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    sandmote's Avatar

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    Default Way of the Desert Wind: Partial ToB/HotEC Conversion

    This page on the homebrewery.

    I've been trying to post on Fridays and got off track from the holidays. Anyway, one thing I dislike in a lot of American and European literature is how deserts are always hot. When there's nothing around to hold the heat in, temperatures plummet as soon as the sun sets.

    Still trying to make a workable Monk subclass, so in this attempt I added flexibility with different stances for different times of day. In contrast to the ToB school and 4e monastic tradition. Unlike some of my conversions, this doesn't directly convert much of the old material; A school doesn't have the clear concept of a class and 4e conversion always requires picking and choosing powers anyway.

    I'm concerned about the balance of the offensive features at 3rd and 11th level. The damage bonus is a bit weak for the cost, but can still boost novas a bit at higher levels (it is intended to work a bit like divine smite). I think the balance for the 11th feature is wrong, but whether it is too costly or simply having both benefits is inherently too strong I can't tell.

    Stance of Baking Day This is the default original concept. Deals the most raw damage, for the most resisted of the three types.

    Stance of Night's Chill More utility, but still good damage. Better Damage/Worse resistance at 3rd, but it should open up slight control ability at 6th.

    Stance of Twilight's Haze Note Kensai monks can choose a whip to gain the active benefit for no ki or action cost. This is meant to balance the increased total flexibility of the subclass. I expect the stance to be used for defensive fighting at 3rd level, adding on stealth at 6th, and then a big burst of damage before switching to another stance at 11th.

    Fluff
    Monks of the way of the Desert Wind train to become one with the desert, summoning the elements of environment to strike out at your enemies and insulating yourself against their worst effects.


    Shifts of the Day and Night
    Broiling hot in the center of the day, the desert quickly turns severely cold once the sun dips below the horizon. When you choose the archetype at 3rd level, you can take on the traits of a particular time of day by spending 1 minute in meditation. You remain in the stance until you spend one minute to assume a different stance of finish a short or long rest.

    Stance of Baking Day You unleash the harsh fury of the midday sun, unmitigated by shade or water. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend 1 ki point to deal fire damage to the target equal to your martial arts die as part of the attack, in addition to the weapon's damage. While in this stance, you also gain resistance to fire damage.

    Stance of Night's Chill You drain heat with the speed of the midnight chill. When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend 1 ki point to deal cold damage to the target equal to your martial arts die, in addition to the weapon's damage. While in this stance, you also gain resistance to cold damage.

    Stance of Twilight's Haze You reach out, playing through the comfortable but fickle shadows on the border of day and night. You can expend 1 ki point as a bonus action to play through the falling light, increasing your reach by 5 feet until the end of your turn. While in this stance, you also gain resistance to psychic damage.

    As long as you are in a stance, you can choose to count as deafened whenever it would be beneficial to do so.

    Traveler of the Sands
    At 3rd level, you have acclimated to the desert, and can travel it with ease. You gain the following benefits:

    • You can move across difficult terrain made of sand or loose material without expending extra movement.
    • You learn the gust cantrip. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
    • You gain proficiency with your choice of the Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Deception, Insight, Nature, or Survival skills.
    • You need half the normal amount of water.


    Billowing Charge
    By 6th level, your movement causes wind to billow behind your strikes and movement. When you make an unarmed strike or attack using a monk weapon against a creature and move at least 5 feet away from the creature on the same turn, you can expend 1 ki point to force the creature to make a saving throw based on your current stance.

    Stance of Baking Day The creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Ki save DC to avoid the extreme heat of your summoned winds. On a failed save the creature takes fire damage equal to your martial arts die + your Wisdom modifier.

    Stance of Night's Chill The creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your Ki save DC, as the wind you summon freezes its muscles and saps its vigor. On a failed save the creature's speed is reduced to 0 until the start of your next turn.

    Stance of Twilight's Haze The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your Ki save DC as the wind attacks its eyes and hides your movement. On a failed save you are heavily obscured from the creature until the end of your turn. The obscurement ends early if you make an attack or cast a spell targeting the creature.

    Once you have used this feature, you must expend 1 ki point each additional time you use it before the start of your next turn (no action required by you).

    Burst of the Raging Sandstorm
    By 11th level, you can unleash a flurry of wind within 5 feet. As an action, you can make an unarmed strike against each creature within 5 feet, dealing 1d8 additional fire, cold, or psychic damage. The damage is of the same type your stance gives you resistance to. Whenever you take this action, you can change to a different stance as a bonus action.

    Additionally, your stances become more powerful.

    Stance of Baking Day When you spend a ki point to deal cold damage while in this stance, you deal an additional die of damage.

    Stance of Night's Chill When you spend a ki point to deal cold damage while in this stance, you deal an additional die of damage.

    Stance of Twilight's Haze When you use this stance to extend your reach, your reach increases by 10 feet.

    Wall of Raging Wind
    Starting at 17th level, you can leave a wall of raging wind as you move. As a bonus action, you can expend 4 ki points to cast the Wind Wall spell. In addition to the normal restrictions of the spell, at least one portion of the wall must enter within 5 feet of you at the time you cast the spell. Whenever a creature enters the wall, the creature Once the wall is in place, a creature that enters the wall must make a Constitution saving throw against your Ki save DC or take 3d8 slashing damage as swirling sand grates at its body.
    Last edited by sandmote; 2020-09-21 at 11:21 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #2
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    Default Re: Way of the Desert Wind: Partial ToB/HotEC Conversion

    I'll do another pass on balance in a bit, because I really like this concept. However, something that struck me reading through it was that the third level stance abilities are a pretty bad deal. The ki and bonus action cost means that they directly compete with flurry of blows in the action economy, and flurry of blows will pretty much allways be better (two attacks that need to roll to hit but do martial arts + dex damage vs. One guaranteed to-hit martial arts die damage).

    Edit: okay, I'm taking another look athe features from a 'balance with existing subclasses perspective'

    The level 3 bonus proficencies and the stance of twilight's haze benefit seem fine. As I mentioned above though,t eh benefit of the other two stances at this point isn't all the great except for some very niche situations where you absolutely need fire or cold damage.

    The level 6 feature seems to be a bit much for an ability that's free most of the time. I'd attach a 1 ki-point cost to it. With that, I also think it's fine to extend the duration of the twilight's haze effect to the start of your next turn, as it's not all that useful unless you're planning to hide from them if it ends at the end of your turn (you've already taken the attack of opportunity from them for moving if they where going to be able to make one at all, so the obscurement isn't all that relevant).

    The level 11 feature seems fine. The burst is situational but can be good, while the improvements to the stances are nice. The stance improvements bring them tot eh point that the cost for the extra damaging effects starts approaching par with flurry of blows in most situations, which si arguably where they should have been in the first place. Personally, I'd increase the damage on those to two martial arts dies at level 3, and let the level 11 feature give an additional minor rider effect to those effects.

    The level 17 feature is fine, though you might want to clarify whether creatures that are inside the wall when it is created only take the bludgeoning damage from the original spell, take the slashing damage instead, or take both.
    Last edited by DeTess; 2020-09-20 at 07:25 AM.
    Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays

  3. - Top - End - #3
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    Default Re: Way of the Desert Wind: Partial ToB/HotEC Conversion

    Quote Originally Posted by DeTess View Post
    I'll do another pass on balance in a bit, because I really like this concept. However, something that struck me reading through it was that the third level stance abilities are a pretty bad deal. The ki and bonus action cost means that they directly compete with flurry of blows in the action economy, and flurry of blows will pretty much allways be better (two attacks that need to roll to hit but do martial arts + dex damage vs. One guaranteed to-hit martial arts die damage).
    I should have added it explicitly, but the fire and cold benefits do not require a bonus action. I specifically applied it to reach because it lets you pull off more than raw damage.

    Quote Originally Posted by DeTess View Post
    The level 6 feature seems to be a bit much for an ability that's free most of the time. I'd attach a 1 ki-point cost to it. With that, I also think it's fine to extend the duration of the twilight's haze effect to the start of your next turn, as it's not all that useful unless you're planning to hide from them if it ends at the end of your turn (you've already taken the attack of opportunity from them for moving if they where going to be able to make one at all, so the obscurement isn't all that relevant).

    ...

    The level 17 feature is fine, though you might want to clarify whether creatures that are inside the wall when it is created only take the bludgeoning damage from the original spell, take the slashing damage instead, or take both.
    Will do for both.

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