While still fine-tuning and collecting feedback for my first homebrew subclass (Monk Way of the Closed Fist homebrew subclass) I went back to the first idea I had for a homebrew class for the Monk, which is a somewhat revised version of the Kensei, while being most definitely something QUITE different: the Way of the Blade.
Way of the Blade
The Way of the Closed Fist teaches Monks to use the strength of their body to overcome enemies with sequences of attacks. The Way of the Blade is a sister tradition that springs from a similar philosophy, but focuses more on mastery of bladed weapons, with forms and sequences, called Seals, quite distinct from their brothers of the closed fist.
Initiate of the Blade
When joining this monastic tradition, the Monk is given training on the use of a bladed weapon. At 3rd level you gain proficiency with a simple or martial weapon of your choice capable of dealing slashing damage that does not have the Heavy or Two-handed qualities. When using this weapon, it counts as a Monk weapon for you.
Blade Seals
At 3rd level, you gain access to the following Seals, series of attacks aimed to produce additional effects with consecutive cuts. As part of your Attack action on your turn, you can spend 2 Ki points to perform two additional weapon attacks, with your selected weapon, as per the Flurry of Blows feature, but instead activating one of the following Seals:
Crimson Flower Seal
First hit - Growth: on a hit, you deal additional Fire damage equal to your STR modifier; Second hit - Blossom: on a hit, you gain advantage on your next attack on the target this turn;; Third hit - Flower: on a hit, you deal additional Fire damage equal to you STR modifier and can move without provoking attacks of opportunity as if you took the Disengage action;
Silver Moon Seal
First hit - New Moon: on a hit, you temporarily lower the target AC by half your Proficiency bonus (minimum 1) until the end of your next turn; Second hit - Half Moon: on a hit, you deal additional Cold damage equal to you WIS modifier; Third hit - Full Moon: on a hit, you reduce the target speed by 10 feet and you make the target Blinded on a failed CON saving throw until the end of their next turn (normal Ki save DC);
Blue Wave Seal
First hit - Ocean Foam: on a hit, you silence the target on a failed WIS saving throw (normal Ki save DC), creating the same effect as the Silence spell until the end of your next turn; Second hit - Crashing Wave: on a hit, you deal additional bludgeoning damage equal to your CON modifier; Third hit - Cleansing Waters: on a hit, you recover 1 Ki point
Contrary to the Way of the Closed Fist Forms, Seals can be used independently one from the other. Upon reaching 5th level, you can use the attack from your Extra Attack feature as part of the Seal, but should the 3rd hit have already landed, no additional effect takes place upon landing the 4th.
Disciplined Blade
By refining your style through battle, you learn how to more effectively use your Blade for both offense and defense. At level 6, when wielding your chosen weapon from Initiate of the Blade, you can, instead of using STR or DEX, add your Proficiency Bonus to all damage done with it; you still have to use either STR or DEX for the attack roll. Additionally, you can choose to add your Proficiency Bonus instead of your DEX bonus to your AC when not wearing any armor; you can change which bonus to use during a short rest.
Seal Release
Your mastery of the Blade Seals allows you to unleash their true strength. At 11th level, when all 3 hit of a Seal connect, that Seal will be considered unlocked for a number of turns equal to half of your Proficiency Bonus (rounded up). Each subsequent seal release also extends the opening of previous ones, should they be open upon this further release. By spending 1 Ki point, unlocked Seals will grant one attack you do on your turn additional effects, based on how many Seals are unlocked at the time of the attack. These additional effects cannot be added to any hit from a Seal Attack, but they can be used on a possible fourth attack remaining in the same turn, right after finishing one Seal.
One Seal - Edge of the Howling Leaf: on a hit, you deal additional slashing damage equal to your WIS modifier, and continues to do so each turn for a number of turns equal to your WIS modifier on a failed CON saving throw (normal Ki save DC); Two Seals - Edge of the Grassland Clearing: on a hit, you deal additional slashing damage equal to your CON modifier, and inflict you CON modifier slashing damage to all enemies within 10 feet of you if the original attack roll should have hit them were they it's target; Three Seals - Edge of the Moon WaveFlower: on a hit, the attack deals additional damage equal to your STR modifier as Fire damage, your CON modifier as bludgeoning damage and your WIS modifier as cold damage; furthermore, the attack is considered a critical hit, and deals maximized damage.
One with the Blade
You have fully mastered the art of combat, and are now one with your blade. At 17th level, whenever you use the attack action to make an attack with your Blade, you can choose to have advantage on all the attacks on this turn. You can decide to do so only before rolling the first attack roll, and a number of times up to your Proficiency Bonus each long rest.
As always, any feedback, suggestion, correction or idea is more than welcome :)
Funny enough (even funnier I did not notice) there is no "Silenced" condition in 5ed... Curious...
That means that, for it to mean anything, you have to add the phrase "as per the silence spell" to the feature that silences the target (or, if you really wanted to, I suppose you could copy, paste, and edit the relevant text from the silence spell).
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Funny enough (even funnier I did not notice) there is no "Silenced" condition in 5ed... Curious...
That means that, for it to mean anything, you have to add the phrase "as per the silence spell" to the feature that silences the target (or, if you really wanted to, I suppose you could copy, paste, and edit the relevant text from the silence spell).
Correct. I will use the spell tooltip to clarify the effect, thank you Mathias :)
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
The Way of the Closed Fist teaches Monks to use the strength of their body to overcome enemies with sequences of attacks. The Way of the Blade is a sister tradition that springs from a similar philosophy, but focuses more on mastery of bladed weapons, with forms and sequences, called Seals, quite distinct from their brothers of the closed fist.
Initiate of the Blade
When joining this monastic tradition, the Monk is given training on the use of a bladed weapon. At 3rd level you gain proficiency with a simple or martial weapon of your choice capable of dealing slashing damage that does not have the Heavy or Two-handed qualities. When using this weapon, it counts as a Monk weapon for you.
Blade Seals
At 3rd level, you gain access to the following Seals, series of attacks aimed to produce additional effects with consecutive cuts.
As part of your Attack action on your turn, you can spend 2 Ki points to perform two additional weapon attacks, with your selected weapon, as per the Flurry of Blows feature, but instead activating one of the following Seals:
Crimson Flower Seal
First hit - Growth: on a hit, you deal additional Fire damage equal to your STR modifier; Second hit - Blossom: on a hit, you gain advantage on your next attack on the target on this turn; Third hit - Flower: on a hit, you deal additional Fire damage equal to you STR modifier and can move without provoking attacks of opportunity as if you took the Disengage action;
(I changed the name because the growing, blossoming and flowering of a plant is objective where as scent is a more subjective descriptor)
Silver Moon Seal
First hit - New Moon: on a hit, you temporarily lower the target AC by half your Proficiency bonus (minimum 1) until the end of your next turn; Second hit - Half Moon: on a hit, you deal additional Cold damage equal to you WIS modifier; Third hit - Full Moon: on a hit, you reduce the target speed by 10 feet and you make the target Blindedon a failed CON saving throw until the end of their next turn (normal Ki save DC);
(In regards to moons, New Moon, makes more sense in the context of half and full than waxing.)
Blue Wave Seal
First hit - Ocean Foam: on a hit, you silence the target on a failed WIS saving throw (normal Ki save DC), creating the same effect as the Silence spell; Second hit - Crashing Wave: on a hit, you deal additional bludgeoning damage equal to your CON modifier; Third hit - Cleansing Waters: on a hit, you recover 1 Ki point
Contrary to the"Way of the Closed Fist Forms, Seals can be used independently one from the other. Upon reaching 5th level, you can use the attack from your Extra Attack feature as part of the Seal, but should the 3rd hit have already landed, no additional effect takes place upon landing the 4th.
(Does this mean you can use the first hit from crimson flower the second from half moon and the last from the blue wave?)
Disciplined Blade
By refining your style through battle, you learn how to more effectively use your Blade for both offense and defense. At level 6, when wielding your chosen weapon from Initiate of the Blade, you can, instead of using STR or DEX, add your Proficiency Bonus to all damages done with it; you still have to use either STR or DEX for the attack roll. Additionally, you can choose to add your Proficiency Bonus instead of your DEX bonus to your AC when not wearing any armor; you can change which bonus to use during a short rest.
Seal Release
Your mastery of the Blade Seals allows you to unleash their true strength.
At 11th level, when all 3 hit of a Seal connect, that Seal will be considered unlocked for a number of turns equal to half of your WIS modifier (rounded up, minimum 1). By spending 1 Ki point, unlocked Seals will grant one attack you do on your turn additional effects, based on how many Seals are unlocked at the time of the attack.
These additional effects cannot be added to any hit from a Seal Attack, but they can be used on a possible fourth attack remaining in the same turn, right after finishing one Seal.
One Seal - Edge of the Howling Leaf: on a hit, you deal additional slashing damage equal to your WIS modifier, and continues to do so each turn for a number of turns equal to your WIS modifier on a failed CON saving throw (normal Ki save DC);
Two Seals - Edge of the Grassland Clearing: on a hit, you deal additional slashing damage equal to your CON modifier, and inflict you CON modifier slashing damage to all enemies within 10 feet of you if the original attack roll should have hit them were they it's target;
Three Seals - Edge Moon Wave Flower: on a hit, the attack is considered a critical hit, and deals maximized damage.
One with the Blade
You have fully mastered the art of combat, and are now one with your blade. At 17th level, whenever you use the attack action to make an attack with your Blade, you can choose to have advantage on all the attacks on this turn. You can decide to do so only before rolling the first attack roll, and a number of times up to your Proficiency Bonus each long rest.
As always, any feedback, suggestion, correction or idea is more than welcome :)
right, hope you appreciate it or I just wasted 45 minutes :p
Looks good ;)
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Do not kill. Do not ****. Do not steal. These are principles which every person of every faith can embrace.
right, hope you appreciate it or I just wasted 45 minutes :p
Looks good ;)
Man, I most definitely appreciate it! :D
Not being english native and writing this kind of things it's a given there'll be errors, and I actually feel extremely lucky you got interest in my stuff so much so as to proofread and correct them for me :) Thank you very much, will implement the corrections and clarifications in a minute.
To answer your question: the intent is for these Seals to be independent from one another in the sense that you do not need to land a hit of Crimson Flower to be able to use Silver Moon, you can just decide which Seal you want to use in each turn (provided you have the Ki to spend to activate it).
I like the extra combat options these seals open up (yeah, I see the irony!) The Seal Release feature seems a little under-powered, with very little chance of unlocking all three within the half wisdom bonus duration allowed, especially as the sub-class seems to want a character more evenly balanced across strength, wisdom, dexterity, and even constitution. (Con is used in the blue wave seal for extra damage.) Even with a wisdom bonus of +4 or +5, that's only 2 turns to get the extra two seals, at which point the first will have expired. Maybe have the wisdom timer on all released seals be reset on successfully hitting three times in a round, or be proficiency bonus -2, or be linked to concentration?
I say all this from the position of a DM, so it is not a call for extra power for the sake of extra power.
Apart from that minor point, (which I may have misunderstood) it looks like it would be fun to enter combat with. The best thing is, you can add more seals without changing game balance. (Assuming the individual seal is balanced.)
One question about the Blue Wave Seal: The silence seems like it is intended to last for 10 minutes (as per the spell), which would be very overpowered. I would suggest until the start of the monks next turn (in line with the AC drop effect of the Silver Moon Seal.) I like the Blue Seal, it has a good first strike, a likely weak second, and a reduced cost if you can hit with the third strike.
I might let our Kensei have access to the seals for free, just to test them out. I can't see them overpowering him. (Confusing him, probably, but not turning him into a one-man army.)
Good work. And well done to Addlcove for his excellent editing.
I like the extra combat options these seals open up (yeah, I see the irony!) The Seal Release feature seems a little under-powered, with very little chance of unlocking all three within the half wisdom bonus duration allowed, especially as the sub-class seems to want a character more evenly balanced across strength, wisdom, dexterity, and even constitution. (Con is used in the blue wave seal for extra damage.) Even with a wisdom bonus of +4 or +5, that's only 2 turns to get the extra two seals, at which point the first will have expired. Maybe have the wisdom timer on all released seals be reset on successfully hitting three times in a round, or be proficiency bonus -2, or be linked to concentration?
I say all this from the position of a DM, so it is not a call for extra power for the sake of extra power.
Apart from that minor point, (which I may have misunderstood) it looks like it would be fun to enter combat with. The best thing is, you can add more seals without changing game balance. (Assuming the individual seal is balanced.)
One question about the Blue Wave Seal: The silence seems like it is intended to last for 10 minutes (as per the spell), which would be very overpowered. I would suggest until the start of the monks next turn (in line with the AC drop effect of the Silver Moon Seal.) I like the Blue Seal, it has a good first strike, a likely weak second, and a reduced cost if you can hit with the third strike.
I might let our Kensei have access to the seals for free, just to test them out. I can't see them overpowering him. (Confusing him, probably, but not turning him into a one-man army.)
Good work. And well done to Addlcove for his excellent editing.
Hi Plundered, thank you for your insightful and balanced feedback :)
It is indeed true that Seal Release allows very little time, if not outright impossible, to achieve all 3 Seals unlock. I had probably started writing it with one idea, and the changed it halfway through, without properly rewording the initial part. I'll change it to half Proficiency bonus (rounded up), as that would allow for "perfect" time when the feature is unlocked, and a bit more relax with the level growth... or maybe even full Proficiency bonus directly :P Resetting the "timer" with each subsequent opening is also another option, should I go for the half Proficiency. Regarding the relative power of each release, they are a bit more of a situational choice, in my mind, as the second one is effectively useful only in the event of being surrounded by enemies. I also think the 3rd release is adequately powerful, considering the feature gets unlocked at 11th level. Should you have suggestions on how to change/modify these, I am all "eyes".
EDIT: actually, I just changed the 3rd release to: Three Seals - Edge Moon WaveFlower: on a hit, the attack deals additional damage equal to your STR modifier as Fire damage, your CON modifier as bludgeoning damage and WIS modifier as cold damage; furthermore, the attack is considered a critical hit, and deals maximized damage.
A bit more "meat" but not too much to make it unbalanced, imho.
Seals could indeed be added, or even "mixed" to create new ones, should a player make a compelling enough argument and a DM allow :P I wanted a bit more freedom than the more rigid Way of the Closed Fist, to give the idea that while they are similar in basic philosophy, the application is very different. Should more seals be added, Seal Release could potentially need adjustments, as at higher levels (considering the change in the "unlock timer" duration) one could even have more than 3 seals opened at a time.
The silence effect is indeed too strong as it is now. I'll use your suggestion and reduce it to up to the end of the monk's next turn.
If you indeed end up allowing your resident monk to try Seals out, please do share their impression and the outcome of the testing! :)
Really like this one but i can't help but to feel that the level 6 feature is, pardon my french, kinda useless. Since what it does is at higher levels and only at higher levels is to increase your Damage and AC by 1
Really like this one but i can't help but to feel that the level 6 feature is, pardon my french, kinda useless. Since what it does is at higher levels and only at higher levels is to increase your Damage and AC by 1
Hi Quartz! o/
Thank you for your comment. The lvl6 feature was indeed kinda bad, something I noticed when "coding" the subclass into the Homebrew system. I therefore changed it to the following:
Disciplined Blade
By refining your style through battle, you learn how to more effectively use your Blade for both offense and defense. At 6th level you gain the following features:
As a reaction on your turn when wielding your chosen weapon from Initiate of the Blade, you add your Proficiency Bonus to all damage done with it in this turn;
As a reaction on your turn when you would be hit by an weapon, unarmed or natural attack, but before the damage is declared, you can choose to add your Proficiency Bonus to your AC when not wearing any armor. This can effectively make the attack become a miss.
You can use both these effects 3 times per long rest.
This way, I think, it makes it a more interesting and tactical choice.
The way seals work has also slightly changed, to allow for more control on the effects they produce. The class is currently under moderstion, so it should be soon available for review in its new form :)
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Hey noticed it's been a year since the latest replys on this topic are you still around lek im still looking forward to seeing the updated version including the seal changes and lv6 reactions on the main post also i'd like a new fighter subclass to multi with this one
Hey noticed it's been a year since the latest replys on this topic are you still around lek im still looking forward to seeing the updated version including the seal changes and lv6 reactions on the main post also i'd like a new fighter subclass to multi with this one
Hi Destroyer250250 :)
Thank you for the interest! This subclass, together with a few more from my "collection" can be found in the homebrew subclass of DDB, simply filter for author "LeK".
THIS is a direct link to the latest version of the Way of the Blade, which should date back at the earliest to last December. There are still improvements possible, but it should work as intended nonetheless :)
Let me know what you think!
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I think its a great subclass the idea of adding combos and the shortcomings of the kensi is what led me to your creations, there all great reads, actually your really creative could you make a new class for the fighter to fit in well with this one featuring maybe some stances giving buffs if the right conditions are met and you can switch them while resting or mid combat, ect
i also would like to know if you happen to have any custom races ive been looking for something kinda interesting almost like a curse with strengths and weaknesses
I think its a great subclass the idea of adding combos and the shortcomings of the kensi is what led me to your creations, there all great reads, actually your really creative could you make a new class for the fighter to fit in well with this one featuring maybe some stances giving buffs if the right conditions are met and you can switch them while resting or mid combat, ect
i also would like to know if you happen to have any custom races ive been looking for something kinda interesting almost like a curse with strengths and weaknesses
Thank you for the kind words Destroyer :)
I will think about the fighter subclass you mentioned, and I already have a couple of ideas I could explore...
In terms of races, I haven't created any so far, mainly because I find them somewhat harder to balance (Disclaimer: my subclasses might not be balanced either, since I haven't really playtested any, but it feels easier to "get them right", in my mind).
If you want something with a benefit/curse mechanic, I can offer you my Fighter Dusk Warrior subclass as a substitute. It still needs some adjustments (although it is one of the first subclasses I created) but should still be usable and enjoyable as-is.
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I can see how creating a race could be difficult with the passives and balancing i also really like the idea of gaining new racial bonuses as you level like the symic hybrid but...better like the power within your blood awakens
Speaking of the dusk warrior it's most definitly the best fighter subclass ive ever read but the no healing from others makes dipping in it for a few levels into it very dangerous and i kinda wanna only use your stuff because their soooo much more interesting then anything vanilla or other homebrews have to offer from what ive found so far
A combo ive gotta try using your brews is 17 levels of way of the closed fist and 3 from path of blood i mean i haven't tested it but i think it sounds cool so you can definitly make a cool multiclass even if done by accident actually a multi subclass broken into two level 10 parts for different classes like a dual nature kinda thing could be interesting like a ying and yang and using too many abilities from one side of the spectrem could have debuffs causing you switch between your abilites from each frequently almost like two souls fighting over the same body that could still work as i single subclass though
Sorry if i ever offended you Lek i didn't mean to, im still learning stuff about dnd and i now know very few campains make it to level 20 but the idea of your brews alone mixing them together got my a bit excited i should of stopped replying when you said you already had a few ideas on my stances suggestion but i still plan on only using your brews i just wanted more great stuff to read and think about for characters i could one day play and your ideas really spoke to me especially your sorcerers, monks and fighter...i really do hope you do write up a new subclass again i cheak your page often so one day i might see something new to read *gives a half hearted smile*
Sorry if i ever offended you Lek i didn't mean to, im still learning stuff about dnd and i now know very few campains make it to level 20 but the idea of your brews alone mixing them together got my a bit excited i should of stopped replying when you said you already had a few ideas on my stances suggestion but i still plan on only using your brews i just wanted more great stuff to read and think about for characters i could one day play and your ideas really spoke to me especially your sorcerers, monks and fighter...i really do hope you do write up a new subclass again i cheak your page often so one day i might see something new to read *gives a half hearted smile*
Hey Destroyer :)
No offence was ever thrown or taken, life has just been a bit hectic for me lately (not in a bad way, luckily), and I did not have as much time as I would have liked to theories and develop new subclasses/look into possible races ideas.
I must also admit I am in a bit of a "down" period with D&D, as I am looking at other interesting systems that are REALLY different from D&D.
In any case, I failed SPECTACULARLY at replying to your previous comment, thanking you for the kind words on my Dusk Warrior subclass and for the idea of a split subclass.
Dusk Warrior is indeed one of the subclasses I am most proud of, although it has its flaws. It is indeed a concept that does not really lend itself to much multiclassing, as it is meant to be a self-sufficient one.
This is one of the things I noticed in most character options (speaking about my own and the official ones): each one is meant to be taken by itself OR create synergies with other subclasses FOR A SINGLE character.
What I mean with the above is that D&D, for as much as it is a social game, does not really have at its most basic level (the characters) mechanics that interact with each other to the benefit of more than one character. Of course, there are a number of spells that apply statuses or give advantage to the next attack (or disadvantage to specific checks/saves), but they are just "there", with little specific synergy with any other class feature for another class (save for Sneak Attack benefitting from anything giving advantage, but that's just the whole point of the feature).
What I feel is lacking is something along the lines of "when the fighter uses feature X, feature Y from the Ranger gets boosted in this or that way", something more specific and intended to work in synergy SPECIFICALLY with something else from another class, that can help build party tactics and the sense of actually working together to achieve a goal in combat.
Maybe I am looking too much into it, and I am just bothered that the focus seems to be on characters alone rather than party as a whole.
In any case, thank you again for you comments, and for keeping looking at me page even though I am very sparsely present lately. I will look into your suggestion more closely soon :)
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Thank you lek i do hope you come up with something interesting. And i don't think your looking too much into it, synergys are cool maybe two different subclasses can have some kind of combo potential (your X makes Y better is exactly what i like about your monks) but convincing someone to be the yin to your yang can be difficult especially when then have their own ideas of what to play. And if you didn't think about it a lot we wouldn't have the sweet blade and fist combos you have created also what other systemes have you been looking into during your "down" period
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While still fine-tuning and collecting feedback for my first homebrew subclass (Monk Way of the Closed Fist homebrew subclass) I went back to the first idea I had for a homebrew class for the Monk, which is a somewhat revised version of the Kensei, while being most definitely something QUITE different: the Way of the Blade.
Way of the Blade
Initiate of the Blade
Blade Seals
As part of your Attack action on your turn, you can spend 2 Ki points to perform two additional weapon attacks, with your selected weapon, as per the Flurry of Blows feature, but instead activating one of the following Seals:
Second hit - Blossom: on a hit, you gain advantage on your next attack on the target this turn;;
Third hit - Flower: on a hit, you deal additional Fire damage equal to you STR modifier and can move without provoking attacks of opportunity as if you took the Disengage action;
Second hit - Half Moon: on a hit, you deal additional Cold damage equal to you WIS modifier;
Third hit - Full Moon: on a hit, you reduce the target speed by 10 feet and you make the target Blinded on a failed CON saving throw until the end of their next turn (normal Ki save DC);
Second hit - Crashing Wave: on a hit, you deal additional bludgeoning damage equal to your CON modifier;
Third hit - Cleansing Waters: on a hit, you recover 1 Ki point
Disciplined Blade
At level 6, when wielding your chosen weapon from Initiate of the Blade, you can, instead of using STR or DEX, add your Proficiency Bonus to all damage done with it; you still have to use either STR or DEX for the attack roll.
Additionally, you can choose to add your Proficiency Bonus instead of your DEX bonus to your AC when not wearing any armor; you can change which bonus to use during a short rest.
Seal Release
At 11th level, when all 3 hit of a Seal connect, that Seal will be considered unlocked for a number of turns equal to half of your Proficiency Bonus (rounded up). Each subsequent seal release also extends the opening of previous ones, should they be open upon this further release.
By spending 1 Ki point, unlocked Seals will grant one attack you do on your turn additional effects, based on how many Seals are unlocked at the time of the attack.
These additional effects cannot be added to any hit from a Seal Attack, but they can be used on a possible fourth attack remaining in the same turn, right after finishing one Seal.
Two Seals - Edge of the Grassland Clearing: on a hit, you deal additional slashing damage equal to your CON modifier, and inflict you CON modifier slashing damage to all enemies within 10 feet of you if the original attack roll should have hit them were they it's target;
Three Seals - Edge of the Moon Wave Flower: on a hit, the attack deals additional damage equal to your STR modifier as Fire damage, your CON modifier as bludgeoning damage and your WIS modifier as cold damage; furthermore, the attack is considered a critical hit, and deals maximized damage.
One with the Blade
At 17th level, whenever you use the attack action to make an attack with your Blade, you can choose to have advantage on all the attacks on this turn. You can decide to do so only before rolling the first attack roll, and a number of times up to your Proficiency Bonus each long rest.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
What are Full Moon and Ocean Foam supposed to do?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Shoot, I didn't notice the tooltipped fail!
Will fix in immediately, thanks Matthias!
Funny enough (even funnier I did not notice) there is no "Silenced" condition in 5ed... Curious...
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Here we go again :p
Thank you very much, will implement the corrections and clarifications in a minute.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I like the extra combat options these seals open up (yeah, I see the irony!)
The Seal Release feature seems a little under-powered, with very little chance of unlocking all three within the half wisdom bonus duration allowed, especially as the sub-class seems to want a character more evenly balanced across strength, wisdom, dexterity, and even constitution. (Con is used in the blue wave seal for extra damage.) Even with a wisdom bonus of +4 or +5, that's only 2 turns to get the extra two seals, at which point the first will have expired.
Maybe have the wisdom timer on all released seals be reset on successfully hitting three times in a round, or be proficiency bonus -2, or be linked to concentration?
I say all this from the position of a DM, so it is not a call for extra power for the sake of extra power.
Apart from that minor point, (which I may have misunderstood) it looks like it would be fun to enter combat with. The best thing is, you can add more seals without changing game balance. (Assuming the individual seal is balanced.)
One question about the Blue Wave Seal: The silence seems like it is intended to last for 10 minutes (as per the spell), which would be very overpowered. I would suggest until the start of the monks next turn (in line with the AC drop effect of the Silver Moon Seal.) I like the Blue Seal, it has a good first strike, a likely weak second, and a reduced cost if you can hit with the third strike.
I might let our Kensei have access to the seals for free, just to test them out. I can't see them overpowering him. (Confusing him, probably, but not turning him into a one-man army.)
Good work. And well done to Addlcove for his excellent editing.
Roleplaying since Runequest.
Resetting the "timer" with each subsequent opening is also another option, should I go for the half Proficiency.
Regarding the relative power of each release, they are a bit more of a situational choice, in my mind, as the second one is effectively useful only in the event of being surrounded by enemies. I also think the 3rd release is adequately powerful, considering the feature gets unlocked at 11th level.
Should you have suggestions on how to change/modify these, I am all "eyes".
EDIT: actually, I just changed the 3rd release to:
Three Seals - Edge Moon Wave Flower: on a hit, the attack deals additional damage equal to your STR modifier as Fire damage, your CON modifier as bludgeoning damage and WIS modifier as cold damage; furthermore, the attack is considered a critical hit, and deals maximized damage.
I wanted a bit more freedom than the more rigid Way of the Closed Fist, to give the idea that while they are similar in basic philosophy, the application is very different.
Should more seals be added, Seal Release could potentially need adjustments, as at higher levels (considering the change in the "unlock timer" duration) one could even have more than 3 seals opened at a time.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Really like this one but i can't help but to feel that the level 6 feature is, pardon my french, kinda useless.
Since what it does is at higher levels and only at higher levels is to increase your Damage and AC by 1
This way, I think, it makes it a more interesting and tactical choice.
The way seals work has also slightly changed, to allow for more control on the effects they produce. The class is currently under moderstion, so it should be soon available for review in its new form :)
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
That certainly is a big improvement. Can't wait to see what other changes you've made.
Thank you for replying.
And have a great day
Hey noticed it's been a year since the latest replys on this topic are you still around lek im still looking forward to seeing the updated version including the seal changes and lv6 reactions on the main post also i'd like a new fighter subclass to multi with this one
Hi Destroyer250250 :)
Thank you for the interest! This subclass, together with a few more from my "collection" can be found in the homebrew subclass of DDB, simply filter for author "LeK".
THIS is a direct link to the latest version of the Way of the Blade, which should date back at the earliest to last December. There are still improvements possible, but it should work as intended nonetheless :)
Let me know what you think!
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I think its a great subclass the idea of adding combos and the shortcomings of the kensi is what led me to your creations, there all great reads, actually your really creative could you make a new class for the fighter to fit in well with this one featuring maybe some stances giving buffs if the right conditions are met and you can switch them while resting or mid combat, ect
i also would like to know if you happen to have any custom races ive been looking for something kinda interesting almost like a curse with strengths and weaknesses
Thank you for the kind words Destroyer :)
I will think about the fighter subclass you mentioned, and I already have a couple of ideas I could explore...
In terms of races, I haven't created any so far, mainly because I find them somewhat harder to balance (Disclaimer: my subclasses might not be balanced either, since I haven't really playtested any, but it feels easier to "get them right", in my mind).
If you want something with a benefit/curse mechanic, I can offer you my Fighter Dusk Warrior subclass as a substitute. It still needs some adjustments (although it is one of the first subclasses I created) but should still be usable and enjoyable as-is.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I can see how creating a race could be difficult with the passives and balancing i also really like the idea of gaining new racial bonuses as you level like the symic hybrid but...better like the power within your blood awakens
Speaking of the dusk warrior it's most definitly the best fighter subclass ive ever read but the no healing from others makes dipping in it for a few levels into it very dangerous and i kinda wanna only use your stuff because their soooo much more interesting then anything vanilla or other homebrews have to offer from what ive found so far
A combo ive gotta try using your brews is 17 levels of way of the closed fist and 3 from path of blood i mean i haven't tested it but i think it sounds cool so you can definitly make a cool multiclass even if done by accident actually a multi subclass broken into two level 10 parts for different classes like a dual nature kinda thing could be interesting like a ying and yang and using too many abilities from one side of the spectrem could have debuffs causing you switch between your abilites from each frequently almost like two souls fighting over the same body that could still work as i single subclass though
Sorry if i ever offended you Lek i didn't mean to, im still learning stuff about dnd and i now know very few campains make it to level 20 but the idea of your brews alone mixing them together got my a bit excited i should of stopped replying when you said you already had a few ideas on my stances suggestion but i still plan on only using your brews i just wanted more great stuff to read and think about for characters i could one day play and your ideas really spoke to me especially your sorcerers, monks and fighter...i really do hope you do write up a new subclass again i cheak your page often so one day i might see something new to read *gives a half hearted smile*
Hey Destroyer :)
No offence was ever thrown or taken, life has just been a bit hectic for me lately (not in a bad way, luckily), and I did not have as much time as I would have liked to theories and develop new subclasses/look into possible races ideas.
I must also admit I am in a bit of a "down" period with D&D, as I am looking at other interesting systems that are REALLY different from D&D.
In any case, I failed SPECTACULARLY at replying to your previous comment, thanking you for the kind words on my Dusk Warrior subclass and for the idea of a split subclass.
Dusk Warrior is indeed one of the subclasses I am most proud of, although it has its flaws. It is indeed a concept that does not really lend itself to much multiclassing, as it is meant to be a self-sufficient one.
This is one of the things I noticed in most character options (speaking about my own and the official ones): each one is meant to be taken by itself OR create synergies with other subclasses FOR A SINGLE character.
What I mean with the above is that D&D, for as much as it is a social game, does not really have at its most basic level (the characters) mechanics that interact with each other to the benefit of more than one character. Of course, there are a number of spells that apply statuses or give advantage to the next attack (or disadvantage to specific checks/saves), but they are just "there", with little specific synergy with any other class feature for another class (save for Sneak Attack benefitting from anything giving advantage, but that's just the whole point of the feature).
What I feel is lacking is something along the lines of "when the fighter uses feature X, feature Y from the Ranger gets boosted in this or that way", something more specific and intended to work in synergy SPECIFICALLY with something else from another class, that can help build party tactics and the sense of actually working together to achieve a goal in combat.
Maybe I am looking too much into it, and I am just bothered that the focus seems to be on characters alone rather than party as a whole.
In any case, thank you again for you comments, and for keeping looking at me page even though I am very sparsely present lately. I will look into your suggestion more closely soon :)
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Thank you lek i do hope you come up with something interesting. And i don't think your looking too much into it, synergys are cool maybe two different subclasses can have some kind of combo potential (your X makes Y better is exactly what i like about your monks) but convincing someone to be the yin to your yang can be difficult especially when then have their own ideas of what to play. And if you didn't think about it a lot we wouldn't have the sweet blade and fist combos you have created also what other systemes have you been looking into during your "down" period