Monk (Name Here's Ki Generation)
Why write this?
When looking over the different resource systems used in 5e, one system that can be found in modern gaming that 5e lacks is Combo Points, building up resources the longer you fight. With combo points, you can expect many smaller hits building up the point pool. That pool can then be used sparingly or in a devastating big hit. The monk natural fit that can address some of the issues like poor damage and over-reliance on stunning strike.
If you are already familiar with the monk, changes to the monk class are marked with an asterisk*.
Class Features
As a Monk, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per Monk level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution Modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Monk level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: none
- Weapons: simple weapons, shortswords
- Tools: any one type of artisan's tools or any one musical instrument of your choice
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose 2 from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- 10 darts
Alternatively, you may start with 5d4 gp to buy your own equipment.
Monk
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Martial Arts | KI Point Maximum* | Martial Step* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts | 1d4 | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Ki*, Martial Strikes and Steps* | 1d4 | 2 | 10ft |
| 3rd | +2 | Deflect Missiles, Monastic Tradition | 1d4 | 3 | 10ft |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Increase, Slow Fall | 1d4 | 4 | 10ft |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack, Lesser Stunning Strike* | 1d6 | 5 | 10ft |
| 6th | +3 | Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition Feature | 1d6 | 6 | 15ft |
| 7th | +3 | Evasion, Stillness of Mind | 1d6 | 7 | 15ft |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 1d6 | 8 | 15ft |
| 9th | +4 | Martial Step improvement* | 1d6 | 9 | 15ft |
| 10th | +4 | Purity of Body | 1d6 | 10 | 20ft |
| 11th | +4 | Ki Improvement*, Greater Stunning Strike*, Monastic Tradition Feature | 1d8 | 11 | 20ft |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 1d8 | 12 | 20ft |
| 13th | +5 | Tongue of the Sun and Moon | 1d8 | 13 | 20ft |
| 14th | +5 | Diamond Soul | 1d8 | 14 | 25ft |
| 15th | +5 | Timeless Body | 1d8 | 15 | 25ft |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 1d8 | 16 | 25ft |
| 17th | +6 | Ki Improvement*, Supreme Stunning Strike*, Monastic Tradition Feature | 1d10 | 17 | 30ft |
| 18th | +6 | Empty Body | 1d10 | 18 | 30ft |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 1d10 | 19 | 30ft |
| 20th | +6 | Perfect Self | 1d10 | 20 | 30ft |
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Martial Arts
Your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren't wearing armor or wielding a shield.
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
- You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
- When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven't already taken a bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama).
Ki*
Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. You generate ki through successful combat, demonstrating martial prowess and this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the maximum number of points you may have, as shown in the Ki Point Maximum column of the Monk table.
The main method of generating ki is through successful attacks as your attacks combo into one another. When you make an attack roll against an enemy and deal damage using a monk weapon or unarmed strike but do not kill or knock the enemy unconscious, you gain a single point of ki. At level 11 this increases to 2 ki points for each successful attack. At 17th level, this increases once more to 3 ki points for each successful attack.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start by knowing two feature types, Strikes and Steps. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.
The flow of battle does not last indefinitely and your ki energy wanes outside of combat. Ki Energy lasts up to 10 minutes before dropping to 0. Successful attacks refresh your ki, resetting the duration to 10 minutes.
Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Martial Strikes*
- Blood Strike: Immediately after you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you can spend ki points up to your maximum to increase the attack damage to the creature. The creature must make Constitution saving throw. For each ki point spent, the creatures takes 1d6 damage on failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Unless the creature has an unusual resilience such as Legendary Resistiance, if you spend an amount of ki equal to your Ki Point Maximum, the target creature automatically fails the saving throw.
- Guard Strike: Immediately after you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to grant an ally advantage on their next attack roll against the damaged creature.
- Hip Strike: Immediately after you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to push a Large or smaller creature up to 5 feet away from you.
- Wrist Strike: Immediately after you deal damage with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to force the enemy to have disadvantage on it's next attack roll.
Martial Steps*
- Step of Blows: Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
- Step of the River You take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn. In addition, you ignore difficult terrain until the beginning of your next turn.
- Step of the Wind You gain 1 ki point and can take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn. If you did not make a successful attack against an enemy this turn, this ki point ends at the end of your next turn unless you make a successful attack by the end of that turn.
When you activate a Martial Step and your speed is not 0, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus lasts until the end of your turn and increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Tracking Ki Points
Some may find that this method of generating ki can be a bit taxing to track if you are recording your points with a pencil. A simple solution is to use physical markers to remind yourself of the ki you have built up in your combos. You can use poker chips, cards, dials, or d6s themselves!
What a great way to remind your self to unleash a vicious blow than a pile of d6s calling your name... or is that the names of your foes?
Martial Step Movement Tip
It is a handy idea to track the speed bonus next to your base speed. Because Martial Step increases your speed, if you benefit from multiple speeds sources such as the fly spell, the speed increase applies to that source as well.
This dual notation is often seen with Armor Class such as when the wizard has mage armor on or off, or when the paladin has his shield donned or doffed.
Deflect Missiles*
Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged 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 catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, you can make a ranged attack (range 20/60 feet) with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack.
Monastic Tradition
When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition, chosen from the list of available traditions. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Lesser Stunning Strike*
Starting at 5th level, you can interfere with the flow of ki in an opponent's body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack and that creature has 100 or less remaining hit points, you can spend 3 ki points to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.
A creature with 10 hit points or fewer requires no ki points to stun. At 11th level and at 17th level this ability becomes more powerful as you generate ki more efficiently.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Monastic Tradition feature
At 6th level, you gain one feature granted by your Monastic Tradition.
Evasion
At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon's lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stillness of Mind
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 8th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
Martial Step improvement
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Purity of Body
At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.
Ki Improvement*
When you reach 11th level, your mastery over ki allows you to generate ki in half the time. When you successfully make an attack the amount of ki you generate increases to 2. When you deal damage with Blood Strike, you can also spend an additional ki point to inflict Guard Strike, Hip Strike, or Wrist Strike.
Additionally, the ki generated by Step of the Wind also increases to 2.
Greater Stunning Strike*
Also at 11th level, your familiarity with the eb and flow of combat have led to a greater understanding of the weaknesses of your foes. Stunning Strike now requires 4 ki points and it can stun a creature up to 250 remaining hit points.
Additionally a creature with 25 or less hit points does not require ki points to stun.
Monastic Tradition feature
At 11th level, you gain one feature granted by your Monastic Tradition.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 12th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.
Diamond Soul
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.
Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
Monastic Tradition feature
At 17th level, you gain one feature granted by your Monastic Tradition.
Ki Improvement*
When you reach 17th level, your mastery over ki allows you to generate ki at unprecedented rates. When you successfully make an attack the amount of ki you generate increases to 3. Additionally, the ki generated by Step of the Wind also increases to 3.
Supreme Stunning Strike*
Also at 17th level, through your mastery of ki you have unlocked a world of anatomical understanding and they way energy moves through living creatures. Stunning Strike now requires 5 ki points and can affect any creature regardless of hit points remaining.
Additionally a creature with 50 or less hit points does not require ki points to stun.
Empty Body
Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage but force damage.
Additionally, you can spend 8 ki points to cast the astral projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you can't take any other creatures with you.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.
Perfect Self
At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points.
Monastic Tradition changes
Way of the Astral Self
- Arms of the Astral Self is renamed to Step of the Astral Sea and benefits from increased speed when activating and no longer requires ki point to activate.
- Body of the Astral Self no longer requires ki points to activate.
Way of the Drunken Master
- Drunken Technique walking speed increase is removed since it is tied now to Step of Blows (Formerly Flurry of blows). When you hit with Step of Blows you can activate Wrist Strike without spending ki points, reflecting how disorienting these strikes can be from a wily master.
Way of the Four Elements
When you commit yourself to this monastic tradition you also gain access to elemental energy, permeating the world around you. When you finish a short rest you gain Elemental Points equal to your maximum number of ki points you can spend to cast a spell as shown in the Spells and Ki points table.
While Ki points can fuel your main monk abilities and your elemental disciplines, Elemental Points can only be used on your elemental disciplines and are not generated through combat.
The table is recreated here for your benefit:
| Monk Levels | Maximum Ki Points for a Spell |
|---|---|
| 3rd-4th* | 2 |
| 5th-8th | 3 |
| 9th-12th | 4 |
| 13th-16th | 5 |
| 17th-20th | 6 |
Way of the Kensai
-
Kensai's Shot is renamed to Step of Thunderous Skies and benefits from increased speed when activating and generates ki equal to your Step of the Wind feature. The damage dealt can be of the weapon's type or thunder.
-
Sharpen the blade is renamed to Step of Hardened Steel and benefits from increased speed when activating.
Way of Shadow
Infusing your essence in the the deep inky pools of darkness has led you to the ability to tap into the Shadow Weave to generate ki. When you finish a short rest you gain 2 Shadow Points.
While Ki points can fuel your main monk abilities and your Shadow Arts, Shadow Points can only be used on your Shadow Arts and are not generated through combat.
- Shadow Step is renamed to Step of Shadows. It benefits from increased speed when activating and generates ki equal to your Step of the Wind feature.
Way of the Sun Soul
- Radiant Sun Bolts generate ki when successful.
- Searing Arc Strike is renamed to Step of Searing Flames and its initial cost is reduced to 1 ki point.
- Because of the low or non existent ki at the beginning of combat, Searing Sunburst base damage is increased to 4d6 radiant. At level 17 this base damage increases to 6d6 radiant damage.
Credits
Discord: Name Here
FAQ
Why change to generating ki?
I wanted to change the relationship between monks and their ki. By focusing on building ki through the attack action, Step of the Wind, and accurate Step of Blows (formerly Flurry of Blows), Tier 2 and especially 3 and 4 monk gameplay moves away from stunning every creature in the encounter in the monk's first turn.
In addition, I wanted to create more opportunities to use small amounts of ki to shift the pace and flow of battle. It isn't particularly cinematic when the monk stands in front of a small group or a boss and stands there spamming flurry of blows and stunning strike until the combat is over, leading to an immediate short rest to recover lost ki points. The strikes are a solution to that staleness. Small expeditures of ki points against different combatants can change the flow of the battle, creating a more meaningful combat experience.
Changing to Ki generation also makes the monk less reliant on groups and campaigns that don't short rest often.
What is this Blood Strike? Are you just buffing Monks to do more damage?
In a way yes, but also not that much. By limiting the pool to generation, the option to do additional damage will be competing with all of the other opportunities such as forcing disadvantage on the next attack roll. Because of how powerful the PHB Stunning Strike is, monk damage is much lower than most other classes at higher levels. Granting a small damage boost will not unbalance the game.
Additionally, because it takes time to generate ki, the extra damage operates more of a "finishing move" to help end longer combat. More importantly, it doesn't step on the toes of other role and mechanics of other classes, that often burn their most powerful resources first to maximize their odds of success.
Why is Step of the Wind Generating KI? Doesn't that seem too good?
Not as much as you might expect at first glance. Because we are generating ki, having an alternative way to generate when either the foes are difficult to strike or because the dice just aren't in our favor, is important. We aren't looking at ways to bleed off resources across multiple rounds, now we are using those abilities to generate. The trade off is that the PHB Unarmored movement is rolled into the "Martial Step" feature just like how Rogues have "Cunning Action" that incorporates various abilities.
Now when you take the Martial Step bonus action, you gain the extra speed for your turn (like say 10 feet) can disengage, walking away that 10 (similar to how rogues do it for free) or you can dash, which as a reminder adds movement equal to your speed, doubling the effectiveness of the Martial Step.
Why did you rename everything "blah blah step"?
Looking at some of the other classes and how they get fun new ways to use main class abilities and features, I wanted to normalize the features in a way that made them feel like they are their own style of school of combat. When your master taught you about solidly hardening your fists as you strike with a Step of Blows, what does that look like? What about a Step of the Wind? Step of Searing Flames? How do you flourish your arms during an Step of the Astral Sea? The narrative shifts much more to the dance that flow of combination attacks and movements.
Also I wanted a way to encourage usage of abilities like Patient Defense and Step of the Wind. Borrowing away the unamored movement and gaining that extra speed back when activating abilities shifts the focus just a little bit.
Why is Flurry of Blows ahem, Step of Blows allowed to generate Ki? That's OP!
Again, the nature of ki generation as opposed to burning a big pool is changing. Let's take compare the PHB monk at a few levels with the NEW monk. Using WotC Principles, it is assumed you start each combat at maximum resources (hit points, ki, etc). Most combat is also resolved between 2 and 5 rounds. Lets say 3 for now.
At level 3, PHB monk is likely going to spend 3 turns using flurry of blows each turn, and bonus action martial arts on each turn past that. Looking at the first 3 turns, he will have attacked 9 times. Due to the cost of abilities like step of the wind and patient defense, ki expenditure is going to overwhelmingly favor flurry.
Comparatively, NEW monk is going to attack for their main action, if it's successful their options are much wider. Step of Blows (formerly flurry of blows) can cost 1 ki point and you get gain 2 for a net result of positive 1. At the same time, you can disengage or dash via Step of the Wind and also generate that 1, potentially putting you out of harms way. Or if moving away isn't an option the reduced cost of Step of the Wind (formerly Patient Defense) means that you could reduce the likelyhood of taking damage. If the monk isn't using his ki points for Stone Stone, then that frees the monk to use one of the strikes to affect the battle field or save it for the future.
BUT let's put all that aside. If the monk DOES spam Step of Blows for three turns, he will have attacked 9 times. He could use the Blood Strike to deal extra damage but at 3 ki points that is (10.5) 3d6 against a con save. Essentially increasing damage to the end of the fight.
Let's look at level 5. let's say that PHB monk is conservative with their new stunning strike and is only going to stun twice in a combat. The remainder is likely spent on flurry of blows. Similar to level 3 we get now 12 attacks and 2 stuns by the end of the third turn.
Compare that to NEW monk. After two attacks, 2 ki points are generated, one is spent on flurry of blows. Both hit so the monk is now at 3 ki points. They spend all 3 on stun at the end of the last hit. They repeat this for the next two turns. Granted they could be changing their playstyle, spending some influencing battle, saving some for a big finisher etc. But we are comparing aggressive damage numbers here. After Three turns, the NEW monk attacks 12 times and stuns 3 times on the final hit. (assuming every hit lands.)
Why is Stunning Strike so expensive? AND IT GETS MORE EXPENSIVE LATER?!
Waitwaitwaitwait... wait. Ok, please read the previous entry about Flurry of blows adding ki. Then return here.
Welcome back, haha. The change to stunning strike means that it will be spread out across multiple rounds much more. It also makes stunning strike and flurry of blows sustainable across long fights where historically you would have run out of ki. Plus with the additional "Strikes", your role on the team is no longer, "that guy who stuns the big bad and his hench men while us big hitters do the damage and real fighting". But it isn't all bittersweet. There is some fun narrative stuff by not requiring ki points for low hp creatures. That noble giving you sass? Give him 6 seconds of blissful silence. Goblins hassling you? GoblinBGone!
BUT... It's STILL more expensive!
Aaaactually, because at the later levels you increase your ki generation efficiency, it becomes less expensive. At level 5 it takes 3 successful attacks to generate enough ki to deal a stunning strike. At level 11, it takes 2 successful attacks to generate the 4 ki needed to stunning strike. At level 17, it takes 2 successful attacks (generating 6 ki) which means you still have 1 ki point left over after you use your stunning strike (5 ki at 17).