
Monk Legacy This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore. Learn More Class Details
Her fists a blur as they deflect an incoming hail of arrows, a half-elf springs over a barricade and throws herself into the massed ranks of hobgoblins on the other side. She whirls among them, knocking their blows aside and sending them reeling, until at last she stands alone.
Taking a deep breath, a human covered in tattoos settles into a battle stance. As the first charging orcs reach him, he exhales and a blast of fire roars from his mouth, engulfing his foes.
Moving with the silence of the night, a black-clad halfling steps into a shadow beneath an arch and emerges from another inky shadow on a balcony a stone’s throw away. She slides her blade free of its cloth-wrapped scabbard and peers through the open window at the tyrant prince, so vulnerable in the grip of sleep.
Whatever their discipline, monks are united in their ability to magically harness the energy that flows in their bodies. Whether channeled as a striking display of combat prowess or a subtler focus of defensive ability and speed, this energy infuses all that a monk does.
The Magic of Ki
Monks make careful study of a magical energy that most monastic traditions call ki. This energy is an element of the magic that suffuses the multiverse—specifically, the element that flows through living bodies. Monks harness this power within themselves to create magical effects and exceed their bodies’ physical capabilities, and some of their special attacks can hinder the flow of ki in their opponents. Using this energy, monks channel uncanny speed and strength into their unarmed strikes. As they gain experience, their martial training and their mastery of ki gives them more power over their bodies and the bodies of their foes.
Training and Asceticism
Small walled cloisters dot the landscapes of the worlds of D&D, tiny refuges from the flow of ordinary life, where time seems to stand still. The monks who live there seek personal perfection through contemplation and rigorous training. Many entered the monastery as children, sent to live there when their parents died, when food couldn’t be found to support them, or in return for some kindness that the monks had performed for their families.
Some monks live entirely apart from the surrounding population, secluded from anything that might impede their spiritual progress. Others are sworn to isolation, emerging only to serve as spies or assassins at the command of their leader, a noble patron, or some other mortal or divine power.
The majority of monks don’t shun their neighbors, making frequent visits to nearby towns or villages and exchanging their service for food and other goods. As versatile warriors, monks often end up protecting their neighbors from monsters or tyrants.
For a monk, becoming an adventurer means leaving a structured, communal lifestyle to become a wanderer. This can be a harsh transition, and monks don’t undertake it lightly. Those who leave their cloisters take their work seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater mission than merely slaying monsters and plundering their treasure.
Creating a Monk
As you make your monk character, think about your connection to the monastery where you learned your skills and spent your formative years. Were you an orphan or a child left on the monastery’s threshold? Did your parents promise you to the monastery in gratitude for a service performed by the monks? Did you enter this secluded life to hide from a crime you committed? Or did you choose the monastic life for yourself?
Consider why you left. Did the head of your monastery choose you for a particularly important mission beyond the cloister? Perhaps you were cast out because of some violation of the community’s rules. Did you dread leaving, or were you happy to go? Is there something you hope to accomplish outside the monastery? Are you eager to return to your home?
As a result of the structured life of a monastic community and the discipline required to harness ki, monks are almost always lawful in alignment.
QUICK BUILD
You can make a monk quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the hermit background.
The Monk Table
Level | Proficiency | Martial | Ki | Unarmored | Features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | +2 | 1d4 | — | — | |
2nd | +2 | 1d4 | 2 | +10 ft. | |
3rd | +2 | 1d4 | 3 | +10 ft. | |
4th | +2 | 1d4 | 4 | +10 ft. | |
5th | +3 | 1d6 | 5 | +10 ft. | |
6th | +3 | 1d6 | 6 | +15 ft. | |
7th | +3 | 1d6 | 7 | +15 ft. | |
8th | +3 | 1d6 | 8 | +15 ft. | |
9th | +4 | 1d6 | 9 | +15 ft. | |
10th | +4 | 1d6 | 10 | +20 ft. | |
11th | +4 | 1d8 | 11 | +20 ft. | |
12th | +4 | 1d8 | 12 | +20 ft. | |
13th | +5 | 1d8 | 13 | +20 ft. | |
14th | +5 | 1d8 | 14 | +25 ft. | |
15th | +5 | 1d8 | 15 | +25 ft. | |
16th | +5 | 1d8 | 16 | +25 ft. | |
17th | +6 | 1d10 | 17 | +25 ft. | |
18th | +6 | 1d10 | 18 | +30 ft. | |
19th | +6 | 1d10 | 19 | +30 ft. | |
20th | +6 | 1d10 | 20 | +30 ft. |
Class Features
As a monk, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per monk level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per monk level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords
Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- 10 darts
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Martial Arts
At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:
- 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 haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama). Whatever name you use for a monk weapon, you can use the game statistics provided for the weapon in the Weapons section.
Ki
Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.
Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
Step of the Wind
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Unarmored Movement
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Monastic Tradition
When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition: the Way of the Open Hand, detailed at the end of the class description or one from another source. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Deflect Missiles
Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Stunning Strike
Starting at 5th level, you can interfere with the flow of ki in an opponent’s body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Unarmored Movement
At 6th level, your Unarmored Speed speed bonus increases to 15 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Evasion
At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stillness of Mind
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
Unarmored Movement Improvement
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during your move.
Purity of Body
At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.
Unarmored Movement
At 10th level, your Unarmored Speed speed bonus increases to 20 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.
Diamond Soul
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.
Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.
Unarmored Movement
At 14th level, your Unarmored Speed speed bonus increases to 25 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can’t be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water.
Empty Body
Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage but force damage.
Additionally, you can spend 8 ki points to cast the astral projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you can’t take any other creatures with you.
Unarmored Movement
At 18th level, your Unarmored Speed speed bonus increases to 30 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Perfect Self
At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points.
Monastic Traditions
Three traditions of monastic pursuit are common in the monasteries scattered across the multiverse. Most monasteries practice one tradition exclusively, but a few honor the three traditions and instruct each monk according to his or her aptitude and interest. All three traditions rely on the same basic techniques, diverging as the student grows more adept. Thus, a monk need choose a tradition only upon reaching 3rd level.
Way of the Open Hand Legacy This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore. Learn More
Monks of the Way of the Open Hand are the ultimate masters of martial arts combat, whether armed or unarmed. They learn techniques to push and trip their opponents, manipulate ki to heal damage to their bodies, and practice advanced meditation that can protect them from harm.
Open Hand Technique
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your enemy’s ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:
- It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
- It can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.
Wholeness of Body
At 6th level, you gain the ability to heal yourself. As an action, you can regain hit points equal to three times your monk level. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.
Tranquility
Beginning at 11th level, you can enter a special meditation that surrounds you with an aura of peace. At the end of a long rest, you gain the effect of a sanctuary spell that lasts until the start of your next long rest (the spell can end early as normal). The saving throw DC for the spell equals 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus.
Quivering Palm
At 17th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal vibrations in someone’s body. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to start these imperceptible vibrations, which last for a number of days equal to your monk level. The vibrations are harmless unless you use your action to end them. To do so, you and the target must be on the same plane of existence. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.
You can have only one creature under the effect of this feature at a time. You can choose to end the vibrations harmlessly without using an action.
Way of the Cobalt Soul
This is Partnered Content
This content is available in your campaign with your DM’s permission but isn’t published by Wizards of the Coast. To use this content, enable Critical Role in the character builder.
Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and its scholars’ worship of the Knowing Mentor, the Library of the Cobalt Soul is one of the best-respected and most heavily guarded repositories of tomes, history, and information in all Exandria. People from all lands come to the library to seek knowledge, and those particularly dedicated to the virtues of truth often pledge their minds and bodies to the Cobalt Soul’s cause. To become a member of the Cobalt Soul is to give oneself over to a quest dedicated to unveiling life’s mysteries, bringing light to the secrets of concealed evil, and guarding the most powerful and dangerous of truths from those whose unwholesome thirst for knowledge might bring death and suffering to others.
The monks of the Cobalt Soul are the embodiment of the maxim: “Know your enemy.” Through tireless research, they steel themselves against the unrelenting tides of evil. Through rigorous training, they learn to break through their foes’ mental and physical defenses. Then, once the fight is done, they record their findings for future generations of monks to study.
Extract Aspects
Starting at 3rd level, you can strike pressure points to intuit crucial information about a foe. When you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can analyze it. Whenever an analyzed creature misses you with an attack, you can immediately use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against that creature if it’s within your reach. This benefit lasts until you finish a short or long rest.
Additionally, when you analyze a creature, you learn all of its damage vulnerabilities, damage resistances, damage immunities, and condition immunities.
Extort Truth
Starting at 6th level, you can precisely strike a hidden cluster of nerves on a creature, temporarily preventing it from masking its true thoughts and intent. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 ki point to force it to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is unable to speak a deliberate lie, and all Charisma checks directed at the creature are made with advantage for up to 10 minutes. You know if it succeeded or failed on its saving throw.
An affected creature is aware of the effect and can thus avoid answering questions to which it would normally respond with a lie. Such a creature can be evasive in its answers as long as the effect lasts.
If you wish to impose this effect on a creature without injuring it, you can attack the creature to simply touch it, dealing no damage on a hit.
Mystical Erudition
Also by 6th level, you have extensively studied the history and lore within the archives of the Cobalt Soul. You learn one language of your choice, and you gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, or Religion. If you already have proficiency in one of the listed skills, you can instead choose to double your proficiency bonus for any ability check you make that uses the chosen proficiency.
You gain an additional language and an additional skill proficiency from the above list (or you can double the bonus of an existing proficiency from the list) at 11th and 17th level.
Mind of Mercury
Starting at 11th level, you’ve honed your awareness and reflexes through mental aptitude and pattern recognition. Once per turn, if you’ve already taken your reaction, you may spend 1 ki point to take an additional reaction. You can use only one reaction per triggering effect.
Mystical Erudition (Additional)
You gain an additional language and an additional skill proficiency from the above list (or you can double the bonus of an existing proficiency from the list) at 11th level.
Debilitating Barrage
Upon reaching 17th level, you’ve gained the knowledge to manipulate a creature’s ki to undermine their fortitude. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to cause the creature to gain vulnerability to one damage type of your choice for 1 minute, or until the end of a turn in which it has taken damage of that type.
If a creature has resistance to the damage type you choose, this resistance is suppressed for 1 minute, rather than gaining vulnerability. A creature that is immune to the damage type you choose is unaffected. A creature who is affected by this feature cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours.
Mystical Erudition (Additional)
You gain an additional language and an additional skill proficiency from the above list (or you can double the bonus of an existing proficiency from the list) at 17th level.
What? Usually, you aren't supposed to rely on your DM for a build, especially for a Monk build. Besides, your AC is a problem for your DM now, depending on your Wisdom, you'll likely go from 16 to 20 (and, if I'm not wrong, no stat can be higher than 18 at level 1).
More importantly, did you read the monk class at all? Why would you deal only 1+Dex damage when the monk Martial Arts gives you a d4+Dex damage for your unarmed strikes at level 1? Also, where did the healing come from? Base 5e monks don't have any healing feature at all(and don't say potions or a healer ally, that's not part of a monk build).
The ultimate monk idea: while building your character, ask your DM if you can raise one ability score to 20 in exchange for lowering one ability score to 1. if they say yes, raise your dexterity to 20 and reduce your strength to one. The player's handbook says that an unarmed strike deals damage equal to one+your strength modifier, but monk says you can alternate between using that or your strength modifier. so using this build would allow you to have a first level monk with insane AC who can use their unarmed strikes to alternate between dealing 6 damage and healing 4 health.
no it isnt
the class is designed poorly with too many situational abilities while being MAD, anything it can do another class can do better
you really said "why do people think monk is bad? anyways here is a very specific and optimized monk build using a specific subclass" like it addresses the problem with monks
Nah why people hate monks? they use magic, such as Ki (lol i meant of the Ki) which doesn't make since why people hate monks. SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY :C
Monk is OP
Soloing a tarrasque isn't all that difficult for a 20th level character, more because a tarrasque isn't a well designed monster since it can't fly or attack at range. Yes it can do a lot of damage to one, but that's not really unique at 20th level. It does a lot less damage than most other classes can at basically every level, and is also weaker defensively until level 14 and doesn't have much utility out of combat to make up for it.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate the monk I love the theme and playing one is a lot of fun. But mechanically it is definitely weaker than other classes and could use a bit of a buff.
I really don't understand why people hate monk. With the right build, a multiclassed 18 open hand monk 2 rogue can solo a tarrasque. Monk punches are technically magical at lvl 6, and with 18 ki you can use the ability quivering palm 6 total times, if you save your ki. Quivering palm instakills an opponent if they fail their con save, and does 10d10 necrotic if they succeed. With cunning action from lvl 2 rogue, you can disengage the tarrasque after attacking it, and with Aarakocra you can then fly up 80 feet from monk's unarmored movement. You are doing 12d10 damage in 2 turns, 6 times over. That's a max of 720 damage total, and the tarrasque has no way of hitting you. Plus, if the tarrasque fails and doesn't use legendary resistance, it's instantly at 0 hp. And frightful presence isn't a problem because monks get wisdom save proficiency and usually have a 20 dex 20 wis build
Sweet
Which is why the new Warrior of the Elements monk from UA6 completely did away from the spell disciplines and gave the subclass ACTUAL features. Besides, there's not equal representation of the elements as spells, and that has been the case since the 2014 PHB, and will more likely still be the case, so getting rid of such a restrictive list is for the best.
There are sixteen options for Elemental Disciplines other than the guaranteed Elemental Attunement. Mathematically that should mean 4 for each element, all things being equal… I think you know where I’m going with this.
Breath of Winter — Water/Air
Clench of the North Wind — Air
Eternal Mountain Defense — Earth
Fangs of the Fire Snake — Fire
Fist of Four Thunders — Air
Fist of Unbroken Air — Air
Flames of the Phoenix — Fire
Gong of the Summit — Air/Earth
Mist Stance — Air/Water
Ride the Wind — Air
River of Hungry Flame — Fire
Rush of the Gale Spirits — Air
Shape the Flowing River — Water
Sweeping Cinder Strike — Fire
Water Whip — Water
Wave of Rolling Earth — Earth
Air — 5-8
Earth — 2-3
Fire — 4
Water — 2-4
It would be nice if instead of replicating certain spell effects, this archetype had a spell list. Or abandon spells completely and give scaled abilities. The limits on Earth seem like essentially this: Be hard like rock, make big rock wall, move small rock. While Air on the other hand has massive versatility.
This sort of pattern goes for other classes as well. Air has Storm Sorcery, Shares Tempest Domain with Water, shares The Genie with all the other elements, is associated with all Thunder and Lightning spells, as well as flight… it goes on and on.
Earth however only has maybe Rune Knight(though that is a stretch) and shares The Genie. Only a few spells involve Earth and even then they usually only involve utility. All it really has is Wall of Stone, since with clever usage that spell is overpowered for it’s level. Any time you are indoors: bam, the enemies are trapped behind a Wall of Stone. Facing non-flying enemies in a city? Bam, they are separated from the innocents and you can fight them without collateral damage.
I just feel like there could be MORE to Earth, and the other elements.
No i, don't have it, thanks for your help
Do you have Tasha's here in DnDBeyond? You need that book if you want Astral Self or Mercy.
The default tradition for free is Open Hand, you can unlock the rest by buying those books digitally on DDB.
Hello everyone, I need help, well, i was making a monk character but the only tradition that appears me is the way of the open hand, i want to select the way of the astral self, can someone help me pls.
Wait quivering palm can technically be used 6 times a day. That's 60d10 necrotic damage, ON A SUCCESS!! And people say monk sucks. Combine this with an Aarakocra with 55 unarmored walking speed, and 80 unarmored flying speed, and rogue's cunning action, and you could literally solo a tarrasque!
I'll reply to both your comments
First, Searing Sunburst doesn't cost ki points at base level, true, but the damage is really low at that point. It is basically an AoE cantrip with a CON save on top of that, and it deals no damage on a successful save, meaning, upcasting it is really risky. If it dealt at least half damage, then it would be a good feature, as is you are better off using Radiant Sun Bolt 4 times.
Second, Sun Shield's damage is terribly low, 10 radiant damage as a reaction (so it's a once per round) to getting hit by a melee attack (when the subclass is meant for ranged combat only) is laughably bad, even if it doesn't cost ki points.
In 5e, the most ki-point efficient monks are Open Hand, Shadow and Mercy, not because their features do not cost ki points, but because when they use them, it's actually useful, Sun Soul being "cheaper" on the ki-cost doesn't make it more efficient, it only makes them consistent at range, and Kensei is arguably better in that aspect.
Come to think of it, neither does the 17th-level capstone “Sun Shield”. The dealing damage when a creature attacks you doesn’t cost a Ki point and neither does lighting or extinguishing the light. Has anyone else noticed how Ki-point-efficient Sun Soul monks are? Sure, it’s possible to spend all your Ki points quickly, but the only subclass-specific feature that requires use of at least one Ki point is the 6th-level Searing Arc Strike.
Hey, did anyone else notice that the 11th level Sun Soul feature “Searing Sunburst” doesn’t cost a Ki point to use? That means you can deal up to 12 damage to every creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere an infinite number of times in a combat just as long as you don’t die.
note that the only point in the description that says it costs a Ki point is the increasing damage. If you’re willing to spend three Ki points you can increase the maximum damage to 48, but that you can’t do quite so often.
As a response to both JD_SoOR and MarsExplorer
In my own experiences playing a monk this would be a definete buff, whilst then balancing that fact out by nerfing abilities that would become over powered due to the unlimited KI (stunning strike, diamond body, healing abilities etc etc etc). I've only playtested it on my own time against monsters ran by me, but in my own experiences with the rework I have enjoyed monk alot more, though preference between mine or the official verson can heavily depend on the style of games that you run or play it. In my own games of 6-8 encounters a day, I tend to either save up KI and not get to use the core part of my class, or run out within a few encounters and be waiting for any chance to short rest, and then rinse and repeat.
Onto more specific responses
"I really fail to see how taking an underpowered class and further limiting FOUR or more of its features is a fix." Well, we are limiting abilities that are very good with *limited ki*, so when we make ki *unlimited*, they need to be restricted for balance reasons.
"why would you do this
monk does not need a nerf" Imho, it is not a nerf, but a rework
and their whole point is to make lots of attacks using Martial Arts You can still do that?
forcing them to Dodge a whole bunch stops them from doing so :| Doing a dodge maybe once per encounter isn't a whole bunch, but to each their own
diamond soul should be made better not worse if you nerf everything else Diamond soul is still an extremely powerful ability? Having proficiency in every saving throw and getting upto 6 rerolls without reaction is one of the most powerful abilities in the entire game by itself.
3-4 stunning strikes per sr for most of the game is just kinda sad Stunning strike is an ability which I as a dm hate, and it being made into the bread and butter of the class is something I heavily dislike, as it along other stun/incap abilities can ruin most encounters.