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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Way of Light - Healing/Protection/Utility Monk Tradition [v1.5, PEACH]



Venardhi
2016-01-06, 09:13 AM
I started this last year and got some helpful notes from a few of you in here. It ended up not being used for its original intention, but I'm considering putting it into play for a new NPC entering my campaign and would like to see if anyone has some suggestions re: balance, flavor, overall usefulness, etc.

The Way of Light:

Monks of the Way of Light follow a tradition of healing and protection. They have dedicated themselves to bringing peace and enlightenment to the darkness of the world around them. They may or may not kneel to a specific deity, but nearly all are known for their devotion to good. Monks of this tradition often live simple vagrant lives attempting to spread the teachings of the Way of Light. However, it is not unusual for their path to lead them into adventure and battle in the name of a righteous cause. Using their abilities, they are able to heal themselves and others with their ki, as well as harness the power and speed of light into defensive and offensive forces to help them achieve their goals.

Radiant Arts: Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cast Bane, Bless, Cure Wounds or Shield of Light* as 2nd level spells without providing material components. In addition, your Flurry of Blows may deal radiant attack damage if doing so is benefitial.

[*As "Shield of Faith," granting up to one additional target for the effects of the spell.]

Illumination: Starting at 6th level, you are able to call upon the divine light within yourself to illuminate an area 60 feet in diameter for one minute with you as its source. Any magical darkness in the radius is dispelled and any hidden or invisible creatures within or entering the area under effect of Illumination are revealed. Enemies within the radius of Illumination at the time of use must make a Wisdom saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus or be blinded until a successful retest. In addition, this light reveals any magically hidden or disguised objects or passages within the radius. Concentration is required to maintain the effects of Illumination and you must have a short rest before using this ability again.

Coruscation: At 11th level, you can briefly transform yourself into a being of pure light to move faster than the eyes of your enemy can possibly follow.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Flurry of Blows, you gain advantage on all attack rolls this turn and deal additional radiant damage equal to your wisdom modifier on each successful attack.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Patient Defense, you may extend the bonuses of your Dodge action to all allies within a 10 foot radius.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Step of the Wind, you may move in a straight unimpeded line to any unoccupied space without drawing attacks of opportunity. Attacks made against you before your next turn are at a disadvantage.

Brilliant Aura: Starting at 17th level, you may call upon your Radiant ki energies once per day to surround you in an aura with a 30-foot radius centered on and moving with you for turns equal to your wisdom modifier. Attacks targeting non-hostile creatures within the aura are reduced by half and reflected back upon the attacker as radiant damage equal to the damage dealt. While the Brilliant Aura is active, friendly creatures may use their bonus action to heal for 1d12 plus your wisdom modifier.

Venardhi
2016-01-09, 11:24 AM
I made a small edit or two, so just in case anyone missed this and wanted to make a comment. I'd appreciate any feedback.

KoyukiTei13
2016-03-02, 10:59 PM
Illumination: Starting at 6th level, you are able to call upon the divine light within yourself to illuminate an area 60 feet in diameter for one minute with you as its source. Any magical darkness in the radius is dispelled and any hidden or invisible creatures within or entering the area under effect of Illumination are revealed. Enemies within the radius of Illumination at the time of use must make a Wisdom saving throw against a DC of 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus or be blinded until a successful retest. In addition, this light reveals any magically hidden or disguised objects or passages within the radius. Concentration is required to maintain the effects of Illumination and you must have a short rest before using this ability again.

I really think that this is fairly overpowered... The ability to dispel magical darkness is pretty much okay, but you may want to specify 'if it was cast using a spell slot of X level or lower", like the Daylight spell does. Revealing magically concealed or invisible creatures, however, especially with no ki cost, is a crazy ability. Concentration is a good starting point, but either lengthen the rest or add a ki point cost? I'd recommend starting that with 3 or 4 ki, considering the concentration of it. The rest of it is fairly balanced, giving saves against the blinding effect, the 30 ft. radius -- all good in my book.


In addition, your Flurry of Blows may deal radiant attack damage if doing so is beneficial.

Wouldn't doing radiant damage nearly always be beneficial? I'd think maybe having the flat Flurry of Blows PLUS a radiant modifier of a modest amount would suffice, so that you do some damage even if the target is resistant to radiance, and would be able to help smite those pesky undead.



Coruscation: At 11th level, you can briefly transform yourself into a being of pure light to move faster than the eyes of your enemy can possibly follow.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Flurry of Blows, you gain advantage on all attack rolls this turn and deal additional radiant damage equal to your wisdom modifier on each successful attack.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Patient Defense, you may extend the bonuses of your Dodge action to all allies within a 10 foot radius.
- At the expense of 3 ki to perform Step of the Wind, you may move in a straight unimpeded line to any unoccupied space without drawing attacks of opportunity. Attacks made against you before your next turn are at a disadvantage.

This is really similar to Samhaim's Monk Archetype Way of the Light's ability at level 17. You may want to work the two together for the level 17 ability, as I think that the Brilliant Aura you've got would be really nice at level 11, with a bit of scaling to help with level increases.



Cascading Radiance
At 17th level, you gain the ability to perform attacks at the speed of light. You can spend 4 ki points to teleport in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of a creature that you can see. You then make five unarmed strikes against the target, dealing fire and radiant damage in addition to any other type of damage you would normally inflict. After the attack, you teleport back to you starting position. After using this ability, you suffer one level of exhaustion. This ability takes no action and can only be used once per round.

Venardhi
2016-03-03, 02:49 AM
I really think that this is fairly overpowered... The ability to dispel magical darkness is pretty much okay, but you may want to specify 'if it was cast using a spell slot of X level or lower", like the Daylight spell does. Revealing magically concealed or invisible creatures, however, especially with no ki cost, is a crazy ability. Concentration is a good starting point, but either lengthen the rest or add a ki point cost? I'd recommend starting that with 3 or 4 ki, considering the concentration of it. The rest of it is fairly balanced, giving saves against the blinding effect, the 30 ft. radius -- all good in my book.

How about adding an optional Ki cost to activate the reveal effect?


Wouldn't doing radiant damage nearly always be beneficial? I'd think maybe having the flat Flurry of Blows PLUS a radiant modifier of a modest amount would suffice, so that you do some damage even if the target is resistant to radiance, and would be able to help smite those pesky undead.

In many cases wouldn't adding such bonus damage increase the damage done? I was intending this feature to be more flavorful and situationally useful.


This is really similar to Samhaim's Monk Archetype Way of the Light's ability at level 17. You may want to work the two together for the level 17 ability, as I think that the Brilliant Aura you've got would be really nice at level 11, with a bit of scaling to help with level increases.
I don't know about you but I've never actually played a game that got to level 17. I actually had it that way originally but realized it was one of the cooler and more interesting features of the subclass and most people would never have a chance to use it.

Appreciate the reply, though I'm not sure how you happened across this thread. I had given up on getting a response.

KoyukiTei13
2016-03-03, 10:13 AM
How about adding an optional Ki cost to activate the reveal effect?
That'd be a good solution. I just think being able to do all that initially is super nuts.


In many cases wouldn't adding such bonus damage increase the damage done? I was intending this feature to be more flavorful and situationally useful.
Maybe just add the monk's Wisdom modifier as the extra damage, so that its tiny? It would double against the correct monsters, due to weaknesses, and wouldn't be flat radiant damage?

You do have a fair point about not many characters getting to level 17 or whereabouts. A lot of the characters I've played only get to around 3-4 before real life cuts in and gets in the way. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you should give the coolest features earlier, because then you don't want to play higher just cuz there's nothing cooler than what you already have.

In the end, its your choice, its your homebrew. :)

And I happened across it through the mass 5e post of homebrew classes, actually. I made an account the other day to go through and comment on others' homebrews and post my own variations.

Venardhi
2016-03-03, 04:47 PM
My only worry is that I'm not trying to flatly increase damage here. Against the average enemy that 1d4 or +Wis radiant damage is a flat damage increase. Against undead and a few other enemies making it all radiant damage means a low-to-mid level WoL Monk will have the option of a few turns of doing really great burst damage, but not make much or any difference in output in the vast majority of encounters. Situational usefulness and flavor (glowing punches!) was the goal.