Four elements monk is a really cool concept but like many others, i think its design mechanics fall quite short. The ki cost per spell and upcasting is expensive but it goes beyond that.
The main design flaws i see are:
1) Eldritch knight and arcane trickster get spell slots as AN ADDITIONAL RESOURCE to cast spells. Eldritch knight does not have to give up action surge or second wind to cast a spell, yet the four elements monk is forced to give up basic monk class features like stunning strike or flurry of blows in order to use the subclass features. Reducing the ki cost per spell is not the solution. You will still have to sacrifice basic monk abilities to use the four elements features. An additional resource needs to be given to cast spells just to bring this subclass in line with others.
2) the number of elemental disciplines you can have are sooo limited that when you get to higher levels you have to ĢIVE UP your lower level disciplines. No other subclass in the game has to sacrifice its lower level features to attain higher ones. The higher level features of a subclass are always IN ADDITION TO the lower level features. Not instead of. This is a very big design flaw.
3) this subclass is 100٪ dependent on ki. If you have no ki, there is nothing to distinguish you from a generic monk (except elemental attunement..if you even decide to keep it.) Kensai, shadow monk and long death all get features that do not cost ki and can be used frequently. Not everything a monk can do should have to cost ki.
So here are my suggested fixes: (with a rewrite of water whip, fangs of fire snake and fists of unbroken air)
Four elements monk
Elemental Spells
At 3rd level you gain spell slots to cast elemental spells and you follow the general rules of spellcasting in chapter 10. See the chart below for monk level and spell slot progression.
You learn two spells at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level from the spell list below. Once you learn a spell you always have it prepared. When you gain a level that grants you new spells you can replace a spell that you already know with another one from this list, provided it has the same prerequisite level.
Elemental Spells
Prerequisite 3rd level: Thunderwave, Gust of Wind, Burning Hands, Absorb Elements
Prerequisite of 6th level: Hold Person, Shatter, heat metal,
Prerequisite of 11th level: Fireball, Gaseous Form (targeting yourself), Fly (targeting yourself), Elemental Weapon
Prerequisite of 17th level: Cone of Cold, Stoneskin (targeting yourself), Wall of Fire, Wall of Stone.
Spell level
Monk Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
3rd 2
5th 3 2
9th 4 2 2
13th 4 3 2 2
17th 4 3 3 3 2
*** note this spell slot table keeps the level you can cast spells at exactly the same level as the Spells and Ki points table for the four elements monk.
Disciple of the Elements
At 3rd level you gain access to the Elemental Attunement discipline and one other Discipline from the following list:
Fists of Unbroken Air, Water Whip, Fangs of the Fire Snake and Shape of The Flowing River.
When you gain a level that grants an ability score increase you can replace one discipline you know with another.
Elemental Disciplines:
Fist of Unbroken Air
You can create a blast of compressed air that strikes like a mighty fist. As an action, spend 1ki point and choose a creature within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 2d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend and you can push the creature up to 20 feet away from you and knock it prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't push it or knock it prone. The maximum number of ki you can spend on this feature is half your monk level.(rounded down)
***note - written this way, you cannot do any more damage per monk level but it costs half the ki. Same goes for water whip.
Water Whip
As an action, spend 1ki point to create a whip of water that shoves and pulls a creature to unbalance it. A creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 2d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend, and you can either knock it prone or pull it up to 25 feet closer to you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't pull it or knock it prone. The maximum number of ki you can spend on this feature is half your monk level. (Rounded down)
Fangs of the Fire Snake
As a bonus action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to cause tendrils of flame to stretch out from your fists and feet for ten minutes. Your reach with your unarmed strikes increases by 10 feet and a hit with such an attack deals fire damage instead of bludgeoning damage. When you hit a target with Fangs of the Fire Snake you can spend 1ki point to deal extra fire damage equal to one martial arts die + your dexterity modifier. You can do this once on each of your turns.
***note- astral arms costs 1ki for ten minutes so I just brought this duration in line with already published material.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? Or any big flaws that missed?
Four elements monk is a really cool concept but like many others, i think its design mechanics fall quite short. The ki cost per spell and upcasting is expensive but it goes beyond that.
The main design flaws i see are:
1) Eldritch knight and arcane trickster get spell slots as AN ADDITIONAL RESOURCE to cast spells. Eldritch knight does not have to give up action surge or second wind to cast a spell, yet the four elements monk is forced to give up basic monk class features like stunning strike or flurry of blows in order to use the subclass features. Reducing the ki cost per spell is not the solution. You will still have to sacrifice basic monk abilities to use the four elements features. An additional resource needs to be given to cast spells just to bring this subclass in line with others.
2) the number of elemental disciplines you can have are sooo limited that when you get to higher levels you have to ĢIVE UP your lower level disciplines. No other subclass in the game has to sacrifice its lower level features to attain higher ones. The higher level features of a subclass are always IN ADDITION TO the lower level features. Not instead of. This is a very big design flaw.
3) this subclass is 100٪ dependent on ki. If you have no ki, there is nothing to distinguish you from a generic monk (except elemental attunement..if you even decide to keep it.) Kensai, shadow monk and long death all get features that do not cost ki and can be used frequently. Not everything a monk can do should have to cost ki.
So here are my suggested fixes: (with a rewrite of water whip, fangs of fire snake and fists of unbroken air)
Four elements monk
Elemental Spells
At 3rd level you gain spell slots to cast elemental spells and you follow the general rules of spellcasting in chapter 10. See the chart below for monk level and spell slot progression.
You learn two spells at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level from the spell list below. Once you learn a spell you always have it prepared. When you gain a level that grants you new spells you can replace a spell that you already know with another one from this list, provided it has the same prerequisite level.
Elemental Spells
Prerequisite 3rd level: Thunderwave, Gust of Wind, Burning Hands, Absorb Elements
Prerequisite of 6th level: Hold Person, Shatter, heat metal,
Prerequisite of 11th level: Fireball, Gaseous Form (targeting yourself), Fly (targeting yourself), Elemental Weapon
Prerequisite of 17th level: Cone of Cold, Stoneskin (targeting yourself), Wall of Fire, Wall of Stone.
Spell level
Monk Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
3rd 2
5th 3 2
9th 4 2 2
13th 4 3 2 2
17th 4 3 3 3 2
*** note this spell slot table keeps the level you can cast spells at exactly the same level as the Spells and Ki points table for the four elements monk.
Disciple of the Elements
At 3rd level you gain access to the Elemental Attunement discipline and one other Discipline from the following list:
Fists of Unbroken Air, Water Whip, Fangs of the Fire Snake and Shape of The Flowing River.
When you gain a level that grants an ability score increase you can replace one discipline you know with another.
Elemental Disciplines:
Fist of Unbroken Air
You can create a blast of compressed air that strikes like a mighty fist. As an action, spend 1ki point and choose a creature within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 2d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend and you can push the creature up to 20 feet away from you and knock it prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't push it or knock it prone. The maximum number of ki you can spend on this feature is half your monk level.(rounded down)
***note - written this way, you cannot do any more damage per monk level but it costs half the ki. Same goes for water whip.
Water Whip
As an action, spend 1ki point to create a whip of water that shoves and pulls a creature to unbalance it. A creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an extra 2d10 bludgeoning damage for each additional ki point you spend, and you can either knock it prone or pull it up to 25 feet closer to you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don't pull it or knock it prone. The maximum number of ki you can spend on this feature is half your monk level. (Rounded down)
Fangs of the Fire Snake
As a bonus action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to cause tendrils of flame to stretch out from your fists and feet for ten minutes. Your reach with your unarmed strikes increases by 10 feet and a hit with such an attack deals fire damage instead of bludgeoning damage. When you hit a target with Fangs of the Fire Snake you can spend 1ki point to deal extra fire damage equal to one martial arts die + your dexterity modifier. You can do this once on each of your turns.
***note- astral arms costs 1ki for ten minutes so I just brought this duration in line with already published material.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? Or any big flaws that missed?