D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Monk"

Monk article! https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1758-2024-monk-vs-2014-monk-whats-new

Video Breakdown

Base Monk Class Notes

• Knew monk was going to get a lot of attention - both satisfaction scores and actual play numbers have historically tended to be a bit low
• Similar to ranger, monk is largely a "new class"
• Martial Arts feature at 1st level
  • Monk weapons have been broadened to all simple melee weapons and martial melee weapons with light property
  • Can make an unarmed strike as bonus action
  • Can choose to use Dex to set DCs for unarmed strike grapple and shove options (see general notes below)
  • Martial Arts die - starts at d6 at level 1, scales to d12 at level 17
• Monk's Focus feature at 2nd level
  • Ki/Discipline Points are now Focus Points
  • Patient Defense - can Disengage as bonus action for free
    • Spending 1 Focus Point lets you both Disengage and Dodge at the same time
  • Step of the Wind - can Dash as bonus action for free
    • Spending 1 Focus Point lets you both Dash and Disengage at the same time, and additionally your Jump distance is doubled for the rest of your turn
  • Flurry of Blows - Spend 1 Focus Point to make two unarmed strikes as bonus action
• Uncanny Metabolism feature at 2nd level ("I didn't hear no bell.")
  • When rolling initiative, can regain all expended Focus Points and restore a number of hit points (1/long rest)
• Redesigned Deflect Attacks feature at 3rd level
  • Roll d10 + Dex + Monk level to reduce damage from any attack that deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage
  • If damage is reduced to zero, can spend Focus Point to redirect force of attack to someone else - target makes a saving throw and on failure suffers an amount of Force damage based on your Martial Arts die
  • Upgrades to Deflect Energy at 13th level - can deflect any damage type
• Self Restoration feature at 10th level
  • Can end Charmed, Frightened, or Poisoned condition on self at end of monk's turn for free
• Heightened Focus feature at 10th level - further enhancements to Patient Defense, Step of the Wind, and Flurry of Blows (not detailed)
• Superior Defense feature at 18th level - mentioned as example of ways they've increased monk survivability, but not detailed
• Disciplined Survivor feature (level not mentioned) - mentioned as example of ways they've increased monk survivability, allows monk to reroll saving throws
• Stunning Strike feature
  • Can only be used once per turn, but always does something
  • If target fails saving throw, they are stunned
  • If target succeeds on saving throw, their speed is halved and the next attack roll against them has advantage
• Epic Boon at 19th level - no example specified

Subclass Notes

• Warrior of Mercy
  • Largely the same, save for tweaks to better integrate subclass with new version of the base monk class
• Warrior of the Elements
  • Completely replaces Way of the Four Elements
  • Elemental Attunement - not always active, costs Focus Points to "turn on"
    • Can increase reach of unarmed strikes using elemental power ("Not a Mr. Fantastic or One Piece style stretchy punch" )
    • Can change damage type to one of elemental themed options (not specified, but generally guessable)
    • Can force target to make a saving throw and move them around battlefield on a failure
  • Gain Elementalism cantrip
  • At 6th level, can take Magic action and expend some Focus Points to cause elemental explosion in 20-foot radius sphere up to 120 feet away, dealing damage based on Martial Arts Die
  • Themed around tapping into Elemental Chaos as a whole, rather than just one of the Elemental Planes
  • At 11th level, gain fly and swim speed when Elemental Attunement is active
  • Elemental Epitome at 17th level
    • Further improves Elemental Attunement
    • Gain elemental damage resistance (can be changed at start of every turn)
    • When using Step of the Wind, speed is increased and you can cause damage to enemies you pass
    • Additional option to deal bonus elemental damage once per turn (not elaborated)
• Warrior of Shadow
  • Can cast Darkness spell as before, but can now see through that darkness
  • Improved Shadowstep at 11th level
    • Can expend Focus Point to remove requirement to start/end teleportation in dim light or darkness, and can make an unarmed strike as part Shadowstep bonus action
  • Cloak of Shadows at 17th level
    • Turn invisible and partially incorporeal (can pass through occupied spaces as difficult terrain), and Flurry of Blows does not cost Focus Points while Cloak of Shadows is active
  • Kendrick: "Would love to see the Archfey Warlock and Shadow Monk teleporting around the battlefield fighting each other."
    • Crawford: "Not a PvP game."
• Warrior of the Open Hand
  • Wholeness of Body feature at 6th level
    • Now a bonus action and can be used multiple times per day
  • Fleet Step feature (level not specified)
    • Whenever you take a bonus action to do anything other than Step of the Wind, you can also use Step of the Wind immediately after that bonus action
  • Revised Quivering Palm
    • Deals a "truckload" of damage on failed save and a "smaller truckload" of damage on a successful one, but can no longer instantly drop creatures down to 0 hp

General Notes

• Baseline (gold?) dragonborn monk iconic art has a tail.
• Unarmed strike redesigned, intended to grant similar tactical versatility to that offered by weapon mastery - now includes three options:
  • Deal damage
  • Attempt to start a grapple
  • Attempt to shove target

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I meant with the level 1O FOB upgrade

• Action
  • Attack
  • Extra Attack
  • Nick TWF attack
• Bonus action
  • Unarmed Strike
  • Unarmed Strike
  • Unarmed Strike

Because that's a lot of different attack resolutions

Forgot about the extra attack, never mind.

 

[mellored]

Am I right?

With a nick mastery light monk weapon, a monk can get 6 attacks for 1 ki?

Guess that's one reason why still they don't get mastery be default.

Yes.
And it will scale to a d12 dagger attack.

Which is right on par with great weapon master's +proficiency once per round.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Well, you cannot, because BG3 Monk can use armor+shield without losing any features and 5e24 one cannot.

(okay, they lose the speed boost, but this actually makes BG3 human monks solid, getting light armor + shield from race)

As to your actual concern... they also didn't mention Monk hitdie, but there's no reason to assume it's d3 now.

Maybe different design principles behind CRPG and TTRPG?
Because allowing monks armkr and shield helps balance the game?

 

[Baumi]

I really like the new Monk. But I do wonder if Rogue and Monk feel a bit too similar now, with their bonus-action gameplay (disengage, dash,..) and their damage-reduction 1/round. Only the monk with more attacks and the rogue with big single hits.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I really like the new Monk. But I do wonder if Rogue and Monk feel a bit too similar now, with their bonus-action gameplay (disengage, dash,..) and their damage-reduction 1/round. Only the monk with more attacks and the rogue with big single hits.

I don't think so. Very different flavour. Rogues have expertise and more skills and tools.

 

[Chaosmancer]

When I look at mosnter stat blocks in the 2014 (2015?) Monster manual, all of the range attacks that I am seeing are some dice + an ability modifier. Are things like the Stone Giant's 4d10 + 6 boulders not clear enough about them being 4d10? Have newer monster books changed how attacks are presented? I haven't bought one in a while, so I genuinely don't know.

I was thinking about the Stone Giant. I also know many people who have argued that if a PC threw a giant's rock, it is an improvised weapon and should only deal 3d4 damage. These are the sort of things that are better just to smooth over, rather than to bring into the middle of a combat turn.

Low level (or any level) adventurers trying to get the greatest value out of thier limited resources seem like very normal parts of the game. I don't know that I actually agree with the assertion about the damage source. A knife and a crossbow are different weapons, and do behave differently in PC hands. I don't expect those weapons to do the same damage when a PC uses them. Somehow changing into Force damage and becoming a saving throw s,ees strange. To make pose a different hypothetical, What if they aren't throwing the dagger, but lunging with it. I don't think the deflect also disarms them, so somehow the dagger, that's still in their hand, behaves wildly differently for a brief moment.

Edit
Let me add anther thing here.
An assassin could try to hit a monk with a thrown dagger. Monk deflects, and throws back. The would-be-assassin makes a saving throw, or else athey take 2d Martial arts + Dex of force damage. Had the Monk thorwn the dagger on thier turn though, it would be an attack roll for 1 d Martial Arts (Monk wepon) + Dex.

It the monk were deflecting a melee attack we'd see a similar situation. The would-be-assassin might be attacking for 1d4 + Dex Piercing. The monk deflects this attack. While the assassin is still holding the dagger, it changes to a different damage type, and stabs harder than either psron could have stabbed with it.

The monk can't chose to make the dagger use this damage type (5th level only changes unarmed strikes), and they can't chose to make this attack this strong. It is only deflecting that these somehow happen.

I don't know how to explain this behavior in world, amd I am not sure that the design team really concidered this (I know I didn't in UA)

I understand that weapons act differently, and at some levels you can make the argument for realism. Sure, a dagger stabbed into someone does less damage than a greatsword. Okay, a dagger with poison would still deliver the poison. But what about if someone used Green-Flame Blade and attacks with a greatsword? Are we now going to apply (since this is a high level character to deflect the energy) 2d6+2d8+monk dex+3d8+enemies Int to a second target for the deflection? YOu are just using the weapon's effect after all...

The explanation is rather simple, and can make some narrative sense.

The deflection itself is completely mundane. Catching a dagger mid-air, palm striking a sword slightly to the side. Then, if they hit a perfect moment, that moment where they have canceled out the damage and momentum they can activate their ki and move supernaturally fast, infusing the weapon with their energy.

This happens before they can willingly turn damage to force, because it is an instinctual reaction and use of their Ki (in character), their body following a new pattern. The damage becomes their monk die, but it is double their monk die because of that perfect equilibrium. Because, I think it is important to realize, the monk IS taking that dagger and changing its damage die most of the time. In a Monk's hands, that dagger is dealing 1d6 damage from level 1. In specific, it is 1d6+dex mod, this makes it a save to dodge versus 2d6. The damage is actually very similar, it just presents differently and consistent to the ability, instead of varying wildly.

 

[Chaosmancer]

My last note, I hate that epic boons are only +1 to the stat. So that means that for most games, the +1 is practically worthless. It only really comes into play if you actually play epic and get a number of boons, getting to 30 would take like 10 epic boons!

I will agree with that. I'm not sure how I'm going to alter them, but I am sure that I will. I won't be playing or running much for 20+ games, so I don't mind the Epic boons getting a bit more kick.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I meant with the level 1O FOB upgrade

• Action
  • Attack
  • Extra Attack
  • Nick TWF attack
• Bonus action
  • Unarmed Strike
  • Unarmed Strike
  • Unarmed Strike

Because that's a lot of different attack resolutions

I think that is correct per RAW. Nick doesn't allow you to use the bonus action attack from Light Weapon Property, but that isn't what is happening with Martial Arts or Flurry of Blows.

 

[OB1]

A few thoughts on Shadow Monks.

• Overall I really like the changes here
• Losing Pass w/o a Trace is a bummer, but I wonder if that spell is going to get a nerf (making the loss not so bad) or possibly become a Ranger only spell (giving the Ranger a uniquely powerful spell)
• If there's one thing that BG3 has taught me, it's that Darkness is an extremely powerful party buff. Set your line at the edge of the darkness and for those who can't see through it, pop in and out when you attack. Giving the Shadow Monk the ability to see through it just makes it flat out awesome.
• Losing silence hurts a bit, but it was always very situational. Would have been nice if they gave the Shadow Monk expertise in Stealth to make up for it.

 

[Minigiant]

The new Martial Arts displayed to me how undercooked weapons combat was to cater to new and low investment players.

Weapons styles and Armor styles are feat taxes.
Unarmed styles and Unarmored styles are class locked