I am playing a monk for the first time and have been giving thought to how KI points work. As I understand the rules as written, here is how I believe the KI points for a monk work. Please correct me if I am wrong.
In combat I have an action and a bonus action (unarmed strike), for a total of two attacks. If I use a KI point, I get two bonus action unarmed strikes on top of my action, for a total of three attacks.
Where I think I am wrong, and how I've been playing it, is I get to make an attack with my action a bonus action (unarmed strike), spend a KI point to do flurry of blows and get one more attack (unarmed strike) for a total of three attacks. But should it be four?
Also how many KI points can I use in a round, for example how many times can I do flurry of blows on my turn?
In combat I have an action and a bonus action (unarmed strike), for a total of two attacks. If I use a KI point, I get two bonus action unarmed strikes on top of my action, for a total of three attacks.
This is pretty much it. You only get to use one bonus action each turn, so you can only use one of those starting ki abilities per turn.
As your monk levels, they do find other ways to use ki points on their turn that isn't based on using their bonus action. But you only ever have your 1 action and 1 bonus action, unless someone uses a spell to give you more actions.
Where I think I am wrong, and how I've been playing it, is I get to make an attack with my action a bonus action (unarmed strike), spend a KI point to do flurry of blows and get one more attack (unarmed strike) for a total of three attacks. But should it be four?
Also how many KI points can I use in a round, for example how many times can I do flurry of blows on my turn?
Thank you for your help in advance.
So like Kronzypantz said, you only get one action, and one bonus action (movement, free object interaction, and reaction too but mostly irrelevant for this discussion) per turn. You can use as many Ki points per turn as you're able to as dictated by the actions you have at your disposal, however Flurry of Blows is a specific use of your bonus action that you take if you've taken the attack action that turn. Because you don't have more that one bonus action you're unable to use Flurry of Blows more than once per round.
For instance if you are a 6th level Drunken Master Monk and you move away from a pair of enemies within 5 feet of you and one of them misses an attack of opportunity against you, you could use Tipsy Sway's Redirect Attack to spend a Ki point to make one of those misses hit the other enemy within range. You then could use your attack action to make 2 attacks and spend a Ki on each to attempt Stunning Strike, then use your bonus action to do Flurry of Blows again attempting Stunning Strike on both hits you could theoretically spend all 6 of your Ki points in one turn. Obviously this is a very specific scenario, that's one not likely to come up and two not a good use of Ki, but is perfectly legal use of Ki RAW.
Where I think I am wrong, and how I've been playing it, is I get to make an attack with my action a bonus action (unarmed strike), spend a KI point to do flurry of blows and get one more attack (unarmed strike) for a total of three attacks. But should it be four?
You actually have to decide before you use your bonus action if you want to make a single unarmed attack or use furry of blows for 2 unarmed attacks. So for example, if you're lever 3 and you make an attack, you then get to make 1 more attack as a bonus action or spend a ki point to do 2 unarmed attacks for a total of 3 attacks.
Also how many KI points can I use in a round, for example how many times can I do flurry of blows on my turn?
You can only ever do fury of blows one time and only on your turn because it takes the bonus action. You only get one bonus action to use on your turn. However, as has been said, you can use tons of ki points per turn if you decide that's what you want to do. Lets say you're now level 5. If you attack on your turn, you now attack twice. If you spend a ki point to use fury of blows for 2 more unarmed attacks you'll be attacking 4 times. You can use stunning strike on every single one of those attacks assuming they hit. That means you can all but guarantee a stun on an important enemy, or stun up to 4 enemies on your turn. It's very powerful. You're only limited by your number of ki points and the number of attacks that hit.
Also important to note, you can not use fury of blows and patient defense or step of the wind on the same turn, as they all take your bonus action. Fury of blows is potent, especially at earlier levels, but it can often be more useful to use patient defense or step of the wind depending on the situation. That's what makes monks so versatile. In any given round, they can be a potent striker, tank, or crowd controller. It all depends on what the situation necessitates. It is also what makes the monk so fun!
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Hello Guys.
I am playing a monk for the first time and have been giving thought to how KI points work. As I understand the rules as written, here is how I believe the KI points for a monk work. Please correct me if I am wrong.
In combat I have an action and a bonus action (unarmed strike), for a total of two attacks. If I use a KI point, I get two bonus action unarmed strikes on top of my action, for a total of three attacks.
Where I think I am wrong, and how I've been playing it, is I get to make an attack with my action a bonus action (unarmed strike), spend a KI point to do flurry of blows and get one more attack (unarmed strike) for a total of three attacks. But should it be four?
Also how many KI points can I use in a round, for example how many times can I do flurry of blows on my turn?
Thank you for your help in advance.
This is pretty much it. You only get to use one bonus action each turn, so you can only use one of those starting ki abilities per turn.
As your monk levels, they do find other ways to use ki points on their turn that isn't based on using their bonus action. But you only ever have your 1 action and 1 bonus action, unless someone uses a spell to give you more actions.
So like Kronzypantz said, you only get one action, and one bonus action (movement, free object interaction, and reaction too but mostly irrelevant for this discussion) per turn. You can use as many Ki points per turn as you're able to as dictated by the actions you have at your disposal, however Flurry of Blows is a specific use of your bonus action that you take if you've taken the attack action that turn. Because you don't have more that one bonus action you're unable to use Flurry of Blows more than once per round.
For instance if you are a 6th level Drunken Master Monk and you move away from a pair of enemies within 5 feet of you and one of them misses an attack of opportunity against you, you could use Tipsy Sway's Redirect Attack to spend a Ki point to make one of those misses hit the other enemy within range. You then could use your attack action to make 2 attacks and spend a Ki on each to attempt Stunning Strike, then use your bonus action to do Flurry of Blows again attempting Stunning Strike on both hits you could theoretically spend all 6 of your Ki points in one turn. Obviously this is a very specific scenario, that's one not likely to come up and two not a good use of Ki, but is perfectly legal use of Ki RAW.
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