4
\$\begingroup\$

Looking for feedback on this monk subclass. I've gotten feedback from a couple people, but now I need broader feedback.

Way of the Mirage

Way of the Mirage monks are the desert oasis. They manipulate their ki to decieve and aid. The oasis may be hard to find but it recuperates those that find its serene waters.

Mirage Arts

Mirage monks have honed their ki to produce unqiue illusory effects as well as rejuvinating effects. At level 3, you gain access to the Mirage Arts list. You can prepare a number of mirage arts from the list equal to your wisdom modifier plus half your proficiency bonus after a long rest. Wisdom is your casting modifier for these arts. Some Mirage Arts allow you to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting. To cast one of these spells, you use its casting time and other rules, but you don't need to provide material components for it.

Additionally, you learn the minor illusion cantrip if you didn't know it already, and can use it as a bonus action

Once you reach 5th level in this class, you can spend additional ki points to increase the level of an mirage art spell that you cast, provided that the spell has an enhanced effect at a higher level, as sleep does. The spell's level increases by 1 for each additional ki point you spend. For example, if you are a 5th-level monk and use Forced Slumber to cast Sleep, you can spend 2 ki points to cast it as a 2nd-level spell (the discipline's base cost of 1 ki point plus 1).

The maximum number of ki points you can spend to cast a spell in this way (including its base ki point cost and any additional ki points you spend to increase its level) is determined by your monk level, as shown in the Spells and Ki Points table.

[Table is the same as Way of Four Elements]

Mirage Step

Mirage monks are rarely where they seem and that now extends to allies as well. At level 6, whenever you are hit with an attack, you can spend a reaction and 1 ki to add +5 to your AC. If this causes the attack to miss, you fade into a mirage and appear immediately at any space within 10 ft.

You can use this reaction on allies within 30ft.

Rejuvinating Deception

As an illusion disperses, the mirage monk utilizes the dispersed ki. At level 6, whenever one of your illusions ends in any way, you can immediately heal yourself or an ally within 30ft for 1d6 plus your wisdom modifier, or regain 2 ki. This can be used a number of times per long rest equal to your wisdom modifier.

Advanced Mirage

You've honed your abilities as a mirage monk. At level 11 you can now prepare 1 additional Mirage Art after a long rest. Mirage step now also work on dex saving throws. It can now add +5 to a dex save but only works if there is a space outside of the area of effect within 10ft of the target.

Master Mirage

You are everywhere and nowhere. You have become the eptome of mirage. You can now concentrate on 2 mirage arts at a time, and whenever someone touches one of your illusions, you can use a reaction and 2 ki points to force them to make an intelligence saving throw. On a fail, they are stunned until the end of their next turn.

Mirage Arts

Desert Glow

You can use the cantrip Light and Dancing lights

Dazzline Sun

You can spend 1 ki point to cast Color Spray

Silent Mirage

You can spend 1 ki to cast Silent Image

Travelers Disguise

You can spend 1 ki point to cast Disguise Self

Rejuvenating Waters

You can spend 1 ki point to cast Cure Wounds

Desert Gleam

You can spend 1 ki point to cast Faerie Fire

Forced Slumber

You can spend 1 ki point to cast Sleep

Fade Step

You can spend 2 ki point to cast Misty Step

Invisibility

You can spend 2 ki points to cast Invisibility

Nomads Hidden Pockets

You can spend 2 ki to cast Wristpocket

Mirage Blade

As a bonus action you can spend 2 ki points to turn your weapon invisible and create an illusory decoy weapon in its place. When you attack a creature with this weapon, they must make a wisdom save against your spell save dc. On a success they see though it and the attack is normal. If they fail, your first attack this turn has advantage. They can make this save only once per round. This art is a concentration up to 1 minute.

Calm Oasis

You can spend 2 ki points to cast Calm Emotions

Hazy Mirage

You can spend 2 ki points to cast Blur

Mirrored Mirage

You can spend 2 ki points to cast Mirror Image

Restful Oasis

Requires 5th Level

You can spend 3 ki points to cast Catnap

Tiny Oasis

Requires 5th Level

You can spend 3 ki points to cast Leomund's Tiny Hut. It will always resemble an oasis inside.

Major Mirage

Requires 5th Level

You can spend 3 ki points to cast Major Image

Oasis Feast

Requires 5th Level

You can spend 3 ki points to cast Create Food and Water

Endless Mirage

Requires 5th Level

As an action you can spend 3 ki points to activate this effect. It is concentration up to 1 minute. At the end of each of your turns roll a d20. On an 11 or higher you turn invisible and move 10ft. An illusion is placed on your original location. The Illusion lasts until your invisibility ends. Invisibility ends whenever you attack, cast a spell, or use a mirage art.

Hypnotic Mirage

Requires 5th Level

You can spend 3 ki to cast Hypnotic Pattern

Call of the Oasis

Requires 7th Level

As an action you can spend 4 ki points to create a mirage illusion within 60ft. Any enemy within 30 ft of it that can see it must make a wisdom saving throw against your spell save dc or be lured to the illusion. They may make the save again at the start of each of their turns. A lured creature must spend its turn moving towards the illusion. When the creature reaches the illusion the effect ends on them and they cannot be affected by the spell again for 1 hour. This Art is a concentration of up to 1 minute.

Greater Invisibility

Requires 7th Level

You can spend 4 ki to cast Greater Invisibility

Disguised Landscape

Requires 7th Level

You can spend 4 ki to cast Hallucinatory Terrain

Nomad's Step

Requires 9th Level

You can spend 5 ki to cast Far Step

Caravan's Disguise

Requires 9th Level

You can spend 5 ki to cast Seeming

Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$
6
  • \$\begingroup\$ It's for 5e. I wanna say 2014. Haven't read any of the new One DND stuff \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 4 at 17:00
  • 2
    \$\begingroup\$ We don’t do “looking for ideas” questions here, so I removed that part of the opening paragraph. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 4 at 17:13
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ "You can use this reaction on allies within 30ft." Does that mean you can add 5 to your AC when allies are hit? You can add 5 to allies AC when you are hit? You can add five to allies AC when allies are hit? Same questions for movement. If you can move allies in response to your, or their, being hit, do they need to be willing? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 4 at 17:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ I will be sure to make that more clear in the description. It is when an ally is hit you can add 5 to their AC and move them if they are willing. Good catch \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 4 at 18:42
  • 2
    \$\begingroup\$ Relevant FAQ on meta: How can I ask a good homebrew review question? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 4 at 19:50

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5
\$\begingroup\$

Not balanced

I'll use the Way of the Four Elements monk to compare, since this is the closest one functionally in giving you access to spells.

Firstly, this gives you massively more spell powers than the Four Elements (4E) monk. With 4E, you get what is essentially one cantrip (Elemental Attunement) and 1 additional "discipline" (ability to cast a spell or use a spell-like power) to pick at 3rd level. Over the course of your entire career, you get access to 3 more (at 6th, 11th, 17th level). In comparison, with your class, at 3rd level you get one of the best cantrips in Minor Illusion and you can cast it as a bonus action which is a major upgrade, and you get your Wisdom modifier plus half your proficiency bonus in additional "mirage arts" spells. You can expect this to be 3 from your wisdom mod, plus 1 more from proficiency bonus, so you get 4 spells at 3rd level. That is four times of what the 4E monk gets.

In addition, your class give some of the games best spells, or their near equivalents with your four other features - 2 at 6th, 1 at 11th and 1 at (I presume? your class doesn't say) 17th. Shield is in the running for one of the very best spells in the game, and you can use it on your allies nearby, and you get a free short range teleport thrown in, too? That alone is already way too good. There is a reason it is a Self spell for wizards. You can expect to have your Wisdom bonus move to +5, and your proficiency bonus will move to +6, so that by 17th level, you get access to effectively 12 spell effects, instead of 4 like the core rules 4E monk. That is still three times as many, on top of them being souped up versions of some of the best spells to begin with.

In additon, your "mirage arts" spells are undercosted in ki in comparison. The 4E monk has 2 first level spells (thunderwave and burning hands), and they cost 2 ki each to cast, not one point like your overpowered shield variant, sleep or other first level spells. Most other spells cost 1 ki more than the spell's level too (4 for fireball, fly etc.). In your list, nearly all of them cost only as many ki as the spells level, 1 ki point less. Especially for the level one spells they are twice as cheap.

You also have way more options to select from. The 4E monk has 16 disciplines (plus the cantrip), you have 26, 30 if one includes the four you get as you level in additon, 31 considering one of them gives you two cantrips, again nearly twice as many.

Master image in itself is broken. There is no feature in the game that allows you to concentrate on two spells at once, because that allows you to do two things at once that are so powerful that the design of the game only wants you to be able to maintain one, like being invisible smashing up foes with advantage using Greater Invisibility while negating multiple opponents actions with Hallucinatory Terrain.

So, lets sum up: you have multiple features that are too good by themselves, you have three to four times as many powers as the core class, that you can select from twice as many options, and they cost you less, in some cases half, to use too. This is egregiously unbalanced.

Note: The 4E monk is generally considered a weaker monk subclass, so you can go a bit stronger without it being unbalanced against stronger monk subclasses overall, but this is way more than just a bit. While you cannot just multiply the factors it is multiple times better than 4E, this is too far off the benchmark on the strong side.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
7
  • \$\begingroup\$ I agree that it's too strong. At level 6, this monk can cast two 3rd level spells per sort rest - the same as a warlock. When comparing to Four Elements, I think it's appropriate to mention that Four Elements is often viewed as the weakest subclass in the game, so a homebrew can be stronger than Four Elements and still be well balanced. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 5 at 10:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah I wasn't sure how to do the cost for mirage arts since four elements always seems to be called exceptionally weak. I can definitely change the costs. As for some of the features. The master mirage I thought was too strong but some of my buddies said no. But I had my suspicions so thanks for pointing that out. Would the mirage step be more balanced if I were to limit it to say, 3 times a long rest? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 5 at 11:30
  • 2
    \$\begingroup\$ @NobodytheHobgoblin This is fantastic feedback and well thought out. If you don't mind me asking, do you think it could be more balanced if I doubled all the mirage art ki costs, as well as removed the 11th and 17th level abilities entirety. In addition to increasing the cost of mirage step to 5 ki, and only once per short rest. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 5 at 12:48
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ @Hollow I wouldn't double all the costs, that would be way more expensive than the core rules. I’d probably increase the ki costs by 1, bring down the overpowered individual ones to what the normal spell does, drop the extra spells/features you have at 6/11/17 into the list of mirage options, cull that list of more borderline options to make it more manageable, closer to the number in the core class. Then if I wanted to increase power/versatility allow picking maybe two instead of one at each level, in addition to swapping out. Most play is lvl 1-11, so cutting the top end only does little. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 5 at 13:19
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, OP is granting all the spells at the level a Full Caster would have them, Whereas 4E Monk uses Monk Subclass progression, which clumps the spell levels at 3/6/11/17 which is a little worse than when Half-Casters would get access to those spells. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 6 at 0:46

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.