There is still plenty of stuff to fix and tweak, and probably even more grammar/formatting errors to correct, but I got the general idea of what I am aiming for out there. As I stated on the page for it I made this because Kensei doesn't really give off a samurai vibe, it seems more like a martial artists who occasionally swings a sword not to mention I find the Kensei features a bit underwhelming except for the one I basically lifted for level 6 to let them overcome resistances. And the Samurai subclass that does exist doesn't really give off the vibe I wanted which is more like the fantastical Samurai wanderer wearing just a kimono and a katana and throwing out a bunch of sword strikes in a flash. The fighter variant can launch a ton of attacks but only at late levels and only after using up the action surge you only get 1 or 2 of per long rest.
I wanted to get some feedback/suggestions on this so I could get a better feel for what it may be lacking/what might be too op. The main things I have an eye on are the damage bonus from Riddle of Steel and the Body and Blade as One feature. Though I would like to keep some bonus to damage because I envision this as a much more offensive oriented Monk subclass.
First I would like to point out you already can't benefit from extra attacks with a readied action.
Other than that, everything seemed mostly fine. I have minor concerns with the flat damage modifiers, and think it could benefit from dice damage instead (dice get doubled in crit, flat mods do not, plus dice are fun to roll).
Oh really? thanks for letting me know, toss it on the growing list of changes to add. I have to alter that section anyways so that folks know you still get your turn as normal when you take advantage of that feature.
I agree with you on the flat damage mods although its cause by 11th level if you used riddle of steel you would get a flat 9/10 damage on each flurry attack ( +4 from proficiency and +5 or 6 from adding half your monk level to the flurry damage when using riddle of steel) even for 4 ki points that seemed like a lot of damage you could put out in a turn just for hitting the enemy since you get 2 attacks and then the 2 flurry attacks.
For the 6th level feature that adds your proficiency bonus to your flurry damage I am considering changing to either you add another martial arts die to the damage of the flurry of steel attacks OR you add a martial arts die to the damage of your normal weapon attacks. (possibly making it cost 1 ki to do this). Which seems better?
I was also thinking of changing Riddle of steel to be "use 3 additional ki points to give yourself advantage and you get to add another martial arts die to the damage (making it 3d8 when you earn this feature since it combines with the 6th level feature) does that sound good?
Glad to know it didn't have any glaring issues, initially thought I had given it too much goodies. Much appreciated!
Adding WIS mod to all damage? a little bit of smaller bonus but I guess it is on par with what Kensei gets at that level and it won't cost a Ki point to add that damage in this case. Makes sense thematically too since you are infusing the blade with ki.
As for cutting wind, not sure what else I can do with it, I would like to keep it as something you can use extra ki to add something to Step of the Wind. Maybe turn it into something that can be used for defense/utility based on which way you use it since it allows you to either use the disengage or dash action?
Maybe something like "When using Step of Wind you can use 1 additional ki to grant an additional benefit based on what bonus action you take with Step of Wind:
Disengage: You gain +2 AC until your next turn (the idea being you have decided to break off from your enemy and defend yourself when they decide to chase you)
Dash:You gain advantage on the next attack you make (Basically moving so fast you catch the enemy off guard)
Also, something I noticed while going in and fixing some grammar and wording errors is that the level 3 feature. Flurry of Steel doesn't really have any mechanical implications, it is mostly a flavor change to Flurry of Blows. Where it is portrayed as a series of really quick strikes with your weapon instead of your fists. Not sure what I can/will add to it, maybe making it so you can use your weapon dice instead of the Martial Arts die. Would give you a massive early game damage boost with a longsword that peters out in the midrange of levels. That sound fair?
Howdy everyone,
As stated in the title I recently made a Samurai subclass for Monk called "Way of Flashing Steel" which you can find here:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/101873-way-of-flashing-steel-samurai
There is still plenty of stuff to fix and tweak, and probably even more grammar/formatting errors to correct, but I got the general idea of what I am aiming for out there. As I stated on the page for it I made this because Kensei doesn't really give off a samurai vibe, it seems more like a martial artists who occasionally swings a sword not to mention I find the Kensei features a bit underwhelming except for the one I basically lifted for level 6 to let them overcome resistances. And the Samurai subclass that does exist doesn't really give off the vibe I wanted which is more like the fantastical Samurai wanderer wearing just a kimono and a katana and throwing out a bunch of sword strikes in a flash. The fighter variant can launch a ton of attacks but only at late levels and only after using up the action surge you only get 1 or 2 of per long rest.
I wanted to get some feedback/suggestions on this so I could get a better feel for what it may be lacking/what might be too op. The main things I have an eye on are the damage bonus from Riddle of Steel and the Body and Blade as One feature. Though I would like to keep some bonus to damage because I envision this as a much more offensive oriented Monk subclass.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/101873-way-of-flashing-steel-samurai - Homebrew Monk subclass.
First I would like to point out you already can't benefit from extra attacks with a readied action.
Other than that, everything seemed mostly fine. I have minor concerns with the flat damage modifiers, and think it could benefit from dice damage instead (dice get doubled in crit, flat mods do not, plus dice are fun to roll).
Oh really? thanks for letting me know, toss it on the growing list of changes to add. I have to alter that section anyways so that folks know you still get your turn as normal when you take advantage of that feature.
I agree with you on the flat damage mods although its cause by 11th level if you used riddle of steel you would get a flat 9/10 damage on each flurry attack ( +4 from proficiency and +5 or 6 from adding half your monk level to the flurry damage when using riddle of steel) even for 4 ki points that seemed like a lot of damage you could put out in a turn just for hitting the enemy since you get 2 attacks and then the 2 flurry attacks.
For the 6th level feature that adds your proficiency bonus to your flurry damage I am considering changing to either you add another martial arts die to the damage of the flurry of steel attacks OR you add a martial arts die to the damage of your normal weapon attacks. (possibly making it cost 1 ki to do this). Which seems better?
I was also thinking of changing Riddle of steel to be "use 3 additional ki points to give yourself advantage and you get to add another martial arts die to the damage (making it 3d8 when you earn this feature since it combines with the 6th level feature) does that sound good?
Glad to know it didn't have any glaring issues, initially thought I had given it too much goodies. Much appreciated!
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/101873-way-of-flashing-steel-samurai - Homebrew Monk subclass.
I think the level 6 bonus could be WIS mod, and riddle of steel could be an additional martial arts die.
I'm also not a big fan of cutting wind as is. I don't think it will be that useful.
Adding WIS mod to all damage? a little bit of smaller bonus but I guess it is on par with what Kensei gets at that level and it won't cost a Ki point to add that damage in this case. Makes sense thematically too since you are infusing the blade with ki.
As for cutting wind, not sure what else I can do with it, I would like to keep it as something you can use extra ki to add something to Step of the Wind. Maybe turn it into something that can be used for defense/utility based on which way you use it since it allows you to either use the disengage or dash action?
Maybe something like "When using Step of Wind you can use 1 additional ki to grant an additional benefit based on what bonus action you take with Step of Wind:
Disengage: You gain +2 AC until your next turn (the idea being you have decided to break off from your enemy and defend yourself when they decide to chase you)
Dash: You gain advantage on the next attack you make (Basically moving so fast you catch the enemy off guard)
Also, something I noticed while going in and fixing some grammar and wording errors is that the level 3 feature. Flurry of Steel doesn't really have any mechanical implications, it is mostly a flavor change to Flurry of Blows. Where it is portrayed as a series of really quick strikes with your weapon instead of your fists. Not sure what I can/will add to it, maybe making it so you can use your weapon dice instead of the Martial Arts die. Would give you a massive early game damage boost with a longsword that peters out in the midrange of levels. That sound fair?
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/subclasses/101873-way-of-flashing-steel-samurai - Homebrew Monk subclass.