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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Bloody, Scarred, and Unbroken [Monk Subclass]



Amechra
2017-03-08, 01:10 AM
Way of the Broken-Winged Crane [Monastic Tradition]

There is enlightenment in pain - comfort ties you close to this world, and love for the flesh is just another chain. This is a simple fact - why do you think Monks spend so much time mastering violence?

Most Monks, however, do not walk down this path too far. Because at the end of that path lies a beast, hungry and insatiable. Because sometimes, they can't withstand the loss that's the logical next step.

Some scarce few, however, have walked the Way of the Broken-Winged Crane. They have tasted the joy of agony, and have left their flesh marked. Those scars and wounds bring them power - considerable power.

3 - Carving Out Weakness
The Monk gains a Horrifying Scar (DMG p. 272) - if it (or any self-inflicted scar inflicted by this Tradition) is removed by healing magic, it reappears during the next Long Rest. In exchange, she adds the number of lingering injuries she has to her Monk level when determining how many Hit Dice she has.

3 - Fist-Shattering Practices
The Monk may spend Hit-Dice as if they were Ki for the purposes of Flurry of Blows - if she does, she rolls the Hit-Die and suffers that much Psychic damage. Whenever she uses her Strength when making an attack with her unarmed strike or a monk weapon, she may expend one of her Hit-Dice to add that die to her damage roll.

6 - Pain-Ignoring Shrug
The Monk gains a Minor Scar (DMG p. 272), and she may spend Hit-Dice as if they were Ki for the purposes of Patient Defense in addition to Flurry of Blows. She may also spend 1 Ki to apply Deflect Missiles to a melee weapon attack made against her - if she chooses to catch it, she rips the weapon from the wielder's grip unless they succeed on a Strength save. If they fail the save, she may spend 1 Ki to counterattack as normal.

11 - Meat Is A Lie
The Monk gains an additional Minor Scar, and is immune to the Frightened condition. In addition, she may demonstrate that her flesh is an illusion - she may pay a surcharge of 1 Ki to take bonus actions and reactions while Incapacitated, and may spend 1 Ki as a Bonus Action to suppress the Incapacitated condition (as well as the negative effects of her lingering injuries) for 1 minute.

17 - The Name Of The King
The Monk gains an additional Minor Scar. She has also learned how to demonstrate the frailty of flesh - when she uses Fist-Shattering Practices to deal additional damage, she may spend 1 Ki to force the victim of that attack to roll on the Lingering Injuries Table (DMG p. 272). In addition, creatures currently suffering from a lingering injury suffer Disadvantage on their saves against her Stunning Strike and Pain-Ignoring Shrug.

=---=

Alright.

I'd like some feedback - however, I'd like you to keep this in mind:

1) I know that Carving Out Weakness can technically give you unlimited HD. Considering that magical healing removes most lingering injuries automatically, and the fact that a lot of them are really painful... I don't see it as too much of a problem.

2) Yes, The Name Of The King is horrendously brutal. You're channelling your Ki to casually crush limbs and splinter ribs. It doesn't have a save because at 17th level, most of your opposition is going to have some access to magical healing (or are mooks).

Amechra
2017-03-08, 03:34 PM
Anyone?

Is the fact that I'm using an alternate rule from the back of the DMG a problem?

JBPuffin
2017-03-08, 04:09 PM
Anyone?

Is the fact that I'm using an alternate rule from the back of the DMG a problem?

That's definitely part of the problem, I'd imagine. How significant are these scars?

On the other hand, hit dice as ki opens up a design space that has been tapped by the homebrewing community but is difficult to precisely balance. Do the monks gain additional base HP from these dice, or are they just for resting/ki-like purposes? It's not specified in the ability, although it might be mentioned in part of the PHB rules I haven't looked over thoroughly enough...

Frankly, this sounds like a character I'd use Xefas' Mythic stuff for in 3.5, and I'm interested in that angle, but the execution suffers from the Barbarian Path of the Berserker's problem with a different resource. Not as severely, if injuries are easier to remove than exhaustion, but in conjunction with the above it probably scares a lot of critique/comments away.

Tl;dr - It's a non-zero factor.

Amechra
2017-03-08, 05:32 PM
Hit-dice don't determine your HP in 5e - you get HP separately.

=---=

Minor Scars have no mechanical effect - and can be removed by magical healing of 6th level or higher.

A Horrible Scar gives you Disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and Advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks, and can be removed by magical healing of 6th level or higher.

Other lingering injuries tend to have more penalties (they're stuff like "missing eye" or "a bad limp"), but are usually easier to remove. The DM also has the option of ignoring the listed mechanics and having the PCs treat them like additional Flaws instead.

Sariel Vailo
2017-03-08, 06:04 PM
i use this optional rule alot and this fits a niche i was looking for i have a player who can test it out.. isnt death an effect on that table if i recall

Amechra
2017-03-08, 06:46 PM
i use this optional rule alot and this fits a niche i was looking for i have a player who can test it out.. isnt death an effect on that table if i recall

Nope, it isn't.

Sariel Vailo
2017-03-08, 07:19 PM
thank you ame im happy to know it isnt i like this subclass nonetheless