MY HERO ACADEMY MANGA SPOILERS BELOW - PLEASE AVOID COMMENTING ANY ADDITIONAL MANGA SPOILERS
Hey all!
This is the MANGA SPOILER version 1.5b of a monk subclass/class rework that essentially allows you to play with the abilities that deku has from my hero academia. It sort of functions as a monk/wizard hybrid with many of the monk class abilities for his hand to hand combat alongside access to a decent amount of leveled spells for his other quirks and more unique abilities. Kind of like how the college of swords bard works with access to a bunch of spells levels while also pretty good and unique martial abilities with their bardic flourishes - in this case, instead of bardics, we have ki and monk attacks. I see the subclass functioning as a glass canon, focusing mostly in DEX and INT would let you use tonnnnnnns of good combat options (great movement, lots of martial and ranged offensive options, and even some more unique support options); however, that wouldn't leave much room left for CON so you'd have lower hp and lower chances of maintain concentration on your spells plus you'd have generally lower AC as a monk and the removal of a few monk abilities leaves you more vulnerable to a number of saving throws
The spells are grouped specifically by their corresponding quirk and you can unlock a new quirk category every couple levels in any order you choose.
Additionally, this class uses WIS as its spellcasting modifier. Note, as many new abilities were added to this subclass, a decent amount of the existing monk abilities were removed as shown in the key and level up chart below
I would love any critiques and thoughts you all have!
Since I added so many new features for this subclass, I removed some of the features already included in the Monk class. Also a few of them just didn't really fit the aesthetic I was going for.
--- For Fury of Blows, use BG3 version; BG3 Fury of Blows does not have to be made after an attack or an action like 5e's Fury of Blows does - BG3 version can simply be made as a normal bonus action
The spells that this subclass can learn are categorized by their corresponding quirk type - every couple levels you can unlock a new quirk and gain access to the list of spells it contains (provided you have the spell slot levels to cast them). The first quirk becomes available at level 3 and unlocks the One for All group of spells - this includes several lightning and wind based attacks like thunderwave and gust. After unlocking One for All at level 3, the order of quirks you can unlock every couple levels is up to the player. Other quirk groups include blackwhip (with spells such as lightning lure and telekinesis), smokescreen (with darkness and black tentacles), and so on. Several of the quirks contain passive abilities that are also unlocked once you hit the prereq level for them. Several of these are homebrew abilities that are explained further in the following features. The list of spells each quirk category contains is shown below.
New quirk categories can be unlocked every couple levels. At these levels, choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level.
Any abilities marked as JR Homebrew are explained later in this doc. The rest are linked to corresponding websites with their details.
List of Spells by Quirk Categories
Spells/Quirks (unlock new category of your choice every 3 lvs starting with One for All spells at lv 3)
ravenous void! (must also have smokescreen unlocked)
-
-
IMPORTANT NOTES:
*starred spells can only be cast on self
!for spells marked by exclamation point, you must occupy at least 1 space within the spells area of effect. Otherwise, you lose concentration and the spell fades
For Bigsby's Hand, flavored to act as buff rather than a summon. Apply abilities (clenched fist, forceful hand, grasping hand, interposing hand) to self rather than a summon. Abilities have a range of 35 feet. Using these abilities still uses the hand's stats (str 26, dex 10) - these stats do not apply to any other abilities you have. Ignore spell notes of gaining hit points and AC. Spell ends when concentration breaks or after 1 minute
Some spells taken from the dndbeyond community homebrew list. These spells are noted as "dndbeyond homebrew" under the spell name. Spells only taken with very high community ratings
Spell slot levels are unlocked at the below levels - I just used a slightly modified version of the wizard/bard chart that starts at level 3
Basically ripped right from Bulder's Gate monk class. Rather than dealing radiant damage, however, this deals lightning damage
"Your hands sap the ki from your enemies' bodies. Your unarmed attacks deal an additional 1d4 + Wisdom Modifier lightningdamage."
LEVEL 6
Unlock New Quirk 2
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level.
Unlocking Fa Jin grants the below abilities
Full Cowl (BG3 HOMEBREW)
Another one taken right from Baldur's Gate - unarmed attacks build lightning charges. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks
Lightning courses through you. You have +1 to Attack Rolls and deal an additional 1 Lightning damage.
If you gain 5 charges, they are consumed the next time you deal damage, and you deal an additional 1d8 Lightning damage.
You lose 1 charge per turn.
Unlocking Smokescreen grants the below abilities
Shape Smokescreen (JR HOMEBREW)
At the cost of 2 ki points, spells from the smokescreen category can have their area of effect shaped when cast as long as the area remains within the constraints of the standard spell area of effect - for example, darkness casts a 15 ft radius sphere of darkness; however, the player could choose to shape the darkness spell to be cast as a line of darkness as long as it remains within the 15 ft radius sphere area the spell is usually cast as. When a spell is in a shape different from its standard form, the caster has a -2 penalty to its corresponding concentration checks. Additionally, by expending a bonus action and an additional 2 Ki points, the caster can choose a new space that the spell is currently active on to become the new radius center of the spell and may reshape the spell again from that new space without expending an additional spell slot. Shape Smokescreen can only be used for spells that target a specific space, it cannot be used for spells that target an individual.
Example:
1) use 1 spell slot and 2 ki points to cast darkness in whatever shape you want (let's pick a straight line) provided it fits within the standard spell area of effect (15 ft radius). Since it was cast as a straight line which is not the standard shape of the spell, maintaining this spell has a -2 penalty to concentration checks.
2) you can spend a bonus action and another 2 ki points to pick a new radius center to make a new shape within - the square that is chosen as the new radius center must have also had part of the previous spell shape active on it. Suppose we were to make a 15 ft radius sphere as our new shape - since this is the standard shape of this spell, we would no longer have a -2 penalty to concentration checks maintaining it.
Unlocking Gear Shift grants the below abilities
Step of the Wind - Ally (JR HOMEBREW)
Spend 2 ki points and a reaction to give an ally within sight Step of the Wind for one turn
"You can spend 2 ki points as an action to create a whip of water that shoves and pulls a creature to unbalance it. A creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 1d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend, and you can either knock it prone or pull it up to 25 feet closer to you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't pull it or knock it prone."
"At 3rd level, your mastery of your ki allows you to summon a portion of your astral self. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to summon the arms of your astral self. When you do so, each creature of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take force damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die.
For 10 minutes, these spectral arms hover near your shoulders or surround your arms (your choice). You determine the arms' appearance, and they vanish early if you are incapacitated or die.
While the spectral arms are present, you gain the following benefits:
You can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
You can use the spectral arms to make unarmed strikes.
When you make an unarmed strike with the arms on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
The unarmed strikes you make with the arms can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls, and their damage type is force."
LEVEL 7
Quirk Awareness (PREREQ - must have unlocked the Danger Sense quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
You are immune to any difficult terrain, conditions (such as blindness/restrained), or damage caused by your own quirk spells. This does not apply to any conditions created by others
Choose 1 new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 10
Improved Full Cowl (PREREQ - must have unlocked Fa Jin quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
The lightning charge attack and damage roll buff increases to +2. Burst damage increases to 2(d8) after building 5 charges. Additionally, you no longer lose 1 charge per turn. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks.
LEVEL 11
Unlock New Quirk 4
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 14
Flight (PREREQ - must have unlocked Float quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
Float spells no longer require concentration when cast on self. In exchange, Float spells can only last for a maximum of 30 seconds (5 rounds). When first casting a Float spell, the player can choose whether to cast it as concentration or not.
LEVEL 15
Unlock New Quirk 6
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 17
Awakened Astral Self (PREREQ - must have unlocked the Fa Jin quirk category) - taken from Way of Astral Self Subclass
Starting at 17th level, your connection to your astral self is complete, allowing you to unleash its full potential. As a bonus action, you can spend 5 ki points to summon the arms of your astral self and awaken it for 10 minutes. This awakening ends early if you are incapacitated or die.
While your astral self is awakened, you gain the following benefits.
Armor of the Spirit. You gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class.
Astral Barrage. Whenever you use the Extra Attack feature to attack twice, you can instead attack three times if all the attacks are made with your astral arms.
NOTE: This version of Awakened Astral Self does not utilize the astral visage or body like the version does from the original subclass
LEVEL 18
Perfect Full Cowl (PREREQ - must have unlocked Fa Jin quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
The lightning charge attack and damage roll buff increases to +3. Burst damage increases to 3(d10) after building 5 charges. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks
You can concentrate on 2 quirk spells and add your proficiency bonus to maintaining concentration checks. Make a different concentration check for each spell active
- Harengon race for Lucky Footwork and Hare Trigger (danger sense), plus rabbit hop would just be a good ability
- warcaster feat to help maintain concentration since probs low con
- lucky feat to help with weakness to cha, int, con saving throws
- Hobgoblin for saving race (anime power of friendship)
- Aarakocra or Owlen for flight abilities (remove homebrew Flight) - tho tbh my homebrew Flight ability sounds more balanced than having a overall flight speed
- removed danger sense barb ability (pre req danger sense)
- re-added lv 19 feat
- re-added lv 12 feat
- removed Maneuvering Attack as gear shift ki ability
- removed Saving Face OFA ability - changed Shape Smokescreen to 2 ki points rather than homebrew smokescreen charges
- changed many of the prereq levels to closer represent the normal dnd/monk lv up structure
- removed Transference quirk category including Passing Torch homebrew spell and adjusted unlock quirk levels to match. Idea is to reduce amount of things this class can do (in this case, big variety of buffs to others)
- removed Diamond Soul monk ability and Stillness of Mind monk ability in attempt to balance class. Since the class has a huge amount of offensive options, idea is to make the class more of a glass canon by removing some of its protections against negative effects
- added caveat to Flight passive ability for balance. In exchange for Float spells no longer requiring concentration, Float spells can only last for a maximum of 30 seconds (5 rounds) - optional feature whenever casting a float spell
- added more spells
- removed class shift from wis to int - wis remains as monk modifier, wis as spellcasting ability
- added 2 "way of astral self" ki abilities
- changed Fury of Blows to BG3 version
- slight change to how Shape Smokescreen works, now it needs 2 ki points to shape it at the intial cast
- !for spells marked by exclamation point, you must occupy at least 1 space within the spells area of effect. Otherwise, you lose concentration and the spell fades
- changed spell slots to match wizard chart (with lv 1-2 spells removed)
- buffed all full cowls (kept burst damage at 5 charge build ups, removed "lose 1 charge per turn" from improved full cowl. buffed perfect full cowl burst damage to 3d10
- added shape smokescreen
- added Flight; lv 13 passive ability that makes float spells no longer require concentration
- removed lv 12 feat for balance
- added quirk spell groups Transference and Gear Shift and adjusted "unlock quirk" levels to match
- removed self smokescreen abilities
- removed all parallel processing except for a toned down version at level 20
I didn't read through the whole thing, but you can't slap full caster slots on a class without removing like 90% of its features. It's just that much of a power boost. Look at the class features for Wizards - they literally get nothing from levels 3 to 17 besides the standard ASI/feat progression and their subclass features. If you're worried about balance you need to seriously cut down on the spellcasting, probably to Eldritch Knight/Arcane Trickster levels.
I didn't read through the whole thing, but you can't slap full caster slots on a class without removing like 90% of its features. It's just that much of a power boost. Look at the class features for Wizards - they literally get nothing from levels 3 to 17 besides the standard ASI/feat progression and their subclass features. If you're worried about balance you need to seriously cut down on the spellcasting, probably to Eldritch Knight/Arcane Trickster levels.
Hmmm, what about the college of swords bard? They were a big inspiration for this subclass
They get some really good martial/ranged weapon options with their flourishes (extra damage, extra ac, extra movement), an extra attack at lv6, a fighting style; honestly, most of the things that I'd expect from a good martial class. But at the same time, they have full access to lv1-9 spells slots with the same lv progression as any other bard or wizard
I was worried about exactly your point when I was looking at subclasses like the way of four elements monk or eldritch knight because ya, they have pretty limited spell casting abilities. But when I was looking at the college of swords bard, they kind of just have it all. They're able to use spell slots for their spells and bardics for their weapon attacks (similar to this subclass using spell slots for spells and ki for unarmed attacks). And the swords bard spell list is honestly pretty big with support buffs and debuffs, offensive spells, even heals.
MY HERO ACADEMY MANGA SPOILERS BELOW - PLEASE AVOID COMMENTING ANY ADDITIONAL MANGA SPOILERS
Hey all!
This is the MANGA SPOILER version 1.5b of a monk subclass/class rework that essentially allows you to play with the abilities that deku has from my hero academia. It sort of functions as a monk/wizard hybrid with many of the monk class abilities for his hand to hand combat alongside access to a decent amount of leveled spells for his other quirks and more unique abilities. Kind of like how the college of swords bard works with access to a bunch of spells levels while also pretty good and unique martial abilities with their bardic flourishes - in this case, instead of bardics, we have ki and monk attacks. I see the subclass functioning as a glass canon, focusing mostly in DEX and INT would let you use tonnnnnnns of good combat options (great movement, lots of martial and ranged offensive options, and even some more unique support options); however, that wouldn't leave much room left for CON so you'd have lower hp and lower chances of maintain concentration on your spells plus you'd have generally lower AC as a monk and the removal of a few monk abilities leaves you more vulnerable to a number of saving throws
The spells are grouped specifically by their corresponding quirk and you can unlock a new quirk category every couple levels in any order you choose.
Additionally, this class uses WIS as its spellcasting modifier. Note, as many new abilities were added to this subclass, a decent amount of the existing monk abilities were removed as shown in the key and level up chart below
I would love any critiques and thoughts you all have!
You can also view this subclass via an excel doc here - must be on desktop, does not work for mobile (this contains more info such as previous version notes, alternative versions, etc.)
LEVEL 1
Monk Class Rework/Removed Features
Since I added so many new features for this subclass, I removed some of the features already included in the Monk class. Also a few of them just didn't really fit the aesthetic I was going for.
MONK FEATURES REMOVED
lv 7 stillness of mind
lv 10 purity of body
lv 13 tongue of the sun and moon
lv 15 timeless body
lv 14 diamond soul
lv 18 empty body
lv 20 perfect self
LEVEL 1
Unlock Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts
LEVEL 2
Monk Abilities (slight change from base class):
ki, unarmored movement
--- For Fury of Blows, use BG3 version; BG3 Fury of Blows does not have to be made after an attack or an action like 5e's Fury of Blows does - BG3 version can simply be made as a normal bonus action
LEVEL 3
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
deflect missiles
LEVEL 3
Spellcasting/Unlock New Quirk (One For All)
The spells that this subclass can learn are categorized by their corresponding quirk type - every couple levels you can unlock a new quirk and gain access to the list of spells it contains (provided you have the spell slot levels to cast them). The first quirk becomes available at level 3 and unlocks the One for All group of spells - this includes several lightning and wind based attacks like thunderwave and gust. After unlocking One for All at level 3, the order of quirks you can unlock every couple levels is up to the player. Other quirk groups include blackwhip (with spells such as lightning lure and telekinesis), smokescreen (with darkness and black tentacles), and so on. Several of the quirks contain passive abilities that are also unlocked once you hit the prereq level for them. Several of these are homebrew abilities that are explained further in the following features. The list of spells each quirk category contains is shown below.
New quirk categories can be unlocked every couple levels. At these levels, choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level.
Any abilities marked as JR Homebrew are explained later in this doc. The rest are linked to corresponding websites with their details.
List of Spells by Quirk Categories
IMPORTANT NOTES:
*starred spells can only be cast on self
!for spells marked by exclamation point, you must occupy at least 1 space within the spells area of effect. Otherwise, you lose concentration and the spell fades
For Bigsby's Hand, flavored to act as buff rather than a summon. Apply abilities (clenched fist, forceful hand, grasping hand, interposing hand) to self rather than a summon. Abilities have a range of 35 feet. Using these abilities still uses the hand's stats (str 26, dex 10) - these stats do not apply to any other abilities you have. Ignore spell notes of gaining hit points and AC. Spell ends when concentration breaks or after 1 minute
Vast majority of spells taken from DndBeyond list
Some spells taken from the dndbeyond community homebrew list. These spells are noted as "dndbeyond homebrew" under the spell name. Spells only taken with very high community ratings
Spell slot levels are unlocked at the below levels - I just used a slightly modified version of the wizard/bard chart that starts at level 3
Known
LEVEL 4
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
feat, slow fall
LEVEL 5
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
extra attack, stunning strike
LEVEL 6
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
ki empowered strikes
LEVEL 6
Monastic Tradition Subclass Feature (Manifestation of Soul)
Basically ripped right from Bulder's Gate monk class. Rather than dealing radiant damage, however, this deals lightning damage
"Your hands sap the ki from your enemies' bodies. Your unarmed attacks deal an additional 1d4 + Wisdom Modifier lightning damage."
LEVEL 6
Unlock New Quirk 2
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level.
Unlocking Fa Jin grants the below abilities
Full Cowl (BG3 HOMEBREW)
Another one taken right from Baldur's Gate - unarmed attacks build lightning charges. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks
Unlocking Smokescreen grants the below abilities
Shape Smokescreen (JR HOMEBREW)
At the cost of 2 ki points, spells from the smokescreen category can have their area of effect shaped when cast as long as the area remains within the constraints of the standard spell area of effect - for example, darkness casts a 15 ft radius sphere of darkness; however, the player could choose to shape the darkness spell to be cast as a line of darkness as long as it remains within the 15 ft radius sphere area the spell is usually cast as. When a spell is in a shape different from its standard form, the caster has a -2 penalty to its corresponding concentration checks. Additionally, by expending a bonus action and an additional 2 Ki points, the caster can choose a new space that the spell is currently active on to become the new radius center of the spell and may reshape the spell again from that new space without expending an additional spell slot. Shape Smokescreen can only be used for spells that target a specific space, it cannot be used for spells that target an individual.
Example:
1) use 1 spell slot and 2 ki points to cast darkness in whatever shape you want (let's pick a straight line) provided it fits within the standard spell area of effect (15 ft radius). Since it was cast as a straight line which is not the standard shape of the spell, maintaining this spell has a -2 penalty to concentration checks.
2) you can spend a bonus action and another 2 ki points to pick a new radius center to make a new shape within - the square that is chosen as the new radius center must have also had part of the previous spell shape active on it. Suppose we were to make a 15 ft radius sphere as our new shape - since this is the standard shape of this spell, we would no longer have a -2 penalty to concentration checks maintaining it.
Unlocking Gear Shift grants the below abilities
Step of the Wind - Ally (JR HOMEBREW)
Spend 2 ki points and a reaction to give an ally within sight Step of the Wind for one turn
Unlocking Blackwhip grants the below abilities
Water Whip - taken from the monk way of 4 elements subclass
Taken from the monk way of 4 elements subclass
"You can spend 2 ki points as an action to create a whip of water that shoves and pulls a creature to unbalance it. A creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 1d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend, and you can either knock it prone or pull it up to 25 feet closer to you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't pull it or knock it prone."
Arms of Astral Self - taken from monk way of astral self subclass
"At 3rd level, your mastery of your ki allows you to summon a portion of your astral self. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to summon the arms of your astral self. When you do so, each creature of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take force damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die.
For 10 minutes, these spectral arms hover near your shoulders or surround your arms (your choice). You determine the arms' appearance, and they vanish early if you are incapacitated or die.
While the spectral arms are present, you gain the following benefits:
LEVEL 7
Quirk Awareness (PREREQ - must have unlocked the Danger Sense quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
You are immune to any difficult terrain, conditions (such as blindness/restrained), or damage caused by your own quirk spells. This does not apply to any conditions created by others
LEVEL 8
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
feat
LEVEL 9
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
unarmored movement improvement
LEVEL 9
Unlock New Quirk 3
Choose 1 new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 10
Improved Full Cowl (PREREQ - must have unlocked Fa Jin quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
The lightning charge attack and damage roll buff increases to +2. Burst damage increases to 2(d8) after building 5 charges. Additionally, you no longer lose 1 charge per turn. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks.
LEVEL 11
Unlock New Quirk 4
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 12
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
feat
LEVEL 13
Unlock New Quirk 5
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 14
Flight (PREREQ - must have unlocked Float quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
Float spells no longer require concentration when cast on self. In exchange, Float spells can only last for a maximum of 30 seconds (5 rounds). When first casting a Float spell, the player can choose whether to cast it as concentration or not.
LEVEL 15
Unlock New Quirk 6
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 16
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
feat
LEVEL 17
Unlock New Quirk 7
Choose a new quirk category to unlock and gain the corresponding spells provided you have the spell levels to cast them. Unlocking a quirk also retroactively grants any abilities that you would have learned if taking that quirk at a lower level
LEVEL 17
Awakened Astral Self (PREREQ - must have unlocked the Fa Jin quirk category) - taken from Way of Astral Self Subclass
Starting at 17th level, your connection to your astral self is complete, allowing you to unleash its full potential. As a bonus action, you can spend 5 ki points to summon the arms of your astral self and awaken it for 10 minutes. This awakening ends early if you are incapacitated or die.
While your astral self is awakened, you gain the following benefits.
Armor of the Spirit. You gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class.
Astral Barrage. Whenever you use the Extra Attack feature to attack twice, you can instead attack three times if all the attacks are made with your astral arms.
NOTE: This version of Awakened Astral Self does not utilize the astral visage or body like the version does from the original subclass
LEVEL 18
Perfect Full Cowl (PREREQ - must have unlocked Fa Jin quirk category) JR HOMEBREW
The lightning charge attack and damage roll buff increases to +3. Burst damage increases to 3(d10) after building 5 charges. lightning attack roll buffs, damage roll buffs, and burst damage only apply to unarmed attacks
LEVEL 19
Monk Abilities (unchanged from base class):
feat
LEVEL 20
Parallel Processing JR HOMEBREW
You can concentrate on 2 quirk spells and add your proficiency bonus to maintaining concentration checks. Make a different concentration check for each spell active
Build Recommendations
- take Alert feat for danger sense
- take Sentinal feat for gear shift
- take Martial Adept feat for Maneuvering Attack (gear shift) + 1 other
- Harengon race for Lucky Footwork and Hare Trigger (danger sense), plus rabbit hop would just be a good ability
- warcaster feat to help maintain concentration since probs low con
- lucky feat to help with weakness to cha, int, con saving throws
- Hobgoblin for saving race (anime power of friendship)
- Aarakocra or Owlen for flight abilities (remove homebrew Flight) - tho tbh my homebrew Flight ability sounds more balanced than having a overall flight speed
Change Log from Previous Versions
changes from v1.4
- slow fall removed as float ability
- slow fall re-added as normal monk level up ability
- removed Alert feat at lv 10 (prereq danger sense)
- removed Sentinel feat at lv 11 (pre req gear shift)
- removed danger sense barb ability (pre req danger sense)
- re-added lv 19 feat
- re-added lv 12 feat
- removed Maneuvering Attack as gear shift ki ability
- removed Saving Face OFA ability - changed Shape Smokescreen to 2 ki points rather than homebrew smokescreen charges
- changed many of the prereq levels to closer represent the normal dnd/monk lv up structure
- removed Transference quirk category including Passing Torch homebrew spell and adjusted unlock quirk levels to match. Idea is to reduce amount of things this class can do (in this case, big variety of buffs to others)
- removed Diamond Soul monk ability and Stillness of Mind monk ability in attempt to balance class. Since the class has a huge amount of offensive options, idea is to make the class more of a glass canon by removing some of its protections against negative effects
- added caveat to Flight passive ability for balance. In exchange for Float spells no longer requiring concentration, Float spells can only last for a maximum of 30 seconds (5 rounds) - optional feature whenever casting a float spell
- added more spells
- removed class shift from wis to int - wis remains as monk modifier, wis as spellcasting ability
- added 2 "way of astral self" ki abilities
- changed Fury of Blows to BG3 version
- slight change to how Shape Smokescreen works, now it needs 2 ki points to shape it at the intial cast
Changes from 1.2
- added more spells
- !for spells marked by exclamation point, you must occupy at least 1 space within the spells area of effect. Otherwise, you lose concentration and the spell fades
- changed spell slots to match wizard chart (with lv 1-2 spells removed)
- buffed all full cowls (kept burst damage at 5 charge build ups, removed "lose 1 charge per turn" from improved full cowl. buffed perfect full cowl burst damage to 3d10
- added shape smokescreen
- added Flight; lv 13 passive ability that makes float spells no longer require concentration
- removed lv 12 feat for balance
- added quirk spell groups Transference and Gear Shift and adjusted "unlock quirk" levels to match
- removed self smokescreen abilities
- removed all parallel processing except for a toned down version at level 20
I didn't read through the whole thing, but you can't slap full caster slots on a class without removing like 90% of its features. It's just that much of a power boost. Look at the class features for Wizards - they literally get nothing from levels 3 to 17 besides the standard ASI/feat progression and their subclass features. If you're worried about balance you need to seriously cut down on the spellcasting, probably to Eldritch Knight/Arcane Trickster levels.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Hmmm, what about the college of swords bard? They were a big inspiration for this subclass
They get some really good martial/ranged weapon options with their flourishes (extra damage, extra ac, extra movement), an extra attack at lv6, a fighting style; honestly, most of the things that I'd expect from a good martial class. But at the same time, they have full access to lv1-9 spells slots with the same lv progression as any other bard or wizard
I was worried about exactly your point when I was looking at subclasses like the way of four elements monk or eldritch knight because ya, they have pretty limited spell casting abilities. But when I was looking at the college of swords bard, they kind of just have it all. They're able to use spell slots for their spells and bardics for their weapon attacks (similar to this subclass using spell slots for spells and ki for unarmed attacks). And the swords bard spell list is honestly pretty big with support buffs and debuffs, offensive spells, even heals.