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Knowledge is power, and this is no truer than for the Way of the Cobalt Soul monk. These erudite warrior scholars serve as the secret operatives of the Library of the Cobalt Soul in the world of Exandria. If you believe the best way to truly know someone is to fight them, then this is the monk subclass for you.
Made famous by Marisha Ray in campaign two of Critical Role, the homebrew subclass was designed by Matt Mercer to fit directly into his world as part of one of the main factions. But that doesn’t mean they’re confined to campaigns set in Exandria. A Cobalt Soul monk can be an excellent fit in any campaign where monks are known for their wisdom gleaned through the art of combat and the understanding of ki.
Subclass update
The Way of the Cobalt Soul subclass saw an update in February 2022. Although no mechanical changes were made, if you have an older character that uses this subclass, double-check its build as things may have changed.
Way of the Cobalt Soul monk features
The Way of the Cobalt Soul is the embodiment of “knowledge is power.” Their mastery of ki allows them to not only expand their own minds—gaining skills and languages—but also pull forth truths and knowledge from their enemies. The Way of the Cobalt Soul has the following features:
Extract Aspect (3rd level): Extract Aspects allows a Way of the Cobalt Soul monk to analyze their foes, not only granting them the ability to make additional attacks using their reaction but also learning key details such as resistances and vulnerabilities.- Extort Truth (6th level): Through their mastery of ki, a Cobalt Soul monk can rob a target of their ability to lie and deceive. You can use this feature to make an attack with or without dealing damage.
- Mystical Erudition (6th, 11th, and 17th level): Expanding their mind, the Cobalt Soul monk not only gains a new language at each relevant level but also an additional select skill proficiency. If you already have proficiency in one of the available skills, you can instead choose to double your proficiency bonus for that skill.
- Mind of Mercury (11th level): A powerful feature, Mind of Mercury allows a Cobalt Soul monk to regain their reaction once per turn by expending a ki point.
- Debilitating Barrage (17th level): The highest-level feature of the Cobalt Soul subclass, Debilitating Barrage lets a monk spend 3 ki points to render their target more vulnerable to damage.
Pros
The Way of the Cobalt Soul opens up some unique ways to play a monk, especially if you want to provide more support in combat, and more utility outside of it. In combat, they can identify characteristics of monsters, attack many times per round, and even impose weaknesses on their enemies. Outside of combat, the Cobalt Soul monk can be incredibly effective at information gathering, both via questioning individuals under the effect of their Extort Truth feature and by using skills that have benefitted from Mystical Erudition.
Cons
The Way of the Cobalt Soul monk lags behind other monk subclasses in terms of raw damage output, focusing instead on gathering information on enemies rather than killing them as quickly as possible. While the base monk class provides a solid damage foundation, the Cobalt Soul doesn’t augment it as much as other subclasses might.
Outside of combat, the relevance of their features relies heavily on the Dungeon Master and the type of game you’re playing in. In a game where ability checks aren’t used as readily or where there aren’t NPCs to extort the truth from, you may find your features going to waste. It suffers a lot from the same kinds of drawbacks that afflict the original ranger class and the Assassin rogue subclass; the DM needs to give you opportunities to shine.
Building a Way of the Cobalt Soul monk
Ability scores
As a monk, you’ll naturally want to prioritize Dexterity first. Although Strength monks, affectionately called “Stronks” by some, are perfectly viable, focusing on your Dexterity boosts your attacks and your Armor Class. Next up, you’ll want to look at raising your Wisdom as this will increase the saving throw DC of not only the powerful Stunning Strike feature of the core monk class but also the DC of Extort Truth. It will also boost your AC further thanks to the Unarmored Defense ability. Finally, you’ll want to raise your Intelligence score in order to leverage the wider pool of skills you have access to.
Races
For the Way of the Cobalt Soul, there are two key things to look for in a race choice. The first is anything that synergizes well with gaining skill proficiencies and doubling your proficiency in them through Mystical Erudition. The second main thing to look for is races with reaction-based options, as these can be incredibly effective when combined with Mind of Mercury. The following suggestions assume the use of the customized origin rules from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Vedalken: Introduced in the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica, vedalken have the Tireless Precision trait, which not only grants them a skill and a tool proficiency but a d4 bonus to ability checks made with that skill or tool. Choose a skill like Arcana and then double your proficiency bonus with Mystical Erudition to be a font of magical knowledge!- Ravenite dragonborn: The variant dragonborn race from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount offers Vengeful Assault, which allows a Cobalt Soul monk to extend Extract Aspects further when combined with Mind of Mercury. By regaining your reaction, you can use Vengeful Assault to get in an extra, unexpected attack. Pair that extra attack with Stunning Strike and it could prove to be deadly for your foes.
- Mark of Finding half-orc: The half-orc variant race with the Mark of Finding from Eberron has the Finder’s Magic trait. This trait is useful for a Cobalt Soul monk who wants to track down a specific target from which to extort truth. Finder’s Magic grants the ability to cast hunter’s mark, a useful spell for an intelligence-gathering monk!
Feats
For feats, you’ll want to look at any options that improve your Wisdom or Intelligence as those might not keep up with your Dexterity. Outside of that, feats that increase your available skills are always useful, as are those that grant you abilities that synergize well with the subclass’ knowledge-based focus.
- Keen Mind or Observant: Both of these feats fill similar niches when it comes to building out your Cobalt Soul character. They each grant a +1 to your Intelligence score (or Wisdom in the case of Observant) and come with a series of perks that build on your character’s ability to gain and retain knowledge.
- Mobile: A classic choice for the monk, Mobile makes you even faster and allows you to effectively Disengage for free from a creature when you make an attack against them. Combine this with Extract Aspects and you can gather intel on all your foes very quickly!
- Skilled or Skill Expert: Both of these feats expand the Cobalt Soul monk’s repertoire of skills. Skilled grants you proficiency in three skills or tools, meaning you can be a veritable jack of all trades, while Skill Expert gives you one skill proficiency and a +1 to an ability score of your choice. Where Skill Expert really shines with the Way of the Cobalt Soul is the ability to get another source of doubled proficiency.
Way of the Cobalt Soul monk sample build
This Way of the Cobalt Soul monk is built as an espionage-style character focusing on locating their target and gathering as much information on them as they can. The Mark of Finding grants them hunter’s mark, while the Skill Expert feat gives them a boost to Intelligence and expertise in Investigation. But if subtlety and covertness fail, they can always throw hands with the best of them!
What truths will you uncover with the Way of the Cobalt Soul?
The Way of the Cobalt Soul monk allows you to play the monk class in a very different fashion to most of the other subclasses, opening lots of interesting play styles and roleplay opportunities. Will you be a covert agent, a dauntless truth seeker, or a shadowy manipulator?
To build a Way of the Cobalt Soul monk, head on over to the D&D Beyond character builder. Make sure that “Critical Role Content” is turned on under the “Home” tab, select monk as your class, and level them up to 3rd level so you can select the subclass. Then start experimenting, expositor!
Davyd is a moderator for D&D Beyond. A Dungeon Master of over fifteen years, he enjoys Marvel movies, writing, and of course running D&D for his friends and family, including partner Steph and his daughter Willow (well, one day). They live with their two cats Asker and Khatleesi in the south of England.
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