font of Magic, Spells, KI, and Pact Slot Conversions
Using water generation spells takes spell slots, reshaping water it takes Ki, and to do both via quicken takes sorcery points, Lucky thanks to Font of magic you can take spell slots we don’t use and turn them into sorcery points. Additionally, because of your warlock levels, you have pack slots that come back during a Short Rest, which makes them very favorable to be converted into sorcery points. Because. Due to being limited in kI points we only will be using Shape the Flowing River once per round, making any other additional needed changes with the cantrip Shape Water. Your overall limit is 6 uses per day(assuming one short rest), however, at the beginning(level 7) you start with 3 uses, leaving you to at times to rely solely upon just EB+RB and two-turn setups with Shape the Flowing River
Conservative Setups
Quicken + Shape the Flowing River Takes a lot of resources, here are a few 2-turn setups you can use with Shape the Flowing River
Let Them Come to You
Cast Create or Destroy Water close to yourself and your party as your opponents close in, once they’re close you can spring the Shape the Flowing River on them, or simply make an ice pillar elevating making them unreachable to those below.
Favorable Environment
If it’s raining or snowing or you are near a body of water, Shape the Flowing River can reshape that instead of having to generate its own water
Level Progression
Levels 1-2 Divine Soul Sorcerer
Here you pick up a constitution proficiency, Shield Spell, Absorb Elements, Magic Missile, Create and Destroy Water, and Favor of The Gods. Going to level 2 grants you Front magic allowing us to trade spell slots for more sorcery points, powering our ability to use Quicken MetaMagic for later levels.
Levels 3-4 Hexblade Warlock
Here you pick up Warlock for Eldritch Blast(EB), Repelling Blast(RB), and Medium Armor, and a shield brings your AC to 18. The game plan is simple: Hexblade curse Magic Missile, EB+RB, and quicken EB+RB, decent damage, and decent control.
Levels 5-7 Four Elements Monk
Levels 5-6 are a slog as one doesn’t gain much from Monk other than occasional uses of Patient Defense and Step of the Wind, however, at level 7 you finally get the power you have waited for, Shape the Flowing River.
8-10 Divine Soul Sorcerer: Charisma ASI
You pick up Divine Soul for the very last levels, lessening the resource cost of Shape the Flowing River + Quicken Magic, and we also get Charisma asi improving EB+RB. Also at level 10 we finally get access to level 3 spells, allowing you to the full scope of your game plan.
Alternative Level Progression
Alternatively, you could forgo Warlock levels for quicker progression in our game plan(picking moderately armored at level 1 and meta magic adept at level 7), however, the lack of Eldritch blast and Repelling Blast means you will be lacking in damage and more relying on your party to deal damage. Ultimately the choice is yours to make.