I know that I already posted the same subclass, but this is the final version with all the changes that you suggested.
What do you think about it? It's more balanced?
Inner Light
at 3rd level, you learn to dominate your inner light: you gain the "Light" cantrip and learn the Celestial language.
Radiant Aegis
At 3rd level, you learn to manifest a luminous armor capable of absorbing damage and empowering your attacks. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to summon an aegis of light, while this feature is active you gain the following benefits:
- A number of temporary hit points equal to your monk level + your wisdom modifier + 1 roll of your Martial Arts die
- Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage
- When you use Flurry of Blows, one of your unarmed strikes can inflict extra Radiant damage equal to 1 roll of your Martial Arts die, this ability can be used once per turn.
- shed bright light within a range of 15 feet and dim light for another 15 feet.
The Aegis lasts 10 minutes, it can end earlier if you reach 0 hit points or if you use your bonus action to make it disappear. Once ended, you lose all the temporary hit points left.
You have 3 uses of this feature, that increase to 4 at 11th level. You regain every expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Punitive Light
Starting at 6th level, when damage reduces the temporary hit points of your Aegis to 0, you can use your reaction to spend 1 ki point and unleash a wave of radiant force on the enemy. When you take this reaction, each hostile creature within 10 feet of you that can see must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier + your monk level and have disadvantage on their next attack roll. On a successful saving throw the creature only take half as much damage and doesn’t have disadvantage.
In addition, the light produced by your Aegis can now illuminate magical darkness.
Shining Soul
Starting at 11th level, your Radiant Aegis becomes stronger:
- the number of temporary hit points are now equal to your monk level + your wisdom modifier + 2 rolls of your Martial Arts die.
- the extra radiant damage becomes 1 roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier.
In addition, you have learned to protect your allies with your Aegis. Each time you activate the Radiant Aegis feature you can also spend 1 extra ki point to make a number of creatures (equal to your Wisdom modifier), of your choice and within 30 feet of you, gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + 1 roll of your Martial Arts die each.
Unstoppable Light
At 17th level, when you reach 0 hit points, you can instead decide to spend 3 ki points to stay at 1 hit point and instantly activate the Radiant Aegis feature. If your Aegis is already active when you use this feature, you restore its temporary hit points and its time left as if you just activated it.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
This still feels a bit too powerful to me. 1 ki point for temp HP equal to your level + WIS + MA Die is way too much temp HP especially when it's put on top of a damage resistance buff and a damage boost. Compare this to the 1st level spell False Life, which is a full action and only grants 1d4+4 temp hp. I think if you reduced the temp HP to just the MA Die that would be better, or Level+WIS and drop the Radiant/Necrotic resistance. Another alternative would be to increase the Ki cost... it's such a good feature that making it cost 2 or 3 ki would balance it much better.
Think of the optional Quickened Healing feature. This allows a monk to regain HP equal to one roll of their MA die+Prof Bonus. That's twice the Ki cost to recover far less HP than this subclass gets on top of a lot of other really good features. I also think if you reduce the amount of temp HP gained by this subclass you would also not need to limit the number of uses per day aside from just the Ki cost. Functionally, you kind of don't want too much temp HP for this subclass anyway, since the Punitive Light feature only triggers when you lose your temp HP. With the Temp HP granted reduced to just the MA die, the Monk will be able to trigger Punitive Light more frequently, and it wouldn't unbalance the game if they regularly spent Ki to top off their temp HP. I think if you made that change you could also drop spending another Ki to trigger Punitive Light... having it cost a Reaction should be payment enough.
I agree with RaSeyssel in that tying Radiant Aegis to prof bonus would be preferable, if you want to keep the per-day limit. But TransmorpherDDS's suggestion of dropping the per-day limit entirely since it's using ki points is sound, as is the suggestion to reduce the temp HP to something like MAdie + prof.
But I'd go a bit further and limit the temp HP to MAdie + WIS bonus. That gives the monk an additional incentive to select an ASI over a FEAT, making the character more manageable. (imo)
I would also limit the punitive damage to WIS bonus, but offer it on both the flurry of blows.
Also at 11th level, drop the extra temp HP calculations (you're just going by either level or PB, so you're constantly progressing) but keep the rest. Maybe advance the punitive damage by letting them add it to every attack on their turn? That would be . . . possibly 4 attacks, right?
So maybe create a different progression for the punitive damage:
- 3rd level: one flurry of blows attack - 6th level: both flurry of blows attack - 11th level: both flurry + 1 reg attack - 17th level: both flurry + both reg attacks
I think keeping the resistance to necro/radiant is fine, though. It makes sense. If you want to give them the choice, give them the 2nd choice at 11th level.
So as a DM, you'd just want to make sure that you offer the player enough opportunity to have their chosen resistance "shine." So if they choose radiant, don't have them go for 6-7 level progressions without ever being attacked by radiant-based attacks.
I know that I already posted the same subclass, but this is the final version with all the changes that you suggested.
What do you think about it? It's more balanced?
Inner Light
at 3rd level, you learn to dominate your inner light: you gain the "Light" cantrip and learn the Celestial language.
Radiant Aegis
At 3rd level, you learn to manifest a luminous armor capable of absorbing damage and empowering your attacks. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to summon an aegis of light, while this feature is active you gain the following benefits:
- A number of temporary hit points equal to your monk level + your wisdom modifier + 1 roll of your Martial Arts die
- Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage
- When you use Flurry of Blows, one of your unarmed strikes can inflict extra Radiant damage equal to 1 roll of your Martial Arts die, this ability can be used once per turn.
- shed bright light within a range of 15 feet and dim light for another 15 feet.
The Aegis lasts 10 minutes, it can end earlier if you reach 0 hit points or if you use your bonus action to make it disappear. Once ended, you lose all the temporary hit points left.
You have 3 uses of this feature, that increase to 4 at 11th level. You regain every expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Punitive Light
Starting at 6th level, when damage reduces the temporary hit points of your Aegis to 0, you can use your reaction to spend 1 ki point and unleash a wave of radiant force on the enemy. When you take this reaction, each hostile creature within 10 feet of you that can see must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier + your monk level and have disadvantage on their next attack roll. On a successful saving throw the creature only take half as much damage and doesn’t have disadvantage.
In addition, the light produced by your Aegis can now illuminate magical darkness.
Shining Soul
Starting at 11th level, your Radiant Aegis becomes stronger:
- the number of temporary hit points are now equal to your monk level + your wisdom modifier + 2 rolls of your Martial Arts die.
- the extra radiant damage becomes 1 roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier.
In addition, you have learned to protect your allies with your Aegis. Each time you activate the Radiant Aegis feature you can also spend 1 extra ki point to make a number of creatures (equal to your Wisdom modifier), of your choice and within 30 feet of you, gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + 1 roll of your Martial Arts die each.
Unstoppable Light
At 17th level, when you reach 0 hit points, you can instead decide to spend 3 ki points to stay at 1 hit point and instantly activate the Radiant Aegis feature. If your Aegis is already active when you use this feature, you restore its temporary hit points and its time left as if you just activated it.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
I think it's ok.
I would change the radiant aegis to be prof. Bonus times to be consistent with most recent subclasses, but it's the only change I would make.
It's a good subclass, stronger than the published ones (Maybe on par with Mercy).
The biggest selling point are the temp. Hit points, but with a d8 hit die and low AC, I don't see it being OP or anything.
This still feels a bit too powerful to me. 1 ki point for temp HP equal to your level + WIS + MA Die is way too much temp HP especially when it's put on top of a damage resistance buff and a damage boost. Compare this to the 1st level spell False Life, which is a full action and only grants 1d4+4 temp hp. I think if you reduced the temp HP to just the MA Die that would be better, or Level+WIS and drop the Radiant/Necrotic resistance. Another alternative would be to increase the Ki cost... it's such a good feature that making it cost 2 or 3 ki would balance it much better.
Think of the optional Quickened Healing feature. This allows a monk to regain HP equal to one roll of their MA die+Prof Bonus. That's twice the Ki cost to recover far less HP than this subclass gets on top of a lot of other really good features. I also think if you reduce the amount of temp HP gained by this subclass you would also not need to limit the number of uses per day aside from just the Ki cost. Functionally, you kind of don't want too much temp HP for this subclass anyway, since the Punitive Light feature only triggers when you lose your temp HP. With the Temp HP granted reduced to just the MA die, the Monk will be able to trigger Punitive Light more frequently, and it wouldn't unbalance the game if they regularly spent Ki to top off their temp HP. I think if you made that change you could also drop spending another Ki to trigger Punitive Light... having it cost a Reaction should be payment enough.
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I agree with RaSeyssel in that tying Radiant Aegis to prof bonus would be preferable, if you want to keep the per-day limit. But TransmorpherDDS's suggestion of dropping the per-day limit entirely since it's using ki points is sound, as is the suggestion to reduce the temp HP to something like MAdie + prof.
But I'd go a bit further and limit the temp HP to MAdie + WIS bonus. That gives the monk an additional incentive to select an ASI over a FEAT, making the character more manageable. (imo)
I would also limit the punitive damage to WIS bonus, but offer it on both the flurry of blows.
Also at 11th level, drop the extra temp HP calculations (you're just going by either level or PB, so you're constantly progressing) but keep the rest. Maybe advance the punitive damage by letting them add it to every attack on their turn? That would be . . . possibly 4 attacks, right?
So maybe create a different progression for the punitive damage:
- 3rd level: one flurry of blows attack
- 6th level: both flurry of blows attack
- 11th level: both flurry + 1 reg attack
- 17th level: both flurry + both reg attacks
I think keeping the resistance to necro/radiant is fine, though. It makes sense. If you want to give them the choice, give them the 2nd choice at 11th level.
So as a DM, you'd just want to make sure that you offer the player enough opportunity to have their chosen resistance "shine." So if they choose radiant, don't have them go for 6-7 level progressions without ever being attacked by radiant-based attacks.