D&D (2024) Playtest 8 Monk Discussion

[Clint_L]

Re-rolling 1s is a negligible damage increase that gets worse as you level up, so really this feat on a monk amounts to a 5’ shove on one unarmed attack per turn. Which could be situationally very useful, but surely there are better feats.

Edit: if my head math is correct it starts at about a .4 damage increase per d6 damage roll and gets worse from there. I particularly dislike the design on abilities that get worse as your character progresses.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Rerolling 1s becomes worse as your martial arts die gets bigger.
Tavern brawler does nothing for grappling, all it gives is one 5ft push.

It's not useless, it's just, like, on the level of why people aren't picking up Savage Attacker for their barbarians either.

I stand corrected. I mixed tge old version with the new one. A free push however is not bad. Essentially a free disengage. Even though rerolling ones gets relatively worse, it really helps lowering frustration, especially when you roll a 1 on a d12.
But yes, maybe tough is a way better choice.

 

[Horwath]

Tavern brawler is nothing to sneeze at.

Rerolling 1s and being able to deal damage and initiate a grapple will also benefit the monk greatly.

re-rolling 1's along with the existence of d4 die is one of my most hated dnd mechanics.
just give +1 to damage roll and be done with it.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Edit: if my head math is correct it starts at about a .4 damage increase per d6 damage roll and gets worse from there. I particularly dislike the design on abilities that get worse as your character progresses.

Your gead math for the d6 is close enough. You replace the result of 1 with the average of a d6 roll = 3.5
So it is (3.5+2+3+4+6)/6-(1+2+3+4+6)/6. A few term manipulations later you are at 2.5/6 = 0.4111.... damage increase per hit (up to 5 hits per round at later levels).

For higher dice it actually gets better
D8: 3.5/8 = 0.4375
D10: 4.5/10 = 0.45
D12: 5.5/12 = 0.458333. ..

But not substantially.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

re-rolling 1's along with the existence of d4 die is one of my most hated dnd mechanics.
just give +1 to damage roll and be done with it.

Actually no. Maybe rather reroll 1's and 2's. This is about equal to a +1 but is better at removing frustration, i.e. Rolling a 1 or 2.

 

[Horwath]

Actually no. Maybe rather reroll 1's and 2's. This is about equal to a +1 but is better at removing frustration, i.e. Rolling a 1 or 2.

rerolling 1&2 on d6 is 4,17. adding +1 instead is 4,5. it't better and less rolling.

 

[Mistwell]

Doesn't the open hand subclass already grant a shove?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

rerolling 1&2 on d6 is 4,17. adding +1 instead is 4,5. it't better and less rolling.

Yes. But not less frusration. Sometimes math and feel diverge. Especially when averages only tell part of the story.
Look at the probability distribution. For replacing 1's you are totally correct, just add +1 and be done with it.
If you also replace 2's, your chances to get a 2 is reduced compared to just adding +1 to all rolls.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Doesn't the open hand subclass already grant a shove?

Only on a flurry.

 

[Vikingkingq]

Doesn't the open hand subclass already grant a shove?

Warrior of the Elements is better at shoving than Warrior of the Hand, because they shove 10ft on every Unarmed Strike, not just Flurries, plus they're shoving from range.