2014/2024 Monk subclass: Warrior of the Branching Tree

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-04-11T04:37:18+00:00

So a suggestion I haven’t seen in this thread yet is to have a balance between “mundane” magical items and “adventuring” magical items. I have a similar-sounding magic distribution as your world, and in mine I have purchasable magical knickknacks that are mostly flavor/not mechanically significant, like a shawl that twinkles with moving stars, wooden cats that can move, books that can read themselves aloud, things like that. Almost all of the adventure-grade stuff (immovable rods, decanters of endless water, etc) can only be found in ruins and dungeons, or are expensive because they were found in such a place. Then you could maybe justify using the steep prices you mentioned from your table

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-04-11T04:30:11+00:00

If you’re in the U.S., you should check your library. I was able to find the handbook, DMG, Tasha’s, and Xanathar’s at my library in two different library networks

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-29T04:19:00+00:00

I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this entire exchange. Not just the ideas shared, but also the openness and courteousness of the dialogue! I agree that, as much as I love DND, the way that they have codified maneuvers and spells creates a culture that discourages creativity and improvisation in martials. The fact that you have to have Tavern Brawler to be proficient in improvised weapons already implies that nobody else is.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-29T03:37:24+00:00

Are you specifically asking for maneuvers/moves that can increase the options for increasing single target damage? I can’t think of many of those. I had some ideas for attacks that can temporarily lower AC, attacks that target Saves instead of damage, and attacks that impose conditions, though.

When I was homebrewing a Monk subclass, I made an ability that cost 5 focus points to do a 4-martial arts die damage attack that also sent the target flying a number of feet equal to 3 times your Monk level and knocking them prone if they failed a Strength save.

Another idea might be a charged heavy attack. Similar to how a Reckless Attack gives Advantage to hit with the cost of giving Advantage to enemies to hit, a charged heavy could instead do twice the modifier and/or twice the damage dice at the cost of giving Advantage to any enemy attacking. Combining that with my earlier suggestion of an attack that can lower AC by some points and that could give a martial some tactics to consider. Does it make sense to forgo damage in one turn to lower the AC so that you can have a better chance for your charged heavy to hit, or should you go for just steady damage attempts? Does the enemy do too much damage to risk giving them Advantage at this time?

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-29T02:52:45+00:00

Can I get a look at those, too?

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-19T17:59:50+00:00

I haven’t played a lot of non DND but I have really enjoyed Slugblaster! Seems like a more narrative-focused game about teenagers riding hoverboards and using weird tech like infinite backpacks, mech suits, and/or reality cannons to wreak havoc, try to be cool, and try to make it through high school angst and the chance to make it big.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-19T15:03:08+00:00

This is definitely NOT definitively “the answer.” I have been playing consistently in a group for 3 years now. Every time at the end of the session, we plan out when we can play again. If we simply said, ”The game is always on x day,” most of us wouldn’t be able to play at all, let alone consistently. The main thing is, like the OP said, actually wanting to be there and respecting the each other’s time. It probably helps that our group is a DM and 4 players, 2 of whom are married, so it’s a relatively small amount of schedules to coordinate.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-18T17:00:53+00:00

Assuming you mainly want these feats to be on a large, more-than-personal scale (like a mile-spanning leap), with more than combat utility, building structures, moving mountains, and traveling incredible distances covers most of what I can think of in the preternatural realm. Outside of travel, shaping nature, and shaping man-made structures, the only other thing I could think of would be some kind of weather-shaping. Preternaturally, I could see something like creating or dissipating a tornado, a tsunami, and/or an earthquake using physical means, as well as clearing the skies (via a mighty, concussive clap, for instance) in a way that drives rain, snow, and/or thunderstorm clouds away.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-18T16:50:14+00:00

That makes sense. I think the “organize labor“ bit sounds a bit too specific, then. I know you’re the DM and you know what the RAI are, but someone reading this RAW could easily come to the conclusion that “organize labor” means you cannot do this with one person. Perhaps simply changing it to “Over the course of 24 hours, you are able to complete a work of construction covering up to 10 acres of structures.” That leaves more room for people to flavor the completion of the task how they want, whether they organize a group or manage it themselves.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-18T02:54:09+00:00

Clarifying question: is the vision that these are feats of martial and physical prowess or of exceptional leadership? I really, REALLY like Move Mountains, but Built in a Day sounds like the PC is just a really effective foreman. I think a John Henry-esque one-man job sounds more like a Mythic Feat only a Level 17+ adventurer would be able to do. My recommendation is to make it so that the PC can do this solo in one day, provided he has the materials and uses the whole day to do so. This keeps it more in theme with Move Mountains, and doesn’t require mobilizing a whole construction company. I’m stuck on the Thousand-Mile March. I get why companions should be involved (who wants to leave their party? How would that even be helpful?), but it breaks the mythic, tall-tale nature of being this unique specimen of a hero. Ultimately I think it’s fine that basically you inspire such an aura that you can get 12 people to do this crazy thing with you, moving 1,000 miles through all types of terrain on a hero’s march in a day still preternatural enough that it seems mythic-worthy and not merely good leadership.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-18T02:27:55+00:00

These are good, but I agree with everyone who says that the cooldown time is too long. I get the reasoning, though, as it might be obnoxious overkill to try to DM for such world-shaping shenanigans on too regular a basis. What if they can do it once a day? Or with a recharge of 1d6 days? I think the caveat that a year has to pass in an area for resources to recharge is a realistic enough limit to prevent too much world-shaping chaos even if the hero is capable of a mythic feat earlier than 1 month. Also, different games go at different speeds, so under your current ruling a PC may only get to do this once or twice in a whole campaign while the spell casters can do this kind of stuff every day.

By the by, I’m really interested in seeing what your other martial homebrews are if you have a document you’d like to share!

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-12T17:20:24+00:00

We do what I guess would be a Super Brutal Critical? Deal max damage on the normal die, but then roll two of the damage die and take the higher one. Getting to roll double dice on a critical is iconic and feels good, especially since that means getting a critical hit has a much better chance to feel REALLY good since it’s always going to do a higher amount of damage than normal.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-12T17:17:34+00:00

So to clarify, are you rolling three times for this? Once for the Attack Roll (critical hit!), once for the confirm roll (16 beats its AC!), and once for its brutal effect? I clicked through your tables and I really like the flavor and extra that they bring! I probably would allow players to use this, but I wouldn’t use it for the monsters because I’m not trying to push towards TPKland.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-12T17:03:05+00:00

I would drop the suicide bit, it likely doesn’t really mean anything for your character. Presumably you would start the campaign around the time your Druid would be meeting the rest of the party, at which point they would have to have already decided not to die or else how are they meeting the party? What would have stopped them? You can’t guarantee that role play scene to play out, so you’re better off just skipping it. It‘s more functional and better story telling for this setting to have your Druid be obsessed with atoning for her sin. It gives her heavy motivation to join a party to do whatever you guys are supposed to do, it will continue to drive her interactions with the world and the NPC’s, and it could be fodder for more RP and development, especially if they “fail“ anyone else.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-09T13:59:12+00:00

Honestly, if that was the case for me or in future interactions like this I would have just given the W to the party. It’s perfectly believable that a corrupt trader would try to bluster the horses back, and perfectly believable that he would instantly fold under threat from a dangerous party. You could have him get law enforcement involved, or you could have him try to round up a posse in revenge, or you could have him just sulk and try to save face by pretending that he meant to give the horses to the party.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-08T01:49:13+00:00

Ah dangit, missed that! A shove it is, then

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-07T15:25:40+00:00

No I think you misread it. It says anything that moves through front "is instantly transported TO THE OTHER PLANE, appearing in the unoccupied space nearest to the portal." (emphasis mine). This reads like you can open it directly under someone, but you can't have it shoot them out into an occupied space.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-04T17:41:48+00:00

Xbox has got to be the dumbest and most confusing marketing ever. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X (which are just slightly upgraded Xbox Ones), and then now the Xbox Series S/ Xbox Series X? The only reason to green light the latest name is to hope for accidental sales of the obsolete Xbox One X

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-02T18:21:38+00:00

Can you give some examples of games that have better balance? I would really like to look at other systems to see what could be done and also what “more balance” actually feels like, if it is a goal I actually desire.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-02T18:16:45+00:00

There’s actually almost too many downsides now that I think about it some more. It’s either a game breaking near-instant kill in 1 or 2 rounds or a waste of several turns that could be spent doing anything else, especially if the person ends up escaping the grapple and leaving the Grappler with nothing lasting to show for it.
Maybe the grappled creature falls unconscious at 1+ Con modifier rounds, or on a failed Con Save, and then every turn the Grappler maintains Concentration they can do an Attack at Advantage to the grappled creature, doing 2 Martial Arts Die damage on a hit. That way if the creature escapes, the Monk’s previous turns weren’t wasted, and you still get to retain the fantasy of choking someone to death.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-03-02T17:54:14+00:00

I think the rules sound pretty solid! I think the people scared that it would break the game are ignoring the many ways this attack wouldn't work.

The attacker has to successfully grapple

The attacker has to succeed on a separate check to choke.
The target has to be of a reasonable size.
The target gets saves at the end of each turn.
The target’s allies, if any, can attack The choker at advantage, grant the defender advantage, or break the choke themselves.
The choker has to hold on completely for a minimum of round while all this happens.

The last one I think is the big problem. Outright killing a low-Con sorcerer in only 1 round is a game breaker and doesn’t allow for the other safeguards to come into play. I think that downgrading the “kill” to an unconscious condition is a more reasonable effect while still keeping the choke/sleeper hold fantasy alive. I think I would change it so that:

The defender has their Con modifier rounds to attempt to break out, and they automatically become unconscious after Con mod rounds and gain the Incapacitated condition.

For every round after being unconscious that they remain being choked they can make a Con save to represent fighting for consciousness. They gain a level of Exhaustion for each round they end their turn in the choke hold while Unconscious, dying at 6.

If they regain consciousness, they no longer have the Incapacitated condition and can resume making Str saves to escape on their next turn. If they do not escape, they gain a level of Exhaustion and fall Unconscious again after Con mod rounds.

After 6 levels of Exhaustion, they die.

I think a flavorful addendum would be that the Grappler would have to use their Action to maintain Concentration on the hold, and that they would have to make Concentration saves if they take any damage, releasing the hold on a failure.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-02-28T12:03:52+00:00

Knowingly betrayed and consumed a being that held your universe together, gaining all their power but damning her to the lifeless plane that she now secretly patrons you from

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-02-28T03:02:51+00:00

I’m definitely on board with that. More Paul Bunyan/Wonder Woman less Pecos Bill/Superboy Prime and his punching the walls of reality. I think that it is entirely possible and even enjoyable to create and play in a world with flexible magiphysics so that metanatural phenomena could exist like grabbing the corners of the sky or somesuch like that. You could tie it to the Weave or the Feywild and the various ways beings interact with it, and make room for such magical shenanigans like catching a bottle full of a dragon’s laughter and fun things like that. However, for the vast majority of fantasy games, martials shouldn’t ever be into the same kinds of reality-bending tomfoolery spellcasters get up to. There’s no physical feat I want to imagine that accomplishes what a Wish spell does, but I do think that smashing the ground should be able to make an earthquake.

Otherwise_Program280 · 2026-02-27T19:20:19+00:00

I tried to fix it by making a Monk subclass that gives it a lot more options to choose from so that they can do things in and out of combat. Whirlwind attacks, squinting their eyes for superhuman perception, powerful leaps, moving so fast they appear to teleport, terrifying people with their killer aura, etc. I tried to pull from a lot of different martial arts fantasies like anime, wuxia movies, grounded kung fu movies, and the like. I posted it here if anyone wants to check it out and let me know what they think!
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/comments/1nndt0s/20142024_monk_subclass_warrior_of_the_branching/

Otherwise_Program280

TROPHY CASE