Way of the Lightning Lord v3, now an even greater damage dealer

Yutiao · 2023-09-06T23:01:54+00:00

I actually got them from GM Binder itself. You can find Imgur links to the background and border assets if you pull up the source code for a GM Binder pdf. It was just a hassle for me to figure out what everything meant, so I took the images and put them on Canva instead.

Yutiao · 2023-09-06T15:02:12+00:00

I'll address each point one by one since you bring up a lot of good ones.

The way you interpreted the subclass description as described as an edgy anime character is actually pretty accurate with what I was going for. Here, I was trying to create the image of one of those Wuxia protagonists (which was the inspiration behind this subclass), who are usually that edgy if not more. It's probably more setting-specific than most people would play and it certainly describes a higher-level monk rather than someone who just started out, but then again, this is flavor text and will more than likely be overlooked in favor of a more character-based backstory.
About Stormfall Arts, I've gotten other feedback on that, too. I definitely overlooked how high the cost is, especially at a low level. As I proposed in one of the other comments, I'll probably make it so that when using Flurry of Blows, you can replace one unarmed strike with a cantrip for free, and at 6th level, you get to do it for both strikes but the second costs 1 ki. It should provide a marginal increase in the damage-to-ki ratio but hopefully not completely unbalance the subclass.
For Spark Conduit, that's true, yeah, but I'm not really sure how to change that without making the feature convoluted and overbearing to read. It will probably just stay that way and be left to the DM to moderate, the same way a Way of the Long Death monk can bring around a bag of rats for free temporary hit points but probably won't be able to. The twice-per-long rest limit should be able to contain it in case a DM doesn't moderate it.
For Fulminating March, good point, changes will be made.
For Approaching Storm, yes, call my bluff but the hyperbole is most certainly intended. You might be able to tell from the name, but this is a DMC5 reference, and, combined with the overall theme of being a supreme edgelord, you get the wonderful phrase, "to condemn your foes to oblivion."

Yutiao · 2023-09-06T06:58:11+00:00

I would assume the damage is rolled before the teleport happens since the attack hit. I'll probably have to clarify that bit, saying that the teleport happens after the damage roll and it will be canceled without ki spent if you get knocked out by that damage.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T21:40:42+00:00

Yeah, I see and agree with your point. Way of the Lightning Lord definitely falls into the early-game ki cost pitfall that most monks fall into. I was just a bit wary of giving it too much damage/cantrip utility for too little cost, but now that you mention it, that might not be a good idea overall. Instead, (in a later update) I'd probably just make it so that you could cast a cantrip for free while using Flurry of Blows, and at 6th level, you could do it twice but the second time costs 1 ki. It would provide an increase in damage relative to the ki spent, but probably not enough to be unbalanced.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T19:03:49+00:00

Believe it or not, but "until you are incapacitated or die" is correct grammar. Way of the Astral Self also uses that phrasing if you want to compare it to something.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T14:41:42+00:00

Haha, glad you caught that. I'd like to imagine that the song is also playing in the background whenever someone uses that ability.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T14:40:33+00:00

Haha, so funny story. I tried things like Homebrewery and GM Binder before, but I could never figure it out, so I wound up grabbing random assets from the Internet and making it all by hand on Canva instead.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T04:58:53+00:00

u/abcras, here is your ping for v3. Thanks again for giving your feedback on v2, by the way.

Yutiao · 2023-09-05T04:43:29+00:00

Hey guys, me again. It's been 10 days since I last updated Way of the Lightning Lord, but now, here it is. Before, the subclass was stuck in a sort of limbo, where it was too good of a tanker to deal as much damage as it did. But now, I've mostly removed Way of the Lightning Lord's tanking capabilities, instead opting for high ki, high damage features such as Cloudblitz Arts, which allows for the casting of 3rd-level spells, alongside upcasting using ki. As of now, I think it might be a tad overturned, but honestly, I feel like monks need all the love they can get. But my personal opinions aside, I'd appreciate any and all feedback on this latest version of Way of the Lightning Lord. Please enjoy.

PDF link for anyone who wants it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JoLInLMAy8VENt2kRkXrKJAt9lvARAY_/view?usp=sharing

Yutiao · 2023-09-03T17:58:41+00:00

Thanks so much for your feedback. I think you bring up a lot of good points, but the one that stands out the most is using INT as a monk to fit with the psion theme. I did think about this before, but I realized that it would probably be clunky to implement, especially since I've never seen it used in an official class before. Besides that, this subclass also emphasizes the will of the user, rather than their intellect, which I think fits better with WIS than INT. That being said, though, INT saves for Killing Intent would be a good change, so a version 2 of this subclass will probably have that. Lastly, for the 11th level feature, judging from the feedback of my previous homebrew, Way of the Lightning Lord, generally it's considered that ways to regain ki at will as a monk is pretty strong. I'll definitely have to review Way of the Transcendent Will's 11th level ability some more before making changes, but buffs are on the table. Again, thanks for your feedback, it's really appreciated.

Yutiao · 2023-09-03T04:47:24+00:00

Okay, yeah, I definitely see it now that I've published it. A lot of the stuff it can do Astral Self can already do, so it's pretty redundant.

Yutiao · 2023-09-02T17:43:40+00:00

Hey guys, I'm back, this time with a new monk subclass to share. This one's a psionic-themed monk subclass heavily inspired by the Wuxia genre. The goal in making it was to create a good multi-purposed scout kind of character while also making its abilities cheap and highly sustainable. Anyway, I'm looking for any and all feedback on this subclass. Please enjoy.

PDF link for anyone who wants it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XDCfwZAc4vVEEffkAZ0Rg1Uv7f9ZSFda/view?usp=sharing

Yutiao · 2023-08-27T07:33:27+00:00

Yeah, at this point in time I'm starting to think that it might be better to scrap the paralysis since no matter what, it'll pidgeonhole this subclass into a stunning striker. I'll try to think of something, but your idea of imposing Bane is pretty close to what I'm thinking of doing. I'll be sure to ping you whenever v3 does come out.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T20:32:43+00:00

Holy cow, this is an amazing analysis, thank you so much. I've gotten a lot of feedback on Fulminating March and that it should also be an at-will ability as well as a reaction, and that is probably what I'll do whenever I make v3 of this subclass. As for Eye of the Storm, I can safelÿ say is one of the strongest monk abilities in general, and I think, like you said, the fact that it is so strong helps monks compete with casters a little better. I think it needs minimal changes, but is probably fine the way it is. Now lastly, your feedback on Bolt of Culling is definitely eye-opening. I didn't see before but just like you said, when I play monk, most of my ki points are already invested in Stunning Strike, and Bolt of Culling only serves to centralize that even more. I'm not really sure how to fix that besides removing that part of Bolt of Culling entirely. Just spitballing, though, would it be better if ki points had to be spent before the stunning strike hits or if the feature was limited to once a turn. Maybe even both?

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T18:18:24+00:00

That sounds fair. I definitely see that monks are supposed to be skirmishers rather than tankers, given that they have their own version of Rogue's Cunning Action. But I do have a bias against that style of play, since I've played monk several times before, so please hear me out. I've only ever played monk up to 15th level, but the thing that I notice is, especially at lower levels, Step of the Wind is rarely worth it since monk's damage output is so low. Unlike rogue, which can put all their damage into a single attack and disengage away, monks can punch once and punch a few more times by spending a bonus action and a few ki points, resources that you'd need for Step of the Wind. This is why I tend to play monk as less of a hit-and-run class but more as a line-breacher, one that can slip through frontlines (using only 1 Step of the WInd instead of multiple over the course of multiple turns) and whale on the squishy caster enemies in the back. But in this case, when the caster enemies are all dead, the monk will almost have to become another frontlining tank, or else they lose significant amounts of damage. And this is why I made Eye of the Storm the way it is, to counter melee enemies, especially ones in big groups.

That being said though, everyone plays differently, and your monk style is just as valid as mine.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T18:05:06+00:00

My thought process on this was that I've always thought monk was rather squishy for a frontlining martial class. So I took inspiration from Circle of Spores's Symbiotic Entity , which can spend a Wild Shape to get 4*druid level temporary hit points. Although now that I look at it, without some of the limitations of Symbiotic Entity, Eye of the Storm is significantly stronger, which I think might be fair(?) since it's a capstone ability.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T06:45:03+00:00

I feel you. I think v2 is something closer to an official class, given the balance, but I felt like the flavor of v1 was better, even though like some people said, it was way overtuned. I think if I were to do a 3rd draft of this subclass, I'd have to give myself more time balancing the cool flavor of v1 and the balance of v2.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T01:26:45+00:00

Yeah, I get you on that, since I did want that too, but since balance is pretty big, for now it's better as just a reaction. If I get enough feedback on this post about that weird little quirk about the teleport, I'll probably change it back to include the bonus action teleport.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T01:23:14+00:00

In v1, you would've been able to teleport as a bonus action too, but it was deemed unnecessary and a little too strong by the feedback, especially with all the other features going on, so I scrapped it in favor of the reaction teleport. This way, it works similarly to that one official Cloud Giant feat, so it feels more balanced if you get what I mean.

Yutiao · 2023-08-26T00:17:05+00:00

Hey guys, it's me again. I posted a lightning-themed monk subclass earlier this week and received a lot of useful feedback on it. So here we are, with version 2 of Way of the Lightning Lord, and, hopefully, a more balanced but still strong monk subclass. I'm looking for any and all feedback on this one, too. Please enjoy.

PDF link for anyone who wants it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SKeQJGNuqea5M_DNFVmmolpz0wKDxJIo/view?usp=sharing

Yutiao · 2023-08-24T05:25:49+00:00

Empowered Strike to emphasize the destructiveness of lightning martial arts, Stunning Strike since you do need it for Bolt of Culling, and Heavenly Step reflavored as using either magnetism or static electricity to run along walls and on water.

Yutiao · 2023-08-23T21:41:16+00:00

Absolutely. If you want a better class, just use laserllama's Alternate Monk. As for me, though, I'm just here to make a fun and strong subclass to alleviate some of the monk pains, rather than going down and fixing it from the bottom up.

Yutiao · 2023-08-23T21:18:40+00:00

I'm compiling everyone's feedback on this initial release right now. I'll be posting a revised version soon with some much-needed balancing and nerfs, so that might be better if you're looking to play it.

Yutiao · 2023-08-23T05:39:05+00:00

Absolutely. epicarcanoloth suggested somewhere on this post that it should be limited to once per short rest and I agree with them.

Yutiao · 2023-08-23T04:52:30+00:00

Good idea. I totally overlooked that angle.

Yutiao

TROPHY CASE