This is a speculative Monk build for the BG3 Astarion companion. My main character for the corresponding playthrough is a Roguish Bard (with maybe a dip into either Fighter or Ranger, still deciding...). That overlaps a LOT with the Arcane Trickster subclass of Rogue that Astarion has by default. I found myself leaving Astarion at camp because he added nothing new to the party, so I decided to give him a different specialty so that he'd be more useful. My main character already has high Charisma and is the spokesperson for the group, so this Astarion can focus entirely on combat.
Astarion is a High Elf with the Charlatan (Deception, Slight of Hand) background. This cannot be changed via respec, nor can his Cantrip (Flame Bolt). His attributes can be changed on respec - the build below makes some tweaks.
| Character Level |
Class Level |
Attributes |
Skills |
Proficiencies |
Other |
| 1 |
Monk 1 |
STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 16 (+3)
CON: 15 (+2)
INT: 8 (-1)
WIS: 16 (+3)
CHA: 8 (-1)
|
Acrobatics (via Monk)
Deception (via Charlatan)
Insight (via Monk)
Perception (via High Elf)
Sleight of Hand (via Charlatan) |
Simple Weapons
Shortsword
Longsword
Longbow
Shortbow |
Darkvision
Fey Ancestry
Flame Bolt (cantrip via High Elf)
Dextrous Attacks
Deft Strikes (1d4)
Bonus Unarmed Strike
Unarmoured Defense
Flurry of Blows |
| 2 |
Monk 2 |
|
|
|
Unarmoured Movement
Patient Defence
Step of the Wind: Dash
Step of the Wind: Disengage |
| 3 |
Monk 3 |
|
|
|
Deflect Missiles
Deft Strikes (1d6)
Subclass: Way of the Open Hand (OH)
Flurry of Blows: Topple (OH)
Flurry of Blows: Stagger (OH)
Flurry of Blows: Push (OH) |
| 4 |
Monk 4 |
|
|
|
Slow Fall
Tavern Brawler (CON +1, 15=>16) |
| 5 |
Monk 5 |
|
|
|
Stunning Strike
Extra Attack |
| 6 |
Monk 6 |
|
|
|
Improved Unarmoured Movement
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Manifestation of Body (OH)
Manifestation of Mind (OH)
Manifestation of Soul (OH)
Wholeness of Body (OH) |
| 7 |
Monk 7 |
|
|
|
Evasion
Stillness of Mind |
| 8 |
Monk 8 |
|
|
|
Feat (Ability Improvement, WIS 16=>18) |
| 9 |
Monk 9 |
|
|
|
Deft Strikes (1d8)
Advanced Unarmoured Movement
Ki Resonance: Punch (OH)
Ki Resonance: Blast (OH) |
| 10 |
Monk 10 |
|
|
|
Improved Unarmoured Movement
Purity of Body |
| 11 |
Monk 11 |
|
|
|
Tranquility (OH) |
| 12 |
Monk 12 |
|
|
|
Feat (Ability Improvement, DEX 16=>18) |
That's probably not all quite correct. I'm still learning how the game mechanics work. Hopefully it is close.
Here's
a build on reddit I looked at while making this. That one used some Rogue, and (for better or worse) I stayed pure Monk.
Why did I take the Tavern Brawler feat on a low STR character? The feat's main purpose is to add double the STR bonus to attack and damage rolls, and my STR bonus is zero. The idea is to always keep a STR-boosting elixer active. There's a way (avoiding spoilers) to use an Act 1 vendor to get a bunch of them. But you have to plan for that early enough because (again avoiding spoilers) you'll eventually lose access to that vendor. I did not do that (I created this build after I was already in Act 2). But I do have a few of those elixers, and hope to find more. And my CON was an odd number anyway - bumping it to 17 with Ability Score Improvement wouldn't have done any extra good. So I bumped it to 16 and figured that, worst case, I'd use the elixers on boss fights. If you don't like Tavern Brawler, then Athletics would be another good choice (putting the ability boost into CON)
There are also a few points in the game where you can permanently boost ability scores. I didn't assume any of these would be used on Astarion (there's one that probably should be - he earns it - but I used it on my main character before I created this build).
The linked build (which I deviated pretty heavily from) does a great job of explaing why DEX and WIS are both so important. I'll just say here that, yeah, they both are. And just to be clear: that build is probably a lot better. If I were doing a Monk as a main character, I'd recommend theirs over mine. My build here assumes the main character gets first dibs on the best stuff, my main character can handle all the Rogue-ish stuff, and that Astarion won't always be in the party and therefore it wouldn't make sense to spend the various permanent boosts and lots of resources on him.
There are good arguments for dipping into other classes. Two levels of Fighter is especially attractive. I'm leaving the build as all Monk, because adding Fighter would be straightforward. There aren't that many choices to make, and you'd just end up with two fewer levels of Monk.
I was very happy with this build. This version of Astarion, at max level and with end-game gear and buffed with a STR potion, compared favorably with either Lae'zel or Karlach in melee. He also offfered some great mobility and survivability, as well as some different and interesting ways to approach combat.
There's one particular end-game area that (avoiding spoilers) requires you to do a lot in a very small number of turns, and the only realistic way to accomplish everything is to split up your party. I brought Astarion along for that, and he did a terrific job handling an entire wing of the area on his own, with time to spare.