Way of the Serene Grace: Defensive Piety Monk

[sandmote]

this page on the homebrewery (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/NW_djWUI1N60)

To cover a slightly less showy type of monk, I've tried to base some defensive elements and an attack bonus off of piety, as well as boosted the amount of ki from 11th level onward. I'm a bit worried that it's a bit weak offensively.


Touch of the Divine
By 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to cast bless, calm emotions, ceremony, prayer of healing, protection from evil and good, or shield of faith, without providing material components. Additionally, you gain the guidance cantrip if you don’t already know it.

Cleansing Purity
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to channel cleansing wrath through your unarmed strikes. When you make an unarmed strike, you can choose to deal fire or radiant damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Starting at 6th level, this damage counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Two benefits to grant pseudo-clerical abilities. The latter is meant to make it easy to re-fluff the class as dealing damage from holy effects, rather than making it a more martial monk.


Shielding Grace
When you reach 6th level, you learn to channel your piety into cleansing energy that protects you from harmful effects. When you are targeted by a spell, you can use your reaction to deflect the spell's energy. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.

A ki free buff to defensive flexibility.


Font of Eternal Energy
At 11th level, you gain the ability to call on external forces to restore your own bodily forces. At the end of your turn, if you haven't used an action or bonus action on your turn and have not used any movement you can choose to regain a number of ki points equal to your proficiency modifier, up to your normal maximum. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

As opposed to the sun monk effect, this is meant to let the monk last longer in combat. I'm not entirely sure on how to make the refresh ability appropriately thematic to preying, but it is intended to carry some risk when used in combat.


Eternal Grace
Starting at 17th level, you shrug off attacks as they appears. You can use your reaction to deflect the weapon when you are hit by a melee weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can attempt to disarm you opponent if the target can drop the weapon and you have at least one hand free. Makes an attack roll contested by the attacker's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you win the contest, your opponent drops the item. You have have disadvantage on your attack roll if your opponent is holding the item with two or more hands. You have advantage on your attack roll if you are larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is larger.

In combat, you get a special reaction that you can take once on every creature’s turn, except your turn. You can use this special reaction only to use the reactions granted by Deflect Missiles, Shielding Grace, and this feature. However, when you use a feature using this special reaction the damage is reduced only by 1d10 + your Dexterity Modifier as the speed of defenses reduces your ability to weaken each individual blow.

Taken from the cavalier to grant additional defense abilities.

[JNAProductions]

Specify casting stat. I'm assuming Wisdom, but specify it all the same.

Radiant at-will on your main attacks feels a little much-I know Sun Souls get their radiant bolt, but that's weaker than unarmed strikes, if I remember correctly. Fire should be fine, though.

Font feels like something you'd never use in combat-solely an out of combat Ki-restore when you don't have time to short rest.

The ability to, once per turn reduce damage by 20+... That's a bit ridiculous.

Overall, I'd allow this in my game levels 17 or earlier. At level 18, nope. Big ol' nope. Eternal Grace has to change.

[Ilerien]

As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to cast bless, calm emotions, ceremony, prayer of healing, protection from evil and good, or shield of faithEmphasis mine.
Ceremony and player of healing as an action? No way, they take 1 hour and 10 minutes respectively to cast normally.
When you are targeted by a spellDoes it work when you're included in an area of effect a spell produces?

I actually think Eternal Grace is fine as a 17th (not 18th!) level feature as itself, but it shifts this monk's role in combat radically - as it gains 17th level, it can play a pretty much unkillable frontliner, on par with bear totem barbarian. I recommend to tone it down, introduce ki cost and move it to 3rd or 6th level. And 17th level feature should be offensive or utility as is prevalent for official monk subclasses.

[MrStabby]

this page on the homebrewery (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/NW_djWUI1N60)

To cover a slightly less showy type of monk, I've tried to base some defensive elements and an attack bonus off of piety, as well as boosted the amount of ki from 11th level onward. I'm a bit worried that it's a bit weak offensively.


Touch of the Divine
By 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to cast bless, calm emotions, ceremony, prayer of healing, protection from evil and good, or shield of faith, without providing material components. Additionally, you gain the guidance cantrip if you don’t already know it.

Cleansing Purity
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to channel cleansing wrath through your unarmed strikes. When you make an unarmed strike, you can choose to deal fire or radiant damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Starting at 6th level, this damage counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.


Touch of the Divine is probably too powerful. It is a very Ki efficient way of getting a lot of power. Protection from Evil and good is excellent where it is useful at all. Bless is always good and easily worth 1 Ki. Shield of faith is hardly weak either. The really nuts thing is prayer of healing - assuiming two short rests per day you can be casting 9 level 2 spells from third level; much more than a cleric. The short rest mechanic is great with prayer of healing - it is a great way to dump Ki before a short rest. I would say that your theme here is good but it is just a bit on the powerful side.

Cleansing purity is not bad either, for a secondary ability. Fire and Radiant damage are very powerful damage types to be able to opt into as so many creatures have vulnerability to one of these. I think this works really well.






Two benefits to grant pseudo-clerical abilities. The latter is meant to make it easy to re-fluff the class as dealing damage from holy effects, rather than making it a more martial monk.


Shielding Grace
When you reach 6th level, you learn to channel your piety into cleansing energy that protects you from harmful effects. When you are targeted by a spell, you can use your reaction to deflect the spell's energy. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.

A ki free buff to defensive flexibility.


Font of Eternal Energy
At 11th level, you gain the ability to call on external forces to restore your own bodily forces. At the end of your turn, if you haven't used an action or bonus action on your turn and have not used any movement you can choose to regain a number of ki points equal to your proficiency modifier, up to your normal maximum. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

As opposed to the sun monk effect, this is meant to let the monk last longer in combat. I'm not entirely sure on how to make the refresh ability appropriately thematic to preying, but it is intended to carry some risk when used in combat.


At first pass I had thought shielding grace was powerful, but monk gets evasion and this will limit it's power somewhat. Monk level 6 abilities are often pretty cool so this isn't really out of place.

Font of eternal energy is a minimum of+4 ki per short rest - an increase of about a third. This is really a big deal, especially as you have a level 3 ability that provides more ways to use Ki. Monks can burn Ki at an extraordinary rate if they chose so this is a massive, masive impact.







Eternal Grace
Starting at 18th level, you shrug off attacks as they appears. You can use your reaction to deflect the weapon when you are hit by a melee weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can attempt to disarm you opponent if the target can drop the weapon and you have at least one hand free. Makes an attack roll contested by the attacker's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you win the contest, your opponent drops the item. You have have disadvantage on your attack roll if your opponent is holding the item with two or more hands. You have advantage on your attack roll if you are larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is larger.

In combat, you get a special reaction that you can take once on every creature’s turn, except your turn. You can use this special reaction only to use the reactions granted by Deflect Missiles, Shielding Grace, and this feature.

Taken from the cavalier to grant additional defense abilities.

I think that the level 17 abilities don't really fit. How does your clerical/divine connection relate to the skill to disarm and deflect enemies? I don't really feel it fits the class. This whole set feels like it belongs on another class with more of a martial style... which it does.


I wouldn't worry about a lack of offensive abilities. The class doesn't have to be the best at everything. You have the outright best support monk here, you don't need offensive capabilties for it to be viable.

[sandmote]

Specify casting stat. I'm assuming Wisdom, but specify it all the same.

Radiant at-will on your main attacks feels a little much-I know Sun Souls get their radiant bolt, but that's weaker than unarmed strikes, if I remember correctly. Fire should be fine, though.

Font feels like something you'd never use in combat-solely an out of combat Ki-restore when you don't have time to short rest. My copy of the Way of Shadow doesn't specify casting stat, and I'm pretty sure it's because this is a ki feature.

For Radiant Sun Bolt, it's written really weirdly, but the damage it deals is Martial Arts Die + Dex Mod. An earlier draft of cleansing purity granted fire damage at 3rd level and radiant at 11th; would this work better?

I don't expect anyone to use Font in combat unless they have a really short adventuring day, but I like the idea of having it in case of emergency, where they'll need to stall a turn to get some ki back.


The ability to, once per turn reduce damage by 20+... That's a bit ridiculous.

Overall, I'd allow this in my game levels 17 or earlier. At level 18, nope. Big ol' nope. Eternal Grace has to change.Yeah, I guess that becomes overkill. I still want some additional defensive flexibility here though. Would 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier damage reduction be okay (ie. 20 less than the current version)?


Emphasis mine.
Ceremony and player of healing as an action? No way, they take 1 hour and 10 minutes respectively to cast normally.Does it work when you're included in an area of effect a spell produces? Whoops, sorry. I'll remove both those spells.

I actually think Eternal Grace is fine as a 17th (not 18th!) level feature as itself, but it shifts this monk's role in combat radically - as it gains 17th level, it can play a pretty much unkillable frontliner, on par with bear totem barbarian. I recommend to tone it down, introduce ki cost and move it to 3rd or 6th level. And 17th level feature should be offensive or utility as is prevalent for official monk subclasses.[/QUOTE] As I was going for a defensive monk, I figured it needed something to catch up other front-liners. See previous idea about bringing the defensiveness back in line.

Also, than kyou for catching the typo on which level the feature is granted.

Touch of the Divine is probably too powerful. It is a very Ki efficient way of getting a lot of power. Protection from Evil and good is excellent where it is useful at all. Bless is always good and easily worth 1 Ki. Shield of faith is hardly weak either. The really nuts thing is prayer of healing - assuiming two short rests per day you can be casting 9 level 2 spells from third level; much more than a cleric. The short rest mechanic is great with prayer of healing - it is a great way to dump Ki before a short rest. I would say that your theme here is good but it is just a bit on the powerful side. To be honest, I hybridized two versions of the feature, and missed I'd given those spells as an action. I'm dropping prayer of healing and ceremony, at the very least.


Font of eternal energy is a minimum of+4 ki per short rest - an increase of about a third. This is really a big deal, especially as you have a level 3 ability that provides more ways to use Ki. Monks can burn Ki at an extraordinary rate if they chose so this is a massive, massive impact. I'm rather disappointed with most 11th level monk features, as it's a strong level for every other class. I can't tell if you think this needs to be pared down. For reference, my other idea was a knockoff of the berserker barbarian, where you can give up an action and gain a level of exhaustion to gain back all your ki. That would be better geared for short adventuring days, but still felt a bit odd given the monk is short rest based everywhere else.







I think that the level 17 abilities don't really fit. How does your clerical/divine connection relate to the skill to disarm and deflect enemies? I don't really feel it fits the class. This whole set feels like it belongs on another class with more of a martial style... which it does.


I wouldn't worry about a lack of offensive abilities. The class doesn't have to be the best at everything. You have the outright best support monk here, you don't need offensive capabilties for it to be viable. Flavorwise I was going for something that can work for a peaceful-ish kung fu jesus style monk, but that could still mechanically fit a character who's simply so holy that they keep going through attacks (with the flavor being that the character's pure holiness deflects the blows rather than the character's physical actions.

On the offensive abilities, I'm mainly worried about the case where any intelligent monster would decide to ignore the monk until everyone else is down, as can happen with low offense walls.

[MrStabby]

I'm rather disappointed with most 11th level monk features, as it's a strong level for every other class. I can't tell if you think this needs to be pared down. For reference, my other idea was a knockoff of the berserker barbarian, where you can give up an action and gain a level of exhaustion to gain back all your ki. That would be better geared for short adventuring days, but still felt a bit odd given the monk is short rest based everywhere else.






Flavorwise I was going for something that can work for a peaceful-ish kung fu jesus style monk, but that could still mechanically fit a character who's simply so holy that they keep going through attacks (with the flavor being that the character's pure holiness deflects the blows rather than the character's physical actions.

On the offensive abilities, I'm mainly worried about the case where any intelligent monster would decide to ignore the monk until everyone else is down, as can happen with low offense walls.

I think you underestimate the other level eleven jumps on the monk. It is not that weak a level (nor is it the strongest either). Martial arts die increases and you get another Ki point as a participation award even without your subclass feature. Your power up at 11 is spread accross multiple different columns in the class table, but it is there. And the other features this is competing with: 1ki point to not die on Long Death, As will invisibility (shadow)... But this much extra Ki worries me as you have so many great ways to use it before even rolling initiative. I wouldn't say I am certain it is overpowered, but you should look at it very closely in testing. I would also look out for it not impacting flavour - if all it does is give the PC more stunning strikes in a day then it is powerful, but won't really make the class feel too much different. It is literally giving you more of the same when most other options open up something genuinely new.

With your flavour description, you run into a bit of an issue with demarcation; mystical enegy that means the monk keeps powering through attacks is the long death thing. Peacefullish monk is treading a bit close to mercy or open hand's sanctuary. I am not sure how to fix this, but you could have features like allowing Ki to use a channel divinity from the cleric/paladin (you could even open it up - chose two channel divinity options from the cleric or paladin - you can use them for 3 Ki. It would give the divine theme, tie you to a god and allow some neat customisation.)

[sandmote]

I think you underestimate the other level eleven jumps on the monk. It is not that weak a level (nor is it the strongest either). Martial arts die increases and you get another Ki point as a participation award even without your subclass feature. Your power up at 11 is spread accross multiple different columns in the class table, but it is there. And the other features this is competing with: 1ki point to not die on Long Death, As will invisibility (shadow)... But this much extra Ki worries me as you have so many great ways to use it before even rolling initiative. I wouldn't say I am certain it is overpowered, but you should look at it very closely in testing. I would also look out for it not impacting flavour - if all it does is give the PC more stunning strikes in a day then it is powerful, but won't really make the class feel too much different. It is literally giving you more of the same when most other options open up something genuinely new.

With your flavour description, you run into a bit of an issue with demarcation; mystical enegy that means the monk keeps powering through attacks is the long death thing. Peacefullish monk is treading a bit close to mercy or open hand's sanctuary. I am not sure how to fix this, but you could have features like allowing Ki to use a channel divinity from the cleric/paladin (you could even open it up - chose two channel divinity options from the cleric or paladin - you can use them for 3 Ki. It would give the divine theme, tie you to a god and allow some neat customisation.)I was running Purity of Body wrong for a while, so I suppose Monks don't need as big a boost at 11th compared to the other classes, but most of the other classes get something very significant at 11th level. A 6th level spell slot, +50% attacks per action, Reliable Talent, or +1d8 radiant damage every attack. +4 damage per turn (iff the monk uses flurry of blows) and the usual +1 ki point I think gets you about a third of the way to par.

I'll run down the subclass features (minus the ones new to tasha's)

Drunkard's Luck: burn ki to negate disadvantage. Not terrible, but not a standout either.
Four Elements. What do I even say?
Sharpen the Blade: +1/ki point to attack damage rolls for 1 minute is fair.
Mastery of Death: Probably the best one, to be honest. Stronger than Relentless Rage, even.
Tranquility: says it ends early as normal, which makes it embarrassing. If I get an 11th level open hand monk, I'd probably change it to so creatures become immune to the spell if you attack them or cast a spell that affects them, but the spell itself doesn't end.
Cloak of Shadows: solid ability, helpful for an ambusher or scout.


However, the subclasses in tasha's seem a lot better about this. Each grants a damage increase and a defensive ability. Although the astral self's defensive ability at 11th level is very similar to Shielding Grace in this subclass.

So, sure I'll modify the subclass to use the traditional divine class features, rather than doing for a defensive wall.


Channel Divinity
At 6th level, you gain the ability to channel divine energy directly from your deity, using that energy to fuel magical effects. Choose a Paladin Oath. You gain the Turn Undead channel divinity option common to clerics, as well as the two Channel Divinity options available to Paladins of your chosen oath.

When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.

Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your ki save DC.

Note: this is a rough draft for a new direction, and I haven't combed the paladin oaths for potential problems yet. I'm including the above feature as I'm wondering how to limit the power of the feature to reasonable limits while still allowing it to fit multiple deities. If you're wondering why it doesn't use ki, see the way of four elements. I think the 3rd level features are fine, but I welcome concepts to use for replacement 11th and 17th level features.