D&D 5E Do you think the monk has too few ki points? And my proposal.

[Sacrosanct]

Both Patient Dodge and Flurry of Blows require the use of your bonus action. You can't do them both. A 4th-level monk can't spend more than 1 ki point in a round unless they're using Deflect Missiles with their reaction (or casting spells through their subclass). At 5th they get Stunning Strike, and yes, that can dramatically increase their ki consumption. That means they have to be judicious, not that they need more ki.

To add, stunning strike is crazy good. So yeah, even if you blow through your ki doing flurry of blows + stunning strike, I'm OK with it because it's that good, and shouldn't be something that can be done all the time. Every other class gets one shot to do their powerful ability. I can try SS with every attack as long as i have the ki until they fail their save. Which I've done.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I am currently playing a monk (only 4th level) and also DM'd a campaign with a monk that went to 19th level. It's true that at low levels they need to conserve but that is true of every class (fighter only gets one action surge per short rest, warlock only has one or two spells per short rest, etc).

Based on my experience, they are by no means weak. Even with just their one bonus attack from martial arts, they are solid damage dealers.

I would recommend that you at least wait and see how it plays at level 5 before making alterations, because 5th level is a game changer for the monk.

 

[LapBandit]

Stunning Strike is too good or costs too little RAW. Having more ki points means monks can trivialize many encounters.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Stunning Strike is too good or costs too little RAW. Having more ki points means monks can trivialize many encounters.

I don't think I would agree with too good, but I would consider "very good" to be an accurate assessment. IMO, the monk needs it to be competitive at later levels (and at lower levels you have too few ki to spam it).

That said, if you increase the amount of ki available then I would recommend strongly considering increasing the cost of stunning strike.

 

[FrogReaver]

Monk damage is comparable to a fighter battle masters with superiority dice and action surge if the monk is spending ki.

 

[outsider]

Would Monk be more fun if it had more Ki at low levels? Absolutely. Is Ki out of balance with the resource mechanics of the other classes? Nope. Every class has too few resources at low level in 5e. It's one of the "features" of the system across the board. Tbh, I'd consider Ki to be the best of the resource mechanics. If I was going to change it, I'd just skew it's progression more towards lower level(and I'd do that with class resource mechanics across the board, pretty much).

 

[Seramus]

This much ki at early levels would I think make the monk much too strong. If you feel this needs adjustment, I'd start slower
Level 1: --
Level 2: 3 Ki
Level 3: 4 Ki
Level 4: 5 Ki
Level 5: 5 Ki
Level 6: 6 Ki
Fetc

But if you like your version, give it a try and let us know

It’s been a year now, and I’ve tried both my version and your version. I can definitely say that your version felt the most natural and fluid. It’s a small boost early on, but feels much less like you are starving for Ki in the early game. The only thing I might change is 2 Ki at Level 1.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Have you actually played a monk yourself? I ask because in my experience, at low levels, a monk burns through ki in half of medium-length a fight, or if you're conservative with ki, they will last one fight. Monks don't rely on ki only, of course, but ki is a big part of what drives the monk's abilities. Without ki, monks are very limited, even with their few abilities that don't require ki.

You don't think that at 4th level having only four ki is a little on the ridiculous side? If a monk uses a ki point to do patient doge, and then uses a ki point to do flurry of blows, then the monk is out of ki after two rounds. If the monk is more conservative, he may be out of ki after four rounds. And that's it until the next short rest.

Perhaps the difference in opinion comes down to how often the DM allows short rests, which will of course make a huge difference. But in our game we don't have short rests until after three or four fights in a big dungeon, for example. So, for most of that time, the monk is just plain out of ki. My proposal isn't a big bump, just a slight one, like I said. But I think it would balance things much better, and the monk would definitely not be overpowered by having 6 ki instead of 4 at 4th level.

You notice that patient defense and flurry both require a bonus action. So you are spwnding ki at twice the allowed rate.

 

[Horwath]

My solution would be this:

level__ki pts
2____5
3____6
4____7
5____8
6____9
7____9
8____10
9____11
10___12
11___13
12___13
13___14
14___15
15___16
16___17
17___17
18___18
19___19
20___ 20

 

[Eltab]

A Monk is a Skirmisher, not a Striker or a Tank. Mostly, your job is to mess up anybody on Team Monster who is using strategy against Team Hero.
You have the ability to get through the front lines and into the enemy's back row, picking on their Leader. You can hurt him some but chiefly you want to 'glop him in molasses' - status conditions that make him less-effective / ineffective.

My favorite thing to do has been to shove Spellcasters next to a member of Team Hero, so it can either cast at disadvantage or eat an opportunity attack. Forcing them to make Concentration Checks is a neat way to 'erase' their efforts, too.

If you try to play a Monk as a DPR King Candidate, or go Way of the Elements and 'spellcast' every encounter, yes you will spend all your ki quickly.

P.S. There currently isn't an official Ring of Ki Storing, but for a home campaign you can always design such a thing.