This ability feels overpowered for level 6 to me, but it is a distinct class feature and this all may be intentional!
It specifies that as a bonus action, the monk can teleport up to 60 feet from one place of dim light or darkness to another place of dim light or darkness.
To me, this means the player can automatically escape being grappled or restrained without an opposing strength check.
They can teleport out of a trap intended to restrain their movement, such as a bear trap or manacles around their leg.
The player can now climb or descend 60 feet without a climb check.
The player can use their bonus action to avoid opportunity attacks as teleporting does not incur them. They were previously planning on taking the mobile feat, or swashbucker rogue multiclass, otherwise.
The player can teleport through glass windows, out from behind bars, or into or out of a locked room by simply looking through a keyhole. Since it isn't magic, not even an anti-magic field will block it.
If I were able to place one restriction, I would not let the player teleport through solid objects. Does this all sound right to other DMs?
Well, it is an unoccupied space that you can see , so some climbing shennanigans are mitigated. And it is not common for players to be in large areas of dim light or darkness, and even if they try to cast Darkness on themselves first as an action with 2 ki points, they aren't (normally) able to see through it so can't see a dark space within 60 feet.
Now, with Warlock and Devil Sight, running around in combat with a permanent Darkness on yourself becomes much more viable and likely to lead to easy teleportation. But that's a MAD multiclass that involves significant investment from the player, so not that big of a deal.
It is powerful, but I don't feel like it's TOO powerful. The dim/dark restriction and the requirement to see where you are jumping to keep the options reasonable.
Yeah, it's completely intentional. Is it powerful? Sure, teleportation always is. Is it more powerful than most other Monastic Tradition level 6 features? Yeah, it is, but it's also the bread & butter of Shadow Monk builds. Is it more powerful than it should be? Nah. Casters can get Misty Step at 3rd level. Yes, it is shorter range and consumes resources to use, but it also doesn't have the hard-line restriction of requiring dim/no light in order to function.
Would I recommend anything be altered? No, I really wouldn't, and I don't even play as or with a Shadow Monk. You still have to see where you're going, so you can't teleport through opaque barriers, and a Blinded Monk can't teleport at all. The Monk still has to be able to actually use the feature, so any of the conditions that prevent a creature from taking any actions shuts it down completely.
If you (as the DM) want to make it harder for your player to use this feature, don't make their feature worse--just develop more difficult challenges & scenarios: limit the amount of dim/no light available, put more sources of bright light in the area, bring more creatures with spells/abilities/equipment that produce bright light, bring more creatures with the ability to impose those conditions on them, etc.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
If you feel like your players are overusing shadow step and it's making combat feel stale, then adjust your monsters accordingly to keep encounters fresh. Instead of a club in its hand, have the monster run up swinging a torch at the player. Now you have a club that produces bright light. As an aside, in my campaign, when players wanted to capture and interrogate a monster who had the shadow step feature, they figured out how he was using it and tied him up with a bag over his head. Can't see, can't shadow step.
Yeah, I don't think it is a problem. It requires the monk to be in dim light or darkness and be able to see another area of dim light or darkness within range. The requirements are way stricter than misty step.
I would chime in with the rest saying it is not overpowered. It is a fun flavorful and powerful movement ability. However ..
- It requires dim light or darkness. Shine a light on that monk and they are going no where. Have a torch or other light source and the monk won't be teleporting near you. Daytime, outdoors, in a well lit keep, city street or dungeon and it doesn't work. If the monk needs to carry a light source ... then it doesn't work. A human shadow monk has to spend 2 ki to cast darkvision on themselves or find a magic item.
- It is a movement ability. It costs the monk their bonus action. No flurry of blows. No bonus action dodge. No martial arts attack. Yes, it lets them avoid op attacks but many monks will take the mobile feat anyway. It increases the character versatility but not their "power" level in terms of defeating foes. It can allow the monk to get a creatures in the back and sometimes lock down spellcasters. It can also make them harder to catch but that is a purely defensive ability and is mitigated by the bad guys carrying a single torch.
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This ability feels overpowered for level 6 to me, but it is a distinct class feature and this all may be intentional!
It specifies that as a bonus action, the monk can teleport up to 60 feet from one place of dim light or darkness to another place of dim light or darkness.
To me, this means the player can automatically escape being grappled or restrained without an opposing strength check.
They can teleport out of a trap intended to restrain their movement, such as a bear trap or manacles around their leg.
The player can now climb or descend 60 feet without a climb check.
The player can use their bonus action to avoid opportunity attacks as teleporting does not incur them. They were previously planning on taking the mobile feat, or swashbucker rogue multiclass, otherwise.
The player can teleport through glass windows, out from behind bars, or into or out of a locked room by simply looking through a keyhole. Since it isn't magic, not even an anti-magic field will block it.
If I were able to place one restriction, I would not let the player teleport through solid objects. Does this all sound right to other DMs?
Well, it is an unoccupied space that you can see , so some climbing shennanigans are mitigated. And it is not common for players to be in large areas of dim light or darkness, and even if they try to cast Darkness on themselves first as an action with 2 ki points, they aren't (normally) able to see through it so can't see a dark space within 60 feet.
Now, with Warlock and Devil Sight, running around in combat with a permanent Darkness on yourself becomes much more viable and likely to lead to easy teleportation. But that's a MAD multiclass that involves significant investment from the player, so not that big of a deal.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
It is powerful, but I don't feel like it's TOO powerful. The dim/dark restriction and the requirement to see where you are jumping to keep the options reasonable.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yeah, it's completely intentional. Is it powerful? Sure, teleportation always is. Is it more powerful than most other Monastic Tradition level 6 features? Yeah, it is, but it's also the bread & butter of Shadow Monk builds. Is it more powerful than it should be? Nah. Casters can get Misty Step at 3rd level. Yes, it is shorter range and consumes resources to use, but it also doesn't have the hard-line restriction of requiring dim/no light in order to function.
Would I recommend anything be altered? No, I really wouldn't, and I don't even play as or with a Shadow Monk. You still have to see where you're going, so you can't teleport through opaque barriers, and a Blinded Monk can't teleport at all. The Monk still has to be able to actually use the feature, so any of the conditions that prevent a creature from taking any actions shuts it down completely.
If you (as the DM) want to make it harder for your player to use this feature, don't make their feature worse--just develop more difficult challenges & scenarios: limit the amount of dim/no light available, put more sources of bright light in the area, bring more creatures with spells/abilities/equipment that produce bright light, bring more creatures with the ability to impose those conditions on them, etc.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
If you feel like your players are overusing shadow step and it's making combat feel stale, then adjust your monsters accordingly to keep encounters fresh. Instead of a club in its hand, have the monster run up swinging a torch at the player. Now you have a club that produces bright light. As an aside, in my campaign, when players wanted to capture and interrogate a monster who had the shadow step feature, they figured out how he was using it and tied him up with a bag over his head. Can't see, can't shadow step.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yeah, I don't think it is a problem. It requires the monk to be in dim light or darkness and be able to see another area of dim light or darkness within range. The requirements are way stricter than misty step.
Also, Monks can normally do quite a bit with a bonus action. Just 60 feet of teleportation in dim light/darkness? Not OP. Useful, not OP.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Also, there needs to be an easy way to play Nightcrawler. ;)
I would chime in with the rest saying it is not overpowered. It is a fun flavorful and powerful movement ability. However ..
- It requires dim light or darkness. Shine a light on that monk and they are going no where. Have a torch or other light source and the monk won't be teleporting near you. Daytime, outdoors, in a well lit keep, city street or dungeon and it doesn't work. If the monk needs to carry a light source ... then it doesn't work. A human shadow monk has to spend 2 ki to cast darkvision on themselves or find a magic item.
- It is a movement ability. It costs the monk their bonus action. No flurry of blows. No bonus action dodge. No martial arts attack. Yes, it lets them avoid op attacks but many monks will take the mobile feat anyway. It increases the character versatility but not their "power" level in terms of defeating foes. It can allow the monk to get a creatures in the back and sometimes lock down spellcasters. It can also make them harder to catch but that is a purely defensive ability and is mitigated by the bad guys carrying a single torch.