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Waffle_Iron
2016-01-25, 08:41 PM
Hello all, I'm DM for a group of 4 players who are all new and 1 who is experienced with DND but not with 5e. One of my players would like to try out a monk, but is not terribly interested in the existing monastic traditions. She'd like to play a monk who's focus is on using a ko-naginata. I came up with the following ideas and wanted the community to let me know what you think. Too powerful? Too weak?
I'll list the rules to start, but if anyone is interested I'll explain my thinking.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Level 3:
- You gain proficiency in any one weapon, from now on referred to as your focus weapon.
- You eschew all other weapons, and lose proficiency in all weapons apart from your focus weapon.
- You may spend 1 ki to gain the protection fighting style until the start of your next turn

Level 6:
- You have advantage against attempts to disarm you.
- Your focus weapon is now a monk weapon in your hands
- You may spend 2 ki to cast the Thunderous Smite, Thunderwave, or Knock spells, using WIS as your spell casting ability

Level 11:
- You may not be disarmed if you do not wish it.
- Your focus weapon is now treated as an unarmed strike when you attack with it, including your ability to use stunning strike, and overcome magical resistances
- You may spend 2 ki as part of a defensive fighting style reaction to grant resistance to piercing, bludgeoning, or slashing damage to the ally so protected

Level 17:
- You have a completely intuitive understanding of your focus weapons physical form.
You may use a bonus action to grant your focus weapon one of the following until the start of your next turn:

+5' reach
The ability to grapple, trip, or push as if an unoccupied hand.
Thrown(10), returning

- Defense Maneuver: You may spend 4 ki to cast the spirit guardians spell. The damage type matches that of your focus weapon, and the visual effect is one of the monk, spinning and performing defensive weapon flourishes.

Thanks for reading !

DracoKnight
2016-01-25, 09:03 PM
Hello all, I'm DM for a group of 4 players who are all new and 1 who is experienced with DND but not with 5e. One of my players would like to try out a monk, but is not terribly interested in the existing monastic traditions. She'd like to play a monk who's focus is on using a ko-naginata. I came up with the following ideas and wanted the community to let me know what you think. Too powerful? Too weak?
I'll list the rules to start, but if anyone is interested I'll explain my thinking.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Level 3:
- You gain proficiency in any one weapon, from now on referred to as your focus weapon.
- You eschew all other weapons, and lose proficiency in all weapons apart from your focus weapon.
- You may spend 1 ki to treat your focus weapon as a monk weapon until the start of your next turn.

Level 6:
- You have advantage against attempts to disarm you.
- Your focus weapon is now a monk weapon on your hands
- You may spend 2 ki to cast either the Thunderous smite or Thunderwave spell, using WIS as your spell casting ability

Level 11:
- You may not be disarmed if you do not wish it.
- you may spend 1 ki to treat your focus weapon as a monk's unarmed strike until the start of your next turn
- You may spend 3 ki to cast the knock spell so long as you have your weapon on hand.

Level 17:
- Your focus weapon now counts as a monk's unarmed strike in your hands
- Defense Maneuver: You may spend 4 ki to cast the spirit guardians spell. The damage type matches that of your focus weapon, and the visual effect is one of the monk, spinning and performing defensive weapon flourishes.

Thanks for reading !

This seems really weak, on a first read through. I would make it so that when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you eschew all other weapons in favor of your new weapon, and that weapon is a monk weapon for you. That way you can flurry after using it. I would limit it to weapons that you can wield with one hand, so you can avoid greatsword shenanigans. :smalltongue: But spending Ki just so you can use your weapon effectively makes this worse than the Way of the Four Elements.

Other than that, it looks great.

Waffle_Iron
2016-01-25, 09:20 PM
I hear you about the monk weapon. In part, I'm designing this for a player who wants a naginata as her weapon, which seems monk-like and flavorful to me. With that in mind I tried balancing the weapon over the four increases. At 3rd it takes a ki to allow the bonus attack or two to flurry, to adjust for the increased weapon die size. At 6th it becomes a monk weapon, reducing that ki cost. At 11th you can spend 1 ki to Use the weapon for the martial arts bonus attack, or 2 with flurry, and at 17th the weapon simply is an unarmed attack, because at that level the weapon die is pretty much a non issue.

Those were my design thoughts, anyway. I would like to hear more about why you think it's problematic, though. I don't want to sound like I'm not accepting advice!

DracoKnight
2016-01-25, 10:36 PM
I hear you about the monk weapon. In part, I'm designing this for a player who wants a naginata as her weapon, which seems monk-like and flavorful to me. With that in mind I tried balancing the weapon over the four increases. At 3rd it takes a ki to allow the bonus attack or two to flurry, to adjust for the increased weapon die size. At 6th it becomes a monk weapon, reducing that ki cost. At 11th you can spend 1 ki to Use the weapon for the martial arts bonus attack, or 2 with flurry, and at 17th the weapon simply is an unarmed attack, because at that level the weapon die is pretty much a non issue.

Those were my design thoughts, anyway. I would like to hear more about why you think it's problematic, though. I don't want to sound like I'm not accepting advice!

This is how I would do this type of archetype: Way of the Guardian (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S1OajpRbZ2YVepQekhSOgZt0Dm8uUodfS6yoIyaMam0/edit?usp=sharing)

GandalfTheWhite
2016-01-25, 11:29 PM
This is how I would do this type of archetype: Way of the Guardian (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S1OajpRbZ2YVepQekhSOgZt0Dm8uUodfS6yoIyaMam0/edit?usp=sharing)

Wow. Solid Draco. You should make a PDF of it, and post it to the forum. I'm pretty sure it's different enough that you could :smallbiggrin:

DracoKnight
2016-01-25, 11:31 PM
Wow. Solid Draco. You should make a PDF of it, and post it to the forum. I'm pretty sure it's different enough that you could :smallbiggrin:

I might do that.

Waffle_Iron
2016-01-26, 06:04 AM
Yes, nicely done.

How would you adjust the class to allow two handed, reach, or heavy weapons? Because, polearms are all three. :)

DracoKnight
2016-01-26, 10:00 PM
Yes, nicely done.

How would you adjust the class to allow two handed, reach, or heavy weapons? Because, polearms are all three. :)

Honestly, I don't think that I would give pole arms to the monk class. They are already really good at battlefield control...

But if there's an entire archetype built around it...hmmmm...ill see what I can do :smallsmile:

Waffle_Iron
2016-01-27, 01:12 PM
If you've seen the movie 'Hero' the character played by Donnie Yen during the black and white, 'mental combat' scene is pretty clearly a monk with a polearm, rather than some other class. I think that's what she's aiming for. :)
Your guardian class is really cool, and I'd play it, but it's not quite the same thing. :)

DracoKnight
2016-01-27, 03:04 PM
If you've seen the movie 'Hero' the character played by Donnie Yen during the black and white, 'mental combat' scene is pretty clearly a monk with a polearm, rather than some other class. I think that's what she's aiming for. :)
Your guardian class is really cool, and I'd play it, but it's not quite the same thing. :)

I will have to watch that movie. :smallsmile:
Sorry that I didn't quite capture what she wanted. I do like the updates you made to the Way of the Weapon Master, and I think it's now closer in power to the existing Monk Subclasses. In its previous incarnation, even the Way of the Four Elements was a superior option :smallfrown:

Waffle_Iron
2016-01-27, 03:06 PM
Sorry that I didn't quite capture what she wanted.

Oh, no worries about that, at all. You do good work. :)

DracoKnight
2016-01-27, 03:10 PM
Oh, no worries about that, at all. You do good work. :)

Oh. Well, thank you :smallsmile:
That actually means a lot to me that you think that :smallsmile: