Thoughts on Monks
Great build Arius_de_Galdri, that looks like a lot of work. I've been looking for a place to brain-dump my thoughts on monk builds, and I think this is probably it. Most of my "monk" connotations are built out of kung-fu flicks and video games, so I can see where the D&D designers might go another way, but here's my take.
The Monk's "weapon" is the universe, and classically evolves through a progression of her body, to her whole environment, to, eventually, her enemies themselves.
I think "Defender" might actually be the appropriate role, where the monk controlls a battlefield through positioning, so there are throws, trips, pushing moves, position changes, acrobatics etc. This is kind of the "Jackie Chan" approach, where he mostly avoids hits, uses his opponents against each other, etc.
A monk can also be like, say, Rocky. A brute force that will not go down, and delivers crushing blow after crushing blow, but this role is somewhat filled by other classes, so there may not be a need to have a barefisted fighter.
I like that you embraced the positioning dimension so well in your build, with the knockback, and prone attacks (perhaps an ability to get UP from prone easily should be added), especially switch-strike. I also liked the movement abilities: leaping, climbing, and weaving through mobs, that was pretty awesome.
Cold Ki is particularly ingenious, inasmuch as it turns the tables and instead of the monk moving faster, the opponents' movement is inhibited. Maybe you could add a balancing Fire Ki, which would add elemental variation to the same outcome, with slightly different direct effects?
I think the point made before about marking multiple targets is a good one, and any way to kind of embrace the current 4e mechanics is probably worth looking at.
That said, I think there are a few things in my monk mythology that I'd love to see added:
1) Throws. Instead of switch-strike, how about a special throw, that bypasses some of the difficulties posed to other classes when grappling. I've seen martial artists "throw" an opponent without even using their hands.
2) Multi-directional opponent movement. Instead of just knocking an opponent "away", maybe a roundhouse kick can knock an opponent into an adjacent square.
3) Opponent collisions. I don't know the 4e rules very well, but I was really hoping to see monks kick, throw, and punch opponents into each other. Whether for damage, knockdown, or just crowd management, I think that's a very exciting and vital contribution to position management
and finally
4) Parrying/Reversal. In almost every kung-fu movie there's a scene where the protagonist is surrounded by opponents, who, in D&D style, attack one at a time, whereupon the monk beats them senseless one at a time. I think a similar set of abilities would be great for gameplay, if appropriately balanced.
First off, maybe the monk spends his standard action assuming a defensive stance, and gains a bonus defense to each attack that round, where if the attacker fails by more than a given amount, the monk either does some damage in return, or shifts that opponent/himself.
Second, if there's just one attacker, perhaps the monk can prepare for a strike and attempt a straight-up reversal, with more opportunity to do damage.
I think these skills might make for good encounter/daily powers, or perhaps they can scale with level. In either case, they should make for excellent crowd control, and provide other party members with good opportunities to attack.
</soapbox>
(I wonder what this kind of monk would make a good partner for a rogue who could backstab...)
