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D&D Older Editions
Secret Arts Monk [3.5 homebrew]
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<blockquote data-quote="Empirate" data-source="post: 5920995" data-attributes="member: 78958"><p>A lovely take on the Monk, all in all. However, some points of criticism concerning design and game balance:</p><p></p><p>1. The design is a bit clumsy. You have uses-per-day abilities and you have a ki pool. You have secret arts and you have sublime arts. You have a huge number of class features all in all, and it will be very easy to lose track of abilities that don't come into play that often. I'd appreciate more streamlining. For example, basing all use-restricted powers on the ki pool, but increasing the pool's size or introducing a recharge mechanism, might be a good idea (à la Pathfinder). You can also grant certain passive powers whenever at least [such-and-such-many] points remain in the ki pool. </p><p></p><p>Furthermore, some abilities take only free actions to use - something which I'm always a bit leery about. </p><p></p><p>Finally, some abilities use non-standard mechanisms or calculations: halved miss chances (instead of re-rolls), miss chances of 30% etc. This just feels a bit out of sync with the rest of D&D.</p><p></p><p></p><p>2. Balance-wise, the all-good saves aren't the problem. The problem is rather that this Monk version leaves the Fighter, Ranger, Barbarian and Paladin in the dust where versatility and in some cases sheer basic combat power are concerned. It's the combination that's rather a bit too good.</p><p></p><p>A 4th level Monk with the Wholeness of Body and Fury of the Storms secret arts gets Wis to AC, HP, attack and damage. That's almost ridiculous SAD, right there. Since he also gets the regular modifiers (from Dex, Con, and Str respectively), that makes him much more powerful than the other warrior types. I don't have a problem with power, if it comes at the cost of versatility, and vice versa. But in this case, you've overdone it a little by giving the Monk both (at least where combat is called for - outside of combat, he's still not that useful).</p><p></p><p>You might want to decide whether you aim more for sheer power or great versatility. Large passive bonuses to important combat stats, especially bonuses that are based on an ability score instead of being static, should be introduced only sparingly and with good reason.</p><p></p><p>An offender of a different type is the Roots of the Mountain initiate power: It makes Enlarged, Spiked Chain-wielding Thicket of Blades Crusaders cry themselves to sleep. Potentially at 3rd level. At will, all the time. And it doesn't even cost ki. Furthermore, compared to the boost the initiate power already grants you, the improvements on the power don't really do that much, so this is a classic dip candidate. I'd totally dip Monk 3 just for this power!</p><p></p><p></p><p>So them's my thoughts on the rebuild. I really like how you specifically adressed some of the more severe shortcomings of the 3.5 and Pathfinder Monk versions. I just think you're not finished yet. Keep up the good work!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Empirate, post: 5920995, member: 78958"] A lovely take on the Monk, all in all. However, some points of criticism concerning design and game balance: 1. The design is a bit clumsy. You have uses-per-day abilities and you have a ki pool. You have secret arts and you have sublime arts. You have a huge number of class features all in all, and it will be very easy to lose track of abilities that don't come into play that often. I'd appreciate more streamlining. For example, basing all use-restricted powers on the ki pool, but increasing the pool's size or introducing a recharge mechanism, might be a good idea (à la Pathfinder). You can also grant certain passive powers whenever at least [such-and-such-many] points remain in the ki pool. Furthermore, some abilities take only free actions to use - something which I'm always a bit leery about. Finally, some abilities use non-standard mechanisms or calculations: halved miss chances (instead of re-rolls), miss chances of 30% etc. This just feels a bit out of sync with the rest of D&D. 2. Balance-wise, the all-good saves aren't the problem. The problem is rather that this Monk version leaves the Fighter, Ranger, Barbarian and Paladin in the dust where versatility and in some cases sheer basic combat power are concerned. It's the combination that's rather a bit too good. A 4th level Monk with the Wholeness of Body and Fury of the Storms secret arts gets Wis to AC, HP, attack and damage. That's almost ridiculous SAD, right there. Since he also gets the regular modifiers (from Dex, Con, and Str respectively), that makes him much more powerful than the other warrior types. I don't have a problem with power, if it comes at the cost of versatility, and vice versa. But in this case, you've overdone it a little by giving the Monk both (at least where combat is called for - outside of combat, he's still not that useful). You might want to decide whether you aim more for sheer power or great versatility. Large passive bonuses to important combat stats, especially bonuses that are based on an ability score instead of being static, should be introduced only sparingly and with good reason. An offender of a different type is the Roots of the Mountain initiate power: It makes Enlarged, Spiked Chain-wielding Thicket of Blades Crusaders cry themselves to sleep. Potentially at 3rd level. At will, all the time. And it doesn't even cost ki. Furthermore, compared to the boost the initiate power already grants you, the improvements on the power don't really do that much, so this is a classic dip candidate. I'd totally dip Monk 3 just for this power! So them's my thoughts on the rebuild. I really like how you specifically adressed some of the more severe shortcomings of the 3.5 and Pathfinder Monk versions. I just think you're not finished yet. Keep up the good work! [/QUOTE]
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