Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Slit518 Mar 01, 2015 10:12:02	One thing I am wondering is, would you find it cool if your Monk could be like the characters in Dragon Ball Z?  Now by this I don't mean flying around, moving at the speed of light and blowing up planets.  What I mean is the ability to shoot Ki Blasts, Ki powered Energy Beams, Ki Balls that are large and do Area of Effect damage, etc...   This new Monk could be called Ki Master, where they can get a larger Ki pool, use certain Ki maneuvers much like the the Battle Master.  For example the Monk could have a Ki Blast maneuver, which allows the Monk to shoot a ball of Ki Energy at an opponent within 30' as long as they have 1 Ki Point remaining, for a number of attacks the Monk has in Unarmed Strike.  This Ki Blast will will be two die grades lower in damage from the Monk's Unarmed Strike, will use Wisdom to determine if it hits and add the Monk's Wisdom modifier to damage per blast.   Other Ki maneuvers could be things such as - 1) Ki Beam - the character charges a beam of energy, to initiate the attack the character uses 2 Ki points, a Monk charging the Ki Beam is unable to take any other actions, even Bonus Actions or Reactions.  The initial beam does 1d6 damage + the Monk's Wisdom modifier in damage, a character must make a Dexterity Saving Throw vs 8 + the Monk's Proficency Bonus + the Monk's Wisdom modifier, if they pass it's half damage instead.  The Ki Beam is 30' Long and has a 5' diameter all the way around.  The damage type for this beam is Radiant for good/neutral aligned Monks or Necrotic for Evil/Chaotic Neutral aligned Monks. For each round after the 1st the Monk spends 2 more Ki Energy to power up the beam, adding 1d6 damage to the beam's damage, another 30' range and another 5'  diameter.  At level 8 the beam's damage is 1d8, at level 13 it's 1d10 damage and at level 18 it's 1d12 damage. 2) Ki Shield - as a reaction the character can throw up a Ki Shield blocking damage from an incoming ranged attack.  For every Ki point spent, the attack blocks 10 damage.  The amount of Ki spent must be determined after the roll is confirmed a hit or a miss, but before damage is rolled. 3) Giant Ki Ball - the character stands stationary, gathering Ki from within to create a ball of immense energy.  To start this attack the character uses 3 Ki points, a Monk charging the Ki Ball is unable to take any other actions, even Bonus Actions or Reactions.  The initial ball does 1d6 damage + the Monk's Wisdom modifier in damage, a character must make a Dexterity Saving Throw vs 8 + the Monk's Proficency Bonus + the Monk's Wisdom modifier, if they pass it's half damage instead.  The Ball can launch up to a distance of 30' away and blasts out of a radius of 20' from the point it was centered on.  The damage type for this ball is Radiant for good/neutral aligned Monks or Necrotic for Evil/Chaotic Neutral aligned Monks. For each round after the 1st the Monk spends 3 more Ki Energy to power up the ball, adding 1d6 damage to the ball's damage, another 10' range on how far it can shoot out and another 10' radius of the blast.  At level 8 the ball's damage is 1d8, at level 13 it's 1d10 damage and at level 18 it's 1d12 damage. 4) Gather Energy - the character uses their action to stand still, concentrating on gathering Ki, this allows them to gain a number of Ki points back equal to their Wisdom Modifier, after this is used a  Monk can not use it again unless they complete a Short or Long Rest. 5) Ki Rejuvination - the character stands in a place concentrating on a wholeness of self, during this meditation a character is not allowed to take any other actions, even Bonus Actions or Reactions.  They spend 2 Ki Energy to heal themselves of any damage they may have taken in battle for 1d4 points, the Monk also adds it's Wisdom Modifier to the amount healed. For each additional 2 Ki Energy spent, the Monk heals an additional 1d4 points of damage.  At level 7 the healing is increased to 1d6, at level 11 it's 1d8 and at level 15 it's 1d10.  A Monk may also wish to use 5 Ki Energy to wipe away a negative status effect, such as a poison or disease or 10 Ki Energy to wipe away a greater negative status effect, such as a curse, ability drain or level drain. 6) Repulsion Shield - as a reaction the character can spend 4 Ki Energy to throw out a disruptive energy of Ki warding those away within Melee range of the Monk.  The targets must make a Strength save vs 8 + the Monk's Proficency Bonus + the Monk's Wisdom Modifier or be pushed 10' back.  The target's also take 1d6 + the Monk's Wisdom Modifier in damage on a failed save or half as much on a passed save and aren't pushed back.  The damage type for the Repulsion Shield is Radiant for good/neutral aligned Monks or Necrotic for Evil/Chaotic Neutral aligned Monks. A Monk can spend 2 additional Ki Energy to push a target back 5' more.  At level 7 the damage is increased to 1d8, at level 11 it's 1d10, at level 15 it's 1d12, at level 19 it's 2d8.   Opinions, please?  Thanks in advance!
#2 rampant Mar 01, 2015 14:18:13	Eh I like the idea but I think your mechanics are a bit clumsy. The charge time on both beam and ball is problematic, DnD traditionally struggles with this kind of thing but 5e gives us some RPG tech to work with: Movement and bonus actions. Instead of running the turn counter I advise allowing them to sacrifice movement and or bonnus actions to unleash the charged forms. Gather energy and rejuvination both mention standing still but only require you r action, meaning you could techically walk around using the ability. Gather energy especially would probably work better as a movement sink rather than an action sink. Ki rejuvination is a bit vague about what constitutes the various status effects and the healing isn't very efficient, also note that a 10th level monk is already immune to poison and disease. I'm not sure it's worht the ki points fo rhte amount of HP gained back, and the part where it specifices in battle could be problematic as well. The shield vs. ranged attacks bothers me a bit as well, how does that interact with the deflect projectiles ability monks get? You might wanna up the damge on repulsion, and posisbly the ki ball, consideirng their initial costs.   Finally I think you're misisng an important intemediate step. The small ki blast that the dbz guys throw around, a sort of ki-powered ranged attack, might be called for here.    Finally I would either make it straight up one damage type for all monks wiht this path or let them choose off a short list. These are ki techniques the kind of damage they do shoul dbe based on where you learned them, not like a divine caster whose got a little shoulder diety telling them how to work.
#3 Slit518 Mar 01, 2015 15:13:02	rampant wrote:
#4 CCS Mar 01, 2015 16:23:24	No.
(Reply to #4) Diffan	CCS wrote:
(Reply to #5) Reius	Diffan wrote:
(Reply to #5) CCS	Diffan wrote:
(Reply to #7) Diffan	CCS wrote:
#9 cowleymen Mar 01, 2015 23:07:44	Look at Elemantal monk for refrence, and I think the original Dragonball would be a much better refrence for power levels, at least sitting with 5e. epic level 4e could easly have some of the earlier DBZ power levels. Instead of a charging method, I would rather just spend extra points on dealing more damage.   As for the basic ki blast barrage, i think taking another point onto the regular flurry of blows for getting 30ft range isnt so bad either, probably with a step down in die size, min 1d4
#10 Brock_Landers Mar 01, 2015 23:24:07	Slit518 wrote:
#11 Kalani Mar 02, 2015 1:26:41	Here is how I would do it:   Ki Blast (3rd): Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to fire blasts of concentrated ki energy. You gain the eldritch blast and forcebolt cantrips (forcebolt functions identically to firebolt except that it deals force damage instead of fire) Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Wisdom.    Ki Beam (3rd): As an action, you can spend 3 ki points to fire a line of force 100 feet long, and 5 feet wide. Any creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, this attack deals 3d10 force damage and pushes the target 10 feet backward in the direction of the line, and knocks them prone. On a success, the target takes half damage and is not pushed or knocked prone.    Overchannel (3rd): As a bonus action, you can enter a state of heightened focus. By taking 1 level of exhaustion, you can maximize the damage dealt on all eldritch blast, forcebolt and Ki beam attacks for the duration of this effect. When using this ability you lose 1 ki point at the end of each of your turns, and requires concentration. If this reduces your ki pool to 0, you suffer 1 additional level of exhaustion and the effect of this ability ends. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.   Defect Energy (6th): Starting at 6th level, you can use your reaction to block or deflect spells that include you as a target. To use this ability you must either be hit by a ranged spell attack, or make a dexterity saving throw against a damaging attack which includes you as a target. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. This damage reduction occurs after the results of your saving throw are determined (if any). If you reduce the damage from a ranged spell attack to 0, you may spend 1 ki point per level of the spell. If you do, you can reflect the spell back at the spellcaster, who takes full damage from the attack.    At 11th level, this ability improves. As a reaction, you can deflect a ranged spell attack which targets an adjacent ally. You become the target of the attack, and can reduce the damage as above. Alternatively, when you deflect a damaging area effect spell, you can voluntarily fail your Dexterity saving throw. When you do so, reduce the damage you and all allied targets of the spell take by 2d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. This damage reduction occurs after the results of your allies saving throw are determined.    Ki Barrage (11th): When you cast eldritch blast as an action, you can spend 5 ki points as a bonus action to cast a second eldritch blast. To use this ability all targets must be within 10 feet. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before you use this ability again.    17th (tbd).
(Reply to #8) CCS	Diffan wrote:
#13 LuisCarlos17f Mar 02, 2015 5:04:26	Have you seen the dragonfire adept from "Dragon magic"?   * Ki maneuvers without armour?  = a ninja, or a swashbuckler/warblade   * Ki maneuvers with armour? = a sohei, or a samurai.   * Sword + powers + light armour? = Hexblade.    * Dragon Ball is too "epic levels", and I don´t like epic levels.   * what is the link between ki, incarnum, psionic powers and "thoon cult" (Monster Manual V, 3.5 ed)? It could be important for game mechanic.
#14 Pompadour64 Mar 02, 2015 14:35:15	To me, the ability to fly is one of the most iconic abilities of DBZ characters. I feel like it should be a high level option. Other classes, like the sorcerer, get similar abilities, so I see no balance issue.
#15 Kalani Mar 04, 2015 8:48:31	I was thinking about this more this morning and I determined that the best option is to probably make it a 1/3 caster class like the arcane trickster and Eldritch knight.    Many of their features would duplicate the effect of spells including: Eldritch blast, fireball, lightning bolt, and fly. I would grant them a class ability allowing them to deal force damage with any monk spell cast.    I would grant them Eldritch blast as a bonus cantrip, and have them focus primarily on wizard spells from the school of evocation and transmutation? I would also give them a few bard spells on their list such as enhance ability(self only)
#16 Slyck314 Mar 02, 2015 14:44:27	Almost all the abilities of a DBZ type monk are in a high level Elemental monk . Throwing fireballs- check, flying - check, flurry of powerful melee blows - fheck.
#17 BRJN Mar 02, 2015 15:24:01	Slit518 wrote:
#18 masterfat78 Mar 04, 2015 1:14:43	I like my monks to have more of a crouching tiger hidden dragon flavor to them.
#19 ChrisCarlson Mar 04, 2015 7:00:18	Hrm... You just made me want to consider going back to developing my Crouching Rakshasa, Hidden Dragonborn setting/adventure...
(Reply to #15) Azzy1974	Kalani wrote:
#21 Kalani Mar 04, 2015 8:48:58	bard spells, not bars spells - stupid autocorrect (i was on my phone when responding earlier).
#22 roll4init Mar 04, 2015 18:48:10	There should be an AOE charm effect when you are charging your blasts, that causes all effected to stop fighting and talk about how powerful you are.
#23 rampant Mar 04, 2015 21:04:01	I don't like the caster idea, casting doesn't mesh well with melee combat, blasting spells on partial casters tend to be a waste of time, especially at higher levels since they can't be upcast to deal level appropriate damage. To make a melee caster really work you need to pick out a careful list of spells or make up some new ones.