D&D 5E Treantmonk's Guide to Everything Xanathar

[Treantmonklvl20]

A couple notes. I would rate the healing spirit higher than you have, it's possibly the best out of combat heal in the game. A lot of people (not me) think it should be nerfed, and nerfed hard.

Yes, I read Jeremy Crawfords tweet on that spell. I think it's a good spell, particularly for out of combat healing, which I mentioned in the description, and I rated it accordingly. Like you, I don't think it needs a nerf, because honestly, I think it's good, but not game breakingly good, which is why I didn't rate it so. Honestly, it kind of sounds to me like we agree completely here, why would I adjust my rating?

I'd also note that on maelstrom you should reread the description. It now works on the ground -or- in water.

Thank you! Yes, this changes my view on the spell significantly. Great catch!

 

[Ark the Pie King]

Seems great so far! Though maybe you could change either brown or orange to a different color? Maybe a darker shade of one of them? They're both pretty bright on my monitor and its hard to tell the difference between the two at a glance.

 

[Treantmonklvl20]

Radiant sun bolt (sun monk), can use their ranged attack with "any of the attacks".
So you get 2 bolts at level 5, with the option of a third for a ki and a bonus action.

Still, i'd rate it brown considering you can just use a shorbow with more than twice the range (damage dice still scale). It's a main feature that only saves you from having to cary around a weapon.

Really, i'd rate the whole subclass brown. Searing sunburst is the only thing coming close to being an actual ability.

You don't mess around Mellowred! I use crap-brown sparingly, but I think we are in agreement that neither of us are likely to make a Sun Soul Monk...well, ever. It just is not a good option. I

Good note though on the wording. You are right, a Sun Bolt is just an attack, not a full action (assuming you are getting multiple attacks). I agree, that it remains a poor option. That said, a bit lower range than a shortbow isn't cause for Brown, or even Red. It's not your best option, but I'm not sure I would consider it a trap. I'm still comfortable with Orange, my non-recommended option.

Same for the subclass as a whole. It's not a good subclass, but orange is the worst rating I gave any subclass, and there are other "oranges" I would consider comparably bad. Inquisitive Rogue?

 

[Treantmonklvl20]

Seems great so far! Though maybe you could change either brown or orange to a different color? Maybe a darker shade of one of them? They're both pretty bright on my monitor and its hard to tell the difference between the two at a glance.

If in doubt, it is orange. I don't use brown often...at all. If I ranked it brown, the text should make it crystal clear how I felt about the option. I save this for the real terrible stuff.

 

[Ark the Pie King]

You misread Empowered Healing for the Divine Soul Sorcerer. Its 1 Sorcerer Point to reroll ANY NUMBER of dice, not just one die. Much, much better. Edit: But they do have to be within 5ft which is...not great.

 

[mellored]

This is the second point we disagree. I don't think 7 HP in one round is a lot of damage or healing by level 6.

Considering most CR 6 monsters do 10 damage with their attack, it's like giving resist to a melee attack.

I do agree it doesn't quite keep up at higher levels.

If you are fighting one big bad guy, then you are probably locking him on round 1

I wouldn't. Nothing about astral protection requires you to stay close.
I would recklessly attack with polearm master from 10', then move a little bit away.
Their choice is to either provoke an OA from an ally and take your polearm attack, or if you completely cancel out the damage their attack with spirit shield (which is now effectivly doubled).

Heck, i'm tempted to use a bow and hamper enemies from the back lines. Or eldrich blast + repelling blast, since that auto-scales.

 

[mellored]

That said, a bit lower range than a short bow isn't cause for Brown or even Red.

Let me reword sun souls big level 3 feature.

Radiant Sun Bolt: If you make a short bow attack within 30', it doesn't expend arrows and it does radiant damage.


If there was ever a time to use the worst rating, that's it.

 

[Li Shenron]

My guide to Xanathar's Guide to Everything, where I assess the options, then you use the comments below to either shower me with praise (yay!) or tell me how terrible it is (boo!)

Seriously though, I value feedback. I'm not too concerned about the occassional grammatical mess up, but if I read something wrong, or you noticed something I didn't, I would love to hear about it!

Treantmonk's Guide to Everything Xanathar

This is so good that I feel compelled to write my "Li Shenron's Guide to Everything in Treantmonk's Guide to Everything in Xanathar's Guide to Everything"...

 

[Immoralkickass]

You're mistaken on Summon Greater Demon, it requires no action for the verbal command.

 

[Captain Panda]

Yes, I read Jeremy Crawfords tweet on that spell. I think it's a good spell, particularly for out of combat healing, which I mentioned in the description, and I rated it accordingly. Like you, I don't think it needs a nerf, because honestly, I think it's good, but not game breakingly good, which is why I didn't rate it so. Honestly, it kind of sounds to me like we agree completely here, why would I adjust my rating?



Thank you! Yes, this changes my view on the spell significantly. Great catch!

No problem! I was surprised too, it really improved the maelstrom spell.

Regarding healing spirit, I'd call it blue simply because I think it's the "best in class" spell of its kind. Sure, combat healing might not be great in this edition, but healing spirit is among the most cost effective ways to do it; and, on top of that, it is a virtually guaranteed post-combat recovery. You can never be sure you'll get a short rest in before an ambush, but you can probably bar a door for a minute in most situations.

Most importantly to me, it allows a moon druid to heal (and pretty well) someone downed without dropping beast shape. I play a lot of moon druid, and the ability to have a repeatable bonus action heal without wasting a charge of beast shape to pick someone up (or top them off, since it's on already and repeatable) is just amazing. There is some opportunity cost (druids get a lot of good concentration stuff), but I think it's a very solid option and should be blue just by virtue of filling a role that was totally missing from the druid kit before. Even if Bob the Rogue doesn't get slapped down, you can still use the bonus action to heal yourself, making your wild shape last longer.

Whether you agree or disagree, thanks for the guide! It is very helpful to get opinions and other ideas on uses for a lot of these spells.