On a lark, I glanced towards here, and saw that the A5E version of the Monk was renamed to "the Adept". Just out of morbid curiosity, I wanted to see if there was anything the Adept did better than actual 5e design.
Well, read the thread title, I suppose. So why not go through an A5E class and highlight why 5e is successful and "better 5e" projects like this aren't.
Let's start at Level 1. Unarmored Defense becomes "Adroit Defense", which still gives the classic Unarmored Defense option...or "Brutal Defense" which lets you use Strength to determine your AC for light armor. This is terrible for the Adept themselves because they want to invest in Wisdom anyway for their "focus" abilities, so almost any Adept is worse off for taking this choice.
Furthermore, Martial Arts no longer has any restriction on armor. All this does, coupled with later features, is make the Adept's features more powerful for characters who aren't full-classed Adepts.
Level 2 brings us the obligatory Maneuver system, like every "better 5e" class system that thinks every martial needs generic spell-like abilities. The first tradition I took a look at that Adepts get was Unending Wheel, so let's point out the problem that every "better 5e" maneuver system has: they're all unbalanced to hell. Where to start?
But we're not just talking about how stupid A5E maneuvers are, we're discussing a whole class. And now we get the standard Monk techniques, except now they share the same resource that all of your maneuvers eat up. You also gain "Practised Techniques", which unlike the options for other features are inexplicably at the bottom of the class page. Consistency, what's that. Let's take a look at these too...
Anyway, Focus Features! Let's get to listing these derailed train cars:
Let's just go through the rest of the class features, because it's much simpler from here on out.
Well, read the thread title, I suppose. So why not go through an A5E class and highlight why 5e is successful and "better 5e" projects like this aren't.
Let's start at Level 1. Unarmored Defense becomes "Adroit Defense", which still gives the classic Unarmored Defense option...or "Brutal Defense" which lets you use Strength to determine your AC for light armor. This is terrible for the Adept themselves because they want to invest in Wisdom anyway for their "focus" abilities, so almost any Adept is worse off for taking this choice.
Furthermore, Martial Arts no longer has any restriction on armor. All this does, coupled with later features, is make the Adept's features more powerful for characters who aren't full-classed Adepts.
Level 2 brings us the obligatory Maneuver system, like every "better 5e" class system that thinks every martial needs generic spell-like abilities. The first tradition I took a look at that Adepts get was Unending Wheel, so let's point out the problem that every "better 5e" maneuver system has: they're all unbalanced to hell. Where to start?
- You can take a stance that gives you proficiency with all weapons. This doesn't make them Adept weapons so it's completely useless for the Adept, and furthermore this is a "4th-degree" maneuver meaning it isn't an option until level 13.
- You can make a signature on a creature, a la Zorro, even if you attack them with a blunt weapon. You can then intimidate them with a bonus action. Why can you only intimidate someone after you made a mark on them? No logic there. Also, 1st-degree maneuver and already far better than the above 4th-degree maneuver. No Sense Count: 1
- Deflect Strike, which works off of PBd6. So at level 17, that's 6-36 damage, whereas a Monk's Deflect Missiles at level 17 is...23-34. Also requires level 5, and is a great example of why "better 5e" maneuver systems suck: here's a feature 5e Monks already have that the "better 5e" makes you buy back. Buy Back Count: 1
- Disarm an enemy. Level 9 requirement. 5e Battle Masters can choose this at level 3.
- Gain a bonus to your AC when an enemy makes an attack against you. So Defensive Duelist, but with a cost. Also Defensive Duelist that fails to state a duration for the AC bonus. No Sense Count: 2
- Heart of the Sword! 5th-degree maneuver, meaning you have to be level 17 to use this, and...it just increases your crit range by 1 and lets you ignore resistances. Which you could probably do just by using a different weapon.
- Use a bonus action to draw a weapon and attack a creature. Another "this makes no sense whatsoever" option, in that a.) it arbitrarily can't be used against the same creature more than once per combat and b.) you can't make this BA attack with a weapon that you already have drawn. No Sense Count: 3
- If you miss an attack, you can reroll the attack with advantage and extra damage against another creature. And if both rolls would hit, the target is stunned with no saving throw! Somehow your attack becomes much more effective against someone you weren't even aiming for in the first place. No Sense Count: 4
- You can double your number of attacks and make maneuvers on each of them, but then your exertion pool falls to 0. Meaning that if you ever use this when you aren't already almost out of exertion, you're an idiot who just wasted their resources.
- You can damage enemies that normally resist nonmagical weapons. You get this at level 5, the same level you can get permanent magical damage on your unarmed strikes (but wait until we get to that). Also, this does nothing against immunity to nonmagical weapons.
- You can throw a weapon and have it come back. On the class that can throw weapons with better damage dice anyway.
- You can hit someone and make them unable to cast spells or do maneuvers because...well, because.
- You can use your reaction to strike a victory pose on a critical hit, which gives a few allies advantage on one death saving throw. I'm trying to think of a more useless ability to take and failing miserably. No Sense Count: 5
- You can swing your weapon so hard that it hits people from far away, and does extra damage, thus invalidating ever taking that thrown-weapon maneuver above.
- You can cause damage over time if you hit with the one next attack you make. Taking inspiration from 2024 5e, only magical healing stops this DoT.
But we're not just talking about how stupid A5E maneuvers are, we're discussing a whole class. And now we get the standard Monk techniques, except now they share the same resource that all of your maneuvers eat up. You also gain "Practised Techniques", which unlike the options for other features are inexplicably at the bottom of the class page. Consistency, what's that. Let's take a look at these too...
- You can increase your speed, buying 10 feet each time. Unarmored Movement, what's that? Buy Back Count: 2
- You can buy back Tongue of the Sun and Moon. Buy Back Count: 3
- You can jump better. Even though you already have Step of the Wind, or "Long Step". So this combined would let you jump six times your normal limits.
- You can just fly, completely negating the point of the previous option, even though that option is a prerequisite for this.
- You can just teleport 500 feet for a sizable exertion cost. You can also bring along another creature. You become invisible as well. For some reason. No Sense Count: 6
- You can move over long distances better. This is a useful thing for one member of the party to have.
- You can use Dexterity for Athletics or Strength for Acrobatics. These aren't the same option, you have to buy them separately.
- You can gain proficiency in Religion (which you can already choose as a class skill) and then spend exertion to force the DM to give you a correct answer about a religious relic, thus invalidating the point of having Religion proficiency.
- Shadow Walk, from the Shadow Monk. Creativity!
- You can get advantage on initiative and use your Wisdom for all Intelligence skills, something that's massively more powerful than the above Athletics and Acrobatics options.
- Slow Fall! Buy Back Count: 4
- Running up walls. Buy Back Count: 5
- You're better at not getting lost and only not getting lost. So you're not Black Belt, accidentally cloning yourself by getting that lost.
- Running over liquids. This is a separate purchase from running up walls. Buy Back Count: 6
- You can get proficiency in Survival and treat beasts as martial artists. That's not a joke. No Sense Count: 7
Anyway, Focus Features! Let's get to listing these derailed train cars:
- A second extra attack at level 11. No one will not choose this. It's a no-brainer.
- You get more weapons for proficiency and Adept weapons. Remember how we had that maneuver that gave you proficiency but not made weapons Adept weapons? You had to wait until level 13 for that, this you get at level 3. Also remember Dedicated Weapon? Buy Back Count: 7
- You get +2 AC against a creature if you hit it with two or more attacks. Another no-brainer.
- You get proficiency in Performance and can dance to get more speed and disadvantage on opportunity attacks and a reaction attack when an opportunity attack misses you. This is hardly useful when Step of the Wind exists, and more expensive to boot.
- You can spend one hit die to get 1d4 exertion points once per rest. Ah, spending short-rest recovery resources to force the party to short rest less often!
- You can push something larger than you around more effectively than you can push someone the same size as you. No Sense Count: 8
- You can spend 2 exertion when you make a saving throw to gain advantage on saves against spells and magic. So a worse Diamond Soul, more expensive and more limited in scope. Still counts, though. Buy Back Count: 8
- Deflect Missiles. Remember when we could do this as a maneuver but worse. Ah, good times. Buy Back Count: 9
- You can deflect spell attacks, much more effectively than mundane missiles for some reason. Except this costs a significant amount of exertion.
- You can gain 60-feet reach on your unarmed strikes. No Sense Count: 9
- You can be in two different stances at once.
- If you have proficiency with Insight, you can force the DM to give you truthful information without a check, defeating the point of having proficiency yet again.
- You can do magical damage with your unarmed strikes. Buy Back Count: 10
- You can do extra damage with a FoB hit. This is just Deft Strike from the Kensei but more limited. Creativity!
- You can hook any two shortswords together to give them reach and extra damage if you hit with both attacks. Costs 2 exertion per turn, and why would you have a not-Monk using two-weapon fighting anyway?
- You can spend more exertion to make your exertion run out much more rapidly via your dances.
- Generic Magic Resistance!
- "When you hit with a maneuver that requires 2 attacks from your Attack action, you can use another maneuver that requires 1 or 2 attacks from your Attack action as part of the same Attack action." There wasn't one such option from the maneuvers we looked at, meaning this option is very limited in scope.
- Spend exertion for temporary hit points.
- Spend 2 exertion for a one-round Mirror Image.
- Stunning Strike but paralysis.
- Use your bonus action and 1 exertion to deal extra damage with one attack. The bonus action you could use to make an unarmed strike. Why would anyone ever do this? No Sense Count: 10
- Impose disadvantage on the first saving throw against Stunning Strike or Paralyzing Strike for 2 extra exertion. You know, the first saving throw the target makes against the feature. Out of one saving throw they ever make. No Sense Count: 11
- Purity of Body except you need an action to activate it. Buy Back Count: 11
- Once per rest give one creature a bonus to one saving throw. Unlimited duration so you can just repeatedly short-rest out of danger to give everyone the bonus to their next save. No Sense Count: 12
- Hit the ground and cause a shockwave in a 40-foot line. For 3 exertion. Rip-off.
- Stillness of Mind. Buy Back Count: 12
- Stunning Strike. Buy Back Count: 13
- "When you deal basic melee damage from using a basic maneuver, you deal additional damage equal to your martial arts die." So a bit of damage when you shove people.
- If you fall to 0 hit points, you can try to punch someone, and if it hits, you can gain temporary hit points. But you're still at 0 hit points anyway. No Sense Count: 13
- You can be Zoro from the anime and wield an extra weapon in your mouth. This would actually be quite powerful for anyone who gets Two-Weapon Fighting from another class, but as a pure-classed not-Monk, it's trash.
- When you make a death save, you can make your angry ghost chase down the creature that reduced you to 0 hit points.
- You can give yourself B/P/S resistance for one turn for 2 exertion. Or just use Patient Defense to reduce the chance of getting hit at all for less cost.
- You get proficiency with one weapon and it becomes an Adept weapon. Wait, wasn't the first choice on this list the same thing? No, that one was two weapons (or one rare weapon), so this is just a worse copy of that option above! Amazing.
Let's just go through the rest of the class features, because it's much simpler from here on out.
- You get more exertion points at level 4, which is offset by how all of your options drain stupid amounts of exertion points.
- Extra Attack at level 5.
- Empty Mind at level 7, where Insight checks against you are made at disadvantage and you have advantage against enchantment spells and resistance against psychic damage. Also you come up with worse features than the original base class and expect players to buy them back via limited-choice lists.
- You get one language and one tool at level 13. Remember that Tongue of the Sun and Moon is a buyback here.
- At level 15, all martial artists are initially Friendly towards you. Hooray for features that take control over NPCs away from the DM!
- At level 20, you get Open Hand's Quivering Palm, as well as a feature that lets you spend 1 exertion to replace your Martial Arts die with a d12 and roll another d12 if that die gets a 12. So, a tiny chance for that 1 exertion point to make even a small difference to a roll.
