Orc Warrior of the Open Hand Monk Build Guide

By blending explosive movement with unmatched physical resilience, the Orc Warrior of the Open Hand dominates the battlefield as a relentless, self-sustaining striker.

5/10 Synergy Striker Role Hard Difficulty

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Why Warrior of the Open Hand?

The Warrior of the Open Hand is the quintessential martial artist, focusing on manipulating opponents and mastering physical combat. As an Orc, you bring incredible survivability and explosive movement to this striker role. To maximize your efficiency, this build leverages a high Dexterity (15) for evasion and accuracy, alongside a strong Wisdom (14) to power your abilities.

Your Orcish traits synergize beautifully with your martial arts. The Adrenaline Rush species trait allows you to Dash as a bonus action while gaining temporary hit points, saving your valuable Ki points for offense. When you strike, your Open Hand Technique allows you to add debilitating effects to your Flurry of Blows, such as knocking enemies prone or pushing them away.

If you ever find yourself overwhelmed on the front lines, your Orcish Relentless Endurance ensures you stay standing with 1 hit point instead of falling unconscious. This survival tool gives you the perfect window to use Wholeness of Body on your next turn to heal your wounds and stay in the fight.

Warrior of the Open Hand Features

Open Hand Technique

Level 3

You can manipulate your enemy's body using your Unarmed Strikes. Whenever you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 Focus Point to trigger one of the following effects on that creature: It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be Knocked Prone. It must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away from you. It can't take Reactions until the end of the next turn.

Wholeness of Body

Level 6

As an action, you can spend Focus Points to restore hit points to yourself. The number of hit points you restore equals 4 × the number of Focus Points spent. You can't use this feature if you don't have Focus Points remaining.

Fleet Step

Level 11

When you use your action to Dash, you gain the following benefits until the end of the turn: Your Speed increases by 10 feet, difficult terrain costs no extra movement, and you have Advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.

Quivering Palm

Level 17

You gain the ability to set vibrations in a creature's body. When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike, you can spend 3 Focus Points to set the vibrations in that creature. The vibrations last for a number of days equal to your Monk level. At any point during that duration, you can use an action to end the vibrations and require that creature to make a Constitution saving throw. If the creature fails the save, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage. If it succeeds, it takes half as much damage.

Recommended Ability Scores

Strength

12(+1)

Dexterity★

15(+2)

Constitution

13(+1)

Intelligence

10(+0)

Wisdom★

14(+2)

Charisma

8(-1)

HP (Lv1)

Initiative

Passive Per.

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Orc Traits That Benefit Warrior of the Open Hand Monk

Adrenaline Rush

Bonus action Dash with temp HP gives the Monk both mobility and survivability.

Darkvision

Orc Darkvision helps Monks scout ahead and fight in darkness without needing a torch.

Relentless Endurance

Dropping to 1 HP instead of 0 once per rest is a powerful survival tool for frontline Monks.

Combat Effectiveness

Level	HP	Melee DPR	Ranged DPR
Level 5	33	7.8	7.8
Level 11	69	7.15	7.15
Level 17	105	7.15	7.15

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Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

♦ Warrior of the Open Hand grants Open Hand Technique at level 3
♦ Strong species-class synergy enhances core abilities
♦ Darkvision for dungeon exploration
♦ Good armor class and initiative

Weaknesses

♦ Low Charisma limits social interactions
♦ Limited ranged and magical options without multiclassing

Pro Tips

Use Adrenaline Rush to close the gap to distant spellcasters, saving your Ki to trigger Open Hand Technique on them.

If Relentless Endurance keeps you from dropping, use Wholeness of Body on your turn to quickly restore your health.

Knock enemies prone with Open Hand Technique to grant your melee allies advantage on their attacks before you step away.

Combine Darkvision with your high movement speed to scout unlit areas ahead of your party and ambush unsuspecting foes.

Other Monk Subclasses for Orc

Orc Warrior of Mercy Monk Support Orc Warrior of Shadow Monk Striker Orc Warrior of the Elements Monk Blaster

Other Races for Warrior of the Open Hand Monk

Aasimar Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 7/10 Dragonborn Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 7/10 Tiefling Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 6/10 Dwarf Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 5/10 Halfling Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 5/10 Elf Warrior of the Open Hand Monk 4/10

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Warrior of the Open Hand a good subclass for Orc Monk?

Yes, it is an excellent choice. The Orc's natural durability offsets the Monk's typically lower hit points. Adrenaline Rush lets you close distances quickly without wasting Ki on Step of the Wind, allowing you to spend those resources on Open Hand Technique to control the battlefield and knock enemies prone.

What makes Warrior of the Open Hand different from other Monk subclasses?

Unlike subclasses that add magic or elemental damage, the Warrior of the Open Hand focuses on pure physical control and battlefield manipulation. It excels at pushing foes, stripping away their reactions, self-healing without spells, and eventually executing targets instantly with Quivering Palm.

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