The Light Weapon Property was modified to no longer expect weapons in hands. The example given still mentions a shortsword in one hand and a dagger in the other.
When you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a Light weapon, you can make one extra attack as part of the same action. That extra attack must be made with a different Light weapon, and you don’t add your ability modifier to the extra attack’s damage. You can make this extra attack only once on each of your turns.
In the Cleric & Species UA, the phrasing was "Light weapon in one hand and have a Light weapon in the other hand". I'm taking this change as confirmation of the speculation that Monk's Unarmed Strikes will be categorized as Light Weapons.
Once again we have to wait for the Monk UA. Not sure why they decided to leave them out. Maybe 50 pages was enough and they didn't want to go further. Or maybe they are doing something different with the Monk that needs it's own space. Or maybe it's not much of a change (like the Rogue) from 2014 Monk so fits in better with Revised classes from previous UAs.
With the introduction of weapon mastery options, I wonder if the monk will at some point in its class progression have the option of applying a certain type to their unarmed strikes to further distinguish them. It may not be necessary, but it would be interesting. Almost like having a particular mastery trait reflect some core focus of your martial arts.
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It would be really cool if they allowed your unarmed strikes to have weapon mastery effects, even if they don't fit the "weapon type." Cleave would be great for a round house kick
1) I think they will change monks by making flurry of blows part of the attack action. There is too much going on with the monks bonus action and they have to unclog that. It will better allow the monk to run in and actually do decent damage and get out of there which seems to be how they want monks to function.
2) Ki is central to the monk but the current ki point system needs a re-work. I think they will give more ki points that reset on a LONG rest. no more short rest mechanic like the warlock for such important basic class features. Maybe as much as triple the ki points. Or...they could scrap ki points altogether and move to proficiency bonus times per day features.
3)i think doing 4 stun attempts per round is an imblance the designers will want to correct. stunning strike will change to "once on each of your turns" but will have some type of condition applied (dazed?) If saving throw is passed.
Thinking about the UAs so far, I believe the following is a best guess at how Monk will be rewritten. The first couple of levels will have some combination of Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense, Weapon Mastery, Ki/Spirit Points, Flurry of Blows, Step of the Wind, Patient Defense, Deflect Missile/Attack, etc. But for levels 3-10 the monk table will be highly predictable.
LVL 1 ???
LVL 2 ???
LVL 3 Subclass ability
LVL 4 Feat
LVL 5 Extra Attack
LVL 5 ??? (Barbarian and Fighter get something besides Extra Attack at 5th level.)
LVL 6 Subclass Ability
LVL 7 ???
LVL 8 Feat
LVL 9 Evasion (UA Rogue gets Evasion at 9th level.)
LVL 10 subclass ability
LVL 11 ???
LVL 12 Feat
LVL 13 ???
LVL 14 Subclass Ability
LVL 15 ???
LVL 16 Feat
LVL 17 Empty Body (Speculation, I have only 50% confidence about this.)
LVL 18 Perfect Self (Similar to Druid, Paladin, and Sorcerer.)
LVL 19 Feat
LVL 20 Epic Boon
The abilities Slow Fall, Ki/Spirit Empowered Strikes, and Stunning Strikes (or Stunning Strike's replacement) are probably going to fit into levels 5 or 7. All other nearby levels are already filled.
I predict that Diamond Soul will be split into 2 levels, with the saving throw reroll (and possibly some saving throw proficiencies) being applied at level 11. That leaves the second half of Diamond Soul to be applied at level 11 or 15. I also expect some form of offence increase in Tier 3 at a level that is not used for Diamond Soul.
[Speculation] With the move away from Short Rest recharging of abilities to Long Rest recharging, I predict Ki/Spirit Points = Monk level recharging on a Long Rest. With such a change, the Ki/Spirit points need to have roughly triple the potency as 2014 PHB. I expect something like Flurry of Blows to cost 1 Ki/Spirit point and to last 1 minute (assuming an average combat is ~3 turns). I expect something like Stunning Strike to only cost a ki/spirit point if the enemy fails the saving throw (assuming the enemy has a 1/3 chance of failing the CON saving throw). Likewise I expect Diamond Soul rerolls to only cost a Ki/Spirit point on a successful save.
I suspect the various unarmored movement features will factor in somewhere. Currently levels 2, 6, 9 (vertical/liquids), 10, 14, 18. May remain the same. Who knows. It’s not such a significant feature that it can’t coincide with another feature like extra attack or a subclass feature
I really hope that the Monk's UA is a case of "Saving the best for last", but considering how WotC handles monk subclasses, the delay might be only to reduce the backlash from negative feedbacks.
Regardless, the Warlock's new Pact of the Blade may have introduced a problem, a single lvl multiclass is all a Monk needs to go full Wisdom and increase the Ki (Spirit) save DC along the chance to hit and damage, something only possible with Astral Self or if the player prioritized Ki features over regular attacks (Open Hand, Four Elements, Ascendant Dragon). Using the new Pact Weapon will be like combining Astral Self with Kensei, having a better damage die early on and increased chance to land a Stunning Strike.
The (very likely) result? Stunning Strike gets delayed, weakened, removed or limited only to unarmed strikes; and/or monk weapons may have a very limited selection with no access to reach, thrown, versatile or two-handed weapons while also removing the dedicated weapon feature (to prevent access to ranged weapons).
With the introduction of weapon mastery options, I wonder if the monk will at some point in its class progression have the option of applying a certain type to their unarmed strikes to further distinguish them. It may not be necessary, but it would be interesting. Almost like having a particular mastery trait reflect some core focus of your martial arts.
I sort of expect the same: a variation of weapon mastery for unarmed strikes.
With the terms changes coming up for monk it makes me wonder if they intend even bigger changes. A lot of the monk abilities are themed around a very particular identity which don't necessarily fit a more generic concept of unarmed fighter. I forget the exact thing they are changing ki to like spirit focus or something. Now it could and likely is just a change for the same reasons race is getting changed to ancestry or whatever they end up with. But it can also be an excuse to make a radical change to all of their core abilities, so maybe fast movement, stillness of mind, purity of body etc get shifted into sub class features and leave the core more around the basic idea of beating people to death with your fists. Though if all of them are that would be some jam packed sub class features. Or they may go a invocation route and make the monk more customizable, with those being invocation options. Though i am not sure what they would call them instead of invocations.
All unlikely imo, they are most likely just making a change on the short rest mechanic side of the class so maybe making a ton of features not cost "ki" so what they have will last for a long rest. But hey, this is an opportunity to redesign it from the ground up instead of being stuck with a model back from 1e D&D.
It seems like they want to move a class' main resource away from short rests, so I wonder how theyre going to do spirit points going forward. I still think they should have some sort of recharge mechanic for a short rest. Im envisioning something akin to a wizard's Arcane Recovery ability, where once per day they get X number of ki points back on a short rest. Another idea might be to allow the Monk to use their Hit Die in a unique way, perhaps as part of a short rest in addition to expending Hit Die to regain HP they could expend one Hit Die per short rest and regain ki points equal to the number rolled plus their Wisdom modifier or something like that.
As a crazier mechanical idea, what if the Monk's Hit Die was the same as their Martial Arts die? Say, for example, it starts at level 1 as a d6 and then at maybe level 5 it moves up to a d8 (and the Monk's hit point maximum increases by 5 to make up for the average difference). Then at level 11 it moves up to a d10 (+ 11 bonus HP) and finally at level 17 it moves up to a d12 (+17 bonus HP). This would ultimately leave the monk with the same size hit dice as a Barbarian, but likely a lower HP total since it did not have the opportunity to roll that higher Hit Die for their max HP from level 1. This would allow for the Monk to become a steadily more sturdy brawler and give them another unique aspect of their identity as a class. Obviously, this mechanic is kind of "out there" and I dont expect anything like it to show up in the UA, but just some fun theorycrafting
With the terms changes coming up for monk it makes me wonder if they intend even bigger changes. A lot of the monk abilities are themed around a very particular identity which don't necessarily fit a more generic concept of unarmed fighter. I forget the exact thing they are changing ki to like spirit focus or something. Now it could and likely is just a change for the same reasons race is getting changed to ancestry or whatever they end up with. But it can also be an excuse to make a radical change to all of their core abilities, so maybe fast movement, stillness of mind, purity of body etc get shifted into sub class features and leave the core more around the basic idea of beating people to death with your fists. Though if all of them are that would be some jam packed sub class features. Or they may go a invocation route and make the monk more customizable, with those being invocation options. Though i am not sure what they would call them instead of invocations.
All unlikely imo, they are most likely just making a change on the short rest mechanic side of the class so maybe making a ton of features not cost "ki" so what they have will last for a long rest. But hey, this is an opportunity to redesign it from the ground up instead of being stuck with a model back from 1e D&D.
I agree, it is unlikely that core class features will be moved to subclasses. Monks have a long history of similar features all the way back to 1E where they could, iirc, reduce or eliminate fall damage, but they had to be close to a wall or other surface to slow their descent.
I could see them reflavoring to make the monk less shaolin monk and a bit more generic.
Unarmored defense and unarmed fighting/weapon use doesn’t have to be martial arts related.
Ki, now Spirit, can be just a name for your “fighting spirit” and nothing exactly mystical
Deflect missiles could be more a parrying maneuver and, along with slow fall and stunning strike, not inherently martial arts/mystically themed.
Evasion, stillness of mind, purity of body, and diamond soul all reflect your athletic and mental fitness and strength so not necessarily mystical.
So a reflavor might come, which might necessitate a name change (which I doubt will happen), but I can see that more as the description of the class at the beginning fleshing out different takes on the class.
I crunched some numbers for survivability of level 1 characters. For the metric, I determined the average number of goblin attacks (+4 to hit, 1d6+2 damage) a character could survive. Assuming 1 short rest in the adventuring day to roll Hit Dice for recovery. There will certainly be an arithmetic error in my computations and different people will have different assumptions.
1D&D Ranger survives on average 10.1 goblin attacks.
AC 15 (studded leather, no shield)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
1 spellslot used for Goodberry (+10 HP)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 29.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 45% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D Paladin survives on average 15.2 goblin attacks.
AC 18 (chain mail + shield)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
lay on hands (+5 HP)
1 spellslot for cure wounds (3+4.5=7.5)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 32
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 30% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D Barbarian survives on average 16.8 goblin attacks.
AC 15 (chain shirt, no shield)
15 Initial HP (+3 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 9.5 HP
Total effective HP: 24.5*2 = 49 (Rage)
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 45% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D fighter survives on average 14.5 goblin attacks.
AC 17 (chain mail, defense fighting style, no shield)
13 Initial HP (+3 CON modifier)
2 second wind 2*(5.5+1) = 13
Short Rest recovers 8.5 HP
Total effective HP: 34.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 35% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
5E Monk survives on average 6.2 goblin attacks. The d8 hit dice and lack of healing or damage prevention make for a short lifespan. If Monks are intended to be in the Warrior group, it needs to survive longer.
AC 16 (optimal stats for Unarmored Defense)
10 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 6.5 HP
Total effective HP: 16.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 40% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
Crunching the numbers for a speculative 1D&D Monk with a d10 hit dice and being able to At Will add a Martial Arts Dice (1d6) to AC gives a survival rate of 11.6 goblin attacks. Note this feature would allow 20+1d12 = 26.5 average AC in Tier 4.
AC 19.5 (Unarmored Defense + 1d6)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 19.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 22.5% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
My personal favorite speculation for 1D&D Monk is d10 Hit Dice and a Reaction to reduce incoming damage by a roll of the Martial Arts Dice (1d6). With these settings, a Monk survives for 16.4 goblin attacks (assuming the Monk has a reaction for each attack). This feature can be overwhelmed by multiple opponents, multi-attack, or single large attack (ex greataxe), which I feel is thematic and interesting.
AC 16 (Unarmored Defense)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 19.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 40% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
The computation is more complicated because the Monk could over-block the incoming damage. For example rolling a 6 on the Martial Arts Dice while the Goblin rolls a 1 on the damage (1+2=3 damage). This over-blocking occurs 6/36 = 17% of the time. Exactly blocking all the damage occurs 4/36 = 11% of the time. There is a slim chance of over-blocking a critical hit (such as if the Goblin rolls only 1's for damage rolls) that I did not bother computing.
I can crunch numbers for other assumptions or speculative features if desired.
Shouldn't the Barbarian be using Rage as well? Considering that the other classes are using their own resources (Goodberry, Lay on Hands, Cure Wounds, Second Wind and Monk's parry) to boost their survival Rage kinda needs to be included (at least to see how much the Barbarian's survival goes up).
Monk isn't a warrior though? It's an unarmed-Rogue.
It’s part of the 1DD Warrior group along with Fighters and Barbarians. And a Martial class. They may be more skirmisher than toe-to-toe front line fighters but they are still “warriors” as far as I can tell.
Shouldn't the Barbarian be using Rage as well? Considering that the other classes are using their own resources (Goodberry, Lay on Hands, Cure Wounds, Second Wind and Monk's parry) to boost their survival Rage kinda needs to be included (at least to see how much the Barbarian's survival goes up).
Yes, the computations are assuming Barbarians are using Rage. I listed it as "Total effective HP: 24.5*2 = 49 (Rage)."
I crunched some numbers for survivability of level 2 characters. For the metric, I determined the average number of goblin attacks (+4 to hit, 1d6+2 damage) a character could survive. Assuming 2 short rests in the adventuring day to roll Hit Dice for recovery. There will certainly be an arithmetic error in my computations and different people will have different assumptions.
1D&D Ranger survives on average 13.7 goblin attacks.
AC 17 (chain mail, defense fighting style, no shield)
22 HP (+3 CON modifier)
2 second wind 2*(5.5+2) = 15
Short Rest recovers 17 HP
Total effective HP: 54
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 35% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 2.4 avg dpr
5E Monk survives on average 32.8 goblin attacks. The disadvantage from Patient Defense does wonders for the Monk survivability, making them second only to the Barbarian if that Barbarian doesn't use Reckless and wields a shield, otherwise it becomes the most resilient of all the warriors.
I guess, but they are giving up their offensive potential to do it. And even then with only 2 ki the patient defense covers 8 rounds assuming 2 short rests and 4 encounters. Any fight that lasts more than 2 rounds their defense is now AC 16 with a goblin hit rate of 40%.
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The Light Weapon Property was modified to no longer expect weapons in hands. The example given still mentions a shortsword in one hand and a dagger in the other.
When you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a Light weapon, you can make one extra attack as part of the same action. That extra attack must be made with a different Light weapon, and you don’t add your ability modifier to the extra attack’s damage. You can make this extra attack only once on each of your turns.
In the Cleric & Species UA, the phrasing was "Light weapon in one hand and have a Light weapon in the other hand". I'm taking this change as confirmation of the speculation that Monk's Unarmed Strikes will be categorized as Light Weapons.
Once again we have to wait for the Monk UA. Not sure why they decided to leave them out. Maybe 50 pages was enough and they didn't want to go further. Or maybe they are doing something different with the Monk that needs it's own space. Or maybe it's not much of a change (like the Rogue) from 2014 Monk so fits in better with Revised classes from previous UAs.
I updated the OP with some thoughts.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
With the introduction of weapon mastery options, I wonder if the monk will at some point in its class progression have the option of applying a certain type to their unarmed strikes to further distinguish them. It may not be necessary, but it would be interesting. Almost like having a particular mastery trait reflect some core focus of your martial arts.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
It would be really cool if they allowed your unarmed strikes to have weapon mastery effects, even if they don't fit the "weapon type." Cleave would be great for a round house kick
My monk predictions:
1) I think they will change monks by making flurry of blows part of the attack action. There is too much going on with the monks bonus action and they have to unclog that. It will better allow the monk to run in and actually do decent damage and get out of there which seems to be how they want monks to function.
2) Ki is central to the monk but the current ki point system needs a re-work. I think they will give more ki points that reset on a LONG rest. no more short rest mechanic like the warlock for such important basic class features. Maybe as much as triple the ki points. Or...they could scrap ki points altogether and move to proficiency bonus times per day features.
3)i think doing 4 stun attempts per round is an imblance the designers will want to correct. stunning strike will change to "once on each of your turns" but will have some type of condition applied (dazed?) If saving throw is passed.
My two cents.
Thinking about the UAs so far, I believe the following is a best guess at how Monk will be rewritten. The first couple of levels will have some combination of Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense, Weapon Mastery, Ki/Spirit Points, Flurry of Blows, Step of the Wind, Patient Defense, Deflect Missile/Attack, etc. But for levels 3-10 the monk table will be highly predictable.
LVL 1 ???
LVL 2 ???
LVL 3 Subclass ability
LVL 4 Feat
LVL 5 Extra Attack
LVL 5 ??? (Barbarian and Fighter get something besides Extra Attack at 5th level.)
LVL 6 Subclass Ability
LVL 7 ???
LVL 8 Feat
LVL 9 Evasion (UA Rogue gets Evasion at 9th level.)
LVL 10 subclass ability
LVL 11 ???
LVL 12 Feat
LVL 13 ???
LVL 14 Subclass Ability
LVL 15 ???
LVL 16 Feat
LVL 17 Empty Body (Speculation, I have only 50% confidence about this.)
LVL 18 Perfect Self (Similar to Druid, Paladin, and Sorcerer.)
LVL 19 Feat
LVL 20 Epic Boon
The abilities Slow Fall, Ki/Spirit Empowered Strikes, and Stunning Strikes (or Stunning Strike's replacement) are probably going to fit into levels 5 or 7. All other nearby levels are already filled.
I predict that Diamond Soul will be split into 2 levels, with the saving throw reroll (and possibly some saving throw proficiencies) being applied at level 11. That leaves the second half of Diamond Soul to be applied at level 11 or 15. I also expect some form of offence increase in Tier 3 at a level that is not used for Diamond Soul.
[Speculation] With the move away from Short Rest recharging of abilities to Long Rest recharging, I predict Ki/Spirit Points = Monk level recharging on a Long Rest. With such a change, the Ki/Spirit points need to have roughly triple the potency as 2014 PHB. I expect something like Flurry of Blows to cost 1 Ki/Spirit point and to last 1 minute (assuming an average combat is ~3 turns). I expect something like Stunning Strike to only cost a ki/spirit point if the enemy fails the saving throw (assuming the enemy has a 1/3 chance of failing the CON saving throw). Likewise I expect Diamond Soul rerolls to only cost a Ki/Spirit point on a successful save.
I suspect the various unarmored movement features will factor in somewhere. Currently levels 2, 6, 9 (vertical/liquids), 10, 14, 18. May remain the same. Who knows. It’s not such a significant feature that it can’t coincide with another feature like extra attack or a subclass feature
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I really hope that the Monk's UA is a case of "Saving the best for last", but considering how WotC handles monk subclasses, the delay might be only to reduce the backlash from negative feedbacks.
Regardless, the Warlock's new Pact of the Blade may have introduced a problem, a single lvl multiclass is all a Monk needs to go full Wisdom and increase the Ki (Spirit) save DC along the chance to hit and damage, something only possible with Astral Self or if the player prioritized Ki features over regular attacks (Open Hand, Four Elements, Ascendant Dragon). Using the new Pact Weapon will be like combining Astral Self with Kensei, having a better damage die early on and increased chance to land a Stunning Strike.
The (very likely) result? Stunning Strike gets delayed, weakened, removed or limited only to unarmed strikes; and/or monk weapons may have a very limited selection with no access to reach, thrown, versatile or two-handed weapons while also removing the dedicated weapon feature (to prevent access to ranged weapons).
I sort of expect the same: a variation of weapon mastery for unarmed strikes.
My prediction:
LVL 1 Martial Arts
LVL 1 Unarmoured Defence
LVL 2 Spirit/Ki Points
LVL 2 Unarmoured Movement 1
LVL 3 Subclass ability
LVL 3 Deflect Missiles
LVL 4 Feat
LVL 5 Extra Attack
LVL 5 Stunning Strike
LVL 6 Subclass Ability
LVL 6 Ki-empowered fists
LVL 6 Unarmoured Movement 2
LVL 7 Diamond Soul (Paladin's get their aura of protection at this level, why can't monk get their diamond soul here?)
LVL 8 Feat
LVL 8 Slow Fall
LVL 9 Evasion (UA Rogue gets Evasion at 9th level.)
LVL 10 subclass ability
LVL 11 Stillness of Mind
Straight up immunity to fear & charm (Devotion Paladins have this as an aura at by level)
LVL 11 Unarmoured Movement 3
LVL 12 Feat
LVL 13 Purity of Body
LVL 14 Subclass Ability
LVL 15 Empty Body
LVL 16 Feat
LVL 17 New Feature: Empowered Reflexes
LVL 18 Perfect Self (Similar to Druid, Paladin, and Sorcerer.)
LVL 19 Feat
LVL 20 Epic Boon
With the terms changes coming up for monk it makes me wonder if they intend even bigger changes. A lot of the monk abilities are themed around a very particular identity which don't necessarily fit a more generic concept of unarmed fighter. I forget the exact thing they are changing ki to like spirit focus or something. Now it could and likely is just a change for the same reasons race is getting changed to ancestry or whatever they end up with. But it can also be an excuse to make a radical change to all of their core abilities, so maybe fast movement, stillness of mind, purity of body etc get shifted into sub class features and leave the core more around the basic idea of beating people to death with your fists. Though if all of them are that would be some jam packed sub class features. Or they may go a invocation route and make the monk more customizable, with those being invocation options. Though i am not sure what they would call them instead of invocations.
All unlikely imo, they are most likely just making a change on the short rest mechanic side of the class so maybe making a ton of features not cost "ki" so what they have will last for a long rest. But hey, this is an opportunity to redesign it from the ground up instead of being stuck with a model back from 1e D&D.
It seems like they want to move a class' main resource away from short rests, so I wonder how theyre going to do spirit points going forward. I still think they should have some sort of recharge mechanic for a short rest. Im envisioning something akin to a wizard's Arcane Recovery ability, where once per day they get X number of ki points back on a short rest. Another idea might be to allow the Monk to use their Hit Die in a unique way, perhaps as part of a short rest in addition to expending Hit Die to regain HP they could expend one Hit Die per short rest and regain ki points equal to the number rolled plus their Wisdom modifier or something like that.
As a crazier mechanical idea, what if the Monk's Hit Die was the same as their Martial Arts die? Say, for example, it starts at level 1 as a d6 and then at maybe level 5 it moves up to a d8 (and the Monk's hit point maximum increases by 5 to make up for the average difference). Then at level 11 it moves up to a d10 (+ 11 bonus HP) and finally at level 17 it moves up to a d12 (+17 bonus HP). This would ultimately leave the monk with the same size hit dice as a Barbarian, but likely a lower HP total since it did not have the opportunity to roll that higher Hit Die for their max HP from level 1. This would allow for the Monk to become a steadily more sturdy brawler and give them another unique aspect of their identity as a class. Obviously, this mechanic is kind of "out there" and I dont expect anything like it to show up in the UA, but just some fun theorycrafting
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I agree, it is unlikely that core class features will be moved to subclasses. Monks have a long history of similar features all the way back to 1E where they could, iirc, reduce or eliminate fall damage, but they had to be close to a wall or other surface to slow their descent.
I could see them reflavoring to make the monk less shaolin monk and a bit more generic.
Unarmored defense and unarmed fighting/weapon use doesn’t have to be martial arts related.
Ki, now Spirit, can be just a name for your “fighting spirit” and nothing exactly mystical
Deflect missiles could be more a parrying maneuver and, along with slow fall and stunning strike, not inherently martial arts/mystically themed.
Evasion, stillness of mind, purity of body, and diamond soul all reflect your athletic and mental fitness and strength so not necessarily mystical.
So a reflavor might come, which might necessitate a name change (which I doubt will happen), but I can see that more as the description of the class at the beginning fleshing out different takes on the class.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I crunched some numbers for survivability of level 1 characters. For the metric, I determined the average number of goblin attacks (+4 to hit, 1d6+2 damage) a character could survive. Assuming 1 short rest in the adventuring day to roll Hit Dice for recovery. There will certainly be an arithmetic error in my computations and different people will have different assumptions.
1D&D Ranger survives on average 10.1 goblin attacks.
AC 15 (studded leather, no shield)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
1 spellslot used for Goodberry (+10 HP)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 29.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 45% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D Paladin survives on average 15.2 goblin attacks.
AC 18 (chain mail + shield)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
lay on hands (+5 HP)
1 spellslot for cure wounds (3+4.5=7.5)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 32
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 30% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D Barbarian survives on average 16.8 goblin attacks.
AC 15 (chain shirt, no shield)
15 Initial HP (+3 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 9.5 HP
Total effective HP: 24.5*2 = 49 (Rage)
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 45% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
1D&D fighter survives on average 14.5 goblin attacks.
AC 17 (chain mail, defense fighting style, no shield)
13 Initial HP (+3 CON modifier)
2 second wind 2*(5.5+1) = 13
Short Rest recovers 8.5 HP
Total effective HP: 34.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 35% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
5E Monk survives on average 6.2 goblin attacks. The d8 hit dice and lack of healing or damage prevention make for a short lifespan. If Monks are intended to be in the Warrior group, it needs to survive longer.
AC 16 (optimal stats for Unarmored Defense)
10 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 6.5 HP
Total effective HP: 16.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 40% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
Crunching the numbers for a speculative 1D&D Monk with a d10 hit dice and being able to At Will add a Martial Arts Dice (1d6) to AC gives a survival rate of 11.6 goblin attacks. Note this feature would allow 20+1d12 = 26.5 average AC in Tier 4.
AC 19.5 (Unarmored Defense + 1d6)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 19.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 22.5% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
My personal favorite speculation for 1D&D Monk is d10 Hit Dice and a Reaction to reduce incoming damage by a roll of the Martial Arts Dice (1d6). With these settings, a Monk survives for 16.4 goblin attacks (assuming the Monk has a reaction for each attack). This feature can be overwhelmed by multiple opponents, multi-attack, or single large attack (ex greataxe), which I feel is thematic and interesting.
AC 16 (Unarmored Defense)
12 Initial HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 7.5 HP
Total effective HP: 19.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 40% regular hit rate (2+1d6).
The computation is more complicated because the Monk could over-block the incoming damage. For example rolling a 6 on the Martial Arts Dice while the Goblin rolls a 1 on the damage (1+2=3 damage). This over-blocking occurs 6/36 = 17% of the time. Exactly blocking all the damage occurs 4/36 = 11% of the time. There is a slim chance of over-blocking a critical hit (such as if the Goblin rolls only 1's for damage rolls) that I did not bother computing.
I can crunch numbers for other assumptions or speculative features if desired.
Shouldn't the Barbarian be using Rage as well? Considering that the other classes are using their own resources (Goodberry, Lay on Hands, Cure Wounds, Second Wind and Monk's parry) to boost their survival Rage kinda needs to be included (at least to see how much the Barbarian's survival goes up).
Monk isn't a warrior though? It's an unarmed-Rogue.
It’s part of the 1DD Warrior group along with Fighters and Barbarians. And a Martial class. They may be more skirmisher than toe-to-toe front line fighters but they are still “warriors” as far as I can tell.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Crud, I wanted to post those computations to the "So what now, with the Monk?" thread. Oh well, I knew I was going to make a mistake somewhere.
Yes, the computations are assuming Barbarians are using Rage. I listed it as "Total effective HP: 24.5*2 = 49 (Rage)."
I crunched some numbers for survivability of level 2 characters. For the metric, I determined the average number of goblin attacks (+4 to hit, 1d6+2 damage) a character could survive. Assuming 2 short rests in the adventuring day to roll Hit Dice for recovery. There will certainly be an arithmetic error in my computations and different people will have different assumptions.
1D&D Ranger survives on average 13.7 goblin attacks.
AC 15 (studded leather, no shield)
19 HP (+2 CON modifier)
1 spellslot used for Goodberry (+10 HP)
Short Rest recovers 12 HP
Total effective HP: 41
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 45% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 3 avg DPR
1D&D Paladin survives on average 27 goblin attacks.
AC 19 (chain mail + shield + defense FS)
19 HP (+2 CON modifier)
lay on hands (+10 HP)
1 spellslot for cure wounds (3+4.5=7.5)
Short Rest recovers 12 HP
Total effective HP: 48.5
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 25% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 1.8 avg dpr
1D&D Barbarian survives on average 36 goblin attacks.
AC 17 (chain shirt, shield)
24.5 HP (+3 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 19 HP
Total effective HP: 24.5*2 = 87 (Rage)
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 35% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 2.4 avg dpr
1D&D fighter survives on average 22.5 goblin attacks.
AC 17 (chain mail, defense fighting style, no shield)
22 HP (+3 CON modifier)
2 second wind 2*(5.5+2) = 15
Short Rest recovers 17 HP
Total effective HP: 54
Goblin has a 5% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 35% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 2.4 avg dpr
5E Monk survives on average 32.8 goblin attacks. The disadvantage from Patient Defense does wonders for the Monk survivability, making them second only to the Barbarian if that Barbarian doesn't use Reckless and wields a shield, otherwise it becomes the most resilient of all the warriors.
AC 16 (optimal stats for Unarmored Defense)
16.5 HP (+2 CON modifier)
Short Rest recovers 13 HP
Total effective HP: 29.5
Goblin has a 0.25% critical hit rate (2+2d6) and 16% regular hit rate (2+1d6) = 0.9 avg dpr - DA from patient Defense
I guess, but they are giving up their offensive potential to do it. And even then with only 2 ki the patient defense covers 8 rounds assuming 2 short rests and 4 encounters. Any fight that lasts more than 2 rounds their defense is now AC 16 with a goblin hit rate of 40%.