Really the ideal monk ability would be Uncanny Dodge. :-/
If I were put in charge of re-writing monk, I would:
- Remove extra attack (yes, really).
- Instead, give it extra reactions at the same levels that Fighters get extra attacks.
- Give it all kinds of cool reactions, both defensive and offensive, and some of which are attacks.
There: the fluff of monks is that they are unarmed/unarmored, but their unique
play style is the bonus reactions.
Agreed.
Also, since your action isn't as much of your turn, using stuff like Dodge, Disengage, and Dash effectively cost less.
But I think 4 reactions would bit much turn order disruptions. So to tweak it a little...
Level 1, ki pool equal to half your level (minimum 1). You can use your action to regain all your ki.
Level 5, you gain an extra reaction, must be different triggers
Level 11, you gain an extra bonus action, must be different from the first one
Level 17, you gain an extra action, must be a different, must be different from the first one.
Now fill in with a bunch of maneuvers that cost and scale with ki. As well as the movement passives.
Flurry (action or bonus action): 1 ki, make an attack, +1 for each additional 2 ki spent (so 3 attacks is 5 ki). If you made this as an action, increase the number of attacks by 1.
Mystic Defense (reaction): Reduce damage by 5* ki spent, if reduced to 0 it misses.
Stunning Strike (action): 3 ki
Jump (bonus)
Double the distance per ki spent.
Trip/Push (action or bonus action), 1 ki per size level
Plus the sub-clssses
Shadow, teleport (action or bonus), 5' per ki spent. If you use your action, you can also take along a friendly creature.
Element monk, breath of flame (action), cone 15', 1d8 per ki spent. Increase cone size by 5' per 2 ki spent.
Etc...