Aside from most of the features being kind of boring, the main thing that bothers me about this subclass is actually mostly thematic. I fully understand wanting to get away from permanent choices, fair enough.. But then why on earth do you pick the one theme that you would expect to include permanent choices as your basis for a subclass? I feel like the main thing about tattoos and scars is that they are permanent body modifications, that is pretty core to the whole thing right? Obviously these are magic tattoos and its not huge leap to imagine magic tattoos changing.. Its just so strange to me that youd pick a theme which immediate requires an extra explanation with its basic behavior.
On top of that, what else do we typically think when we think "tattoo"? Usually they are very personal right? These are works of art, often chosen for some kind of private meaning. Now you tell me that the tattoo class tells me that I must have 1 tattoo each of a few very specific types. Obviously this is purely aesthetic, but its another of of those things where I feel like the basic premise for the subclass does not really fit well with the actual features.
I feel like a properly implemented tattooed warrior would communicate their own personal character though their tattoos but nah, you are level 17, time to put that displacer beast on your chest.
Aside from most of the features being kind of boring, the main thing that bothers me about this subclass is actually mostly thematic. I fully understand wanting to get away from permanent choices, fair enough.. But then why on earth do you pick the one theme that you would expect to include permanent choices as your basis for a subclass? I feel like the main thing about tattoos and scars is that they are permanent body modifications, that is pretty core to the whole thing right? Obviously these are magic tattoos and its not huge leap to imagine magic tattoos changing.. Its just so strange to me that youd pick a theme which immediate requires an extra explanation with its basic behavior.
On top of that, what else do we typically think when we think "tattoo"? Usually they are very personal right? These are works of art, often chosen for some kind of private meaning. Now you tell me that the tattoo class tells me that I must have 1 tattoo each of a few very specific types. Obviously this is purely aesthetic, but its another of of those things where I feel like the basic premise for the subclass does not really fit well with the actual features.
I feel like a properly implemented tattooed warrior would communicate their own personal character though their tattoos but nah, you are level 17, time to put that displacer beast on your chest.
i get what you are saying, but also, you point out how things might be different in a magical world.
As far as tatoos being custom, in many cultures tattoos are tied to specific iconagraphy and meaning. IE a dragon represents XYZ. And any one looking for XYZ gets a dragon tattoo. Especially in the context of arcane magic tattos, this makes sense.
And as with any aethetic description of a feature, i think the player and DM can change it to be more appropriate to the circumstance
that said, i think tattoo monk gives up a lot of design space that it should probably, imo, go in to by trying to keep its design primarily spell based.
essentially im saying you have a point, but if the class was executed better it might seem worth hand waving some things, or taking a different perspective on what tattos signify
One last mock up of something different for a tattooed warrior
3rd Magic Tattoos
Same as UA
3rd Spell Tattoos
You gain two tattoos infused with a 1st level spell chosen from the Wizard spell list. Each spell tattoo can contain the same 1st level spell or different 1st level spells of your choice from the Wizard spell list. When you cast a spell using a tattoo you ignore any material components, except those that have a cost listed in the spell or that are consumed by the spell. At certain levels you gain additional tattoos that can be infused with spells of higher levels. These spells must be chosen from the Wizard spell list. 7th one tattoo that can be infused with a 2nd level spell. 13th one tattoo that can be infused with a 3rd level spell. 19th one tattoo that can be infused with a 4th level spell. You may use a spell tattoo to cast the spell infused within it once and regain the use of the tattoo when you complete a long rest. Alternatively when you complete a short rest you may expend a number of focus points equal to the level of the spell infused in the tattoo to immediately regain the use of the tattoo. If you have spell slots you may use them to cast a spell infused in your tattoo.
6th Charged Tattoos
You gain two Charged Tattoos of your choice. Each tattoo has two charges. When you finish a long rest you regain all your Charged Tattoos charges.
Just steal the magic item tattoos from tasha’s and adjust them to 6th level power and give them two charges. Also adjust the better beast and celestial tattoos to work with charges and not cast spells. Then make up a few more to round out the options. I’ll do a couple examples, but the real designers can do more balanced and more fun options.
Barrier- but it offers an AC calculation choice of 10+ prof +Wis and can expend a charge as a reaction when you or an ally within 30ft are targeted by an attack roll to add +5 to your/their AC until the start of your next turn.
Bat- same as UA but, You can spend a charge and the range of the blindsight is 30ft
Coiling Grasp-Vine whip cantrip and spend a charge to do grasping tendrils, but it targets all creatures of your choice within 15ft.
Crane- spend a charge when you miss any unarmed attack and all your unarmed attacks have advantage until the start of your next turn
Crescent Moon- message cantrip and you can spend a charge as a bonus action to teleport 30ft or your current movement speed.
Dragon-
Eclipse
Eldritch Claw
Ghost Step
Holy Symbol
Illiminator’s
Lifewell
Mascarade
Spider
Sunburst
Unholy Symbol
11th Absorbing Tattoos
Literally just steal the tasha’s tattoos of the same name. Select two resistances, but can only use the immunity/absorption reaction once. Regain the use of that reaction when you complete a long rest. Additionally once per turn when you hit with an unarmed strike you can spend 1 focus point to add an additional martial arts die of damage. All the damage from this attack is one of the damage types from your Absorbing Tattoos (your choice).
17th Tattoo Mastery
You gain 1 additional Charged Tattoo and your Charged Tattoos gain 1 additional charge for a total of 3 charges per tattoo when you complete a short rest. You gain an additional 2nd level spell tattoo and an additional 3 level spell tattoo. When you use a spell tattoo to cast a spell you can expend a number of focus points to effectively increase the level at which the spell is cast. You can not increase a spell to a level higher than 5th. Example: You cast Witch Bolt with a 1st level spell tattoo and expend 4 focus points, you effectively cast Witch Bolt as if it were cast with a 5th level spell slot.
I feel the same about this UA monk. I really like being able to pick options at the subclass feature levels. I do wish you could swap them on long rest or some other means. instead of when you get new a tattoo. Especially with the resistance ones at 11th. Although I think, if they kept them, they should be permanent until swapped out for another. I mean, using an action to activate seems a waste and you already get Deflect Energy, which could handle a lot of times where these elemental damages would come from.
But really, most of the options are just not worth taking or are just meh. Some other options, besides casting a spell, would be nice Although I don't mind them giving a cantrip. Bat and Spider aren't too bad, but Bat shouldn't cost extra FP. Beholder's Fly should give equal to your speed and maybe uses equal to Wis mod, if permanent fly is too much. And I'm not sure on Blink. I mean you already don't provoke OA and they have disadvantage to hit you, with Disengage and Dodge active. Displacer Beast isn't bad. You are going to be FoBing anyway. But don't think it needs the extra cost, just a use limit per long rest possibly.
other options like:
activate a tattoo (no action required) and for 1 minute soothing mists emanates from you. Once on your turn you can heal a creature in the emanation for two rolls of your martial arts die.
Or for 1 minute you gain resistance from B,P,S damage and cannot be forcibly moved against your will.
Or a dragon tattoo where you get a breath weapon attack.
Or a magical shuriken ranged attack that does elemental damage.
I don't mind the options tied to FoB, PD, or SotW. Maybe get an effect that doesn't require more FP to spend but is just added. Like with FoB you gain Weapon Mastery-like effect.
I really hope they rework this subclass and make improvements. I mean, look what they did with Elements monk. It's a cool concept that I wish would work better than this.
I think Id be fitting if every tattoo either came with an "always on" or "At will" feature, then, you can add a focus cost to enhance the effect. In general I also just tend to find "You can use a spell" to be pretty boring.. That kinda thing needs to at least have some kind of unique twist on the spell.
Spellcasters use the spell slots granted by their class to cast spells from their subclass.
Subclass spells are a fraction of what a spellcaster subclass offers. Can you imagine a sorcerer or warlock subclass that was literally just: add these spells to your spell list? And nothing else? Cause that's what this is doing.
The most direct parallels are existing martial subclasses that add spellcasting ability - like Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster. Note that these subclasses:
Grant an entirely new resource pool for spellcasting
Still get a full suite of actual subclass features to boot - War Magic, Magical Ambush, Spell Thief, etc. These are good features.
Every time they try to do a spellcasting monk they ignore this. They pretend like "you get to spend ki to cast one spell" is all you should get. It makes these subclasses extremely disappointing in actual play. You cast a spell 1-2 times and the rest of the day you're a monk without a subclass.
I thought that they had figured this out when I saw Shadow Monk. The level 3 feature there grants minor illusion, darkness, a significant subclass-specfic enhancement of that spell (that makes it super fun to use), and +60 feet of darkvision. THAT is what a subclass feature should look like for a casting monk. It doesn't have to be exactly like the other casting martials, but it needs to be more than what Tattoo monk is getting.
11 years of focused feedback has taught them "if it doesn't have a combat application, the social medias won't like it, & we must avoid anything that could start a bad press movement".
That's why they're so focused on what y'all see as homogenization.
11 years of compressed data, social media reactionaries & editorials masquerading as journalism.
& we ALL fed the beast in some way or another to end up at this point.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
11 years of focused feedback has taught them "if it doesn't have a combat application, the social medias won't like it, & we must avoid anything that could start a bad press movement".
That's why they're so focused on what y'all see as homogenization.
11 years of compressed data, social media reactionaries & editorials masquerading as journalism.
& we ALL fed the beast in some way or another to end up at this point.
not sure how this take relates.
i dont think the flaw in design here is homgenization, they have homgenized subclasses that are designed better than this, they have unique subclasses designed better than this. its an objectively poor subclass, Its not even a good utility/versatility subclass.
One idea. Character gets one tattoo at the levels they gain a subclass feat.
Character gets B/S/P damage reduction of +1 per tattoo
Tatoo ideas.
BA. Remove a tattoo and it becomes a Monk Weapon for 10 minutes. (The weapon goes back to being a tattoo)
BA Touch a tattoo and get some ability. Darkvision or blind sight for a while. AN extra reaction only for deflect attack for a turn. A teleport or a 30-foot leap. at a cost of 1 focus point.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Aside from most of the features being kind of boring, the main thing that bothers me about this subclass is actually mostly thematic. I fully understand wanting to get away from permanent choices, fair enough.. But then why on earth do you pick the one theme that you would expect to include permanent choices as your basis for a subclass? I feel like the main thing about tattoos and scars is that they are permanent body modifications, that is pretty core to the whole thing right? Obviously these are magic tattoos and its not huge leap to imagine magic tattoos changing.. Its just so strange to me that youd pick a theme which immediate requires an extra explanation with its basic behavior.
On top of that, what else do we typically think when we think "tattoo"? Usually they are very personal right? These are works of art, often chosen for some kind of private meaning. Now you tell me that the tattoo class tells me that I must have 1 tattoo each of a few very specific types. Obviously this is purely aesthetic, but its another of of those things where I feel like the basic premise for the subclass does not really fit well with the actual features.
I feel like a properly implemented tattooed warrior would communicate their own personal character though their tattoos but nah, you are level 17, time to put that displacer beast on your chest.
i get what you are saying, but also, you point out how things might be different in a magical world.
As far as tatoos being custom, in many cultures tattoos are tied to specific iconagraphy and meaning. IE a dragon represents XYZ. And any one looking for XYZ gets a dragon tattoo. Especially in the context of arcane magic tattos, this makes sense.
And as with any aethetic description of a feature, i think the player and DM can change it to be more appropriate to the circumstance
that said, i think tattoo monk gives up a lot of design space that it should probably, imo, go in to by trying to keep its design primarily spell based.
essentially im saying you have a point, but if the class was executed better it might seem worth hand waving some things, or taking a different perspective on what tattos signify
One last mock up of something different for a tattooed warrior
3rd Magic Tattoos
Same as UA
3rd Spell Tattoos
You gain two tattoos infused with a 1st level spell chosen from the Wizard spell list. Each spell tattoo can contain the same 1st level spell or different 1st level spells of your choice from the Wizard spell list. When you cast a spell using a tattoo you ignore any material components, except those that have a cost listed in the spell or that are consumed by the spell. At certain levels you gain additional tattoos that can be infused with spells of higher levels. These spells must be chosen from the Wizard spell list. 7th one tattoo that can be infused with a 2nd level spell. 13th one tattoo that can be infused with a 3rd level spell. 19th one tattoo that can be infused with a 4th level spell. You may use a spell tattoo to cast the spell infused within it once and regain the use of the tattoo when you complete a long rest. Alternatively when you complete a short rest you may expend a number of focus points equal to the level of the spell infused in the tattoo to immediately regain the use of the tattoo. If you have spell slots you may use them to cast a spell infused in your tattoo.
6th Charged Tattoos
You gain two Charged Tattoos of your choice. Each tattoo has two charges. When you finish a long rest you regain all your Charged Tattoos charges.
Just steal the magic item tattoos from tasha’s and adjust them to 6th level power and give them two charges. Also adjust the better beast and celestial tattoos to work with charges and not cast spells. Then make up a few more to round out the options. I’ll do a couple examples, but the real designers can do more balanced and more fun options.
Barrier- but it offers an AC calculation choice of 10+ prof +Wis and can expend a charge as a reaction when you or an ally within 30ft are targeted by an attack roll to add +5 to your/their AC until the start of your next turn.
Bat- same as UA but, You can spend a charge and the range of the blindsight is 30ft
Coiling Grasp-Vine whip cantrip and spend a charge to do grasping tendrils, but it targets all creatures of your choice within 15ft.
Crane- spend a charge when you miss any unarmed attack and all your unarmed attacks have advantage until the start of your next turn
Crescent Moon- message cantrip and you can spend a charge as a bonus action to teleport 30ft or your current movement speed.
Dragon-
Eclipse
Eldritch Claw
Ghost Step
Holy Symbol
Illiminator’s
Lifewell
Mascarade
Spider
Sunburst
Unholy Symbol
11th Absorbing Tattoos
Literally just steal the tasha’s tattoos of the same name. Select two resistances, but can only use the immunity/absorption reaction once. Regain the use of that reaction when you complete a long rest. Additionally once per turn when you hit with an unarmed strike you can spend 1 focus point to add an additional martial arts die of damage. All the damage from this attack is one of the damage types from your Absorbing Tattoos (your choice).
17th Tattoo Mastery
You gain 1 additional Charged Tattoo and your Charged Tattoos gain 1 additional charge for a total of 3 charges per tattoo when you complete a short rest. You gain an additional 2nd level spell tattoo and an additional 3 level spell tattoo. When you use a spell tattoo to cast a spell you can expend a number of focus points to effectively increase the level at which the spell is cast. You can not increase a spell to a level higher than 5th. Example: You cast Witch Bolt with a 1st level spell tattoo and expend 4 focus points, you effectively cast Witch Bolt as if it were cast with a 5th level spell slot.
I feel the same about this UA monk. I really like being able to pick options at the subclass feature levels. I do wish you could swap them on long rest or some other means. instead of when you get new a tattoo. Especially with the resistance ones at 11th. Although I think, if they kept them, they should be permanent until swapped out for another. I mean, using an action to activate seems a waste and you already get Deflect Energy, which could handle a lot of times where these elemental damages would come from.
But really, most of the options are just not worth taking or are just meh. Some other options, besides casting a spell, would be nice Although I don't mind them giving a cantrip. Bat and Spider aren't too bad, but Bat shouldn't cost extra FP. Beholder's Fly should give equal to your speed and maybe uses equal to Wis mod, if permanent fly is too much. And I'm not sure on Blink. I mean you already don't provoke OA and they have disadvantage to hit you, with Disengage and Dodge active. Displacer Beast isn't bad. You are going to be FoBing anyway. But don't think it needs the extra cost, just a use limit per long rest possibly.
other options like:
I don't mind the options tied to FoB, PD, or SotW. Maybe get an effect that doesn't require more FP to spend but is just added. Like with FoB you gain Weapon Mastery-like effect.
I really hope they rework this subclass and make improvements. I mean, look what they did with Elements monk. It's a cool concept that I wish would work better than this.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I think Id be fitting if every tattoo either came with an "always on" or "At will" feature, then, you can add a focus cost to enhance the effect. In general I also just tend to find "You can use a spell" to be pretty boring.. That kinda thing needs to at least have some kind of unique twist on the spell.
Subclass spells are a fraction of what a spellcaster subclass offers. Can you imagine a sorcerer or warlock subclass that was literally just: add these spells to your spell list? And nothing else? Cause that's what this is doing.
The most direct parallels are existing martial subclasses that add spellcasting ability - like Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster. Note that these subclasses:
Every time they try to do a spellcasting monk they ignore this. They pretend like "you get to spend ki to cast one spell" is all you should get. It makes these subclasses extremely disappointing in actual play. You cast a spell 1-2 times and the rest of the day you're a monk without a subclass.
I thought that they had figured this out when I saw Shadow Monk. The level 3 feature there grants minor illusion, darkness, a significant subclass-specfic enhancement of that spell (that makes it super fun to use), and +60 feet of darkvision. THAT is what a subclass feature should look like for a casting monk. It doesn't have to be exactly like the other casting martials, but it needs to be more than what Tattoo monk is getting.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
11 years of focused feedback has taught them "if it doesn't have a combat application, the social medias won't like it, & we must avoid anything that could start a bad press movement".
That's why they're so focused on what y'all see as homogenization.
11 years of compressed data, social media reactionaries & editorials masquerading as journalism.
& we ALL fed the beast in some way or another to end up at this point.
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
not sure how this take relates.
i dont think the flaw in design here is homgenization, they have homgenized subclasses that are designed better than this, they have unique subclasses designed better than this. its an objectively poor subclass, Its not even a good utility/versatility subclass.
One idea. Character gets one tattoo at the levels they gain a subclass feat.
Character gets B/S/P damage reduction of +1 per tattoo
Tatoo ideas.
BA. Remove a tattoo and it becomes a Monk Weapon for 10 minutes. (The weapon goes back to being a tattoo)
BA Touch a tattoo and get some ability. Darkvision or blind sight for a while. AN extra reaction only for deflect attack for a turn. A teleport or a 30-foot leap. at a cost of 1 focus point.