The damage of monk weapons is determined by the Martial Arts column of the monk’s level progression table in the PH. Darts (and possibly other simple weapons) aren’t scaling up in damage as the monk gains levels.
the character sheet is behaving correctly - Dart does not benefit from increased damage due to the Martial Arts feature of the monk class, as they do not meet the requirements specified:
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.
I probably saw what I wanted to see there. :P It kind of doesn't make sense, though. If a monk can turn any caught missile weapon into a "monk weapon" (provided it's small enough to hold in one hand) using their Deflect Missiles ability, then it seems only logical that they could do it during an Attack action. The dart conjures up images of ninjas performing surgical strikes at range, so at the very least I think it should be classified thusly.
I get it though, I'm not here to debate the rules. For now, I'll just make a new homebrew item that does 1d6 damage instead of 1d4, but it would be nice to have a checkbox on homebrew items called "Monk weapon" for this purpose, as well as for other circumstances when other monk weapons are allowed.
Yeah, I understand what you mean - I had to check through it twice, because it made sense to me also that darts (being a weapon that a Monk is proficient with) would count as a "Monk weapon" for martial arts damage bonus.
We don't make the rules though, just represent them in a digital toolset.
The spending of a Ki point is the difference. For the Deflect Missile ability, a monk can simply drop the missile s/he caught. Or, a monk may spend a Ki point to throw the missile at a target and that missile is considered a monk weapon for calculating damage. Thus, if you can persuade your DM to allow the player to spend a Ki point per dart, then the dart will have the Martial Arts damage die from the Monk table.
This ☝️ is how I handle it. Kunai are a thing and distinctly different from darts and shuriken, so I just reskin daggers as such and... presto! Appropriately themed monk weapons that scale with Martial Arts. Nothing changes mechanically, just the feel.
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The damage of monk weapons is determined by the Martial Arts column of the monk’s level progression table in the PH. Darts (and possibly other simple weapons) aren’t scaling up in damage as the monk gains levels.
Hi there SullyTheUnusual,
the character sheet is behaving correctly - Dart does not benefit from increased damage due to the Martial Arts feature of the monk class, as they do not meet the requirements specified:
Here's a confirmation from Jeremy Crawford.
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/01/22/why-are-darts-not-monk-weapons/
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Hey Stormknight,
I probably saw what I wanted to see there. :P It kind of doesn't make sense, though. If a monk can turn any caught missile weapon into a "monk weapon" (provided it's small enough to hold in one hand) using their Deflect Missiles ability, then it seems only logical that they could do it during an Attack action. The dart conjures up images of ninjas performing surgical strikes at range, so at the very least I think it should be classified thusly.
I get it though, I'm not here to debate the rules. For now, I'll just make a new homebrew item that does 1d6 damage instead of 1d4, but it would be nice to have a checkbox on homebrew items called "Monk weapon" for this purpose, as well as for other circumstances when other monk weapons are allowed.
Yeah, I understand what you mean - I had to check through it twice, because it made sense to me also that darts (being a weapon that a Monk is proficient with) would count as a "Monk weapon" for martial arts damage bonus.
We don't make the rules though, just represent them in a digital toolset.
Pun-loving nerd | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
The spending of a Ki point is the difference. For the Deflect Missile ability, a monk can simply drop the missile s/he caught. Or, a monk may spend a Ki point to throw the missile at a target and that missile is considered a monk weapon for calculating damage. Thus, if you can persuade your DM to allow the player to spend a Ki point per dart, then the dart will have the Martial Arts damage die from the Monk table.
Or you can just have your monk carry some daggers that are monk weapons and throwable.
This ☝️ is how I handle it. Kunai are a thing and distinctly different from darts and shuriken, so I just reskin daggers as such and... presto! Appropriately themed monk weapons that scale with Martial Arts. Nothing changes mechanically, just the feel.