Monks should be hard to hit. Even with the wis bonus to ac, its difficult to get above 16. I would like to see the Dodge action accessible without spending ki.
First idea: Dodge can be used as a Bonus Action or Reaction, until the end of the turn.
2nd idea: If Dodge is used as the action, the monk can use a bonus action to make one unarmed/monk weapon attack.
3rd idea: Extend the Deflect Missiles feature to include melee attacks and call it "Deflect Attack." If you reduce damage to 0 and have a free hand, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack (as with a monk weapon) with a range of 20/60 or if against a melee attack you can make an attempt to disarm the attacker or make an unarmed attack.
Monks should be hard to hit. Even with the wis bonus to ac, its difficult to get above 16. I would like to see the Dodge action accessible without spending ki.
First idea: Dodge can be used as a Bonus Action or Reaction, until the end of the turn.
2nd idea: If Dodge is used as the action, the monk can use a bonus action to make one unarmed/monk weapon attack.
Yeah, Barbarian has a similar thing going on. You get a super special armor calculation feature... And your AC ends up being mediocre at best. Feels stupid. (Nobody would be happy with "Unarmored Defense: While you're not wearing armor, your AC is 17," though. Except maybe me.)
I mean, if the fantasy is that the Monk can defend just as well as someone using armor, and can hit just as hard as someone using a weapon, then frankly it's very simple to balance it out: pick the equipment you're trying to mimic, and just mimic it. But that's not enough, somehow. It's gotta both be as good as, and worse than, for the sake of realism or something. So here we are.
If you assume a player will aim to get Dexterity and Wisdom as high as they can with point buy you're looking at a +2 and a +3, or maybe two +3's with some sacrifices, so that's a starting AC of 15 or 16; equivalent to a character with a chain shirt (and +2 dexterity) or a character with chain mail, but with none of the drawbacks (disadvantage on stealth, certain effects that target armour etc.), in other words it's equivalent to starter armour without shield. It then scales all the way up to AC 20 on ability scores you'll want to be increasing anyway, so that's equivalent to getting plate + shield for free, plus any sets of armour in between, requiring no hands and with no penalties.
If your DM is handing out magic armour, then they should also be handing out equivalents for the unarmored players, i.e- Bracers of Defense, Ring of Protection etc., so scaling should actually be broadly the same. If such items are available to buy then you've saved yourself some gold by not needing armour.
Plus it's also worth remembering that neither a Barbarian nor a Monk's defence is all about their AC; the Barbarian has additional damage resistances due to Rage (who cares if you're hit a little more when you can take twice as much damage?), while the Monk can become incredibly hard to hit at all by using Patient Defence (disadvantage to be hit is roughly equivalent to having a +5 to AC).
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The way the math works out, if your party owns both a +N magic armor and a Ring or Cloak of Protection, they should usually go on the same character for the largest impact. I don't have the numbers handy, but this is an established thing.
There is only one monster that targets armor (the rust monster) and it doesn't work on magical armor anyway. Heat Metal is the only other way to feel like your lack of armor is actually an upside. That's... Not really significant.
There are light and medium armors that don't penalize your Stealth rolls. You wouldn't use heavy armor when you're a Dex class anyway.
But we're getting away from my point, which was that it feels weird to get a special feature that has to do with your AC, but it doesn't actually make your AC noticeably better than that of someone who doesn't have the feature, in practical terms.
The Monk is doing its own thing to such an extent that its thing is rendered useless. The rest of the game is like, "why would you ever be deprived of your gear? Nobody's any good at that, it wouldn't be fun." So it doesn't really include anything that would make the Monk shine for its non-reliance on gear. (Same is true for the Ranger's survivalist and plant related features.) And I'm inclined to say that's the correct choice. Game's got all these cool magic items, it's kinda silly to not use them.
The way the math works out, if your party owns both a +N magic armor and a Ring or Cloak of Protection, they should usually go on the same character for the largest impact. I don't have the numbers handy, but this is an established thing.
There is only one monster that targets armor (the rust monster) and it doesn't work on magical armor anyway. Heat Metal is the only other way to feel like your lack of armor is actually an upside. That's... Not really significant.
There are light and medium armors that don't penalize your Stealth rolls. You wouldn't use heavy armor when you're a Dex class anyway.
But we're getting away from my point, which was that it feels weird to get a special feature that has to do with your AC, but it doesn't actually make your AC noticeably better than that of someone who doesn't have the feature, in practical terms.
The Monk is doing its own thing to such an extent that its thing is rendered useless. The rest of the game is like, "why would you ever be deprived of your gear? Nobody's any good at that, it wouldn't be fun." So it doesn't really include anything that would make the Monk shine for its non-reliance on gear. (Same is true for the Ranger's survivalist and plant related features.) And I'm inclined to say that's the correct choice. Game's got all these cool magic items, it's kinda silly to not use them.
That math only really works out if we assume the enemies are dumb as hell though. Smart enemies wouldn't keep trying to clobber the Fighter with impenetrable armor. They'd keep him busy with some of theirs and others would go and take care of the ones that fling around magic and arrows and such. Not to mention there are more than enough spells to circumvent AC anyway. This kind of napkin math only really works in a void and has no place in actual gameplay.
As for how Unarmored Defense feels, I think that's mainly a problem with how you perceive it. You seem to think it's supposed to give you insane AC, but the actual focus here is on the unarmored part. It's supposed to let you live out the fantasy of not needing armor without penalizing you for it, not letting you have better AC than the Fighter in plate with shield.
What I think ChoirOfFire means is that each class take 2 powers at first level. But for the monk one of these powers is like null since it prevents the use of armor and at the same time finds an alternative to have a defense equal to the others. Practically it is (-1+1=0). For me it is fine that it is so, but I find that the penalties for those who wear armor are practically non-existent.
There is only one monster that targets armor (the rust monster) and it doesn't work on magical armor anyway. Heat Metal is the only other way to feel like your lack of armor is actually an upside. That's... Not really significant.
Actually I'm pretty sure there are other monsters with bonus affects vs. armour, but I don't recall which off hand (there are far too many to trawl through), but you're also forgetting every caster with Heat Metal, Shocking Grasp and so-on.
I should have also said in my post but there are other factors that apply to a Monk's defence; first is that our speed makes it easy to take advantage of cover for bonus AC, which is especially handy against ranged threats that we can't get to in a single turn. Also speed related, but simply being able to get to a target in a single turn is important defensively, as sometimes offence really is the best form of defence (less time spent at range taking hits). Third, we also have added protection against effects that bypass AC entirely, namely Dexterity saves, thanks to Evasion. While that doesn't protect against other types of save attack, Dexterity is one of the most common for damaging effects, and we have protections against other types (Stillness of Mind gives more opportunities to overcome charm/fear, Diamond Soul gives full save proficiencies).
Defence is one of the areas where I don't think Monks actually need to be improved at all, as we're a lot tougher than people give us credit; far too many seem to have this twisted idea that to be good defensively you need to have a higher AC than a fighter and more hitpoints than a Barbarian, but a Monk gets bonuses to their defence that neither of these classes have, so we're actually not in a bad position defensively as have solid AC, get Evasion, and have one of the strongest defensive abilities in the game (dodging as a bonus action). While I'd tweak when and how Diamond Soul/Stillness of Mind kick in, I wouldn't otherwise change a Monk's defence.
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There is only one monster that targets armor (the rust monster) and it doesn't work on magical armor anyway. Heat Metal is the only other way to feel like your lack of armor is actually an upside. That's... Not really significant.
Actually I'm pretty sure there are other monsters with bonus affects vs. armour, but I don't recall which off hand (there are far too many to trawl through), but you're also forgetting every caster with Heat Metal, Shocking Grasp and so-on.
I should have also said in my post but there are other factors that apply to a Monk's defence; first is that our speed makes it easy to take advantage of cover for bonus AC, which is especially handy against ranged threats that we can't get to in a single turn. Also speed related, but simply being able to get to a target in a single turn is important defensively, as sometimes offence really is the best form of defence (less time spent at range taking hits). Third, we also have added protection against effects that bypass AC entirely, namely Dexterity saves, thanks to Evasion. While that doesn't protect against other types of save attack, Dexterity is one of the most common for damaging effects, and we have protections against other types (Stillness of Mind gives more opportunities to overcome charm/fear, Diamond Soul gives full save proficiencies).
Defence is one of the areas where I don't think Monks actually need to be improved at all, as we're a lot tougher than people give us credit; far too many seem to have this twisted idea that to be good defensively you need to have a higher AC than a fighter and more hitpoints than a Barbarian, but a Monk gets bonuses to their defence that neither of these classes have, so we're actually not in a bad position defensively as have solid AC, get Evasion, and have one of the strongest defensive abilities in the game (dodging as a bonus action). While I'd tweak when and how Diamond Soul/Stillness of Mind kick in, I wouldn't otherwise change a Monk's defence.
I agree, but the thing that I don’t like about unarmored defense is being tied to 2 ability scores. So players are more likely to focus on increasing those stats instead of picking feats to personalize their character. There are plenty of threads where people ask about feats for monks and there is usually at least one person saying focus on DEX/WIS for AC, to hit, and DC’s.
But you are correct, monks defenses are pretty solid.
I agree, but the thing that I don’t like about unarmored defense is being tied to 2 ability scores. So players are more likely to focus on increasing those stats instead of picking feats to personalize their character. There are plenty of threads where people ask about feats for monks and there is usually at least one person saying focus on DEX/WIS for AC, to hit, and DC’s.
Oh absolutely, and this is why I'm very much in favour of an additional Ability Score Increase at 10th level (same as Rogues get).
I'd also like to see changes made so that a Strength focused Monk would be more viable, either allowing Unarmored Defence to be a choice of DEX+WIS or STR+WIS, or maybe allowing a Monk to use a shield if they're wielding a strength weapon; tweaking Unarmored Defence to allow STR is the easier change, but I really like the idea of a Strength-based Monk with a buckler type small shield that they use for their "unarmed" strikes.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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I agree, but the thing that I don’t like about unarmored defense is being tied to 2 ability scores. So players are more likely to focus on increasing those stats instead of picking feats to personalize their character. There are plenty of threads where people ask about feats for monks and there is usually at least one person saying focus on DEX/WIS for AC, to hit, and DC’s.
Oh absolutely, and this is why I'm very much in favour of an additional Ability Score Increase at 10th level (same as Rogues get).
I'd also like to see changes made so that a Strength focused Monk would be more viable, either allowing Unarmored Defence to be a choice of DEX+WIS or STR+WIS, or maybe allowing a Monk to use a shield if they're wielding a strength weapon; tweaking Unarmored Defence to allow STR is the easier change, but I really like the idea of a Strength-based Monk with a buckler type small shield that they use for their "unarmed" strikes.
These alone would make monk a lot more versatile I agree.
I agree, but the thing that I don’t like about unarmored defense is being tied to 2 ability scores. So players are more likely to focus on increasing those stats instead of picking feats to personalize their character. There are plenty of threads where people ask about feats for monks and there is usually at least one person saying focus on DEX/WIS for AC, to hit, and DC’s.
Oh absolutely, and this is why I'm very much in favour of an additional Ability Score Increase at 10th level (same as Rogues get).
I'd also like to see changes made so that a Strength focused Monk would be more viable, either allowing Unarmored Defence to be a choice of DEX+WIS or STR+WIS, or maybe allowing a Monk to use a shield if they're wielding a strength weapon; tweaking Unarmored Defence to allow STR is the easier change, but I really like the idea of a Strength-based Monk with a buckler type small shield that they use for their "unarmed" strikes.
The shield for the monk is a touchy subject, because if he could use the shield he would be the only class that could make attacks with the bonus action when wearing a shield. This is why defense bracelets are a rare item.
Defense is definitely one of the monk's minor problems.
One of the characteristics of the monk is speed, but I never understood why he doesn't have a system to disengage from the enemy without having to waste the little ki power and a bonus action, both very important for the monk. What could solve this problem is to be able to push an opponent 5 feet once every turn or the ability to move 5 feet 1 time every turn without suffering opportunity attacks. An alternative is to raise the life dice to d10. Man, I never understood why the warlock had more hit points than a monk.
From my point of view, every class should be stable and balanced regardless of the subclass chosen later. Unfortunately the monk is not stable and some subclasses try to solve the existing lack in the class, when the role of a subclass is to bring added value to the class.
If the ability to do damage is not a strong point of the monk at least let him impose other conditions besides stunning opponents. There are 5 characteristics and therefore 5 types of saving throws. No, the monk can only stun opponents by imposing a TS on the constitution. the strange thing is, when a perfect subclass for the monk is created, it is not a subclass for the monk, but for the fighter (Battle Master).
The problem with 5e is that the feats are sometimes too powerful and practically all of them don't work with the monk, and the fact that the monk is MAD and gets few chances to increase his charactistics / feats certainly doesn't help.
Yeah. Shields on a monk does seem a bit odd, but I guess it depends on character concept. Although in that case to fit the concept getting shield proficiency via feat would make more sense.
I would much prefer a way to mitigate damage than just buffing AC with the shield.
As far as AC calculations go it’s an interesting idea to add a STR+WIS option. I too would like there to be a STR option. But I think I would still prefer the scaling AC, that starts like mage armor or sorcerer Draconic Resilience at 13+DEX but goes up like your martial arts die from there (14+DEX , 15+DEX , 16+DEX) . So even if you left your DEX at 16 (+3) and focused on STR, you could have 16AC at level 1, 17AC at 5, 18AC at 11, and 19AC at 17.
You can very easily build a STR Rogue if you wanted. As long as you used a finesse weapon (with STR) sneak attack still works. With monks, not so much. Too much is tied to DEX/WIS combo.
I think changing deflect projectiles to work with melee attacks (ignoring the catching and throwing things back ofc) was presented all the way back in the first couple of pages.
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if I edit a message, most of the time it's because of grammar. The rest of the time I'll put "Edit:" at the bottom.
Okay what about utlizing the rest of the features of Way of the Soul Knife Monk? Since most of their intial psychic features were used for soul knife Rogue instead.
Defence is one of the areas where I don't think Monks actually need to be improved at all, as we're a lot tougher than people give us credit; far too many seem to have this twisted idea that to be good defensively you need to have a higher AC than a fighter and more hitpoints than a Barbarian, but a Monk gets bonuses to their defence that neither of these classes have, so we're actually not in a bad position defensively as have solid AC, get Evasion, and have one of the strongest defensive abilities in the game (dodging as a bonus action). While I'd tweak when and how Diamond Soul/Stillness of Mind kick in, I wouldn't otherwise change a Monk's defence.
You're twisting words here. I don't see anybody arguing that Monks should have higher HP than a Barbarian. And you've never provided a logical response to my question: How is it that a melee martial class that specializes in mind-body training has less hit points that a Ranger or a Fighter that focuses on ranged attacks?
And ,no, low level Monks have bad AC a lot of the time. Low level Monks in any party without a reliable meat-shield tend to go down fast unless they spend most of their actions taking the Dodge action, AKA, not doing much damage. And they don't have many Ki to do Dodge as a bonus action without eating into the same Ki they're supposed to use for Flurry.
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Monks should be hard to hit. Even with the wis bonus to ac, its difficult to get above 16. I would like to see the Dodge action accessible without spending ki.
First idea: Dodge can be used as a Bonus Action or Reaction, until the end of the turn.
2nd idea: If Dodge is used as the action, the monk can use a bonus action to make one unarmed/monk weapon attack.
3rd idea: Extend the Deflect Missiles feature to include melee attacks and call it "Deflect Attack." If you reduce damage to 0 and have a free hand, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack (as with a monk weapon) with a range of 20/60 or if against a melee attack you can make an attempt to disarm the attacker or make an unarmed attack.
I like the 2nd idea alot.
Yeah, Barbarian has a similar thing going on. You get a super special armor calculation feature... And your AC ends up being mediocre at best. Feels stupid. (Nobody would be happy with "Unarmored Defense: While you're not wearing armor, your AC is 17," though. Except maybe me.)
I mean, if the fantasy is that the Monk can defend just as well as someone using armor, and can hit just as hard as someone using a weapon, then frankly it's very simple to balance it out: pick the equipment you're trying to mimic, and just mimic it. But that's not enough, somehow. It's gotta both be as good as, and worse than, for the sake of realism or something. So here we are.
Does it though?
If you assume a player will aim to get Dexterity and Wisdom as high as they can with point buy you're looking at a +2 and a +3, or maybe two +3's with some sacrifices, so that's a starting AC of 15 or 16; equivalent to a character with a chain shirt (and +2 dexterity) or a character with chain mail, but with none of the drawbacks (disadvantage on stealth, certain effects that target armour etc.), in other words it's equivalent to starter armour without shield. It then scales all the way up to AC 20 on ability scores you'll want to be increasing anyway, so that's equivalent to getting plate + shield for free, plus any sets of armour in between, requiring no hands and with no penalties.
If your DM is handing out magic armour, then they should also be handing out equivalents for the unarmored players, i.e- Bracers of Defense, Ring of Protection etc., so scaling should actually be broadly the same. If such items are available to buy then you've saved yourself some gold by not needing armour.
Plus it's also worth remembering that neither a Barbarian nor a Monk's defence is all about their AC; the Barbarian has additional damage resistances due to Rage (who cares if you're hit a little more when you can take twice as much damage?), while the Monk can become incredibly hard to hit at all by using Patient Defence (disadvantage to be hit is roughly equivalent to having a +5 to AC).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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The way the math works out, if your party owns both a +N magic armor and a Ring or Cloak of Protection, they should usually go on the same character for the largest impact. I don't have the numbers handy, but this is an established thing.
There is only one monster that targets armor (the rust monster) and it doesn't work on magical armor anyway. Heat Metal is the only other way to feel like your lack of armor is actually an upside. That's... Not really significant.
There are light and medium armors that don't penalize your Stealth rolls. You wouldn't use heavy armor when you're a Dex class anyway.
But we're getting away from my point, which was that it feels weird to get a special feature that has to do with your AC, but it doesn't actually make your AC noticeably better than that of someone who doesn't have the feature, in practical terms.
The Monk is doing its own thing to such an extent that its thing is rendered useless. The rest of the game is like, "why would you ever be deprived of your gear? Nobody's any good at that, it wouldn't be fun." So it doesn't really include anything that would make the Monk shine for its non-reliance on gear. (Same is true for the Ranger's survivalist and plant related features.) And I'm inclined to say that's the correct choice. Game's got all these cool magic items, it's kinda silly to not use them.
What I think ChoirOfFire means is that each class take 2 powers at first level. But for the monk one of these powers is like null since it prevents the use of armor and at the same time finds an alternative to have a defense equal to the others. Practically it is (-1+1=0). For me it is fine that it is so, but I find that the penalties for those who wear armor are practically non-existent.
Actually I'm pretty sure there are other monsters with bonus affects vs. armour, but I don't recall which off hand (there are far too many to trawl through), but you're also forgetting every caster with Heat Metal, Shocking Grasp and so-on.
I should have also said in my post but there are other factors that apply to a Monk's defence; first is that our speed makes it easy to take advantage of cover for bonus AC, which is especially handy against ranged threats that we can't get to in a single turn. Also speed related, but simply being able to get to a target in a single turn is important defensively, as sometimes offence really is the best form of defence (less time spent at range taking hits). Third, we also have added protection against effects that bypass AC entirely, namely Dexterity saves, thanks to Evasion. While that doesn't protect against other types of save attack, Dexterity is one of the most common for damaging effects, and we have protections against other types (Stillness of Mind gives more opportunities to overcome charm/fear, Diamond Soul gives full save proficiencies).
Defence is one of the areas where I don't think Monks actually need to be improved at all, as we're a lot tougher than people give us credit; far too many seem to have this twisted idea that to be good defensively you need to have a higher AC than a fighter and more hitpoints than a Barbarian, but a Monk gets bonuses to their defence that neither of these classes have, so we're actually not in a bad position defensively as have solid AC, get Evasion, and have one of the strongest defensive abilities in the game (dodging as a bonus action). While I'd tweak when and how Diamond Soul/Stillness of Mind kick in, I wouldn't otherwise change a Monk's defence.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I agree, but the thing that I don’t like about unarmored defense is being tied to 2 ability scores. So players are more likely to focus on increasing those stats instead of picking feats to personalize their character. There are plenty of threads where people ask about feats for monks and there is usually at least one person saying focus on DEX/WIS for AC, to hit, and DC’s.
But you are correct, monks defenses are pretty solid.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Oh absolutely, and this is why I'm very much in favour of an additional Ability Score Increase at 10th level (same as Rogues get).
I'd also like to see changes made so that a Strength focused Monk would be more viable, either allowing Unarmored Defence to be a choice of DEX+WIS or STR+WIS, or maybe allowing a Monk to use a shield if they're wielding a strength weapon; tweaking Unarmored Defence to allow STR is the easier change, but I really like the idea of a Strength-based Monk with a buckler type small shield that they use for their "unarmed" strikes.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
These alone would make monk a lot more versatile I agree.
STR monk would be fun as hell to play.
The shield for the monk is a touchy subject, because if he could use the shield he would be the only class that could make attacks with the bonus action when wearing a shield. This is why defense bracelets are a rare item.
Oh no, we can't let the Monk have something unique that other classes would actually *want*!
On the other hand, Monk doesn't feel like it "should" use shields.
Defense is definitely one of the monk's minor problems.
One of the characteristics of the monk is speed, but I never understood why he doesn't have a system to disengage from the enemy without having to waste the little ki power and a bonus action, both very important for the monk. What could solve this problem is to be able to push an opponent 5 feet once every turn or the ability to move 5 feet 1 time every turn without suffering opportunity attacks. An alternative is to raise the life dice to d10. Man, I never understood why the warlock had more hit points than a monk.
From my point of view, every class should be stable and balanced regardless of the subclass chosen later. Unfortunately the monk is not stable and some subclasses try to solve the existing lack in the class, when the role of a subclass is to bring added value to the class.
If the ability to do damage is not a strong point of the monk at least let him impose other conditions besides stunning opponents. There are 5 characteristics and therefore 5 types of saving throws. No, the monk can only stun opponents by imposing a TS on the constitution. the strange thing is, when a perfect subclass for the monk is created, it is not a subclass for the monk, but for the fighter (Battle Master).
The problem with 5e is that the feats are sometimes too powerful and practically all of them don't work with the monk, and the fact that the monk is MAD and gets few chances to increase his charactistics / feats certainly doesn't help.
Yeah. Shields on a monk does seem a bit odd, but I guess it depends on character concept. Although in that case to fit the concept getting shield proficiency via feat would make more sense.
I would much prefer a way to mitigate damage than just buffing AC with the shield.
As far as AC calculations go it’s an interesting idea to add a STR+WIS option. I too would like there to be a STR option. But I think I would still prefer the scaling AC, that starts like mage armor or sorcerer Draconic Resilience at 13+DEX but goes up like your martial arts die from there (14+DEX , 15+DEX , 16+DEX) . So even if you left your DEX at 16 (+3) and focused on STR, you could have 16AC at level 1, 17AC at 5, 18AC at 11, and 19AC at 17.
You can very easily build a STR Rogue if you wanted. As long as you used a finesse weapon (with STR) sneak attack still works. With monks, not so much. Too much is tied to DEX/WIS combo.
And give them the extra ASI at 10 if you like.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Ki to reduce damage as a reaction maybe?
I think changing deflect projectiles to work with melee attacks (ignoring the catching and throwing things back ofc) was presented all the way back in the first couple of pages.
if I edit a message, most of the time it's because of grammar. The rest of the time I'll put "Edit:" at the bottom.
Okay what about utlizing the rest of the features of Way of the Soul Knife Monk? Since most of their intial psychic features were used for soul knife Rogue instead.
You're twisting words here. I don't see anybody arguing that Monks should have higher HP than a Barbarian. And you've never provided a logical response to my question: How is it that a melee martial class that specializes in mind-body training has less hit points that a Ranger or a Fighter that focuses on ranged attacks?
And ,no, low level Monks have bad AC a lot of the time. Low level Monks in any party without a reliable meat-shield tend to go down fast unless they spend most of their actions taking the Dodge action, AKA, not doing much damage. And they don't have many Ki to do Dodge as a bonus action without eating into the same Ki they're supposed to use for Flurry.