I posted this on the homebrew thread in response to something there but thought I may as well bung it on here as well and see what people think:
I've been thinking about a version of the 3.5 edition iajitsu focus for a while which you are welcome to use or amend:,
edited version to take into account below comments:
DM note: for purposes of this skill I always think of a samurai using a katana and would allow a monk using a katana and treat it as a long sword giving them this as a bonus weapon proficiency.
Feat Name: Iajitsu Focus (I believe this would translate to English as Seasoned Focus)
Requires the ability to use Ki points and sword that deals slashing damage.
Description: You are the master of drawing a weapon and striking a weapon blow in one swift and elegant movement. This is most commonly seen in one on one duels of honor where it is considered the height of skill to only need to strike once.
Effect: You must have a sword sheathed (in a scabbard or similar holster) to be able to perform this attack. You can use your action to declare an Iajitsu strike, doing so allows you to move upto 5ft towards a creature you can see, draw your sword and make one attack, the 5ft of movement is deducted from your normal speed allowance but this 5ft does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
The attack scores a critical hit on a natural 19-20 and if the attack hits you can expend Ki points to deal additional damage, for each Ki Point expended you add 1d6 damage to the damage roll. If the attack is a critical hit, these additional damage dice are also doubled.
You can expend a maximum amount of Ki points into this strike equal to your proficiency bonus and Iajitsu Focus does not stack with Smite spells or with Sneak Attacks or with spells or abilities that mimic these such as a paladins Divine Smite.
down to individual DM's but I'd be happy to let a monk have a katana or just change the damage type for shortsword from piercing to slashing and call them them butterfly swords.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
I'd probably put a cap on the amount of KI points able to be spent on the extra damage, or limiting this ability to only a couple times per long/short rest. Also, is the 5ft of movement mandatory to use the ability? It seems a little odd to add that in as a part of the attack when you could just split up your movement anyways before and after the attack. The only way I could really see it being relevant or useful is if that 5ft movement doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, or if you had to move to activate the ability. As a note to your other comment, shortswords are also martial weapons and thus not usable by monks. Without modifying any of the base weapons to be simple instead of martial, this feat is only really usable to Kensei monks (which is fitting all in all) or monks who acquire martial weapons proficiency through other methods (High elves get longswords, feats).
re weapons skill/short swords for monk (as per PHB):
PROFICIENCY Armor: None Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords Tools: Choose one type of artisan's tools or one musical instrument
so it would be more of a bonus weapon proficiency I'd give to a monk if they wanted to go down that katana-esque long sword route
re the 5ft of movement: it was more a flavour thing, picturing two duelists standing 10ft apart and having to move forward, I like the idea of the move not provoking AoO so I'll add that in, i might pinch some of the wording from the Ranger zephyr strike spell.
re putting a cap on how much ki you can use, for some reason i was under the impression ki usage was limited to a max of half your levels worth in a turn, I might put something to say that if you spend ki points in this attack you cannot spend any more ki in that turn as it takes all you focus to martial that one strike.
I also need to add something to say it doesn't stack with sneak attack or smite style attacks otherwise it'll get a bit more ludicrous.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
As a feat I think it seems fair, even om top of sneak attack or smite. After all you burn tons of precious resources, and every level you take in monk to get ki reduces your paladin/rogue levels. Even in an optimized scenario I dont think I would be able to break this. After all you are trading x times stun for xd6 damage...
I would also say that the feat makes long sword a monk weapon to make it intuitive.
1d6 shouldn’t be just a flat 1d6. Imo should scale with your martial arts die. D8 later on, and eventually a d10. d6 is pity damage at level 20 (though usually no one ever goes to level 20. I’d just use unarmed strikes to use flurry of blows and do 1d10 rather then use the sword and do and extra 1d6
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I posted this on the homebrew thread in response to something there but thought I may as well bung it on here as well and see what people think:
I've been thinking about a version of the 3.5 edition iajitsu focus for a while which you are welcome to use or amend:,
edited version to take into account below comments:
DM note: for purposes of this skill I always think of a samurai using a katana and would allow a monk using a katana and treat it as a long sword giving them this as a bonus weapon proficiency.
Feat Name: Iajitsu Focus (I believe this would translate to English as Seasoned Focus)
Requires the ability to use Ki points and sword that deals slashing damage.
Description: You are the master of drawing a weapon and striking a weapon blow in one swift and elegant movement. This is most commonly seen in one on one duels of honor where it is considered the height of skill to only need to strike once.
Effect: You must have a sword sheathed (in a scabbard or similar holster) to be able to perform this attack. You can use your action to declare an Iajitsu strike, doing so allows you to move upto 5ft towards a creature you can see, draw your sword and make one attack, the 5ft of movement is deducted from your normal speed allowance but this 5ft does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
The attack scores a critical hit on a natural 19-20 and if the attack hits you can expend Ki points to deal additional damage, for each Ki Point expended you add 1d6 damage to the damage roll. If the attack is a critical hit, these additional damage dice are also doubled.
You can expend a maximum amount of Ki points into this strike equal to your proficiency bonus and Iajitsu Focus does not stack with Smite spells or with Sneak Attacks or with spells or abilities that mimic these such as a paladins Divine Smite.
Long swords are not monk weapons, so if that is a requirement for the Feat, only Way of the Kensei monks are going to take it.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
down to individual DM's but I'd be happy to let a monk have a katana or just change the damage type for shortsword from piercing to slashing and call them them butterfly swords.
I'd probably put a cap on the amount of KI points able to be spent on the extra damage, or limiting this ability to only a couple times per long/short rest. Also, is the 5ft of movement mandatory to use the ability? It seems a little odd to add that in as a part of the attack when you could just split up your movement anyways before and after the attack. The only way I could really see it being relevant or useful is if that 5ft movement doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, or if you had to move to activate the ability. As a note to your other comment, shortswords are also martial weapons and thus not usable by monks. Without modifying any of the base weapons to be simple instead of martial, this feat is only really usable to Kensei monks (which is fitting all in all) or monks who acquire martial weapons proficiency through other methods (High elves get longswords, feats).
re weapons skill/short swords for monk (as per PHB):
PROFICIENCY
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords
Tools: Choose one type of artisan's tools or one musical instrument
so it would be more of a bonus weapon proficiency I'd give to a monk if they wanted to go down that katana-esque long sword route
re the 5ft of movement: it was more a flavour thing, picturing two duelists standing 10ft apart and having to move forward, I like the idea of the move not provoking AoO so I'll add that in, i might pinch some of the wording from the Ranger zephyr strike spell.
re putting a cap on how much ki you can use, for some reason i was under the impression ki usage was limited to a max of half your levels worth in a turn, I might put something to say that if you spend ki points in this attack you cannot spend any more ki in that turn as it takes all you focus to martial that one strike.
I also need to add something to say it doesn't stack with sneak attack or smite style attacks otherwise it'll get a bit more ludicrous.
As a feat I think it seems fair, even om top of sneak attack or smite. After all you burn tons of precious resources, and every level you take in monk to get ki reduces your paladin/rogue levels. Even in an optimized scenario I dont think I would be able to break this. After all you are trading x times stun for xd6 damage...
I would also say that the feat makes long sword a monk weapon to make it intuitive.
1d6 shouldn’t be just a flat 1d6. Imo should scale with your martial arts die. D8 later on, and eventually a d10. d6 is pity damage at level 20 (though usually no one ever goes to level 20. I’d just use unarmed strikes to use flurry of blows and do 1d10 rather then use the sword and do and extra 1d6