Greywander
2022-05-12, 07:36 PM
Inspired by this thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?645688-Monk-Weapons-Mildly-Irksome). This isn't the first time I've posted a revised monk (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?640949-Revised-monk), or a revised Kensei (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?635474-Revised-Kensei-Monk) for that matter. But I thought I'd take a slightly different approach this time. The tweaks will be presented as optional class features that add new features or patch existing ones, rather than rewrites of the class with the new material embedded within. Hopefully this should make it easier to parse what's actually changed, and the end result shouldn't deviate too much from the original.
Armed and Armored Monks
The first thing I want to address is a basic one: the handling of additional weapon and armor proficiencies.
Warrior Monk
Beginning at 1st level, your list of monk weapons is expanded. Any weapon you are proficient with that is either a melee weapon that lacks the two-handed and heavy properties, or a ranged weapon, is now considered a monk weapon for you. In addition, you may still benefit from your monk features, such as Martial Arts and Unarmored Movement, while you are wearing armor or wielding a shield with which you are proficient.
It's a little baffling to me that casters get to cast in armor if they're proficient, and yet same isn't true for monks using their monk features. Likely, these were handled by different writers, which is why they ended up so dissonant. Very little actually changes for generic straight-classed monks with this tweak, as this does not grant any additional weapon or armor proficiencies. What it does affect are multiclass builds and those with racial proficiencies. Armored monks still aren't optimal, but at least they don't suck. Not everyone will like the idea of armored monks, but I think it's generally good to have options available for those who do want to play that. If someone really wants to be a STRonk, now they can.
Bonus Action Cleanup
One complaint I've heard of monks is that they have so many features competing for their bonus action. It's one of the things I addressed in the original Revised Monk thread, but here I'm going to tone it down a bit.
Swift Step of the Wind
Beginning at 2nd level, your Step of the Wind ki ability can be used without spending an action or bonus action. You may still only use it once on your turn.
Yup, that's it. Patient Defense is a top tier defensive ability, and I have something else in mind for Flurry of Blows. Step of the Wind was the only ability left that stood out as rarely being worth spending a bonus action on. Not only that, but it now synergizes nicely with rogue dips, allowing you to spend a ki point to double your speed, then BA Dash to double it again. It's not like people never used this feature before, but it was definitely more niche. Now you should actually see monks using it more regularly.
Weapon-Only Monks
The original thread that inspired this one was mainly expressing frustration over being required to use unarmed strikes. Like, sure, mixing weapon strikes and unarmed strikes is a common monk trope, but it's not the only monk trope. Monks already have the option of using only unarmed strikes (though this isn't optimal at low levels), but they never get the option of using only weapon strikes.
Flurry of Blades
Starting at 2nd level, when you use your Flurry of Blows ki ability, you may replace one or both unarmed strikes with a weapon attack with a monk weapon you are wielding. The monk weapon must have the light property.
Once you reach 11th level, your monk weapons no longer needs to have the light property to be used with Flurry of Blades.
Ki-Fueled Attack certainly helps monks who are more interested in using weapons than in using unarmed strikes, which is why I haven't changed anything about the regular Martial Arts BA attack. But it still only feels like a halfway fix. Flurry of Blades bridges the gap and provides the rest of what was missing from weapon-only monks. Now, something to note is that early on, Flurry of Blades requires you to be wielding a light weapon. Which means you can't also be wielding a versatile weapon in two hands. So you're basically choosing between using a d8 staff or spear + a d4 unarmed strike, or a d6 shortsword + a d6 shortsword. Even at 2nd level, it balances out, perhaps slightly skewing in favor of weapon monks. At 5th level, it skews slightly in favor of weapon + unarmed strike monks, and by 11th level you're pretty much using a d8 regardless. And that's why at 11th level you can Flurry with any weapon, since the damage is basically the same anyway.
Now, this is actually a stealth buff to archer monks, who can now Flurry with a shortbow or longbow... after 11th level. Before that, they have to use a hand crossbow, which they aren't proficient in by default, and which requires a feat to shoot more than once per round.
Weapon vs. Unarmed
Another complaint from the threat that inspired this is that there isn't a meaningful distinction between using a weapon vs. using an unarmed strike, particularly at higher levels where your Martial Arts die makes both do about the same damage. Now, for some people, this is a feature, as it lets them use either aesthetic without gimping their character. But let's say we wanting to add a meaningful difference between the two, giving you an actual reason to use one or the other. Let's also note that monk progression sags a bit in the middle. Let's see if we can't kill both of these birds with one stone.
Secret Techniques
When you reach 9th level, you master the secret martial arts techniques passed down by your monastic order. You gain the following benefits:
Shepherd's Gentle Crook. You've mastered the art of folding clothes while people are still in them. When you hit a creature no more than one size larger than you with an unarmed strike, you may force that creature to make a Strength saving throw. If the target fails the saving throw, you may do one of the following: (a) shove the target 5 feet in any direction, (b) knock the target prone, or (c) grapple the target with a free hand.
Sidestepping Slash. You can strike with a weapon with such speed that your opponent doesn't even realize they've been cut until you've passed them by. When you hit a creature with a monk weapon, you may move through that creature's space as if it was unoccupied until the end of your turn. This doesn't allow you to end your turn in that creature's space.
Soul-Severing Strike. They say a warrior's blade contains their soul. You've mastered the art of separating warriors from their souls. When you hit a creature with a monk weapon, you may force that creature to make a Constitution saving throw. If the creature fails the saving throw, they drop one item of your choice that they are holding. Alternatively, you may choose to spend 1 ki point before the target rolls the saving throw. If you do, then if the creature fails the saving throw, you may instead destroy one non-magical item the creature is holding, or a non-magical shield or suit of armor the creature is wearing.
So first, this comes at 9th level, right in the middle of the progression sag between Extra Attack/Stunning Strike and Diamond Soul. It gives monk players something to look forward to in late tier 2. Second, for being a martial arts class, monks are notoriously bad at grappling. By using a saving throw, we can bypass their less than stellar STR score. They don't benefit from things like Enlarge/Reduce or Expertise, so they're still not the best grapplers, but they can at least grapple and shove while still attacking. High STR saves are often pretty common on monsters, too, so this is by no means a guaranty that you will successfully grapple or shove.
Now, for the weapon techniques, perhaps you recognize the inspiration. It's a very common trope in anime for two swordsmen to rush past each other and strike at the same time, then pause dramatically before one of them collapses. Another common trope is walking past an enemy, and as you sheathe your weapon they suddenly realize they've been cut. I've boiled these down to the most basic mechanical element, which is being able to move through an enemy's space after striking them (everything else is flavor). It's a neat feature that synergizes beautifully with the monk's superior mobility.
Last, we have another common anime trope, which is similar to above, except not only does one of the combatants collapse (though sometimes this happens instead of, rather than in addition to), but their weapon also breaks, as if the victor's sword was so sharp it cut straight through the opponent's sword. This is, obviously, a rather strong ability, and certainly isn't universally applicable, but it seems fairly common when fighting faceless goons. Hence why the sundering aspect only applies to non-magical items. Also do note that the enemies you'll probably want to disarm the most will be the most likely to have high CON saves.
These secret techniques are the biggest change being introduced here. Hopefully they pull the bulk of the weight in bringing up the monk from an underwhelming class and into a heavy hitter. Now, people do still play monks, so perhaps they're not as weak as they appear to be on paper, so a buff of this magnitude might be overkill. Hopefully not, though.
Optional Bonus ASI/Feat
YMMV on whether or not this necessary, but I find monks are a bit starved for ASIs. Honestly, though, that's true of any MAD class. Consider throwing them an extra ASI at 10th level.
Monk Capstone
One of the other major things from my old Revised Monk that I felt needed to be changed was the capstone.
Perfect Self
Beginning at 20th level, if you start your turn with less than 4 ki points, you regain 1 ki point.
This gives you a pool of infinite ki, with the caveat that it only regenerates when you're running on empty. Getting that low on ki will hamper your ability to nova. But it does mean over a long adventuring day you're never truly out of ki, and 4 ki is enough to use Empty Body to turn invisible, which is great.
And yes, this would replace the original Perfect Self. There might be better monk capstones out there, but at least this one maintains the spirit of the original while making it much more appealing.
Kensei-Specific Changes
I think a lot of the changes introduced already address many of the complaints of the Kensei. However, there are a couple tweaks we can make to improve it.
Sword Saint
Beginning when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with martial weapons. In addition, the definition of kensei weapons is expanded to include any monk weapon.
Furthermore, the following feature replaces Agile Parry:
Ki-Fueled Parry. Expending ki heightens your senses and guides your weapons to deflect incoming attacks. When you are wielding a monk weapon and you spend 1 or more ki in any way, you gain a +2 bonus to your AC until the end of your next turn. You can't benefit from more than one instance of this feature at a time.
Basically, there's no longer a distinction between monk weapons and kensei weapons, making it easier to do all your kensei stuff without being pigeonholed into a small subset of weapons. More importantly, you no longer have to give up half of your weapon strikes to get that sweet AC bonus. For being a subclass about using weapons, it seemed kind of strange that they rewarded you for not using a weapon. Agile Parry was by no means weak, but it just wasn't fun to use since it required not attacking with your cool kensei weapons. But a free +2 AC is no small thing, either. With this change, it's now tied to spending ki, meaning you lose it if you run out of ki or if you're not constantly spending ki. TBH, Ki-Fueled Parry is probably a net nerf compared to Agile Parry, but at least it will feel better to use.
Kensei has a reputation for being an especially weak subclass, though maybe not as much as Four Elements or Sun Soul. So it's not clear if this would be enough to even it out, or if it might need a bit more of a buff. Particularly with the change to Agile Parry. But it should be much better than it was, at least.
Speaking of Sun Soul, I could address them as well, and have even made a revised version (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?612587-Sun-Soul-revised) of them in the past as well. Haven't given them much thought lately, so I won't go into possible tweaks. You can check the old thread to see some of the tweaks I might apply, though.
Armed and Armored Monks
The first thing I want to address is a basic one: the handling of additional weapon and armor proficiencies.
Warrior Monk
Beginning at 1st level, your list of monk weapons is expanded. Any weapon you are proficient with that is either a melee weapon that lacks the two-handed and heavy properties, or a ranged weapon, is now considered a monk weapon for you. In addition, you may still benefit from your monk features, such as Martial Arts and Unarmored Movement, while you are wearing armor or wielding a shield with which you are proficient.
It's a little baffling to me that casters get to cast in armor if they're proficient, and yet same isn't true for monks using their monk features. Likely, these were handled by different writers, which is why they ended up so dissonant. Very little actually changes for generic straight-classed monks with this tweak, as this does not grant any additional weapon or armor proficiencies. What it does affect are multiclass builds and those with racial proficiencies. Armored monks still aren't optimal, but at least they don't suck. Not everyone will like the idea of armored monks, but I think it's generally good to have options available for those who do want to play that. If someone really wants to be a STRonk, now they can.
Bonus Action Cleanup
One complaint I've heard of monks is that they have so many features competing for their bonus action. It's one of the things I addressed in the original Revised Monk thread, but here I'm going to tone it down a bit.
Swift Step of the Wind
Beginning at 2nd level, your Step of the Wind ki ability can be used without spending an action or bonus action. You may still only use it once on your turn.
Yup, that's it. Patient Defense is a top tier defensive ability, and I have something else in mind for Flurry of Blows. Step of the Wind was the only ability left that stood out as rarely being worth spending a bonus action on. Not only that, but it now synergizes nicely with rogue dips, allowing you to spend a ki point to double your speed, then BA Dash to double it again. It's not like people never used this feature before, but it was definitely more niche. Now you should actually see monks using it more regularly.
Weapon-Only Monks
The original thread that inspired this one was mainly expressing frustration over being required to use unarmed strikes. Like, sure, mixing weapon strikes and unarmed strikes is a common monk trope, but it's not the only monk trope. Monks already have the option of using only unarmed strikes (though this isn't optimal at low levels), but they never get the option of using only weapon strikes.
Flurry of Blades
Starting at 2nd level, when you use your Flurry of Blows ki ability, you may replace one or both unarmed strikes with a weapon attack with a monk weapon you are wielding. The monk weapon must have the light property.
Once you reach 11th level, your monk weapons no longer needs to have the light property to be used with Flurry of Blades.
Ki-Fueled Attack certainly helps monks who are more interested in using weapons than in using unarmed strikes, which is why I haven't changed anything about the regular Martial Arts BA attack. But it still only feels like a halfway fix. Flurry of Blades bridges the gap and provides the rest of what was missing from weapon-only monks. Now, something to note is that early on, Flurry of Blades requires you to be wielding a light weapon. Which means you can't also be wielding a versatile weapon in two hands. So you're basically choosing between using a d8 staff or spear + a d4 unarmed strike, or a d6 shortsword + a d6 shortsword. Even at 2nd level, it balances out, perhaps slightly skewing in favor of weapon monks. At 5th level, it skews slightly in favor of weapon + unarmed strike monks, and by 11th level you're pretty much using a d8 regardless. And that's why at 11th level you can Flurry with any weapon, since the damage is basically the same anyway.
Now, this is actually a stealth buff to archer monks, who can now Flurry with a shortbow or longbow... after 11th level. Before that, they have to use a hand crossbow, which they aren't proficient in by default, and which requires a feat to shoot more than once per round.
Weapon vs. Unarmed
Another complaint from the threat that inspired this is that there isn't a meaningful distinction between using a weapon vs. using an unarmed strike, particularly at higher levels where your Martial Arts die makes both do about the same damage. Now, for some people, this is a feature, as it lets them use either aesthetic without gimping their character. But let's say we wanting to add a meaningful difference between the two, giving you an actual reason to use one or the other. Let's also note that monk progression sags a bit in the middle. Let's see if we can't kill both of these birds with one stone.
Secret Techniques
When you reach 9th level, you master the secret martial arts techniques passed down by your monastic order. You gain the following benefits:
Shepherd's Gentle Crook. You've mastered the art of folding clothes while people are still in them. When you hit a creature no more than one size larger than you with an unarmed strike, you may force that creature to make a Strength saving throw. If the target fails the saving throw, you may do one of the following: (a) shove the target 5 feet in any direction, (b) knock the target prone, or (c) grapple the target with a free hand.
Sidestepping Slash. You can strike with a weapon with such speed that your opponent doesn't even realize they've been cut until you've passed them by. When you hit a creature with a monk weapon, you may move through that creature's space as if it was unoccupied until the end of your turn. This doesn't allow you to end your turn in that creature's space.
Soul-Severing Strike. They say a warrior's blade contains their soul. You've mastered the art of separating warriors from their souls. When you hit a creature with a monk weapon, you may force that creature to make a Constitution saving throw. If the creature fails the saving throw, they drop one item of your choice that they are holding. Alternatively, you may choose to spend 1 ki point before the target rolls the saving throw. If you do, then if the creature fails the saving throw, you may instead destroy one non-magical item the creature is holding, or a non-magical shield or suit of armor the creature is wearing.
So first, this comes at 9th level, right in the middle of the progression sag between Extra Attack/Stunning Strike and Diamond Soul. It gives monk players something to look forward to in late tier 2. Second, for being a martial arts class, monks are notoriously bad at grappling. By using a saving throw, we can bypass their less than stellar STR score. They don't benefit from things like Enlarge/Reduce or Expertise, so they're still not the best grapplers, but they can at least grapple and shove while still attacking. High STR saves are often pretty common on monsters, too, so this is by no means a guaranty that you will successfully grapple or shove.
Now, for the weapon techniques, perhaps you recognize the inspiration. It's a very common trope in anime for two swordsmen to rush past each other and strike at the same time, then pause dramatically before one of them collapses. Another common trope is walking past an enemy, and as you sheathe your weapon they suddenly realize they've been cut. I've boiled these down to the most basic mechanical element, which is being able to move through an enemy's space after striking them (everything else is flavor). It's a neat feature that synergizes beautifully with the monk's superior mobility.
Last, we have another common anime trope, which is similar to above, except not only does one of the combatants collapse (though sometimes this happens instead of, rather than in addition to), but their weapon also breaks, as if the victor's sword was so sharp it cut straight through the opponent's sword. This is, obviously, a rather strong ability, and certainly isn't universally applicable, but it seems fairly common when fighting faceless goons. Hence why the sundering aspect only applies to non-magical items. Also do note that the enemies you'll probably want to disarm the most will be the most likely to have high CON saves.
These secret techniques are the biggest change being introduced here. Hopefully they pull the bulk of the weight in bringing up the monk from an underwhelming class and into a heavy hitter. Now, people do still play monks, so perhaps they're not as weak as they appear to be on paper, so a buff of this magnitude might be overkill. Hopefully not, though.
Optional Bonus ASI/Feat
YMMV on whether or not this necessary, but I find monks are a bit starved for ASIs. Honestly, though, that's true of any MAD class. Consider throwing them an extra ASI at 10th level.
Monk Capstone
One of the other major things from my old Revised Monk that I felt needed to be changed was the capstone.
Perfect Self
Beginning at 20th level, if you start your turn with less than 4 ki points, you regain 1 ki point.
This gives you a pool of infinite ki, with the caveat that it only regenerates when you're running on empty. Getting that low on ki will hamper your ability to nova. But it does mean over a long adventuring day you're never truly out of ki, and 4 ki is enough to use Empty Body to turn invisible, which is great.
And yes, this would replace the original Perfect Self. There might be better monk capstones out there, but at least this one maintains the spirit of the original while making it much more appealing.
Kensei-Specific Changes
I think a lot of the changes introduced already address many of the complaints of the Kensei. However, there are a couple tweaks we can make to improve it.
Sword Saint
Beginning when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with martial weapons. In addition, the definition of kensei weapons is expanded to include any monk weapon.
Furthermore, the following feature replaces Agile Parry:
Ki-Fueled Parry. Expending ki heightens your senses and guides your weapons to deflect incoming attacks. When you are wielding a monk weapon and you spend 1 or more ki in any way, you gain a +2 bonus to your AC until the end of your next turn. You can't benefit from more than one instance of this feature at a time.
Basically, there's no longer a distinction between monk weapons and kensei weapons, making it easier to do all your kensei stuff without being pigeonholed into a small subset of weapons. More importantly, you no longer have to give up half of your weapon strikes to get that sweet AC bonus. For being a subclass about using weapons, it seemed kind of strange that they rewarded you for not using a weapon. Agile Parry was by no means weak, but it just wasn't fun to use since it required not attacking with your cool kensei weapons. But a free +2 AC is no small thing, either. With this change, it's now tied to spending ki, meaning you lose it if you run out of ki or if you're not constantly spending ki. TBH, Ki-Fueled Parry is probably a net nerf compared to Agile Parry, but at least it will feel better to use.
Kensei has a reputation for being an especially weak subclass, though maybe not as much as Four Elements or Sun Soul. So it's not clear if this would be enough to even it out, or if it might need a bit more of a buff. Particularly with the change to Agile Parry. But it should be much better than it was, at least.
Speaking of Sun Soul, I could address them as well, and have even made a revised version (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?612587-Sun-Soul-revised) of them in the past as well. Haven't given them much thought lately, so I won't go into possible tweaks. You can check the old thread to see some of the tweaks I might apply, though.