D&D 5E Shadow Step in dark dungeon - general purpose teleport or abuse of feature?

[JackOfAllTirades]

Speaking as a GM, if he's teleporting into dark spaces all over the place and getting away with it, I'd say the main problem is that your dungeon just isn't dangerous enough. BAMF-Monk should be nervous about teleporting into strange, dark places!

 

[knasser]

1) Have a wizard ignite a big roaring bonfire just as he goes in one shadow but before he can come out of the other, leaving him trapped.
2) Have one of the shadows he steps in be a Shadow.
3) Have the shadow he steps into actually be a crevace in the dungeon floor. A shadow is just lack of light, after all.
4) Next time he emerges from a shadow, give him a DC observation roll to notice that his own is no longer there. Where is it? He'll find out.
5) As above but give him someone else's.
6) Have him need to use the ability to get past something but the light source is swinging around wildly as he does it, causing him to trip and fly as he emerges from the shadow that is speeding crazily around the floor, walls and ceiling. Dex check if you feel like it.
7) Make him fight Doctor Strange
8) Have what he thinks he sees up ahead actually be a mirror. When he emerges from the shadow he is on the wrong side.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Just say he can't use it all day.

If he says it is at-will, ask if doing push ups is limited by short rests. Then have him do a push up everytime his character uses the ability.

Don't do this.

The player isn't abusing anything. That is exactly what the ability does. If it's night, or in a dark enclosed space, whether that's a dungeon, castle, inn, whatever, they can teleport.

This issue of it going from a cool thing to a button to mash is why I think it should have been character's speed, with a feature that increases speed in darkness, and spend 1ki to double the distance of a single teleport or to ignore the darkness restriction. EDIT: and I would have had the attack bonus come in later. it would be too much for an always on ability.


Anyway, the balance of the feature does assume that not all rooms/areas will have areas of dim light or darkness. That's important to remember, and much simpler than any heavy handed "consequence" for using one of the main abilities of the character's subclass. Dude presumably took the option, in part, to be able to teleport in darkness. It isn't limited per rest or the like because it doesn't need to be. if anything, it would only make sense to make it cost KI, and if you do I recommend making it use movement instead of a bonus action.

 

[Patrick McGill]

Have more well lit dungeons if you want to break the monotony, but honestly it's not that overpowered of a feature. Just remember that the character must be able to see the spot he's going to. Using it to pop around in a dark dungeon seems like a feature, not a bug.

 

[robus]

Can you explain where you are getting that implication from?

One spot that is in dim light or darkness to another spot that is also in dim light or darkness.

Just from the picture that comes into my head when reading it. Shadow to shadow - I guess I think that the "target" of the shadow step is another shadow. If everything's in shadow then it feels like that target is unclear causing it to fail. I realize it's all in my interpretation and there are plenty of others.

It just conflicted with my vision of the fiction - that's all.

 

[robus]

Speaking as a GM, if he's teleporting into dark spaces all over the place and getting away with it, I'd say the main problem is that your dungeon just isn't dangerous enough. BAMF-Monk should be nervous about teleporting into strange, dark places!

Well it's a WotC dungeon (Tomb of Diderius) - so I'm rolling with the punches. But given this development he certainly might find a few surprises awaiting him. Not that I want to be adversarial, but it'll be fun if he finds himself in a hot spot now and then.

 

[abirdcall]

Just from the picture that comes into my head when reading it. Shadow to shadow - I guess I think that the "target" of the shadow step is another shadow. If everything's in shadow then it feels like that target is unclear causing it to fail. I realize it's all in my interpretation and there are plenty of others.

It just conflicted with my vision of the fiction - that's all.

Maybe thinking about it backwards will help.

This would mean that shadow monks work best in areas that are lit rather than ones that are shrouded in darkness.

Hopefully the fiction makes more sense now. Ninjas shouldn't be creating lights in order to be stealthier.

 

[mellored]

How exactly is he abusing it?

Moving faster than the rest of the party? He's a monk, they can already do that, as can rogues.
Avoiding an OAs? Open hand monks and rogues can do that at-will as well.
Having fun with his character not needing to walk? That's a good thing.

 

[mellored]

Just from the picture that comes into my head when reading it. Shadow to shadow - I guess I think that the "target" of the shadow step is another shadow. If everything's in shadow then it feels like that target is unclear causing it to fail. I realize it's all in my interpretation and there are plenty of others.

It just conflicted with my vision of the fiction - that's all.

Then rename it "dark step".

 

[nswanson27]

I play with a shadow monk. I shadow step all the time. It definitely does have good uses (as it should). But I haven't felt overpowered, just have opportunities to shine sometimes in ...darkness.
Sounds like the beef is more with the class design to begin with than the player playing it.