Hello, everyone! Attached below is the Revised Monk class. The changes that I made to the class were a few quality-of-life improvements to the class, since the monk has often been cited as an underpowered class in dnd5e. Tell me what you think of the Revised Monk, and let me know of any changes that you might like me to make to make it more balanced and enjoyable.
These are the differences between the official dnd5e monk and my Revised Monk:
My Revised Monk has proficiency in scimitars.
The bonus action unarmed strike does not rely on making an attack action on that turn.
The Martial Arts Die is a 1d4 at 1st level, a 1d6 at 3rd level, a 1d8 at 9th level, a 1d10 at 13th level, and a 1d12 at 17th level.
The Revised Monk gains the Ki feature at 1st level, and has 2 ki points. The Revised Monk always has 1 more ki point at every level than the official monk (i.e. at 6th level the Revised Monk has 7 ki points, compared to the official monk, which only has 6). At 1st level, the Revised Monk only has Flurry of Blows. Like the bonus action unarmed strike, this also does not rely on the attack action.
At 2nd level the Revised Monk gains the Patient Defense and Step of the Wind features, which are unaltered.
At 9th level, the Unarmored Movement Improvement feature allows the Revised Monk to run on water and to run on vertical walls, like the official monk. In addition, the Revised Monk's movement does not get impeded by difficult terrain.
At 10th level, the Revised Monk gains Heightened Focus, which is a brand-new feature for the monk. Heightened Focus, allows the Revised Monk to expend 2 ki points instead of 1 point for the 3 ki effects to gain additional benefits (3 unarmed strikes, disengage and dodge, disengage and dash).
I don't like moving ki to first level. Almost all classes get something significant at 2nd level. Clerics get channel divinity, druids get wildshape, fighters get Action Surge, half casters get fighting styles and spellcasting, wizards get their school, sorcerers get sorcery points, and warlocks get a 2nd slot, and rogues get cunning action.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
At 1st level, the Monk only has 1 ki point. This prevents the monk from being too powerful right at 1st level. At 2nd level, the number of ki points jumps to 3, and then the ki point progression is the same as the original Revised Monk going forward.
The 14th level feature Diamond Soul now requires 2 ki points to reroll a failed saving throw, instead of 1 ki point. The first version of the Revised Monk made it that the reroll was too inexpensive.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
This is a moot point. Almost no classes get anything fun at first level. Fighters don't have action surge, warlocks only have one slot, etc.
Barbarians get Rage, Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasters get spellcasting, Fighters get second wind, rogues get Sneak Attack. There are plenty of fun features that other classes get at 1st level.
Barbarians get Rage, Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasters get spellcasting, Fighters get second wind, rogues get Sneak Attack. There are plenty of fun features that other classes get at 1st level.
True, but most of them are class-defining. Monks get a BA attack at first level, so I don't think they need FOB. Also, what Fighter feature is more iconic/noteworthy: Second Wind or Action Surge?
Hello, everyone! Now that I have created the Revised Monk class for 2014 dnd5e, I also wanted to revise some of the 2014 5e subclasses for the monk as well. I have revised 4 of the monk subclasses: Mercy, Four Elements, Kensei, and Sun Soul. I will highlight all of the changes to the subclasses in this post:
Revised Mercy:
Physician's Touch requires an additional ki point to be spent of the Hand of Healing and Harm to be able to use the additional effect (curing or poisoning).
Flurry of Healing and Harm has a number of uses equal to the monk's wisdom modifier.
Hand of Ultimate Mercy requires 6 ki points, not 5.
Revised Four Elements:
Discipline of the Elements gives 3 elemental disciplines, instead of 1 plus elemental attunement.
The Four Elements monk gains a new feature at 3rd level that allows the monk, once per long rest as an action, while out of combat, to regain of to half of the monk maximum ki points.
The Four Elements monk has 4 new elemental disciplines: Rime Blade (Ice Knife, and requires 2 ki). Frost of the Mountain (Ray of Frost for 1 ki, d10 instead of d8). Globe of Elemental Turbulence (Chromatic Orb for 2 ki). Wrath of the Tempest (Shocking Grasp for 1 ki, d10 instead of d8).
The Four Elements monk gains a feature at 11th level called Improved Elementalism, which enhances the effects of lower-level disciplines:
Frost of the Mountain base damage increases to 2d10 cold damage.
Fist of Four Thunders base damage increases to 3d8 thunder damage.
Fist of Unbroken Air base damage increases to 4d10 bludgeoning damage.
Sweeping Cinder Strike base damage increases to 4d6 fire damage.
Wrath of the Tempest base damage increases to 2d10 lightning damage.
Water Whip damage base increases to 4d10 bludgeoning damage.
Clench of the North Wind base effect can hold an additional creature.
Embrace of the Inferno base effect fires an additional ray.
Gong of the Summit base damage increases to 4d8 thunder damage.
Revised Kensei:
Agile Parry gives +1 bonus if the Kensei made a weapon attack as part of the Attack action, and the +2 bonus for the unarmed strike attack is the same.
Way of the Brush gives proficiency in both tools listed.
Revised Sun Soul:
Radiant Sun Bolt can replace any use of an unarmed strike or weapon attack. The range increases as the monk gains levels in the class: 40 feet at 4th level, 50 feet at 9th level, 60 feet at 13th level, and 70 feet at 17th level.
Searing Arc Strike instead creates a 15-foot cone that deals 1d8+ your Wisdom modifier to all creatures in the cone for no ki cost. The monk can spend ki points to increase the effect (every ki point adds 1d8 damage and +5 feet to the cone). The monk can only spend a maximum of ki points = half the monk's level for this feature.
Hello, everyone! Attached below is the Revised Monk class. The changes that I made to the class were a few quality-of-life improvements to the class, since the monk has often been cited as an underpowered class in dnd5e. Tell me what you think of the Revised Monk, and let me know of any changes that you might like me to make to make it more balanced and enjoyable.
Link: Revised_Monk
These are the differences between the official dnd5e monk and my Revised Monk:
My Revised Monk has proficiency in scimitars.
The bonus action unarmed strike does not rely on making an attack action on that turn.
The Martial Arts Die is a 1d4 at 1st level, a 1d6 at 3rd level, a 1d8 at 9th level, a 1d10 at 13th level, and a 1d12 at 17th level.
The Revised Monk gains the Ki feature at 1st level, and has 2 ki points. The Revised Monk always has 1 more ki point at every level than the official monk (i.e. at 6th level the Revised Monk has 7 ki points, compared to the official monk, which only has 6). At 1st level, the Revised Monk only has Flurry of Blows. Like the bonus action unarmed strike, this also does not rely on the attack action.
At 2nd level the Revised Monk gains the Patient Defense and Step of the Wind features, which are unaltered.
At 9th level, the Unarmored Movement Improvement feature allows the Revised Monk to run on water and to run on vertical walls, like the official monk. In addition, the Revised Monk's movement does not get impeded by difficult terrain.
At 10th level, the Revised Monk gains Heightened Focus, which is a brand-new feature for the monk. Heightened Focus, allows the Revised Monk to expend 2 ki points instead of 1 point for the 3 ki effects to gain additional benefits (3 unarmed strikes, disengage and dodge, disengage and dash).
Pay attention to these features and feel free to tell me if you think that are balanced or not:
2 ki points at level 1. For balance purposes, I could have the monk have 1 ki point at level 1, and then for it to jump to 3 ki points at level 2.
Martial Arts Die scaling. Is a 1d6 at 3rd level too soon? Should it come later, perhaps at 5th level?
Should I limit Stunning Strike to once per turn, or is it balanced as it is?
Is Heightened Focus balanced as it is? Should I increase the ki cost, or should I limit the number of times the Revised Monk can use it?
You do realize that they updated monk in 5.5E and it got way better
I don't like moving ki to first level. Almost all classes get something significant at 2nd level. Clerics get channel divinity, druids get wildshape, fighters get Action Surge, half casters get fighting styles and spellcasting, wizards get their school, sorcerers get sorcery points, and warlocks get a 2nd slot, and rogues get cunning action.
I realize that, but the power level of the monk in 5.5E is TOO powerful for 5e. This Monk revision is not for 5.5E, it's for 5e.
Thanks for the feedback! The reason I moved Flurry of Blows to 1st level is so that the Monk feels enjoyable to play right from 1st level. The Monk still gets Step of the Wind and Patient Defense at 2nd level though. For the official monk in dnd5e, it feels kind of boring to play a monk at 1st level, since the action economy is basically just attack, then use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. Having Flurry of Blows at 1st level makes combat more dynamic and engaging.
Hello, again! I have updated the Revised Monk to make it more balanced across all levels. Tell me what you this of this updated revision.
Link: Revised_Monk_v2
Changes:
At 1st level, the Monk only has 1 ki point. This prevents the monk from being too powerful right at 1st level. At 2nd level, the number of ki points jumps to 3, and then the ki point progression is the same as the original Revised Monk going forward.
The 14th level feature Diamond Soul now requires 2 ki points to reroll a failed saving throw, instead of 1 ki point. The first version of the Revised Monk made it that the reroll was too inexpensive.
Would it be better for me to move the 1d6 martial arts die improvement to 5th level instead of 3rd for the Revised Monk?
I know this would be weird, but could it be even better to have it at 4th level?
This is a moot point. Almost no classes get anything fun at first level. Fighters don't have action surge, warlocks only have one slot, etc.
Barbarians get Rage, Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasters get spellcasting, Fighters get second wind, rogues get Sneak Attack. There are plenty of fun features that other classes get at 1st level.
True, but most of them are class-defining. Monks get a BA attack at first level, so I don't think they need FOB. Also, what Fighter feature is more iconic/noteworthy: Second Wind or Action Surge?
Hello, everyone! Now that I have created the Revised Monk class for 2014 dnd5e, I also wanted to revise some of the 2014 5e subclasses for the monk as well. I have revised 4 of the monk subclasses: Mercy, Four Elements, Kensei, and Sun Soul. I will highlight all of the changes to the subclasses in this post:
Revised Mercy:
Physician's Touch requires an additional ki point to be spent of the Hand of Healing and Harm to be able to use the additional effect (curing or poisoning).
Flurry of Healing and Harm has a number of uses equal to the monk's wisdom modifier.
Hand of Ultimate Mercy requires 6 ki points, not 5.
Revised Four Elements:
Discipline of the Elements gives 3 elemental disciplines, instead of 1 plus elemental attunement.
The Four Elements monk gains a new feature at 3rd level that allows the monk, once per long rest as an action, while out of combat, to regain of to half of the monk maximum ki points.
The Four Elements monk has 4 new elemental disciplines: Rime Blade (Ice Knife, and requires 2 ki). Frost of the Mountain (Ray of Frost for 1 ki, d10 instead of d8). Globe of Elemental Turbulence (Chromatic Orb for 2 ki). Wrath of the Tempest (Shocking Grasp for 1 ki, d10 instead of d8).
The Four Elements monk gains a feature at 11th level called Improved Elementalism, which enhances the effects of lower-level disciplines:
Frost of the Mountain base damage increases to 2d10 cold damage.
Fist of Four Thunders base damage increases to 3d8 thunder damage.
Fist of Unbroken Air base damage increases to 4d10 bludgeoning damage.
Sweeping Cinder Strike base damage increases to 4d6 fire damage.
Wrath of the Tempest base damage increases to 2d10 lightning damage.
Water Whip damage base increases to 4d10 bludgeoning damage.
Clench of the North Wind base effect can hold an additional creature.
Embrace of the Inferno base effect fires an additional ray.
Gong of the Summit base damage increases to 4d8 thunder damage.
Revised Kensei:
Agile Parry gives +1 bonus if the Kensei made a weapon attack as part of the Attack action, and the +2 bonus for the unarmed strike attack is the same.
Way of the Brush gives proficiency in both tools listed.
Revised Sun Soul:
Radiant Sun Bolt can replace any use of an unarmed strike or weapon attack. The range increases as the monk gains levels in the class: 40 feet at 4th level, 50 feet at 9th level, 60 feet at 13th level, and 70 feet at 17th level.
Searing Arc Strike instead creates a 15-foot cone that deals 1d8+ your Wisdom modifier to all creatures in the cone for no ki cost. The monk can spend ki points to increase the effect (every ki point adds 1d8 damage and +5 feet to the cone). The monk can only spend a maximum of ki points = half the monk's level for this feature.
Searing Sunburst instead deals 2d6+your Wisdom modifier.