I was thinking adding a duration to some of the core monk features would be a simple solution to the monks lack of ki issues.
Warriors Trance
At the beginning of your turn you can spend 1ki point to enter a trance-like state that extends the limits of what your body is capable of. For one minute you can choose to take one of the following options:
Flurry of Blows. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense. You can take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
Step of the Wind. You can take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for your current turn.
No huge changes here. It's still compatable with 5e subclass features that refer to those abilities (like open hand, mercy or ascendant dragon monk)
The idea came from the fact that a kensei monk at 6th level has to spend 1ki to use deft strike to do an extra 1d6 damage only once, but a ranger or warlock can cast hex or hunters mark and do the extra 1d6 damage for an hour. If the kensie wanted to keep using deft strike for an hour it would cost 600 ki points!
So is adding a duration to monk features the solution to the monks ki issues?
1 minute is basically an entire combat. And at higher levels, you are getting an extra 2d10 + 2*Dex every single round for the cost of 1 Ki point per combat.
This makes Way of Mercy and Open Hand Monks insanely more powerful, because you now completely remove the Ki point cost for their abilities. A Mercy Monk out of combat could, for the cost of 1 Ki point, now heal 10*(martial arts die + Wis Mod). Let's say you're a level 5 Monk with a +3 to Wis: you heal 10*(1d6+3) = 65 HP healing. This jumps to 20*(1d8+Wis Mod) = 150 HP at level 11 for still the cost of 1 Ki. And you can double both of these by spending 1 Ki point and another minute.
This seems like it swings WAY too far the other way.
I was thinking adding a duration to some of the core monk features would be a simple solution to the monks lack of ki issues.
Warriors Trance
At the beginning of your turn you can spend 1ki point to enter a trance-like state that extends the limits of what your body is capable of. For one minute you can choose to take one of the following options:
Flurry of Blows. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense. You can take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
Step of the Wind. You can take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for your current turn.
No huge changes here. It's still compatable with 5e subclass features that refer to those abilities (like open hand, mercy or ascendant dragon monk)
The idea came from the fact that a kensei monk at 6th level has to spend 1ki to use deft strike to do an extra 1d6 damage only once, but a ranger or warlock can cast hex or hunters mark and do the extra 1d6 damage for an hour. If the kensie wanted to keep using deft strike for an hour it would cost 600 ki points!
So is adding a duration to monk features the solution to the monks ki issues?
What do you think?
This come so close to just making the abilities free that I don't get why the abilities need to have a cost.
Just let ki fuel subclass abilities and whatever on hit effect Stunning Strike gets turned into.
And yest, deft strike is a little expensive early on compared to Hunter's mark, but neither are considered amazing for damage purposes.
Excellent point. I have no counter to good math.
I like it most of these should be free and the monk gets taxed for no reason. Lets you play as a monk without burning all resource.
just make exception for mercy