I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell. perhaps give additional restriction that the spells don't work in the rain, wind, or strong underwater currents as the powerder must be dispersed before using both hands for the somatic components (no option for spellcasting focus). or just say it causes a ranged status effects with a minor elemental damage rider (so... cantrips). i wouldn't hate if shadow monks got some thrown weapon expertise and minor cool stuff to go with it, even if the damage was +INT.
it's the sort of thing i'd expect to see if devs ever realized people would buy a book of reskinned existing subclasses (Elements monk in this case) and niche lore. i think they're trying to keep their drool in their mouth when it comes to "flavor is free" sort of stuff, roped off like a nature preserve to be the domain of 3rd party publishers. but, there have been some weird cross-over IP monster manual editions and that Tal'Dorei book so who knows.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
When I say "Arcane" I don't mean the "Arcane Spell LIst" as that's officially gone according to the last two play test documents. (and, don't get me wrong, I kind of lament that that's the case, but it is what it is) The Spell list would be like Paladin and Ranger: back to their own dedicated class spell lists since the big 3 spell lists are gone.
Instead, I mean it in the 5e PHB context of being a user of arcane magic (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard). Of these, only two are Intelligence based casters. Three of them are Charisma based. I thought about that quite a bit, and decided on this (from one of my designer's notes in my writeup):
"I chose to keep the Monk as a Wisdom based caster for a few reasons.It keeps the Monk from having too much attribute synergy with the Wizard and Artificer (or Bard and Sorcerer, if I had chosen Charisma). This sets them apart from the other arcane casters, in the same way that the Paladin doesn’t have much attribute synergy with the Cleric.Further, the concept of the Monk can lend itself fairly well to the idea of a spiritualist (monastic priest, etc.) or naturalist (ascetic hermit or wandering naturalist), and sticking to Wisdom allows for attribute synergy for those who might want to Multiclass to the Cleric or Druid in order to address those tropes.(I had thought about making subclasses for them, but had sticking points wrt to the Cleric version; so I’m instead leaning toward handling those tropes via Multiclassing; but I might still add one that focuses on general mysticism with an emphasis on Metamagic options)"
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
This is the spell list I have in my write-up (along with a designer's note). I'm still tweaking it a little; I'm aiming for a total number of spells per level somewhere between the Paladin and Ranger or Artificer. There's also a few new spells in there: Empowered Strikes (which is kind of like Shillelagh for your fists), Blast Wave, Mystic Defense (deflect missiles, and melee attacks, as a spell), Paralyzing Strike (replaces Stunning Strike, but uses Paralysis instead of Stun, making it sort of like Hold Person as a melee attack enhancer), Pushing Strike (probably going to knock this down to a Cantrip, and make it more like a Lightning Lure that does a push instead of a pull).
2nd Level: Alter Self, Barkskin, Blast Wave, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Kinetic Jaunt, Levitate, Mind Spike, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip, Spider Climb
3rd Level: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Intellect Fortress, Nondetection, Protection from Energy, Sending, Water Breathing, Water Walk
5th Level: Commune with Nature, Destructive Wave, Far Step, Greater Restoration, Passwall, Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static, Telekinesis
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions.“Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”.From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
A wave of force radiates out from you. Each creature in a 10-foot sphere centered on you must make a Constitution saving throw.On a failed save, a creature takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage and is pushed 10 feet away from you.On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed.
Objects that are the same size or smaller than you are knocked over and/or away from you by the force of the blast.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, any damage dealt by the spell increases by 1d6 for each spell slot above 2nd level, up through 4d6 with a 4th level or higher spell slot.
Your Unarmed Strikes become imbued with magical power.Each time you make an Unarmed Strike, after you hit but before you roll damage, you may choose to use Force damage or Psychic damage as the damage type you will inflict.Further, each turn while the spell lasts, you may use a Bonus Action to make an Unarmed Strike.
At Higher Levels/Cantrip Upgrade:
If you are 5th level or higher in the Monk class, you have a magical +1 to attack and damage rolls with your Unarmed Strikes.This bonus increases to +2 at 10th level, and +3 at 15th level.
Mystic Defense 1st-Level Abjuration Spell (Monk)
Casting Time: Reaction, which you take immediately after taking damage.
Range: Self
Component: S (you may not be wearing armor when you cast this spell)
Duration: Instantaneous
This spell has two features.
Damage Deflection: If you are not wearing armor, magical energy enhances your ability to defend yourself against melee attacks that make an attack roll.If the attack does bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage, then this spell reduces damage taken by 1d6 + half Monk Level (drop fractions).
Damage Redirection: if you are not wielding a shield, and you reduce the damage to zero, you can redirect some of the attack back at the attacker.The attacker must make a Dexterity saving throw or take half of the original damage, of the same damage type as the damage that triggered the reaction.A successful saving throw means that the attacker doesn’t take any damage.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the damage reduction by 1d6 per spell slot level up to 5th level (for a total of 5d6 + half Monk Level when cast with a 5th level slot).
(note: adding ranged attacks and energy types to this feature is done via class features that only the Monk would get at higher levels, so those features aren't going to be available via a small level dip into Monk)
Casting Time: Bonus Action, which you take immediately after hitting with an Unarmed Strike.
Range: Touch
Component: S
Duration: 1 turn.
The target of your attack must succeed at a Constitution saving throw or be Paralyzed until the end of its next turn.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the duration by 1 turn per spell slot level above 2nd level, up to 4 turns with a 5th level spell slot.At the end of each of the target’s turns, the target may make another Constitution saving throw to end the effect early.
Pushing Strike 1st-Level Evocation Spell (Monk)
Casting Time: Bonus Action, which you take immediately after hitting with an Unarmed Strike.
Range: Touch
Component: S
Duration: Instantaneous
The target of your attack must succeed at a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet horizontally straight away from you, and knocked prone.If the saving throw succeeds, and their size is no larger than you, then they are only moved half as far and are not knocked prone.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd or higher, increase the maximum distance that the target can be pushed by 5 feet per level above 2nd level, up to 30 feet with a 5th level spell slot.
(note: I'm sort of thinking that this one isn't really much better than Lightning Lure, if at all ... so I might make it a Cantrip that scales at 5th, 10th, and 15th monk levels instead of scaling by spell slot)
1) The mistake that many people make about Thunderwavae, thinking that it's centered on them (blasting people in every direction away from the caster) instead of the caster being at one of the cube vertexes.
2) There's a scene from the Matrix where Neo does a power-flex to re-center himself. This part is a semi-common trope in martial arts movies, when a main character has been injured. But the Matrix emphasizes this by having a radiating lensing distortion spread out from Neo when he does it. This doesn't blast anyone/anything, but it inspired me to have the "mistaken Thunderwave" be used to put some "push" behind this effect. (I think he also does it when fighting the army of Agent Smith duplicates, but more as a strike down on to the ground which DOES blast them away ... Thor does it in the opening battle of Ragnarok, with a ground strike as well -- all of which are valid uses of the Blast Wave idea... it's just that Thor isn't a Monk, he'd need it through some other avenue).
2nd Level: Alter Self, Barkskin, Blast Wave, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Kinetic Jaunt, Levitate, Mind Spike, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip, Spider Climb
3rd Level: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Intellect Fortress, Nondetection, Protection from Energy, Sending, Water Breathing, Water Walk
5th Level: Commune with Nature, Destructive Wave, Far Step, Greater Restoration, Passwall, Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static, Telekinesis
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions.“Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”.From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
This is too limited to cover all the flavours of Monk represented by the subclasses, if you're sticking with this list, I'd recommend adding the equivalent of a Paladin's Oath spells to each subclass. If it's a half-caster I'd stick more to existing spells rather than inventing new spells that replace monk class features -> remember half-casters get a ton of class features in addition to casting so some things like Deflect Missiles can stay a class feature rather than be replaced with a spell.
Though honestly Shield + Absorb elements are just better than you Mystic Defense, so I suspect monk players would MC dip into something or use feats to grab them anyway, so just save them that cost and put them on the spell list. -- One of the big problems with monk isn't just that spells can replace their features, it that spells do it better. If the monk features are getting more restrictive use by costing spellslots that only recharge on a LR they need buffing.
Warrior of Elements and Warrior of Shadows definitely get bonus spells, and Warrior of Elements gets enhancements to things like Empowered Strikes and True Strike (more damage types).
There are a few things I have added with a variation of Sneak Attack/Cunning Strikes (more simple than my last attempt at that), that are more like what you get from Weapon Mastery abilities. And fewer dice per attack than what a Rogue gets. The Warrior of the Hand gets more of them, instead of getting a lot of bonus spells (and they get Push, so maybe I could move Push to the main class, and get rid of Pushing Strike as a spell/cantrip).
I had thought about Shield ... and you're not wrong. But it seemed like it would be less of a thematic match. That said, "I didn't take damage from that" is still a valid end result, so it might be easier to just go that route.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
When I say "Arcane" I don't mean the "Arcane Spell LIst" as that's officially gone according to the last two play test documents. (and, don't get me wrong, I kind of lament that that's the case, but it is what it is) The Spell list would be like Paladin and Ranger: back to their own dedicated class spell lists since the big 3 spell lists are gone.
Instead, I mean it in the 5e PHB context of being a user of arcane magic (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard). Of these, only two are Intelligence based casters. Three of them are Charisma based. I thought about that quite a bit, and decided on this (from one of my designer's notes in my writeup):
"I chose to keep the Monk as a Wisdom based caster for a few reasons.It keeps the Monk from having too much attribute synergy with the Wizard and Artificer (or Bard and Sorcerer, if I had chosen Charisma). This sets them apart from the other arcane casters, in the same way that the Paladin doesn’t have much attribute synergy with the Cleric.Further, the concept of the Monk can lend itself fairly well to the idea of a spiritualist (monastic priest, etc.) or naturalist (ascetic hermit or wandering naturalist), and sticking to Wisdom allows for attribute synergy for those who might want to Multiclass to the Cleric or Druid in order to address those tropes.(I had thought about making subclasses for them, but had sticking points wrt to the Cleric version; so I’m instead leaning toward handling those tropes via Multiclassing; but I might still add one that focuses on general mysticism with an emphasis on Metamagic options)"
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
This is the spell list I have in my write-up (along with a designer's note). I'm still tweaking it a little; I'm aiming for a total number of spells per level somewhere between the Paladin and Ranger or Artificer. There's also a few new spells in there: Empowered Strikes (which is kind of like Shillelagh for your fists), Blast Wave, Mystic Defense (deflect missiles, and melee attacks, as a spell), Paralyzing Strike (replaces Stunning Strike, but uses Paralysis instead of Stun, making it sort of like Hold Person as a melee attack enhancer), Pushing Strike (probably going to knock this down to a Cantrip, and make it more like a Lightning Lure that does a push instead of a pull).
2nd Level: Alter Self, Barkskin, Blast Wave, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Kinetic Jaunt, Levitate, Mind Spike, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip, Spider Climb
3rd Level: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Intellect Fortress, Nondetection, Protection from Energy, Sending, Water Breathing, Water Walk
5th Level: Commune with Nature, Destructive Wave, Far Step, Greater Restoration, Passwall, Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static, Telekinesis
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions.“Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”.From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
My bias to monks is towards the mystical side so i like the half caster idea. What would you do with all the monks class features like FOB, Sotw, PD, deflect missiles etc.....keep them or have them completely replaced by spells?
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
When I say "Arcane" I don't mean the "Arcane Spell LIst" as that's officially gone according to the last two play test documents. (and, don't get me wrong, I kind of lament that that's the case, but it is what it is) The Spell list would be like Paladin and Ranger: back to their own dedicated class spell lists since the big 3 spell lists are gone.
Instead, I mean it in the 5e PHB context of being a user of arcane magic (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard). Of these, only two are Intelligence based casters. Three of them are Charisma based. I thought about that quite a bit, and decided on this (from one of my designer's notes in my writeup):
"I chose to keep the Monk as a Wisdom based caster for a few reasons.It keeps the Monk from having too much attribute synergy with the Wizard and Artificer (or Bard and Sorcerer, if I had chosen Charisma). This sets them apart from the other arcane casters, in the same way that the Paladin doesn’t have much attribute synergy with the Cleric.Further, the concept of the Monk can lend itself fairly well to the idea of a spiritualist (monastic priest, etc.) or naturalist (ascetic hermit or wandering naturalist), and sticking to Wisdom allows for attribute synergy for those who might want to Multiclass to the Cleric or Druid in order to address those tropes.(I had thought about making subclasses for them, but had sticking points wrt to the Cleric version; so I’m instead leaning toward handling those tropes via Multiclassing; but I might still add one that focuses on general mysticism with an emphasis on Metamagic options)"
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
This is the spell list I have in my write-up (along with a designer's note). I'm still tweaking it a little; I'm aiming for a total number of spells per level somewhere between the Paladin and Ranger or Artificer. There's also a few new spells in there: Empowered Strikes (which is kind of like Shillelagh for your fists), Blast Wave, Mystic Defense (deflect missiles, and melee attacks, as a spell), Paralyzing Strike (replaces Stunning Strike, but uses Paralysis instead of Stun, making it sort of like Hold Person as a melee attack enhancer), Pushing Strike (probably going to knock this down to a Cantrip, and make it more like a Lightning Lure that does a push instead of a pull).
2nd Level: Alter Self, Barkskin, Blast Wave, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Kinetic Jaunt, Levitate, Mind Spike, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip, Spider Climb
3rd Level: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Intellect Fortress, Nondetection, Protection from Energy, Sending, Water Breathing, Water Walk
5th Level: Commune with Nature, Destructive Wave, Far Step, Greater Restoration, Passwall, Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static, Telekinesis
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions.“Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”.From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
My bias to monks is towards the mystical side so i like the half caster idea. What would you do with all the monks class features like FOB, Sotw, PD, deflect missiles etc.....keep them or have them completely replaced by spells?
FOB: right now, I'm thinking that some of the higher level damage and special maneuvers are going to be akin to Sneak Attack/Cunning Strikes (Martial Strikes, but more simple than the last time I wrote that up), where you get some bonus damage dice (fewer than a Rogue, 3 max, but usable for every attack and not just once per turn). And Some of these special abilities will be like Weapon Masteries. Flurry of Blows is basically going to be a Cunning Strike that essentially works like the Cleave weapon mastery. You can do it once per turn, whether as part of a Bonus Action attack or an Attack action attack.
SotW and PD: same as current, except that SotW is Dash OR Disengage, and only costs your Bonus Action.
Deflect Missiles: currently via the above Mystic Defense spell, with a class feature that lets you use that spell against ranged attacks (and a higher level class feature that lets you use it against area effects that do damage, and then Deflect Energy is a class feature that lets you use it against any damage type). But I might scrap it to go with Shield and Absorb Elements.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell.
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
When I say "Arcane" I don't mean the "Arcane Spell LIst" as that's officially gone according to the last two play test documents. (and, don't get me wrong, I kind of lament that that's the case, but it is what it is) The Spell list would be like Paladin and Ranger: back to their own dedicated class spell lists since the big 3 spell lists are gone.
Instead, I mean it in the 5e PHB context of being a user of arcane magic (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard). Of these, only two are Intelligence based casters. Three of them are Charisma based. I thought about that quite a bit, and decided on this (from one of my designer's notes in my writeup):
"I chose to keep the Monk as a Wisdom based caster for a few reasons.It keeps the Monk from having too much attribute synergy with the Wizard and Artificer (or Bard and Sorcerer, if I had chosen Charisma). This sets them apart from the other arcane casters, in the same way that the Paladin doesn’t have much attribute synergy with the Cleric.Further, the concept of the Monk can lend itself fairly well to the idea of a spiritualist (monastic priest, etc.) or naturalist (ascetic hermit or wandering naturalist), and sticking to Wisdom allows for attribute synergy for those who might want to Multiclass to the Cleric or Druid in order to address those tropes.(I had thought about making subclasses for them, but had sticking points wrt to the Cleric version; so I’m instead leaning toward handling those tropes via Multiclassing; but I might still add one that focuses on general mysticism with an emphasis on Metamagic options)"
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
This is the spell list I have in my write-up (along with a designer's note). I'm still tweaking it a little; I'm aiming for a total number of spells per level somewhere between the Paladin and Ranger or Artificer. There's also a few new spells in there: Empowered Strikes (which is kind of like Shillelagh for your fists), Blast Wave, Mystic Defense (deflect missiles, and melee attacks, as a spell), Paralyzing Strike (replaces Stunning Strike, but uses Paralysis instead of Stun, making it sort of like Hold Person as a melee attack enhancer), Pushing Strike (probably going to knock this down to a Cantrip, and make it more like a Lightning Lure that does a push instead of a pull).
2nd Level: Alter Self, Barkskin, Blast Wave, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Kinetic Jaunt, Levitate, Mind Spike, Pass without Trace, See Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip, Spider Climb
3rd Level: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Intellect Fortress, Nondetection, Protection from Energy, Sending, Water Breathing, Water Walk
5th Level: Commune with Nature, Destructive Wave, Far Step, Greater Restoration, Passwall, Steel Wind Strike, Synaptic Static, Telekinesis
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions.“Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”.From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
My bias to monks is towards the mystical side so i like the half caster idea. What would you do with all the monks class features like FOB, Sotw, PD, deflect missiles etc.....keep them or have them completely replaced by spells?
FOB: right now, I'm thinking that some of the higher level damage and special maneuvers are going to be akin to Sneak Attack/Cunning Strikes (Martial Strikes, but more simple than the last time I wrote that up), where you get some bonus damage dice (fewer than a Rogue, 3 max, but usable for every attack and not just once per turn). And Some of these special abilities will be like Weapon Masteries. Flurry of Blows is basically going to be a Cunning Strike that essentially works like the Cleave weapon mastery. You can do it once per turn, whether as part of a Bonus Action attack or an Attack action attack.
SotW and PD: same as current, except that SotW is Dash OR Disengage, and only costs your Bonus Action.
Deflect Missiles: currently via the above Mystic Defense spell, with a class feature that lets you use that spell against ranged attacks (and a higher level class feature that lets you use it against area effects that do damage, and then Deflect Energy is a class feature that lets you use it against any damage type). But I might scrap it to go with Shield and Absorb Elements.
These might also work well.
Expeditious Retreat, gift of alacrity, augury (meditating to get answers), tongues (sort of like tongue of sun and moon) , catnap (teaching others to meditate) , greater invisibility, rary's telepathic bond, animate objects (more jedi powers). Maybe even some healing spells like cure wounds or healing word would be thematic since minor healing options like quickened healing are already available to all monks.
I've been toying with a write-up of the Monk as an Arcane half-caster... and I think it makes the class a lot cleaner.
You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell. perhaps give additional restriction that the spells don't work in the rain, wind, or strong underwater currents as the powerder must be dispersed before using both hands for the somatic components (no option for spellcasting focus). or just say it causes a ranged status effects with a minor elemental damage rider (so... cantrips). i wouldn't hate if shadow monks got some thrown weapon expertise and minor cool stuff to go with it, even if the damage was +INT.
it's the sort of thing i'd expect to see if devs ever realized people would buy a book of reskinned existing subclasses (Elements monk in this case) and niche lore. i think they're trying to keep their drool in their mouth when it comes to "flavor is free" sort of stuff, roped off like a nature preserve to be the domain of 3rd party publishers. but, there have been some weird cross-over IP monster manual editions and that Tal'Dorei book so who knows.
subclass is fine, main class, I don't think its the core concept or fantasy.
also, what is the monk in your world bringing that paladin, eldritch knight or bladesinger doesnt?
I have no problem with magical mystical monks, I dislike spellcasting mechanics and flavor for monk play.
Yeah not a fan of the idea of making the entire class half casters; I'm not opposed to making four elements a third caster with some Ki-based spell slot recovery or similar, but not the entire class IMO. Though this is partly down to the fact that in D&D spells are very much spells.
There is merit to the idea of all classes being moved towards having similar basic resources, i.e- all classes should have at least one major long rest resource, with some recovery on short rest, as this would make class balance a lot less susceptible to the number of short rests a campaign uses. That's not to say they'd all be identical (which is what 4e tried), as we could still have full casters be more dependent on those resources for stronger effects, while martials have less bursty effects combined with more always-on features so there's still that balance of long-term performance versus short-term risk to set casters and martials apart.
But it definitely feels like we need classes to have more in common so they're easier to balance against each other; currently pure martials and pure casters are two entirely different beasts, and WotC don't seem to know how to balance the two of them properly. While martials have got some decent boosts (excluding the Monk who IMO lost more than they gained), they've also boosted most casters as well so we're no better off; it's like they still don't recognise there's an imbalance that needs addressing.
I'd hoped we might see in OneD&D a move to make more abilities hybrid short and long rest limited, to eliminate (or at least reduce) the short rest problem; i.e- current long rest only abilities (including spell slots) have fewer uses but gain short rest recovery, while short rest only abilities become long rest with more uses and some short rest recovery. Most wouldn't meet in the middle, spellcasting would still be more long rest dependent than short rest dependent etc. but it would mean all classes would be reliant on short rests to a much more similar degree. But while they've been tweak short rest resources on races for a while now, they haven't done as much for classes.
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I have no problem with magical mystical monks, I dislike spellcasting mechanics and flavor for monk play.
The reason Monks need spellcasting mechanics isn't because of a need to cast spells. The reason Monks ned spellcasting mechanics is because spellcasters use a different resource to cast their spells than they use for their unique class abilities. To paraphrase a comment about the 2014 Way of the Four Elements subclass I heard once, "Why do I have to choose between doing Monk things and doing Spellcaster things? Isn't the whole point supposed to be that I do both at the same time?" If Monks need to spend Ki/Discipline to do their basic Monk class features but also need to spend Ki to do their mystical spellcasting features, you end up with a Monk that doesn't have enough resources to effectively specialize in either.
I have no problem with magical mystical monks, I dislike spellcasting mechanics and flavor for monk play.
The reason Monks need spellcasting mechanics isn't because of a need to cast spells. The reason Monks ned spellcasting mechanics is because spellcasters use a different resource to cast their spells than they use for their unique class abilities. To paraphrase a comment about the 2014 Way of the Four Elements subclass I heard once, "Why do I have to choose between doing Monk things and doing Spellcaster things? Isn't the whole point supposed to be that I do both at the same time?" If Monks need to spend Ki/Discipline to do their basic Monk class features but also need to spend Ki to do their mystical spellcasting features, you end up with a Monk that doesn't have enough resources to effectively specialize in either.
the answer imo is not to add long rest limited features, its to better balance the monks resources. And type of resources. Many of the common monk features don't even need to use Ki, the numbers are balanced so if they used them all the time they would still be sub par. (dodge creates a weaker shield fighter, FOB Max damage output is lower than fighter/barbarians avg damage, step of wind is like cunning action but with a cost and reduction in dps, and they are all mutually exclusive via BA)
they did this with the other martials in UA without adding spell casting, and minimized monk's ability to do so effectively.
they created the resource of weapon mastery, which is limited in options by class (how many you get) and how many available per round by attacks you get (weapon swap can switch once every two turns) (unfortunately monk has the worst weapon use from any possible martial subclass in the game now, being limited to simple 1h weapons)
they created cunning strike which uses sneak attack dice as a resource to alter the battle.
they increased second wind uses, and gave it short rest returns, long rest returns and gave it three uses now, boost ability checks, recover hp, and extra movement
even barbarian can now leverage rage uses to increase skill checks, And rage lasts longer.
so they are perfectly capable of creating new mechanics that use new or different types of resources, or adjust resource use without dipping into spellcasting. Which is very off theme and mechanics for monk. All those features for other martials make those classes better while also staying on theme and reducing rest dependency.
Make monk less rest dependent, not more LR dependent, And give them more unique features that fit the class fantasy/design. Stealing spell casters design and feature structure just makes another caster. A monks main concept is not a guy muttering incantations. The theme of monk is they train their bodies and their minds, and tap the true inner potential. They don't cast spells, they become magical creatures through enlightenment/training. They didn't use to master weapons, they mastered themselves, which made the weapons as good as their overall training. (MA dice = weapon dice)
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You can of course do what you like, and everyone is entitled to their own perspective.
However, I have no interest in monk as a half caster, thats not what the primary fantasy of the class is.
to me this type of solution misses the goal, which is to have a cool martial artist go on adventures with their friends.
Here is why half caster and caster concepts don't fit.
1) Flavor/lore/world casting is a mental pursuit, it is themed as learning how the world works, and then following the proper methods for requesting/enacting a result, its like a less hands on version of science. Probably closest to programming. You got programmers(wizards), hackers(warlocks), and mods/admins(sorcerers). The theme is to obtain power too manipulate reality. None of this lines up with the monk,, whose primary fantasy is active, In the previous analogy, they are not the programmer, they seek to be the power user, who can realize the full potential of the software. This is like the guy who has mastered photoshopp 2015, or blender.
also in terms of lore, spells are cast, they use verbal, somatic and material components, Imagine a martial artist, who K.O. their opponents by saying some words, hand motions, and throwing a chicken bone. Thats not a martial artist.
Also, the theme and fantasy of the martial artist needs unique flavor. If haste is a spell, that every caster of a certain type has access to, thats not going to fit the flavor of how a martial artist achieves speed, or multiple attacks.
2)gameplay. Spell casting is designed primarily as a daily resource mechanic. It is also sub divided into various power teirs per day. This makes the primary gameplay strategic, which spells do I choose, and how do I apportion my resources, thats the primary game loop for casters. The gameplay that fits the monk is not that type of thing. The fantasy of a martial artist isnt, I can sometimes for a short period per long rest pull on fantastic powers, but I have to carefully manage their use. The fantasy is that I have trained and learned, and have new capabilities, and combat awareness. the gameplay that more closely lines up is short term resources, at will abilities, decisions based on the moment, reactions, round to round, not day focused decisions. The martial artist isnt the, I have certain number of special bullets guy.
I get that spell casting is the most developed, and versatile set of feature selection in the game, and the classes with access to it are generally better. However, that is actually a flaw, because the gameplay and theme of casters don't fit every class concept. Using that tool box may solve balance issues, and be easy to design, but it doesnt create a more interesting and diverse roleplaying game that encapsulates the fantasies of various tropes.
i haven't asked for an arcane subclass monk but i wouldn't say it doesn't work at all with the theme. they could easily be a sort of apothecary tradition that figured out how to mix spell components into a powder like ninjas in some of the final fantasy tactics games. keep a few of these pre-prepared packets around and use them to cause "spell-like effects" by... well, by casting that spell. perhaps give additional restriction that the spells don't work in the rain, wind, or strong underwater currents as the powerder must be dispersed before using both hands for the somatic components (no option for spellcasting focus). or just say it causes a ranged status effects with a minor elemental damage rider (so... cantrips). i wouldn't hate if shadow monks got some thrown weapon expertise and minor cool stuff to go with it, even if the damage was +INT.
it's the sort of thing i'd expect to see if devs ever realized people would buy a book of reskinned existing subclasses (Elements monk in this case) and niche lore. i think they're trying to keep their drool in their mouth when it comes to "flavor is free" sort of stuff, roped off like a nature preserve to be the domain of 3rd party publishers. but, there have been some weird cross-over IP monster manual editions and that Tal'Dorei book so who knows.
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Hand Motions like the exaggerated flourishes of Bruce Lee's movie characters, or Neo, before making a major fighting move? Or Verbal components like the steretypical kiai (both in real life, or the over-exaggerated ones done in movies ... like by Bruce Lee) made for a major attack? Or the repetition of a mantra, while adopting different types of stances or poses, while engaging some legendary ability?
There's that. There's also the many legends around the source archetypes having magical abilities, like Marco Polo claiming that he witnessed a Monk in Asia having the ability to levitate, legends of Monks who could pass through solid walls, etc. And in past editions, many of their special abilities that were based on those legends were literally "you can cast this spell, even though you don't have spell slots." That was typically done as a "times per day" limit, but making that more flexible is basically where the ki/discipline point system came from. They could just as easily have taken that in the other direction: just giving the Monk spell slots as their regulating resource for those spells that the Monk could cast.
Then you add in the "mind over matter" aspect of the legends/tropes of Eastern Mysticism and martial-arts. In the current set of the rules, "psionics" (mind over matter) for spell casters are essentially a special case of Arcane magic (Abberant Mind Sorcery, Great Old One Warlock, etc.). The Monk as a half-caster/half-martial can also work those elements into the class.
So, whether you're talking about real world myths and legends, movie tropes, past editions of the D&D class, or even other games (both Shadowrun and Mage put mystical-martial-arts into the category of magic), the idea of Monks getting their mystical abilities via magic isn't anything unusual nor out of place ... nor is it new for D&D to implement that magic via existing spells.
IMO the trouble I had with your initial proposal was treating them as Arcane half-casters. IMO they would need a hybrid spell list similar to Artificer, and be based on Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. e.g.
Cantrips : Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy, Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, Shillelagh, Guidance, Poison Spray, Fire Bolt, Blade Ward, Message, Mending
1st level Spells : Mage Armour, Shield, Absorb Elements, Sleep, Healing Word, Heroism, Sanctuary, Animal Friendship, Bless, Bane, Catapult, Comprehend Languages, Compelled Duel, Thunderous Smite, Wrathful Smite, Command, Detect Evil and Good, Detect Magic, Featherfall, Goodberry, Jump, Longstrider, Protect G/E, Speak with Animals, Thunderwave
2nd level Spells: Aid, Blur, Blindness/Deafness, Calm Emotions, Lesser Restoration, Levitate, Misty Step, Branding Smite, Enhance Ability, Darkness, Hold Person, Pass without Trace, Prayer of Healing, Mind Whip, See Invisibility, Protect from Poison, Spider Climb, Warding Wind, Invisibility
3rd level Spells: Fear, Water Walk, Fly, Haste, Slow, Spirit Shroud, Beacon of Hope, Blinding Smite, Counterspell/Dispel Magic, Mass Healing Word, Gaseous Form, Sending, Tongues, Speak with Dead, Speak with Plants, Thunderstep
4th level Spells: Control Water, Confusion, Shadow of Moil, Banishment, Dimension Door, Blight, Death Ward, Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility, Staggering Smite
5th level Spells: Greater Restoration, Rary's Telepathic Bond, True Seeing, Antilife Shell, Banishing Smite, Commune, Dream, Dispel Evil and Good, Hold Monster, Scrying, Telekinesis, Transmute Rock.
When I say "Arcane" I don't mean the "Arcane Spell LIst" as that's officially gone according to the last two play test documents. (and, don't get me wrong, I kind of lament that that's the case, but it is what it is) The Spell list would be like Paladin and Ranger: back to their own dedicated class spell lists since the big 3 spell lists are gone.
Instead, I mean it in the 5e PHB context of being a user of arcane magic (Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard). Of these, only two are Intelligence based casters. Three of them are Charisma based. I thought about that quite a bit, and decided on this (from one of my designer's notes in my writeup):
"I chose to keep the Monk as a Wisdom based caster for a few reasons. It keeps the Monk from having too much attribute synergy with the Wizard and Artificer (or Bard and Sorcerer, if I had chosen Charisma). This sets them apart from the other arcane casters, in the same way that the Paladin doesn’t have much attribute synergy with the Cleric. Further, the concept of the Monk can lend itself fairly well to the idea of a spiritualist (monastic priest, etc.) or naturalist (ascetic hermit or wandering naturalist), and sticking to Wisdom allows for attribute synergy for those who might want to Multiclass to the Cleric or Druid in order to address those tropes. (I had thought about making subclasses for them, but had sticking points wrt to the Cleric version; so I’m instead leaning toward handling those tropes via Multiclassing; but I might still add one that focuses on general mysticism with an emphasis on Metamagic options)"
This is the spell list I have in my write-up (along with a designer's note). I'm still tweaking it a little; I'm aiming for a total number of spells per level somewhere between the Paladin and Ranger or Artificer. There's also a few new spells in there: Empowered Strikes (which is kind of like Shillelagh for your fists), Blast Wave, Mystic Defense (deflect missiles, and melee attacks, as a spell), Paralyzing Strike (replaces Stunning Strike, but uses Paralysis instead of Stun, making it sort of like Hold Person as a melee attack enhancer), Pushing Strike (probably going to knock this down to a Cantrip, and make it more like a Lightning Lure that does a push instead of a pull).
Monk’s Spell List:
Designer’s Note on Spell List Choices: some of these spells replace special abilities that used to be comparable Monk class features from previous editions or versions. “Empowered Strikes” replaces the ability of the same name, as well as the “Bonus Action Unarmed Strike”, “Mage Armor” replaces “Unarmored Defense”, “Long Strider” and “Zephyr Strike” replace “Unarmored Movement”, “Mystic Defense” modifies “Deflect Missiles” and “Deflect Energy”, “Feather Fall” replaces “Slow Fall”, “Paralyzing Strike” and access to “Staggering Smite” replace “Stunning Strike”, “Spider Climb” and “Water Walk” replace “Acrobatic Movement”. From the higher level class features (meant to parallel “Mystic Arcanum), “True Seeing”, “Etherealness”, and “Astral Projection” are call backs to Monk features from past editions. "Freedom of Movement" is also a callback to Monk features from past editions, but doesn't need to be a "Mystic Arcanum" type class feature.
(the spells that I mentioned)
Blast Wave
2nd-Level Evocation Spell (Artificer, Monk)
Objects that are the same size or smaller than you are knocked over and/or away from you by the force of the blast.
Empowered Strikes
0-Level Transmutation Cantrip (Monk)
Mystic Defense
1st-Level Abjuration Spell (Monk)
Damage Deflection: If you are not wearing armor, magical energy enhances your ability to defend yourself against melee attacks that make an attack roll. If the attack does bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage, then this spell reduces damage taken by 1d6 + half Monk Level (drop fractions).
Damage Redirection: if you are not wielding a shield, and you reduce the damage to zero, you can redirect some of the attack back at the attacker. The attacker must make a Dexterity saving throw or take half of the original damage, of the same damage type as the damage that triggered the reaction. A successful saving throw means that the attacker doesn’t take any damage.
(note: adding ranged attacks and energy types to this feature is done via class features that only the Monk would get at higher levels, so those features aren't going to be available via a small level dip into Monk)
Paralyzing Strike
2nd-Level Enchantment Spell (Monk)
Pushing Strike
1st-Level Evocation Spell (Monk)
(note: I'm sort of thinking that this one isn't really much better than Lightning Lure, if at all ... so I might make it a Cantrip that scales at 5th, 10th, and 15th monk levels instead of scaling by spell slot)
The idea behind Blast Wave is two fold:
1) The mistake that many people make about Thunderwavae, thinking that it's centered on them (blasting people in every direction away from the caster) instead of the caster being at one of the cube vertexes.
2) There's a scene from the Matrix where Neo does a power-flex to re-center himself. This part is a semi-common trope in martial arts movies, when a main character has been injured. But the Matrix emphasizes this by having a radiating lensing distortion spread out from Neo when he does it. This doesn't blast anyone/anything, but it inspired me to have the "mistaken Thunderwave" be used to put some "push" behind this effect. (I think he also does it when fighting the army of Agent Smith duplicates, but more as a strike down on to the ground which DOES blast them away ... Thor does it in the opening battle of Ragnarok, with a ground strike as well -- all of which are valid uses of the Blast Wave idea... it's just that Thor isn't a Monk, he'd need it through some other avenue).
This is too limited to cover all the flavours of Monk represented by the subclasses, if you're sticking with this list, I'd recommend adding the equivalent of a Paladin's Oath spells to each subclass. If it's a half-caster I'd stick more to existing spells rather than inventing new spells that replace monk class features -> remember half-casters get a ton of class features in addition to casting so some things like Deflect Missiles can stay a class feature rather than be replaced with a spell.
Though honestly Shield + Absorb elements are just better than you Mystic Defense, so I suspect monk players would MC dip into something or use feats to grab them anyway, so just save them that cost and put them on the spell list. -- One of the big problems with monk isn't just that spells can replace their features, it that spells do it better. If the monk features are getting more restrictive use by costing spellslots that only recharge on a LR they need buffing.
Warrior of Elements and Warrior of Shadows definitely get bonus spells, and Warrior of Elements gets enhancements to things like Empowered Strikes and True Strike (more damage types).
There are a few things I have added with a variation of Sneak Attack/Cunning Strikes (more simple than my last attempt at that), that are more like what you get from Weapon Mastery abilities. And fewer dice per attack than what a Rogue gets. The Warrior of the Hand gets more of them, instead of getting a lot of bonus spells (and they get Push, so maybe I could move Push to the main class, and get rid of Pushing Strike as a spell/cantrip).
I had thought about Shield ... and you're not wrong. But it seemed like it would be less of a thematic match. That said, "I didn't take damage from that" is still a valid end result, so it might be easier to just go that route.
My bias to monks is towards the mystical side so i like the half caster idea. What would you do with all the monks class features like FOB, Sotw, PD, deflect missiles etc.....keep them or have them completely replaced by spells?
FOB: right now, I'm thinking that some of the higher level damage and special maneuvers are going to be akin to Sneak Attack/Cunning Strikes (Martial Strikes, but more simple than the last time I wrote that up), where you get some bonus damage dice (fewer than a Rogue, 3 max, but usable for every attack and not just once per turn). And Some of these special abilities will be like Weapon Masteries. Flurry of Blows is basically going to be a Cunning Strike that essentially works like the Cleave weapon mastery. You can do it once per turn, whether as part of a Bonus Action attack or an Attack action attack.
SotW and PD: same as current, except that SotW is Dash OR Disengage, and only costs your Bonus Action.
Deflect Missiles: currently via the above Mystic Defense spell, with a class feature that lets you use that spell against ranged attacks (and a higher level class feature that lets you use it against area effects that do damage, and then Deflect Energy is a class feature that lets you use it against any damage type). But I might scrap it to go with Shield and Absorb Elements.
These might also work well.
Expeditious Retreat, gift of alacrity, augury (meditating to get answers), tongues (sort of like tongue of sun and moon) , catnap (teaching others to meditate) , greater invisibility, rary's telepathic bond, animate objects (more jedi powers). Maybe even some healing spells like cure wounds or healing word would be thematic since minor healing options like quickened healing are already available to all monks.
subclass is fine, main class, I don't think its the core concept or fantasy.
also, what is the monk in your world bringing that paladin, eldritch knight or bladesinger doesnt?
I have no problem with magical mystical monks, I dislike spellcasting mechanics and flavor for monk play.
Oddly enough, that came up before (https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/unearthed-arcana/171023-so-what-now-with-the-monk?page=91#c1830). I wouldn't go with 'arcane', though; it's clearly a wisdom-based caster with a unique spell list, though a fair number of them are arcane spells.
This 1/2 caster Monk is far too spell heavy. Open Hand, Drunken, and Kensei don’t feel like they belong in this class. The other monks fit fine.
Monks as half casters? Hard pass.
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Yeah not a fan of the idea of making the entire class half casters; I'm not opposed to making four elements a third caster with some Ki-based spell slot recovery or similar, but not the entire class IMO. Though this is partly down to the fact that in D&D spells are very much spells.
There is merit to the idea of all classes being moved towards having similar basic resources, i.e- all classes should have at least one major long rest resource, with some recovery on short rest, as this would make class balance a lot less susceptible to the number of short rests a campaign uses. That's not to say they'd all be identical (which is what 4e tried), as we could still have full casters be more dependent on those resources for stronger effects, while martials have less bursty effects combined with more always-on features so there's still that balance of long-term performance versus short-term risk to set casters and martials apart.
But it definitely feels like we need classes to have more in common so they're easier to balance against each other; currently pure martials and pure casters are two entirely different beasts, and WotC don't seem to know how to balance the two of them properly. While martials have got some decent boosts (excluding the Monk who IMO lost more than they gained), they've also boosted most casters as well so we're no better off; it's like they still don't recognise there's an imbalance that needs addressing.
I'd hoped we might see in OneD&D a move to make more abilities hybrid short and long rest limited, to eliminate (or at least reduce) the short rest problem; i.e- current long rest only abilities (including spell slots) have fewer uses but gain short rest recovery, while short rest only abilities become long rest with more uses and some short rest recovery. Most wouldn't meet in the middle, spellcasting would still be more long rest dependent than short rest dependent etc. but it would mean all classes would be reliant on short rests to a much more similar degree. But while they've been tweak short rest resources on races for a while now, they haven't done as much for classes.
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The reason Monks need spellcasting mechanics isn't because of a need to cast spells. The reason Monks ned spellcasting mechanics is because spellcasters use a different resource to cast their spells than they use for their unique class abilities. To paraphrase a comment about the 2014 Way of the Four Elements subclass I heard once, "Why do I have to choose between doing Monk things and doing Spellcaster things? Isn't the whole point supposed to be that I do both at the same time?" If Monks need to spend Ki/Discipline to do their basic Monk class features but also need to spend Ki to do their mystical spellcasting features, you end up with a Monk that doesn't have enough resources to effectively specialize in either.
honestly, half-caster monk is too easily modeled by a modified trickster rogue to bother with anything more complicated.
it's been in the back of my mind for a while that 'ninja' are less monk-in-the-shadows and more rogue-with-training.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
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the answer imo is not to add long rest limited features, its to better balance the monks resources. And type of resources. Many of the common monk features don't even need to use Ki, the numbers are balanced so if they used them all the time they would still be sub par. (dodge creates a weaker shield fighter, FOB Max damage output is lower than fighter/barbarians avg damage, step of wind is like cunning action but with a cost and reduction in dps, and they are all mutually exclusive via BA)
they did this with the other martials in UA without adding spell casting, and minimized monk's ability to do so effectively.
they created the resource of weapon mastery, which is limited in options by class (how many you get) and how many available per round by attacks you get (weapon swap can switch once every two turns) (unfortunately monk has the worst weapon use from any possible martial subclass in the game now, being limited to simple 1h weapons)
they created cunning strike which uses sneak attack dice as a resource to alter the battle.
they increased second wind uses, and gave it short rest returns, long rest returns and gave it three uses now, boost ability checks, recover hp, and extra movement
even barbarian can now leverage rage uses to increase skill checks, And rage lasts longer.
so they are perfectly capable of creating new mechanics that use new or different types of resources, or adjust resource use without dipping into spellcasting. Which is very off theme and mechanics for monk. All those features for other martials make those classes better while also staying on theme and reducing rest dependency.
Make monk less rest dependent, not more LR dependent, And give them more unique features that fit the class fantasy/design. Stealing spell casters design and feature structure just makes another caster. A monks main concept is not a guy muttering incantations. The theme of monk is they train their bodies and their minds, and tap the true inner potential. They don't cast spells, they become magical creatures through enlightenment/training. They didn't use to master weapons, they mastered themselves, which made the weapons as good as their overall training. (MA dice = weapon dice)