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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Quarterstaff Mastery Feat



pebcak_error
2018-03-19, 10:13 PM
The monk I've been playing really prefers the the simplicity of the quarterstaff over other monk weapon. Normally at higher levels his unarmed strikes will begin to outperform a quarterstaff. Perhaps with this feat, he might not have to give up his favored weapon.

This Quarterstaff Mastery feat based on (directly copies some features from) some of the UA Feats, specifically Blade Mastery and Spear Mastery.


Quarterstaff Mastery
Though the quarterstaff is a simple weapon to learn, it rewards you for the time you have taken to master it.
You gain the following benefits:


You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls you make with a quarterstaff.
When you use a quarterstaff, its damage die changes from a d6 to a d8, and from a d8 to a d10 when wielded with two hands. (This benefit has no effect if another feature has already improved the weapon’s die.)
On your turn, you can use your reaction to assume a defensive stance, provided you have the weapon in hand. Doing so grants you a +1 bonus to your AC until the start of your next turn or until you’re not holding the weapon.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can increase your reach with a quarterstaff by 5 feet for the rest of your turn.



The same justifications Mike Mearls gives in the UA for Blade and Spear Mastery applies here.
"The bonus to attack rolls captures the idea that your focus makes you better with blades [quarterstaff in this case] than you are with other weapons. The math is simple enough that it doesn’t slow down the game."

"it also boosts the spear’s damage to make it equal to martial weapons"

"The second benefit tries to capture the idea of a sword [quarterstaff in this case] as a superior defensive weapon, [...]. By focusing on defense rather than keeping your eyes open for the opportunity to counterattack, you make yourself harder to hit.

"The extra reach is a minor ability, but one that reflects the spear’s [quarterstaff's in this case] nature in a simple, easy way."


Thoughts?

Kane0
2018-03-19, 11:12 PM
If you take the first to points (+1 to hit, +1 average damage) that's effectively the same as +2 to your attack stat which is what an ASI gives you, so this goes over the supposed balance point.
The reaction and bonus action benefits seem a little too clunky as well, especially since you will probably want to have them both active as much as possible which will eat into your actions heavily.
I'd recommend taking out one bullet point anyways, as most other feats feature 2-3 parts to them.

May I suggest:
- Increase of damage die to d8/d10, or even d10/d12
- Gain reach when using a quarterstaff (no action required)
- As a bonus action gain +1 AC until the start of your next turn

And while you're at it make sure to swap 'quarterstaff' with 'spear' in Polearm Mastery.

Lalliman
2018-03-20, 03:06 AM
If you take the first to points (+1 to hit, +1 average damage) that's effectively the same as +2 to your attack stat which is what an ASI gives you, so this goes over the supposed balance point.
No it's not. The benefit is lesser because it only applies to one weapon, a weapon that is suboptimal to all classes except monk, and that for a monk can only be used on about half of his attacks, the other half being unarmed strikes. The offensive bonus is also only about half the benefit of raising your Dexterity, the other half being saving throws, skills and AC.

That being said, I really don't like Mearl's weapon specialisation feats. They utilise pesky +1 bonuses and weird action economy tricks (a reaction on your turn, wtf?). Kane's version is more user-friendly, but it's not very worthwhile for a monk. Your bonus action is immensely valuable, so you're always giving up offence or mobility when you use the defensive bonus. And guess what: getting +2 Dex or Wis would grant that +1 AC automatically.

It should be noted that if all you want is to keep using your quarterstaff at level 17, there is no need for a feat. The Martial Arts feature reads:

You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon.
So a 17th level monk will deal 1d10 damage with a quarterstaff.

If you still want a quarterstaff feat just for the sake of it, I would suggest you make it a half feat that mainly gives you the reach benefit, the one part of this that is truly useful to a monk and can't be gotten otherwise. Monks need their stat bonuses more than any other class, so don't give them up for something that isn't worth it.