Armed of Hadar
2016-01-04, 10:05 PM
Monks of the Way of the Hunt specialize in pursuit. Their skills include locating a quarry, chasing their targets down, and even forcing enemies into the open. Contrary to the name, a monk of this tradition need not hunt, but most seek to emulate the devotion, tenacity, and alacrity of a hunting dog. These monks typically view enlightenment as something fleeting and elusive, and their adventuring occupation as a way to capture it in experience.
This Monastic Tradition is born from an attempt to translate elements of the Assault class from X-COM: Enemy Unknown to D&D. I realize that, considering the vast differences between the two games (futuristic TBS versus medieval fantasy TTRPG), there is only limited overlap; however, the general concept of "mobile point-person who takes care of the back line" is shared--particularly in the Monk. Most features are tweaks on Assault traits that dovetail with those of the Monk. The fluff came in a little later.
Dogged Pursuit
Starting at 3rd level, you have the agility to clear obstacles. When you take the Dash or Disengage action, until the end of your turn, opportunity attacks targeting you have disadvantage, and you ignore difficult terrain.
This is inspired by the Assault's Lightning Reflexes, which causes reaction attacks to miss. My first adaptation was "enemies have disadvantage on opportunity attacks targeting you," but the Hunter Ranger can only get that at level 7. So looking at the closest precedent at level 3--Totem Barbarian's Eagle feature--I got this. Like the Eagle feature, it only triggers in certain situations, though it's those situations in which it's probably most useful. To make this competitive with Eagle's dash-every-turn, I added "you ignore difficult terrain." It frees the subclass from certain terrain obstacles, giving its mobility endurance, while not directly adding movement, keeping it in line.
Nose to the Ground
Starting at 6th level, your foes may run, but they can't hide. You gain proficiency in Survival. You may spend 1 ki to gain advantage on a Survival check as a bonus action.
Assault doesn't have any utility abilities I could easily add, so this comes from the fluff of the hunting dog and the crunch of the chase scene. It's only one skill, but the ki ability makes the devoted Monk a tracking force to be reckoned with.
Flushing Strike
Beginning at 11th level, your ki can manipulate enemies into leaving their positions. Whenever you could attempt a Stunning Strike, you can instead attempt a Flushing Strike. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it uses its reaction to move its speed in a direction you choose. If the creature would move into obviously dangerous ground, such as fire or a pit, it circumnavigates the obstacle as best it can.
Speaking of Stunning Strike...this is an alternative 1-ki save-or-suck adapting Assault's Flush ability, which forces enemies out of entrenched positions and often into the line of fire. It's not as directly powerful as SS, but targeting Wis saves is generally better than targeting Con, and it does provoke OAs if immediate damage is the aim. With allies, terrain and other factors in play, shuffling foes can also be useful (e.g. Flushing Strike an enemy mage into the melee).
Predator Instinct
Beginning at 17th level, the rushing of your feet brings you into a state of lethal clarity. When you take the Dash or Disengage action, you have advantage on melee weapon attacks until the start of your next turn.
The Assault feature inspiring this is Killer Instinct, which increases damage on crits after dashing. I opted to replace heightened damage with heightened chance to hit; a Monk can't nova that well, especially with a used Bonus Action, but a confirmed hit is at least a chance to use SS and/or Flushing Strike. Additionally, its incentivizing of Step of the Wind makes FS even more worthwhile, as an OA plus Extra Attack is as many attacks per round as Extra Attack plus Martial Arts.
This Monastic Tradition is born from an attempt to translate elements of the Assault class from X-COM: Enemy Unknown to D&D. I realize that, considering the vast differences between the two games (futuristic TBS versus medieval fantasy TTRPG), there is only limited overlap; however, the general concept of "mobile point-person who takes care of the back line" is shared--particularly in the Monk. Most features are tweaks on Assault traits that dovetail with those of the Monk. The fluff came in a little later.
Dogged Pursuit
Starting at 3rd level, you have the agility to clear obstacles. When you take the Dash or Disengage action, until the end of your turn, opportunity attacks targeting you have disadvantage, and you ignore difficult terrain.
This is inspired by the Assault's Lightning Reflexes, which causes reaction attacks to miss. My first adaptation was "enemies have disadvantage on opportunity attacks targeting you," but the Hunter Ranger can only get that at level 7. So looking at the closest precedent at level 3--Totem Barbarian's Eagle feature--I got this. Like the Eagle feature, it only triggers in certain situations, though it's those situations in which it's probably most useful. To make this competitive with Eagle's dash-every-turn, I added "you ignore difficult terrain." It frees the subclass from certain terrain obstacles, giving its mobility endurance, while not directly adding movement, keeping it in line.
Nose to the Ground
Starting at 6th level, your foes may run, but they can't hide. You gain proficiency in Survival. You may spend 1 ki to gain advantage on a Survival check as a bonus action.
Assault doesn't have any utility abilities I could easily add, so this comes from the fluff of the hunting dog and the crunch of the chase scene. It's only one skill, but the ki ability makes the devoted Monk a tracking force to be reckoned with.
Flushing Strike
Beginning at 11th level, your ki can manipulate enemies into leaving their positions. Whenever you could attempt a Stunning Strike, you can instead attempt a Flushing Strike. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it uses its reaction to move its speed in a direction you choose. If the creature would move into obviously dangerous ground, such as fire or a pit, it circumnavigates the obstacle as best it can.
Speaking of Stunning Strike...this is an alternative 1-ki save-or-suck adapting Assault's Flush ability, which forces enemies out of entrenched positions and often into the line of fire. It's not as directly powerful as SS, but targeting Wis saves is generally better than targeting Con, and it does provoke OAs if immediate damage is the aim. With allies, terrain and other factors in play, shuffling foes can also be useful (e.g. Flushing Strike an enemy mage into the melee).
Predator Instinct
Beginning at 17th level, the rushing of your feet brings you into a state of lethal clarity. When you take the Dash or Disengage action, you have advantage on melee weapon attacks until the start of your next turn.
The Assault feature inspiring this is Killer Instinct, which increases damage on crits after dashing. I opted to replace heightened damage with heightened chance to hit; a Monk can't nova that well, especially with a used Bonus Action, but a confirmed hit is at least a chance to use SS and/or Flushing Strike. Additionally, its incentivizing of Step of the Wind makes FS even more worthwhile, as an OA plus Extra Attack is as many attacks per round as Extra Attack plus Martial Arts.