Hello, everyone! Attached below is the Revised Monk class. The changes that I made to the class were a few quality-of-life improvements to the class, since the monk has often been cited as an underpowered class in dnd5e. Tell me what you think of the Revised Monk, and let me know of any changes that you might like me to make to make it more balanced and enjoyable.
These are the differences between the official dnd5e monk and my Revised Monk:
My Revised Monk has proficiency in scimitars.
The bonus action unarmed strike does not rely on making an attack action on that turn.
The Martial Arts Die is a 1d4 at 1st level, a 1d6 at 3rd level, a 1d8 at 9th level, a 1d10 at 13th level, and a 1d12 at 17th level.
The Revised Monk gains the Ki feature at 1st level, and has 2 ki points. The Revised Monk always has 1 more ki point at every level than the official monk (i.e. at 6th level the Revised Monk has 7 ki points, compared to the official monk, which only has 6). At 1st level, the Revised Monk only has Flurry of Blows. Like the bonus action unarmed strike, this also does not rely on the attack action.
At 2nd level the Revised Monk gains the Patient Defense and Step of the Wind features, which are unaltered.
At 9th level, the Unarmored Movement Improvement feature allows the Revised Monk to run on water and to run on vertical walls, like the official monk. In addition, the Revised Monk's movement does not get impeded by difficult terrain.
At 10th level, the Revised Monk gains Heightened Focus, which is a brand-new feature for the monk. Heightened Focus, allows the Revised Monk to expend 2 ki points instead of 1 point for the 3 ki effects to gain additional benefits (3 unarmed strikes, disengage and dodge, disengage and dash).
I don't like moving ki to first level. Almost all classes get something significant at 2nd level. Clerics get channel divinity, druids get wildshape, fighters get Action Surge, half casters get fighting styles and spellcasting, wizards get their school, sorcerers get sorcery points, and warlocks get a 2nd slot, and rogues get cunning action.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
At 1st level, the Monk only has 1 ki point. This prevents the monk from being too powerful right at 1st level. At 2nd level, the number of ki points jumps to 3, and then the ki point progression is the same as the original Revised Monk going forward.
The 14th level feature Diamond Soul now requires 2 ki points to reroll a failed saving throw, instead of 1 ki point. The first version of the Revised Monk made it that the reroll was too inexpensive.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
This is a moot point. Almost no classes get anything fun at first level. Fighters don't have action surge, warlocks only have one slot, etc.
Barbarians get Rage, Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasters get spellcasting, Fighters get second wind, rogues get Sneak Attack. There are plenty of fun features that other classes get at 1st level.
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Hello, everyone! Attached below is the Revised Monk class. The changes that I made to the class were a few quality-of-life improvements to the class, since the monk has often been cited as an underpowered class in dnd5e. Tell me what you think of the Revised Monk, and let me know of any changes that you might like me to make to make it more balanced and enjoyable.
Link: Revised_Monk
These are the differences between the official dnd5e monk and my Revised Monk:
My Revised Monk has proficiency in scimitars.
The bonus action unarmed strike does not rely on making an attack action on that turn.
The Martial Arts Die is a 1d4 at 1st level, a 1d6 at 3rd level, a 1d8 at 9th level, a 1d10 at 13th level, and a 1d12 at 17th level.
The Revised Monk gains the Ki feature at 1st level, and has 2 ki points. The Revised Monk always has 1 more ki point at every level than the official monk (i.e. at 6th level the Revised Monk has 7 ki points, compared to the official monk, which only has 6). At 1st level, the Revised Monk only has Flurry of Blows. Like the bonus action unarmed strike, this also does not rely on the attack action.
At 2nd level the Revised Monk gains the Patient Defense and Step of the Wind features, which are unaltered.
At 9th level, the Unarmored Movement Improvement feature allows the Revised Monk to run on water and to run on vertical walls, like the official monk. In addition, the Revised Monk's movement does not get impeded by difficult terrain.
At 10th level, the Revised Monk gains Heightened Focus, which is a brand-new feature for the monk. Heightened Focus, allows the Revised Monk to expend 2 ki points instead of 1 point for the 3 ki effects to gain additional benefits (3 unarmed strikes, disengage and dodge, disengage and dash).
Pay attention to these features and feel free to tell me if you think that are balanced or not:
2 ki points at level 1. For balance purposes, I could have the monk have 1 ki point at level 1, and then for it to jump to 3 ki points at level 2.
Martial Arts Die scaling. Is a 1d6 at 3rd level too soon? Should it come later, perhaps at 5th level?
Should I limit Stunning Strike to once per turn, or is it balanced as it is?
Is Heightened Focus balanced as it is? Should I increase the ki cost, or should I limit the number of times the Revised Monk can use it?
You do realize that they updated monk in 5.5E and it got way better
I don't like moving ki to first level. Almost all classes get something significant at 2nd level. Clerics get channel divinity, druids get wildshape, fighters get Action Surge, half casters get fighting styles and spellcasting, wizards get their school, sorcerers get sorcery points, and warlocks get a 2nd slot, and rogues get cunning action.
I realize that, but the power level of the monk in 5.5E is TOO powerful for 5e. This Monk revision is not for 5.5E, it's for 5e.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
Hello, again! I have updated the Revised Monk to make it more balanced across all levels. Tell me what you this of this updated revision.
Link: Revised_Monk_v2
Changes:
At 1st level, the Monk only has 1 ki point. This prevents the monk from being too powerful right at 1st level. At 2nd level, the number of ki points jumps to 3, and then the ki point progression is the same as the original Revised Monk going forward.
The 14th level feature Diamond Soul now requires 2 ki points to reroll a failed saving throw, instead of 1 ki point. The first version of the Revised Monk made it that the reroll was too inexpensive.
Would it be better for me to move the 1d6 martial arts die improvement to 5th level instead of 3rd for the Revised Monk?
I know this would be weird, but could it be even better to have it at 4th level?
This is a moot point. Almost no classes get anything fun at first level. Fighters don't have action surge, warlocks only have one slot, etc.
Barbarians get Rage, Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasters get spellcasting, Fighters get second wind, rogues get Sneak Attack. There are plenty of fun features that other classes get at 1st level.