I have an idea for a magic item for Monks that I'm wanting some help refining and balancing, if it's too much. A quick note I NEVER feel good about decisions i make when balancing homebrew. This item could be way too powerful, or too weak and I probably wouldn't be able to tell.

A little background on the idea for the weapon. I as making a Monk character and couldn't decide on what weapon I wanted to give him. Nunchaku are super cool, but a Bo Staffs are the best, because Donatello ROCKS, and a Jian would be pretty rad as well. You can see my dilemma. Then I got the idea for an enchanted Bo Staff that could change into any Monk weapon, all of the above plus hook swords, tonfa's, rope dart, etc. This would be pretty simple. I figure if all we're doing it changing out the weapon then an Uncommon Magic Item should cover something like this. It uses your free item interaction for the round and it has the same stats as a normal weapon of that type, pretty basic. But then I had to go and get extra about it.

What if it scaled in power as you advanced and unlocked some abilities. like the next step up could be a +1 enchantment. I also wanted a good final ability for it, and that's when the lore for the weapon started flowing. What if this weapon has been passed down from one master to the next for generations. And over time each master imbues the weapon with part of their fighting spirit. How would I mimic the without having to create something whole cloth... Fighting styles.

At the final level when you choose the form the weapon takes you can spend 2 Ki points to access the fighting spirit of one of the former masters granting you access to a Fighting Style, or feat, based on the type of weapon you choose. I threw in some feat options because they fit better with some of the weapon types.

So to sum it all up, and I know Ironwood isn't really a thing anymore, but I've always liked it, and it seemed to make sense since it can for bladed weapons.

Legendary Magic Weapon

Basic state: an Ironwood Bo Staff that can take the form of any Martial Arts weapon. This would include any weapon available to a Kensei Monk.

Advancement 1: +1 bonus to attack and damage.

Advancement 2: You can spend 2 Ki points to gain access to a fighting style based on the type of weapon you choose. This lasts until you use this ability again, or you take a short rest.

• One handed weapon: Dueling fighting style.
• Dual wielding/double weapons: Dual Weilding Feat. (I know this is a feat, but the monk already gets the benefits of the two-Weapon Fighting style.)
• Two-Handed Weapon: Great Weapon Fighting style.

So, I'm looking for help balancing this weapon (is it too strong, too weak, or too far out of whack to save?), and also what other Fighting Styles and weapon types could be applicable for Monks. This turned out pretty long, so thanks if you managed to make it to the end.

This is not too strong. I'd put it somewhere between Rare and Very Rare.

I'm not sure what two-handed weapons a monk would even use, so not sure if that needs to be an option. Dueling is going to add 4 damage per round tops, while DW is effectively just adding 1 AC. Keep in mind that in later levels these weapons are competing with a d10 fist.

I don't really envision monks needing weapons to gain a fighting style. They ARE a fighting style. One alternate mechanic I might look at is Battlemaster techniques - those kind of extra effects that provide fun tactical options.

When I was looking for a weapon to use I saw a fair amount of long glaive type weapons. That’s what the two-handed style is there for. But I did just notice that Kensai does exclude heavy weapons, which was the reason I included it. I thought Kensai could choose heavy weapons. So I will probably remove that one.

Since the weapons would be monk weapons they would deal the monk martial arts die for damage, so it wouldn’t really be competing with a d10. They would be dealing the same damage.

It’s not so much that they need a fighting style, I was using them because they are something that already exists so I wouldn’t have to create mechanics for.

I like the idea of Battle Master techniques, and considered them at first. I just thought using fighting styles would be a simpler way to go. It might be worth revisiting the idea though.

thanks for the feedback though. I had it in my head the weapon would be considered legendary, but rare or very rare might be more accurate.

Remember two things:

1. The Great Weapon Fighting Style even works with Versatile weapons when wielded with two hands, like Quarterstaffs and Spears.
2. The Monk’s Martial Arts die will only be a d10 once the Monk is of a high enough level. At lower levels it’s exceedingly useful for a Monk to have a Monk Weapon with a higher damage die. That’s why Quarterstaffs and Spears are so popular for monks, because of the 1d6/(1d8) damage dice.

One thing you could do is say that no matter what form the weapon takes, it always counts as a Monk Weapon, and it always does 1d6 damage when wielded with 1 hand, and 1d8 damage when wielded two-handed unless the Martial Arts die is higher. Then all you really need it to do is add Reach at a high enough level of advancement to make it like a Glaive. It could then still work very well with GWFS. (It would also let you use the Quarterstaff as the base weapon, which would make it easier to code on DDB.) Food for thought.

I hope that helps.

PS-The monk only gets the equivalent of the bonus from the Two Weapon Fighting Style when they make an Unarmed Strike as their bonus action, not an attack with a Monk Weapon. That fighting style is still viable for a Monk.

Quote from TheMan72344 >>

It’s not so much that they need a fighting style, I was using them because they are something that already exists so I wouldn’t have to create mechanics for.

I like the idea of Battle Master techniques, and considered them at first. I just thought using fighting styles would be a simpler way to go. It might be worth revisiting the idea though.

 I understand that for sure. Simpler, existing mechanics carry a lot of benefit and keep it feeling like 5e content. I guess my issue is more about "feel." Fighting styles are unobtrusive to the point that a duelist or dual wielder practically forgets they have it. It's just a part of their normal attack.

But I wouldn't aim for unobtrusive on the capstone of a legendary item. It should be flashy and exciting. The 2d6 fire of the flametongue sword mechanically shakes out to be a damage bonus on each hit in the same way dueling style is, but it manages to be much more in-your-face about it. You rarely forget that your sword is frickin on fire. Of course you also don't want something mechanically complex that requires the user to read over the description again every time they make an attack, but I think you can aim at a sweet spot between that and "so streamlined I forgot it was there."

Does that make any sense? I could just be overthinking it, but when I make items I often have to step out of my "is it balanced" mindset to reevaluate "does it actually feel epic to use?"

To be clear, the shapeshifting definitely fits the epic criteria. I just think there might be an expectation on something with advancement that the final form would be the mostest epicest.

Quote from scatterbraind >>

Quote from TheMan72344 >>

It’s not so much that they need a fighting style, I was using them because they are something that already exists so I wouldn’t have to create mechanics for.

I like the idea of Battle Master techniques, and considered them at first. I just thought using fighting styles would be a simpler way to go. It might be worth revisiting the idea though.

 I understand that for sure. Simpler, existing mechanics carry a lot of benefit and keep it feeling like 5e content. I guess my issue is more about "feel." Fighting styles are unobtrusive to the point that a duelist or dual wielder practically forgets they have it. It's just a part of their normal attack.

But I wouldn't aim for unobtrusive on the capstone of a legendary item. It should be flashy and exciting. The 2d6 fire of the flametongue sword mechanically shakes out to be a damage bonus on each hit in the same way dueling style is, but it manages to be much more in-your-face about it. You rarely forget that your sword is frickin on fire. Of course you also don't want something mechanically complex that requires the user to read over the description again every time they make an attack, but I think you can aim at a sweet spot between that and "so streamlined I forgot it was there."

Does that make any sense? I could just be overthinking it, but when I make items I often have to step out of my "is it balanced" mindset to reevaluate "does it actually feel epic to use?"

To be clear, the shapeshifting definitely fits the epic criteria. I just think there might be an expectation on something with advancement that the final form would be the mostest epicest.

 
How about something sortakinda like this as a spitball idea:

Legendary Magic Weapon

Basic state: an Ironwood Bo Staff that can take the form of any Martial Arts weapon. This would include any weapon available to a Kensei Monk. Any weapon wielded with one hand deals 1d6 damage on a hit, a weapon wielded with two hands deals 1d8 damage on a hit, unless your martial arts did is higher. And it grants a Fighting Style depending on its form.

• One handed weapon: Dueling Fighting Style.
• Dual wielding/double weapons: Two-Weapon Fighting Style
• Two-Handed Weapon: Great Weapon Fighting Style.

Advancement 1: +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and to your AC. You can use this weapon with Flurry or Blows.

Advancement 2: You can spend 2 Ki points to Make this weapon oversized for the next minute. While oversized it gains the following benefits: 

• The weapon gains the Reach property regardless of its form.
• Attacks with this weapon deal an additional 1d4 force damage on a hit.
• On a critical hit, this weapon also knocks a target prone unless they succeed at a Strength saving throw against your Ki save DC.