Throwing in my two cents' worth of observation on the lack of support for 1/3 caster subclasses for Monk. If we are all being honest, Monk let's us build ATLA and DB/Z/S type subclass builds (I'm doing the latter because why not). I started building a subclass back on the 2014 rules, and forgot about it before it was totally finished. Did so this past weekend, and realized what everyone else has been commenting on with this headache. I did notice that Monks can "learn" spells if you manually add them to a feature in the subclass. I have managed to get two Cantrips and one 2nd level spell (all homebrew themselves) to appear on the character sheet as Actions but there is ZERO scalability to the spell at higher levels. If they had the ability to designate damage scaling, this work around should help everyone (whether it is core, expanded, licensed, or homebrew spells). But, there is no way to designate higher level scaling, and if you use the spell input, where it links to a "known" spell on your account, it does not link the level scaling that exists for the spell in question.
As everyone has said, this is a massive limitation but, I am going to keep tinkering with it to see if I can get things to work the way we all want using a workaround. I'll report back if I succeed.
Cheers!
UPDATE: So, the bit about scaling is on me. I selected the wrong parameter and was blind to it at first. :-P
But! My observations were correct. You can add a spell to a Monk, but it has to be an embedded allowance to the subclass. Meaning, you load the spell into a class feature, and it is a fixed spell for the subclass. You can link any spell, and just have to set how many uses you want it to have, the reset parameter to use the "spell" again, and the character level they access the spell. It automatically adds it to the sheet on the Attack Action list, as denoted, and the Spell List for higher than Cantrips. I have tested it on a 2024 Monk subclass homebrew, with a handful of official and homebrew spells, and it works in that way. It does mean you are going to be limited in how spellcasting works for a Monk, but for me, that is alright. I just want the spells I intend on using for that subclass to be "bonus features" for the subclass, and have the base components of the Monk keep center stage.
I hope this helps anyone that my be frustrated with this hamstring they gave us on DDB. If you have any questions I will be glad to help, or @IamSposta will gladly join in. Lol
Hi IamSposta. Have you ever tried this with a Monk? I’ve tried all sorts of ways but to no avail. I can create a Fighter spellcaster or rogue (the only others I’ve tried) but it just won’t work as a Monk subclass.
I can do the exact same steps with another class & it works. Go back & try the Monk & it doesn’t give spell slots.
Edit: Scratch this request. I didn’t realise the thread was so long & that you guys had been over this (a lot). Seems pretty stink that they’ve nerfed the Monk spellcaster (intentionally or not). I hope they fix this.
Thanks for confirming my issue. I’ve spent the last 2 days searching & trying to get around it. Was looking at adding the spells as a feature but last I tried it was “at will” which isn’t the best.
In the homebrew setup as part of the spellcasting feature I added each spell I would've selected through traditional means. Since the feature still gives you usable spell slots (albeit too many) it's a decent workaround. Only issue is for some reason not all of the PHB 2024 spells are available for selection there, so I had to pick spells of the same level and rename them.
Hi hoping you can clarify exactly how you were able to do it. Would you be able to provide a link to the character or screenshots of the options you selected inside the feature. Bonus points if it was for barbarian.
Yeah, I just tested it on an R5e monk subclass myself and got the same results. Since it used to work for monks (and barbarians), that means this was intentional on DDB’s part. Either they intentionally removed monk and barbarian from the list, or intentionally neglected to add the R5e versions of those classes to the list. Either way, I suspect that such subclasses will be impossible to create on DDB moving forward unless/until WotC releases subclasses for those classes that use this mechanic.
This wasn't an intentional omission.
I've gone ahead and fixed the 2024 Barbarian and 2024 Monk to match the Eldritch Knight's Spellcasting progression and confirmed that it should be working for homebrew. Let me know if any issues pop up.
Let me know if you figure out how to build this out for a 2024 class, the code you have and copying the text from the 1/3 caster tables didn't work
I'm having the same issue. It only adds a pick list for cantrips (under add spells) but no ability to learn a cantrip and it shows nothing of first level spells or spell slots
Can you please share screenshots of how you set up your subclass?
subclass creation screenshots above here is what I see in the character sheet
Yeah, I just tested it on an R5e monk subclass myself and got the same results. Since it used to work for monks (and barbarians), that means this was intentional on DDB’s part. Either they intentionally removed monk and barbarian from the list, or intentionally neglected to add the R5e versions of those classes to the list. Either way, I suspect that such subclasses will be impossible to create on DDB moving forward unless/until WotC releases subclasses for those classes that use this mechanic.
This wasn't an intentional omission.
I've gone ahead and fixed the 2024 Barbarian and 2024 Monk to match the Eldritch Knight's Spellcasting progression and confirmed that it should be working for homebrew. Let me know if any issues pop up.
Hello! Is there any chance that Full Spellcasting/Full Pact Magic could be added with a homebrew subclass feature, rather than the 1/3 casting typical for subclasses, as a workaround for not being able to make Gestalt characters in D&D Beyond?
I am just starting out in a small game with just my husband & I in a party, & we wanted to use Gestalt classes to make up for the small party size while still being able to fight the cooler monsters. I'm a Shadow Monk/Champion Fighter & he's an Archfey Warlock/Valor Bard. Our DM is okay with it but wants to use "D&D Beyond" & we're struggling to find a way to make it work. Adding a homebrew subclass to the Fighter that includes almost all of the Monk class & subclass features (aside from Focus which we'll have to track separately) seems to work… okay… for my character, but there doesn't seem to be a good way to make my husband's Warlock/Bard work at all. Any advice at all would be appreciated.
P.S. I am very new to D&D so I apologise if this is the wrong forum or way to ask for this, but I decided to post anyway because I figured you probably want to hear from new players.
Short Answer: As far as I know, that isn't possible. BUT you can add nearly any feature other than full spellcasting via subclass features, so start with the full caster class and add the other features to it.
What I did for my tiny game was take a spellcasting base class and add the non-spellcasting class features via subclass. I had a monk who wanted to be a full spellcaster, so I started with a spellcasting class and added monk features. For example, Wizards get very little in the way of class features, so I made a Wizard subclass with all of the monk features added in. (You can add as many subclass features as you like.) When I created the subclass, I changed the spellcasting ability to Wisdom, and gave it access to the Druid spell list. The player could still see the Wizard spell list, but I just made them in charge of making sure they only prepared Druid spells, and it was never an issue.
For tracking things like Focus Points, you can add an action with charges called "Focus" which recharged daily, and set the maximum charges to 3. Then add level overrides to increase the uses by level. For the martial arts die scaling, I created an "unarmed strike" ability which has damage dice scaling on level, uses DEX to make the attack, etc. You can do this with nearly any feature, but you may need to be creative.
You can even add the other subclass features for the second class, making it possible to be a level 20 Wizard/20 Monk but certain things will never scale higher than level 20, including proficiency bonuses, maximum spell slots, and things like that which aren't editable via class/subclass features.
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"Stories never end. They merely mark the beginning of the next chapter." -Rory Bristol "Failure means you've tried." -RB
Why has this been removed???? The hell?
Throwing in my two cents' worth of observation on the lack of support for 1/3 caster subclasses for Monk. If we are all being honest, Monk let's us build ATLA and DB/Z/S type subclass builds (I'm doing the latter because why not). I started building a subclass back on the 2014 rules, and forgot about it before it was totally finished. Did so this past weekend, and realized what everyone else has been commenting on with this headache. I did notice that Monks can "learn" spells if you manually add them to a feature in the subclass. I have managed to get two Cantrips and one 2nd level spell (all homebrew themselves) to appear on the character sheet as Actions but there is ZERO scalability to the spell at higher levels. If they had the ability to designate damage scaling, this work around should help everyone (whether it is core, expanded, licensed, or homebrew spells). But, there is no way to designate higher level scaling, and if you use the spell input, where it links to a "known" spell on your account, it does not link the level scaling that exists for the spell in question.
As everyone has said, this is a massive limitation but, I am going to keep tinkering with it to see if I can get things to work the way we all want using a workaround. I'll report back if I succeed.
Cheers!
UPDATE: So, the bit about scaling is on me. I selected the wrong parameter and was blind to it at first. :-P
But! My observations were correct. You can add a spell to a Monk, but it has to be an embedded allowance to the subclass. Meaning, you load the spell into a class feature, and it is a fixed spell for the subclass. You can link any spell, and just have to set how many uses you want it to have, the reset parameter to use the "spell" again, and the character level they access the spell. It automatically adds it to the sheet on the Attack Action list, as denoted, and the Spell List for higher than Cantrips. I have tested it on a 2024 Monk subclass homebrew, with a handful of official and homebrew spells, and it works in that way. It does mean you are going to be limited in how spellcasting works for a Monk, but for me, that is alright. I just want the spells I intend on using for that subclass to be "bonus features" for the subclass, and have the base components of the Monk keep center stage.
I hope this helps anyone that my be frustrated with this hamstring they gave us on DDB. If you have any questions I will be glad to help, or @IamSposta will gladly join in. Lol
Cheers!
sounds interesting. can you please post a link here to a subclass that you made so we can check your work around out?
thanks
Hi IamSposta. Have you ever tried this with a Monk? I’ve tried all sorts of ways but to no avail. I can create a Fighter spellcaster or rogue (the only others I’ve tried) but it just won’t work as a Monk subclass.
I can do the exact same steps with another class & it works. Go back & try the Monk & it doesn’t give spell slots.
Edit: Scratch this request. I didn’t realise the thread was so long & that you guys had been over this (a lot). Seems pretty stink that they’ve nerfed the Monk spellcaster (intentionally or not). I hope they fix this.
Thanks for confirming my issue. I’ve spent the last 2 days searching & trying to get around it. Was looking at adding the spells as a feature but last I tried it was “at will” which isn’t the best.
Hi hoping you can clarify exactly how you were able to do it. Would you be able to provide a link to the character or screenshots of the options you selected inside the feature. Bonus points if it was for barbarian.
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D&D Beyond StaffThis wasn't an intentional omission.
I've gone ahead and fixed the 2024 Barbarian and 2024 Monk to match the Eldritch Knight's Spellcasting progression and confirmed that it should be working for homebrew. Let me know if any issues pop up.
Awesome, thanks. I’ve just tried it out & it works great. I had just literally published a “way around” version (which is now not required 😂).
I’ve recreated with the standard way & applied it to my character 👍🏼.
Awesome! Thank you for all the hard work.
Sure! Here you go. I copied the Edit page link so hopefully it works: https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/2190880-monk/subclass/2333983/edit
that link goes to a 403 forbidden error page
Hello! Is there any chance that Full Spellcasting/Full Pact Magic could be added with a homebrew subclass feature, rather than the 1/3 casting typical for subclasses, as a workaround for not being able to make Gestalt characters in D&D Beyond?
I am just starting out in a small game with just my husband & I in a party, & we wanted to use Gestalt classes to make up for the small party size while still being able to fight the cooler monsters. I'm a Shadow Monk/Champion Fighter & he's an Archfey Warlock/Valor Bard. Our DM is okay with it but wants to use "D&D Beyond" & we're struggling to find a way to make it work. Adding a homebrew subclass to the Fighter that includes almost all of the Monk class & subclass features (aside from Focus which we'll have to track separately) seems to work… okay… for my character, but there doesn't seem to be a good way to make my husband's Warlock/Bard work at all. Any advice at all would be appreciated.
P.S. I am very new to D&D so I apologise if this is the wrong forum or way to ask for this, but I decided to post anyway because I figured you probably want to hear from new players.
This was so helpful I'm citing you on my blood sorcerer subclass. Thank you so much, I have long wanted to make spellcasting subclasses.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/2401743-order-of-the-blood-sorcerers-wis
here is the blood sorcerer.
Mitth'raw'nuruodo
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InsiderShort Answer: As far as I know, that isn't possible. BUT you can add nearly any feature other than full spellcasting via subclass features, so start with the full caster class and add the other features to it.
What I did for my tiny game was take a spellcasting base class and add the non-spellcasting class features via subclass. I had a monk who wanted to be a full spellcaster, so I started with a spellcasting class and added monk features. For example, Wizards get very little in the way of class features, so I made a Wizard subclass with all of the monk features added in. (You can add as many subclass features as you like.) When I created the subclass, I changed the spellcasting ability to Wisdom, and gave it access to the Druid spell list. The player could still see the Wizard spell list, but I just made them in charge of making sure they only prepared Druid spells, and it was never an issue.
For tracking things like Focus Points, you can add an action with charges called "Focus" which recharged daily, and set the maximum charges to 3. Then add level overrides to increase the uses by level. For the martial arts die scaling, I created an "unarmed strike" ability which has damage dice scaling on level, uses DEX to make the attack, etc. You can do this with nearly any feature, but you may need to be creative.
You can even add the other subclass features for the second class, making it possible to be a level 20 Wizard/20 Monk but certain things will never scale higher than level 20, including proficiency bonuses, maximum spell slots, and things like that which aren't editable via class/subclass features.
"Stories never end. They merely mark the beginning of the next chapter." -Rory Bristol
"Failure means you've tried." -RB
I know the method provided in this thread can create 1/3 casters
but what about 1/2 casters?
All 1/2 casters are a full class not a subclass