So, as I posted earlier, I think the new playtest version of the Monk errs in being to conservative, and arguably nerfing the class in a lot of ways that the minor buffs don't really make up for. But I want to see how the subclasses do and see if they make up for the problems in the overall design. That might be a heavy burden to place on them, though, so perhaps we'll instead just take these on their own terms.
Like Druids, we have on Tasha's subclass coming to the 2024 PHB that is, at least now, unchanged. So we won't be covering the Way of Mercy (which, though I haven't played it, is probably my favorite Monk subclass).
Shadow:
The Shadow Monk is one of the better Monk subclasses (and also gets bonus points for being very flavorful). Let's see how the new version compares to the old.
3rd level:
Shadow Arts has been tweaked. First off, rather than giving you the Darkvision spell, you now simply get 60-foot darkvision or if you already have it, the range is increased by 60 feet. As before, you also get Minor Illusion.
You can no longer cast Silence, Pass Without Trace, or the Darkvision spell, but you can cast Darkness for 1 Discipline Point (as opposed to 2 ki) without any spell components (which means no one can counterspell it, as they won't see you casting it) and now, you can see within your own Darkness spell. Additionally, you can now move the darkness to a space within 60 feet of you at the start of each of your turns.
So, losing Pass Without Trace (and to a lesser extent, Silence) is rough, but the improvement to your use of Darkness, and the lower cost, I think make this out to be something of a net buff, overall, though your mileage may vary.
6th level:
Shadow Step is unchanged, but given the greater flexibility with your use of the Darkness spell, it might be easier to use.
I will say that I think perhaps rather than letting you see through just your own Darkness spell, it might be good (though certainly more powerful) to let you simply see in Magical Darkness. I can imagine a party with a Blind Fighting Fighter, a Shadow Sorcerer, and a Shadow Monk really making use of magical darkness as a way to get a big combat advantage, but here you're going to have to track all the different ownerships for each darkness effect.
11th level:
Improved Shadow Step is a new feature (Cloak of Shadows gets bumped back to higher level) which lets you spend 1 Discipline Point to be able to use your Shadow Step regardless of the lighting situation, and also grants you one unarmed strike as part of the bonus action to teleport (I think only if you spend the Discipline Point).
This is solid, if not terribly flashy. However, I also think that, oddly, with the new Step of the Wind giving both the Dash and Disengage options, this might sometimes be kind of redundant (though the free attack will be welcome - though oddly, this will also force you to use the advantage from Shadow step on an unarmed strike, when you might prefer to use it on a weapon.)
17th level:
Cloak of Shadows is a bit different. It now costs 3 Discipline Points to activate, and still requires you be in Dim Light or Darkness, though it takes a bonus action rather than an action. It now lasts 1 minute, even if you attack or otherwise do things that would previously break the invisibility. It sitll breaks if you enter an area of Bright Light (or get incapacitated). You also get two extra benefits. The first is "Partially Incorporeal," which allows you to pass through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain (taking 1d10 force if you stop inside a creature or object). You also get Shadow Flurry, which removes the cost of Flurry of Blows while under these effects.
So this feels like it will be more of a combat ability than a scouting/exploration one. This will, of course, be harder to use in a brightly-lit battlefield, as you'll have to rely on your Darkness spell or other things. But when this is in effect, non-breaking invisibility and free Flurrys of Blows are pretty good.
Shadow Monks lose Opportunist, but I think the subclass for the most part feels solid, even if the buffs are counterbalanced by losing a few options. I'm tempted to say this is a narrow buff to the subclass, though again, you might consider it a nerf given the loss of some spells and Opportunist.
Elements:
The Way of Four Elements was always one of those "cool in theory, terrible in practice" subclasses, and so the "Warrior of Elements" has been significantly redesigned, and in particular simplified. So we won't be going on a feature-by-feature side-by-side comparison here, but presenting this as almost a new subclass. (The design notes explicitly say that Four Elements was the lowest-rated subclass in the 2014 PHB).
3rd level:
Elemental Attunement gives you the Elementalism cantrip, which is a sort of Druidcraft/Prestidigitation-style grab-bag "random magic stuff" cantrip.
But also, at the start of your turn, you can spend 1 Discipline point to gain a 10-minute buff (or until you are incapacitated) that gives the following benefits: Your unarmed strikes can deal your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, or Lightning damage (or its normal damage). When you deal one of these types of damage, though, you can also force the target to make a Strength saving throw, and on a failed save, they're knocked back 10 feet from you. Additionally, while in your Attunement, your unarmed strikes have a 10-foot extended reach (the way this is worded, then, means that I think you have a 15-foot reach).
So, this is simple and I think pretty good - reach on a Monk is great, as having the mobility to get away from monsters before they can hit you back is a big part of their survival strategy. And usually you can pick a damage type that will work on the target from this selection.
6th level:
Environmental Burst lets you, as an action (a "Magic Action,") spend 2 discipline points to create a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point within 120 feet. Each creature within makes a Dex save, and on a failure, they take your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire or Lightning damage equal to three rolls of your Martial Arts die, or half as much on a success. Before or after you take this action, you can make an Unarmed Strike as a bonus action.
So, this is Fireball-sized, but won't typically do Fireball damage (at the level you get it, it's doing Shatter damage). The real question is whether you can afford the two Discipline Points. But, situationally, if you can hit a lot of enemies with this, it probably winds up being worth it. If we're calling 2 discipline points the equivalent of two Flurrys of Blows (which add one attack over your normal one) then we're probably talking about 2(1d8+4) or about 17 damage against a single target compared to this dealing 13.5 - so you'll definitely only use this against multiple enemies - though a second foe should make it worth it. (At higher levels, say, level 12, we're looking at 2(1d10+5) or 21 damage versus 16.5 - again, a second target makes it worth it.)
11th level:
Stride of the Elements causes Step of the Wind to give you a Fly Speed and a Swim Speed equal to your speed (and you're a monk) for 10 minutes. Actually, that's pretty good - one DP for 10 minutes of concentration-free flight (and swimming?) This actually then becomes something you can use both in and out of combat (also, flight with your 15-foot reach could potentially be really powerful on the battlefield).
17th level:
Elemental Epitome enhances your Elemental Attunement. First off, you gain resistance to your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, or Lightning damage when you activate it, but you can also change the choice at the start of your turn. Also, when you use Step of the Wind, your speed increases by 20 feet until the end of the turn, and any creature of your choice that you pass within 5 feet of takes one Martial Arts die (so 1d12) of the damage chosen for your resistance (limit to once per turn). Finally, once per turn, you can add one martial arts die of the chosen damage type when you hit with an unarmed strike.
So, the last part of this is probably the least exciting, adding 6.5 damage once a turn. But I think the real strength here is the adaptability. And the "Destructive Stride" coupled with Stride of the Elements is quite good.
So, this is almost nothing like the old Four Elements monk, which is probably for the best. I do think the subclass is a bit reliant on Discipline Points to get up and running, but I appreciate that Elemental Attunement at least doesn't require any sort of action to activate. It's probably worth using in each combat, depending on how frequently you're fighting in a day. I could actually see playing and enjoying this subclass, which means it's a big improvement.
Hand:
This is an update to the Way of the Open Hand. So, let's check it out.
3rd level:
Open Hand Technique is more or less the same, but the target gets a Con save against the "no reactions" option.
So this is inarguably a nerf.
6th level:
Wholeness of Body is a bit different. It's now a bonus action rather than an action. Also, it costs 1 Discipline Point. The heal is now equal to one martial arts die (1dM?) plus your Wisdom modifier, rather than 3 martial arts dice (3dM?)
But, you can also use it more often - you can use this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier per long rest.
It's a little weird that this costs both Discipline Points and has limited uses per long rest. I would remove one or the other cost. If you're worried about a level 20 Monk using this 60 times in a day, I'd err on the side of just limiting it to the Wisdom modifier, but making it not cost any Discipline Points. The healing here is a little lower than one the old version gave, but you can do it more times.
11th level:
Fleet Step totally replaces Tranquility and simply makes Step of the Wind free for you.
This is simple and elegant, and I think will help make up for losing the automatic lack of reactions from Flurry of Blows (which often meant you didn't have to disengage thanks to that,) but I think most importantly this leaves you more DP to spend on other features.
17th level:
Quivering Palm is a bit different. Rather than dropping to 0 on a failed save or taking 10d10 necrotic damage on a success, the target now takes 10d12 plus your Monk level of Force damage on a failure, or half on a success.
Ok, so... let's figure this out: With the old version, you can cause them to take a minimum of (on average) 55 damage. Now, at level 17, they're taking on average 82 on a failed save or 41 on a success. But there's no full "drop to 0." I don't know how often this feature actually gets used (obviously as a high-level feature, not very much). But I think this counts as a nerf.
So, Hand overall I think has been nerfed a little. Again, I don't think the Monk or any of its subclasses was really begging for a nerf. I do think Weapon Mastery will help buff their damage (certainly more significantly than the upgrade to martial arts dice) but I think with all of these subclasses, the approach has been surprisingly cautious for a class that is generally reputed to struggle power-wise.
I do like the new Elements Monk more than the old one, though that's like saying I prefer a sandwich from Subway to a migraine.
Much as the Druid I think has improved a lot in this recent iteration (even if I would have preferred Wild Shape templates, just better ones) I'm hoping that we'll see some bolder, better ideas for the Monk next go around.
No comments:
Post a Comment