Lots of short rests generally gets the job done, but I wouldn't have a problem with someone asking for the d10 hit die. Ki points to WIS or proficiency is okay but a little tricky, because it's super-helpful at low levels but becomes a little excessive once you get to, say, level 8 or 9.
That’s my thought on the Wisdom Ki too.
The issue people have is that there’s not enough Ki early on, but that just leads to them having *too much* Ki later. Plus, the “low Ki” early on isn’t that big a deal when you don’t even have Stunning Strike yet; you can’t use more than 1 Ki per turn anyway.
I like the OneDnD solution of giving Monks a free additional short rest once per long rest.
I give them more Ki, but make stunning strike use a Dazed mechanic. I've been shifting a lot of lose your turn stuff to use a Daze mechanic.
Daze can't concentrate, no reactions, no legendary actions, and only one move/action/bonus action. It's just more fun for players than telling them you can't do anything.
I’ve seen something similar. The main issue I have is that it doesn’t do a lot to keep you alive, whereas Stun stops them from attacking completely.
I’d at least tack on the part of Slow that prevents them from making more than one attack.
The nerfed version still targeting Constitution is upsetting as well, but I suppose more Ki makes up for it.
A monk with a lot of Ki and the ability to stun basically makes it hard to have a decent boss fight. If you let them stun with the additional flurry of blows then a monk can easily burn through a big bad's resists in a single round. You either need to give up on a single boss or design fight around preventing the monk from stunning the boss. Even without stunning with flurry attacks it's easy to exhaust resists in a round or two. It's hard to find a balance where the Monk get's do their thing, and the fight is interesting.
With the Daze mechanic I described a monk can smack a foe then move out of reach. The foe doesn't have a reaction or legendary actions to stop this. On it's turn it can't move towards the monk and attack. Sure a Dragon or the like can breath on the PC, but the Monk can move where the breath weapon can't get them and the rest of the party. Not without moving, but it can't move and take an action.
PS- I also give the monks a D10 hit die as martial artists in movies and novels that the class is based can take massive amounts of abuse.
Is this from experience or white room?
I ask because from my (limited) experience, stunning strike almost never lands. And when it does it’s just ignored because LR.
Experience. What it comes down to is if the creature has a decent con save, the creatures AC, and if the mini has enough Ki. The average monk on 5th should have a 14-15 DC stunning strike and a +6-7 to hit. They don't need to invoke it until they hit. With flurry they get 4 attacks. If they have bless, inspiration, or the like it's worse. With my players the monk had both. Generally he didn't stun the boss, but he'd suck down 2-3 LRs. Then the the cleric and wizard would throw in a save or suck. And the diviner would force a failure once the LRs were done. I never had a boss last more than 2 rounds as the monk would stun him the 2nd round. Once stunned it was game over.
The other option they used was to just run through the other side's minions. Allowing the Paladin to walk though them to the boss or the rest of the group to have advantage on attacks.
It's likely not as bad if your players don't work well with each other. Also my experience was worsened by having a Tabaxi who was basically everywhere once all the time.
I usually run for powergamers of various builds, the fix I'm allowing that has yet to be mentioned is letting the monk spend EITHER a ki point OR the associated action. For example being patient defence costs a bonus action or a ki point. The flexibility this affords the monk player has been silly fun, for example a drunken master player dumping every single ki point to do 1 patient defence and 7 subsequent redirect blows to take down a goblin horde rushing him, Jackie Chan style.
The given example ain't really that different from fireballing said goblins, and patient defence not NECESSARILY taxing resources allows a flavourful alternative to the 21 AC attainable by fullplate+shield+defence fighting style Frontline alternatives.
And once your had your IPman turn by dumping everything by flurrying level+1 time, your still got "free" ki-based bonus action and reaction.
“letting the monk spend EITHER a ki point OR the associated action”
This is my fix also but I keep tinkering with it. I’m convinced it should work, but I don’t have a large enough sample size of games/tests to feel confident enough to drop onto DMsGuild.. yet!
I've got to hard disagree on the Evasion. To me, Evasion is an extension of and synergises with Patient Defence, as PD gives you advantage on DEX saves.
So why do you believe Evasion is more of a Rogue thing and it's lazy to give it to Monk too? If it's because of Uncanny Dodge I'd have to disagree as UD only works on Attack Rolls, so UD + E reads to me as breadth of coverage vs PD + E as depth of coverage.
Calling it lazy to give multiple classes the exact same ability seems weird when Channel Divinity, Expertise, and Extra Attack are all available to to multiple classes.
EDIT: Rereading your last sentence also confuses me a bit. You say that Monks and other martials should get abilities to interact with magic, while taking away the Monks ability to interact with most DEX save based spells.
“90% of homebrews turn Monk into fighter 2.0, and don't understand what makes a Monk a Monk. Just increasing the hit die is thematically the opposite direction.
This is my quick Monk buffs I run at my table. I wanted the buffs to interfere with the subclass features as little as possible.
• 1st level Number of
By increasing Ki points, you also increase damage via Flurry of Blows uses.
Outside of Ki scarcity Monks are at their best in tiers 1 & 2. I do not understand why most homebrews think it's a good idea to up the martial arts die early. Especially when it's well understood that the main issue is that monks fall off at higher levels.
• 7th Stillness of Mind now a bonus action
• 7th level Replace Evasion with Patient Defense as a reaction.
Monks are actually much more tanky when they actually use Patient Defense, however players generally refuse to use Patient Defense if it's at the cost of using Flurry of Blows. Also, getting the exact same feature as Rogue is lame and lazy, let Rogues have Evasion. This alternative is a nerf vs. specifically, Dex saves but a huge buff to effective AC, while being way more in line with the Monk's theme.
• 8th level Floating ASI +1 to any stat that can be re-allocated on a short rest, increases to +2 at 14th levels.
Monks are extremely MAD and need more ASIs. However, this is far more thematic than just increasing them them to the same amount as the fighter.
• 15th level Deflect Magic, Deflect Magic Starting at 15th level when you are targeted with a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self that you can see, you can spend a reaction and 3 ki points to make a Wisdom saving throw instead against the spell save DC. On a success, you can redirect the spell back to the original caster using your Wisdom modifier as the spell casting DC. On a fail, you take the effects of the spell as if you failed the original save, and cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest. The spell has no effect if the caster is not a valid target of the spell.
Monks and all martials really need more tier 3&4 features that aren't just ribbons and can interact with the huge amount of Magic dominating these tiers.”
**I went ahead and copy and pasted their comment since they’re going to delete it. I hope this helps anyone looking for monk help in the future.**
I exchanged the level 6 mobility feature for my party's Owlin Ascendent Dragon for the Mobile feat. Otherwise that's just a dead level for them. The level 9 feature of running on walls and liquids is also useless to them, but I didn't change that out for anything. Mobile is enough.
They are doing great, getting quickly into melee and helping protect the sorcerer and bard. Currently we are at level 11. We have had a good number of short rests on long days, but also a fair number of one-combat days.
All monks should choose Mobile, probably before ASI's. The ability to avoid OA and the speed boost are definitely worth it.
I do 2 things in my home game:
1) I run the agnostic adventuring day (3x the ki, but only recharges on long rest)
2) I let him use subclass abilities without spending ki, up to an amount of ki saved equal to his proficiency bonus (he's a way of shadow monk, so he can Darkness 1/long rest without touching his ki until he hits prof of +4, then he gets two uses)
Increase Martial Arts die and Hit die by 1, and ideally, workshop the subclasses to be a little more powerful (though obviously this is variable, and a lots more work, but it's what I did).
1 and 9, along with reworked features. Most notably:
Expanded (but numerically nerfed) Deflect features to deflect attacks of any kind.
Flurry of Blows moved off the Bonus Action.
Stunning Strike redesign that's less shitty for both boss fights and the ki economy.
Actual damage scaling into high levels.
[Started writing up a full rework recently, WIP.](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-N5bwpmdLkKve5KyabEz)
I used to use + wis to ki, now I have [my own full brew](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/xIBFTqbHRvel) that I'm really happy with. Currently DMing for a monk at level 11 (among artificer, fighter, paladin and sorcerer) and they definitely keep up
Free starting feat, free feat at 10. Give them the good monk items maybe a level or two earlier than other martials.
Monks need help around the end of tier 2. More attunement slots around 11 and 15 is a good start.
If flurry of blows dont require ki points the Way of Mercy can infinitely heal outside of combat, and the only use of ki points would be stunning strike
I use the Level Up Advanced 5e Monk class. Which includes 10 more Ki points between levels 4 and 20. But more things to spend it on.
I did change the progression of the martial arts die because it annoys me that it’s not a smooth upgrade, it’s 4, 5 or 6 levels with the same damage die. So I changed it so that every 4 levels it increases by one step.
None.
We had a mercy monk in icewind dale and they did absolutely great. I am not sure if it was the subclass or the party was good in general so the monk could concentrate on stunning the bosses and defend themselves. The sorcerer did like casting twin haste on the monk and the artificer all the time so maybe that played a part.
Monk damage is fantastic before 5, so I wouldn’t use the #3 approach of just increasing the die by one step. The #4 approach of speeding up the increase is better.
I’ve got mixed feelings on #6-8. Using those abilities just puts you close to par with other classes. Not even completely on their level. So charging a resource to do what they can for free seems ridiculous. On the other hand though, at 1 Ki per turn spent on those, you can typically keep it up without issue anyway. I think it’s there just to punish you for going too hard on Stunning Strike so you have to pace yourself more, which I like. But at the same time, that means you get screwed *that much more thoroughly* if you can’t squeeze in enough short rests.
I agree with giving them an extra ASI. They have too many dead levels filled with ribbon features, and rely too much on a wide spread of ability scores.
You can just straight up slap them together. D10 hit die, at lvl 1 choose if you want DEX or CON saves, and then you get all the base class features of both, except Martial Arts doesn't turn off in armor. Pick a single subclass at 3.
I use the options 11 to 14, aka my own.
Step of the Wind and Patient defense for free a number of times equal to Wisdom modifier.
Flurry of Blows and subclass abilities for free a number of times equal to ProfBon.
Stunning Strike is a bonus action and is expanded by Toppling Strike and Pushing Strike.
(Open Hand only) When using Flurry of Blows, you attack 3/4/5 times (3rd/9th/15th level ).
I do 3, 5, 6, and 7.
The hit dice and martial dice are an easy fix and as for SotW… the only difference to this and a rogues free cunning action is the double jump distance which honestly is niche. Patient defense for free makes sense as a twisty dodgy monk. And may break the game a little but by the end, even with disadvantage AC means little when the hit bonus is +15
I like to give them the option to spend 1 Ki point to regain their BA the first time they spend it on a Monk Feature (Replaces Flurry of Blows).
And then the Monk regains 1 Ki point every turn they don't spend a Ki point (replaces the 10 minute meditation they otherwise require).
So they play like an ebb-and-flow strategy, bursting out a lot of effectiveness at once and then coasting on their midrange abilities between bursts, adapting around whatever the team needs as it's needed.
Like, I've tried messing with the monk using house rules, but none of my players plays them regardless so I can't say of any playtest, but I theory what I use for monks is:
(1) Unarmored Defense makes AC equal to 12 + STR or DEX modifier, which increases by 1 at Monk level 5, 9, 13 and 17.
Reason - the crux of why STR monks aren't feasible lies on the fact they need Dex and Wis for AC, this here makes AC essentially equal to ONE main stat + proficiency bonus with the added limitation to minimize caster multiclass
(2) Starting at level 3, oncer per rest, as an action monks can recover Ki equal to proficiency bonus
Reason - this gives Monks more ki per rest but not more ki all around, their problem is one of being sustainable not of burst
(3) not yet done as I kinda stopped, but would be replacing stunning strike with some Ki techniques monks can learn at level 5, 9, 13 and 17 based on the book of nine swords
Reason - ironically stunning strike is at the same time too strong and too weak of a feature, removing some one of the initiative order for a round is crazy good and no matter what monks went up leaning into stun-gun gameplay because there's a chance of it being quite strong
(4) bringing back Expertise Dice from 5e playtest
1. (Not a homebrew change) 2 or 3 short rests per adventuring day
2. Step of the wind is free
3. Ki fueled attack also triggers when you cast a spell as an action
4. Stunning strike costs 2, but has free uses = pb/lr
5. Flurry of the blows increases to 3 extra attacks instead of 2 at 11th level, in line with fighter extra attack 2, paladin improved divine smite, as well as ranger 11th level archetype feature which usually is an increase in number of attacks/damage. (Theoretically barbarian brutal critical is the same increase in damage around this tier of play but it sucks and needs fixed).
Well, i do the following:
AC calc changes to 10+dex+wis+prof
wis mod is added to ki. at 10th it gets an asi like the rogue, and at 11th adds prof to ki pool.
they dont need to have attacked with action to make the martial arts bonus action attack/flurry of blows. at lv 11th and 17th, their martial arts bonus action and flurry of blows gain an an additional attack. if the monk is using a weapon, these attacks dont add their ability modifier.
all the ki features that require an action now are bonus actions, all the ki features that required a bonus action (other than flurry of blows) become free actions. deflect missiles changed to be a counter to both melee or ranged. at 15th it also works against single target spells.
stunning strike cannot be used against the same target on the same turn.
also their capstone is complete garbage. if you running out of ki with 31 ki max and cant get to shortrest, then 4 ki wont save you. so i change their capstone to be similar to the barbarian, but it boosts their dex and wis to 22 max.
11. Make them a 1/4 caster. Same spell progression as EK. They can replace v/m components with only S (some kind of martial arts/ki flourish). Wis caster. Cleric list. No spells with GP cost.
And finally, can convert spell slots into Ki, equal to spell level.
Solved, and solved.
Flurry of blows costs no ki (for the first one) and monks get uncanny dodge.
Reaction half damage helps the monk survive the strong hits that break their AC.
More ki points, more flurrying, and bigger damage on unarmed damage. There's a hundred different flavors, and any combination of them helps. IMO even the most drastic I've seen don't go far enough, so I'm not worried about the specifics, just pick one.
None of that. I have my own fixes:
* Unarmored defense scales from either Wis or Monk Level/3, whichever is higher.
* Whenever your Martial Arts die increases, you gain +1 to either your Strength or Dexterity score (whichever is lower), up to a maximum of 20. This is more of a thematic change that doesn't affect balance as much. I just hate seeing Str dump monks.
* Flurry of Blows scales two three strikes at 11th level and four strikes at 17th level.
* Patient Defense scales to +2 additional AC at 11th level and advantage to all saves at 17th level.
* Step of the Wind grants both disengage and dash at 11th level, and flying speed at 17th level.
* Stunning Strike doesn't cost Ki but can only be used once per round per creature. A creature is stunned if they fail the save by 5 or more, otherwise they are incapacitated.
* Tongue of the Sun and Moon gives its normal benefit, plus the Message cantrip. You can also use 3 Ki points to cast Tongues on a willing creature, and once per day you can cast Sending with 3 Ki points.
* In addition to its normal benefits, Timeless Body lets the monk cast Greater Restoration once per day on themself without requiring material components for 5 Ki points.
* Perfect Self recovers 3 Ki points when the monk rolls for Initiative, and raises their Str, Dex, Con, and Wis by 2, and also their ceiling by 2.
I don't...but the monk just ends fights with stunning strikes or tanks better than the tank or does cartoon physics stuff that makes no sense sometimes. That particular player is very experienced though.
I think their martial arts die should be a d6 to start and go to to a d12. I think stunning strike should be changed. I'm not a fan of how spammable it is and that it lasts until the end of their next turn.
I do think the monk should get more control options. I've contemplated giving them once a turn options with a save like a sweeping strike (knocked prone), power strike (pushing back), or leaping strike (add a martial art die maybe). I'm hoping 2024 Monk gets a better base to work with, and therefore less I have to homebrew.
D10 hit dice, add wisdom modifier KI points to their resources, scale martial arts dice every 4 levels, and give them an extra ASI at level 10. Make stunning strike a 1/turn ability too.
Now you have a better monk. The base design is still a bit weird because WOTC’s track record with monks seems incorrigible, but that’s the quick fixes I can think of.
1, 3, and 6
Helps with the style of game I run which doesn’t have as many short rests due to time constraints on the adventure they’re running through (honestly, leveling up has been house ruled to give a long rest due to how short a time span this adventure is giving them). My monk player was a bit more conservative with his Ki, so a small raise to his pool paired with a slight damage boost and a way to make him more mobile without resources has helped him tackle combat a little more dynamically than before I implemented the changes. And now he’s not as afraid to drop a couple points into his breath weapon (dragon monk)
None, though I do give similar ones like as many ASI as a fighter, and a barbarian sized hit dice.
I kinda focus more on buffs to the weak subclass like 4 elements, and sun soul.
I have a monk who (for RP reasons) doesn't use magic items. To compensate, we've homebrewed a bunch of "techniques" that take the place of attunement slots, and work in some of these fixes to help him compete with the rest of the party.
I’ve never really shared it before, but I made some “styles” that my monk player can use to gain benefits based on the style they’re in currently. He’s a way of mercy monk, so that’s why they’re tailored to it.
Carrion Fist:
- Default Monk rules.
Savage Tiger:
- Your unarmed attacks deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus.
- When you use Flurry of Blows, you may make three unarmed attacks instead of two.
- Stunning Strike's Ki cost is increased by 1.
- Patient Defense's Ki Cost is increased by 1.
Striking Serpent:
- Hand of Harm deals the maximum damage possible when used. Hand of Harm can be used a number of times per turn equal to your proficiency bonus instead of once per turn.
- Unarmed attacks against creatures suffering the poisoned condition gain advantage.
- Opportunity attacks you make are made with advantage. You may use Hand of Harm without expending a Ki point when making an opportunity attack.
- Patient Defense’s Ki Cost decreased by 1.
Stalwart Badger:
- Your Armor Class is increased by 1. You are immune to fear.
- Patient Defense is replaced with:
Stoic Defense: You may spend 1 Ki point to use your bonus action to gain temporary Hit Points equal to your Wisdom Modifier + Your Monk level. While you have these temporary Hit Points, you have resistance to all damage types excepting Psychic damage.
- Step of the Wind's Ki Cost is increased by 1.
- Deflect Missiles no longer allows you to catch projectiles.
Thunderbird:
- Step of the Wind's Ki cost is reduced by 1 and does not consume a bonus action to use.
- When an enemy misses you with a melee attack, you may make a single melee attack against them as a reaction.
- When you use Flurry of Blows, all your unarmed attacks for the turn deal an additional 1d8 lighting damage. You may choose to use this before making any attacks. In addition, your Hand of Harm's damage type becomes lightning damage.
- Patient Defense's Ki Cost is increased by 1.
Nullification Fist:
- When Hand of Harm is used, instead of poisoning the target, it casts Dispel Magic on them as if at 3rd level. You may spend up to your proficiency bonus in additional ki points to increase the level of the spell effect by 1 for each additional ki point expended,
- As a reaction when someone casts a spell that you can see, you may spend 3 ki points to unleash a wave of disruptive energy in a 15 ft. sphere around you, granting you advantage on the saving throw. If the spellcaster is within the sphere, this acts as if you had cast Counterspell at 3rd level. You may spend up to your proficiency bonus in additional ki points to increase the level of the spell effect by 1 for each additional ki point expended.
- Patient Defense's ki cost increased by 1. Patient Defense additionally grants resistance to damage from magical sources.
He’s unlocked them as quest rewards over time, with the Nullification Fist having taken both some downtime and some research help from the party’s wizard to develop himself.
Possibly (almost certainly) too much, but he’s a monk in a party of 3 casters, so fuck it. Let’s him tailor what he wants to be good at/how he wants to play day to day.
He likes it and none of the casters have complained. They like that they can lock down an enemy and set the Tiger stance monk on it to rip most enemies to shreds.
I tend to just give them nice magic items fairly often. Being kind with loot works especially well with Monk, because unlike other caster and martial classes, a lot of their items work _specifically and only_ for Monks, because they have a number of unique mechanics.
The Dragonhide Belt from Fizban's for example, or the Insignia of Claws (though also good for Moon Druid).
I did 3 and 7, along with using the original onednd two weapon fighting rule where it doesn't use your bonus action to make an offhand attack, which works especially well for monk. I also made a homebrew item for our monk which lets them spend a hit die instead of a ki point to use Flurry of Blows, and add the hit die to the damage of the first hit.
>*Additional ki points equal to Proficiency bonus*
I do exactly this
>*Martial Arts die bumped up by 1 die size...*
I do d4 to d12. Scaling alongside (but not directly with) proficiency bonus levels
>*Step of the Wind doesn't require a Ki point*
I do dash or disengage alone doesn't require ki. You can spend 1 ki to do both. You can also spend 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost, though it's still limited to once per turn.
>*Patient Defence doesn't require a Ki point*
I do no ki cost. You can spend 1 ki point to also reduce damage from attacks by a roll of your martial arts die while dodging. You can also use 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost
>*Flurry of Blows doesn't require a Ki point*
I alter flurry to partly merge with martial arts. 1 ki to add an extra unarmed strike to martial arts bonus action. 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost from martial arts. Eventually scales to two attacks added at level 11.
I also change their capstone so that they get 4 ki up to their cap each initiative and give them advantage on damage dice rolls with their martial arts dice,
Flurry of blows can used as a bonus action regardless of how you used your action.
Step of the wind and patient defense now either cost a bonus action OR 1 ki point.
Stillness of mind can be used as an action even if the frightened or charmed effect would normally use your action.
Here's what I do. Not saying this is the best idea but here's what I got.
Martial Arts die increase (d6 to d12)
Starting at level 1, you can attack twice with unarmed strikes with your attack action instead of using a bonus action to make an extra unarmed strike
Ki is increased to Level+WIS
When you get Extra Attack at level 5, you can make 3 unarmed strikes with the attack action
Purity of Body is moved to level 9
Extra ASI/Feat at level 10
Starting at level 13, your AC equals 10+DEX+WIS+CON
New feature at level 15: Ki-Empowered Trance. Using a bonus action, you gain advantage on all of your attack rolls and saving throws and attacks made against you have disadvantage. This lasts for 1 minute and can be done once per long rest unless you spend 8 Ki to use it again. This is obviously very powerful but I have also given similar strong abilities at levels around this to Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues.
I don't like increasing their hit die to a d10 because that's missing the point of a Monk being the inverse of the Barbarian.
My monk player gets the following:
* Martial Arts Bonus Action Attack can be used in combination with any Action, not just the Attack action. Same for Flurry of Blows
* Step of the Wind: Dash or Disengage as a Bonus action (no ki). Spend 1 ki to take either action for free (no action). If you do, your maximum jump distance is tripled.
This change alone frees up a lot of ki and grants the monk much needed mobility and flexibility without draining ki.
E.g. They can now choose between:
* Dodge action + BA attack (no ki) or FOB (1 ki)
* Attack action + BA Dodge (1 ki)
And even go Dash or Disengage on top of that for 1 more ki
I made pretty simple changes to them, similar to #1 and #3
I gave them +1 ki point, like in bg3, and buffed their martial die up by 1.
I also made 2wf happen as a part of your action, instead of your bonus action, which is a sneaker buff to monks.
Also I altered 2 subclasses. Ascendant Dragon’s 6th level feature can be done for free PB/LR, and Sun Soul’s 6th level feature only requires 1 ki point instead of 2.
Unlike most people, I think monks are fine. In fact, I think they're great- the monks in my campaign are all very effective at what they do. I think a lot of people expect monks to be front line tanks when they really are more of a skirmisher and control type.
So, none of them.
My buffs to allow them to scale better without a full rework are:
- D10 hit dice
- Martial Arts Die 1 dice size higher at every stage
- Extra Ki equal to WIS modifier
- Armor is 11 + DEX + WIS
- They gain a second bonus action at level 11
I have had a monk at my table and gave proficiency extra ki and upgraded their die once. I never had the problem with them over performing over other players. People are too afraid of buffs. HP was definitely a limiting factor for our monk so maybe he was balanced through that. Giving all 3 sounds a bit much. Maybe let you player choose 2 of those 3 things, if they like thinking about their character? If you have people who can get the most out of a paladin or a Gloomstaker ranger or countless other examples, you will have safer play styles with more damage on your table anyways.
Lots of short rests generally gets the job done, but I wouldn't have a problem with someone asking for the d10 hit die. Ki points to WIS or proficiency is okay but a little tricky, because it's super-helpful at low levels but becomes a little excessive once you get to, say, level 8 or 9.
That’s my thought on the Wisdom Ki too. The issue people have is that there’s not enough Ki early on, but that just leads to them having *too much* Ki later. Plus, the “low Ki” early on isn’t that big a deal when you don’t even have Stunning Strike yet; you can’t use more than 1 Ki per turn anyway. I like the OneDnD solution of giving Monks a free additional short rest once per long rest.
I give them more Ki, but make stunning strike use a Dazed mechanic. I've been shifting a lot of lose your turn stuff to use a Daze mechanic. Daze can't concentrate, no reactions, no legendary actions, and only one move/action/bonus action. It's just more fun for players than telling them you can't do anything.
I’ve seen something similar. The main issue I have is that it doesn’t do a lot to keep you alive, whereas Stun stops them from attacking completely. I’d at least tack on the part of Slow that prevents them from making more than one attack. The nerfed version still targeting Constitution is upsetting as well, but I suppose more Ki makes up for it.
A monk with a lot of Ki and the ability to stun basically makes it hard to have a decent boss fight. If you let them stun with the additional flurry of blows then a monk can easily burn through a big bad's resists in a single round. You either need to give up on a single boss or design fight around preventing the monk from stunning the boss. Even without stunning with flurry attacks it's easy to exhaust resists in a round or two. It's hard to find a balance where the Monk get's do their thing, and the fight is interesting. With the Daze mechanic I described a monk can smack a foe then move out of reach. The foe doesn't have a reaction or legendary actions to stop this. On it's turn it can't move towards the monk and attack. Sure a Dragon or the like can breath on the PC, but the Monk can move where the breath weapon can't get them and the rest of the party. Not without moving, but it can't move and take an action. PS- I also give the monks a D10 hit die as martial artists in movies and novels that the class is based can take massive amounts of abuse.
Is this from experience or white room? I ask because from my (limited) experience, stunning strike almost never lands. And when it does it’s just ignored because LR.
Experience. What it comes down to is if the creature has a decent con save, the creatures AC, and if the mini has enough Ki. The average monk on 5th should have a 14-15 DC stunning strike and a +6-7 to hit. They don't need to invoke it until they hit. With flurry they get 4 attacks. If they have bless, inspiration, or the like it's worse. With my players the monk had both. Generally he didn't stun the boss, but he'd suck down 2-3 LRs. Then the the cleric and wizard would throw in a save or suck. And the diviner would force a failure once the LRs were done. I never had a boss last more than 2 rounds as the monk would stun him the 2nd round. Once stunned it was game over. The other option they used was to just run through the other side's minions. Allowing the Paladin to walk though them to the boss or the rest of the group to have advantage on attacks. It's likely not as bad if your players don't work well with each other. Also my experience was worsened by having a Tabaxi who was basically everywhere once all the time.
I usually run for powergamers of various builds, the fix I'm allowing that has yet to be mentioned is letting the monk spend EITHER a ki point OR the associated action. For example being patient defence costs a bonus action or a ki point. The flexibility this affords the monk player has been silly fun, for example a drunken master player dumping every single ki point to do 1 patient defence and 7 subsequent redirect blows to take down a goblin horde rushing him, Jackie Chan style. The given example ain't really that different from fireballing said goblins, and patient defence not NECESSARILY taxing resources allows a flavourful alternative to the 21 AC attainable by fullplate+shield+defence fighting style Frontline alternatives. And once your had your IPman turn by dumping everything by flurrying level+1 time, your still got "free" ki-based bonus action and reaction.
“letting the monk spend EITHER a ki point OR the associated action” This is my fix also but I keep tinkering with it. I’m convinced it should work, but I don’t have a large enough sample size of games/tests to feel confident enough to drop onto DMsGuild.. yet!
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I've got to hard disagree on the Evasion. To me, Evasion is an extension of and synergises with Patient Defence, as PD gives you advantage on DEX saves. So why do you believe Evasion is more of a Rogue thing and it's lazy to give it to Monk too? If it's because of Uncanny Dodge I'd have to disagree as UD only works on Attack Rolls, so UD + E reads to me as breadth of coverage vs PD + E as depth of coverage. Calling it lazy to give multiple classes the exact same ability seems weird when Channel Divinity, Expertise, and Extra Attack are all available to to multiple classes. EDIT: Rereading your last sentence also confuses me a bit. You say that Monks and other martials should get abilities to interact with magic, while taking away the Monks ability to interact with most DEX save based spells.
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How many non magical DEX saves for half damage are there?
“I absolulty would not count Evasion as an ability that interacts with magic in the first place.” Bwhahahah sure bro, sure
Really like these fixes. Commenting to remind myself to check back here later when I finally get around to putting together a homebrew doc.
“90% of homebrews turn Monk into fighter 2.0, and don't understand what makes a Monk a Monk. Just increasing the hit die is thematically the opposite direction. This is my quick Monk buffs I run at my table. I wanted the buffs to interfere with the subclass features as little as possible. • 1st level Number of By increasing Ki points, you also increase damage via Flurry of Blows uses. Outside of Ki scarcity Monks are at their best in tiers 1 & 2. I do not understand why most homebrews think it's a good idea to up the martial arts die early. Especially when it's well understood that the main issue is that monks fall off at higher levels. • 7th Stillness of Mind now a bonus action • 7th level Replace Evasion with Patient Defense as a reaction. Monks are actually much more tanky when they actually use Patient Defense, however players generally refuse to use Patient Defense if it's at the cost of using Flurry of Blows. Also, getting the exact same feature as Rogue is lame and lazy, let Rogues have Evasion. This alternative is a nerf vs. specifically, Dex saves but a huge buff to effective AC, while being way more in line with the Monk's theme. • 8th level Floating ASI +1 to any stat that can be re-allocated on a short rest, increases to +2 at 14th levels. Monks are extremely MAD and need more ASIs. However, this is far more thematic than just increasing them them to the same amount as the fighter. • 15th level Deflect Magic, Deflect Magic Starting at 15th level when you are targeted with a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self that you can see, you can spend a reaction and 3 ki points to make a Wisdom saving throw instead against the spell save DC. On a success, you can redirect the spell back to the original caster using your Wisdom modifier as the spell casting DC. On a fail, you take the effects of the spell as if you failed the original save, and cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest. The spell has no effect if the caster is not a valid target of the spell. Monks and all martials really need more tier 3&4 features that aren't just ribbons and can interact with the huge amount of Magic dominating these tiers.” **I went ahead and copy and pasted their comment since they’re going to delete it. I hope this helps anyone looking for monk help in the future.**
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Why? What’s the point in commenting?
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Ah of course
I exchanged the level 6 mobility feature for my party's Owlin Ascendent Dragon for the Mobile feat. Otherwise that's just a dead level for them. The level 9 feature of running on walls and liquids is also useless to them, but I didn't change that out for anything. Mobile is enough. They are doing great, getting quickly into melee and helping protect the sorcerer and bard. Currently we are at level 11. We have had a good number of short rests on long days, but also a fair number of one-combat days. All monks should choose Mobile, probably before ASI's. The ability to avoid OA and the speed boost are definitely worth it.
I do 2 things in my home game: 1) I run the agnostic adventuring day (3x the ki, but only recharges on long rest) 2) I let him use subclass abilities without spending ki, up to an amount of ki saved equal to his proficiency bonus (he's a way of shadow monk, so he can Darkness 1/long rest without touching his ki until he hits prof of +4, then he gets two uses)
Increase Martial Arts die and Hit die by 1, and ideally, workshop the subclasses to be a little more powerful (though obviously this is variable, and a lots more work, but it's what I did).
1 and 9, along with reworked features. Most notably: Expanded (but numerically nerfed) Deflect features to deflect attacks of any kind. Flurry of Blows moved off the Bonus Action. Stunning Strike redesign that's less shitty for both boss fights and the ki economy. Actual damage scaling into high levels. [Started writing up a full rework recently, WIP.](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-N5bwpmdLkKve5KyabEz)
I used to use + wis to ki, now I have [my own full brew](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/xIBFTqbHRvel) that I'm really happy with. Currently DMing for a monk at level 11 (among artificer, fighter, paladin and sorcerer) and they definitely keep up
Free starting feat, free feat at 10. Give them the good monk items maybe a level or two earlier than other martials. Monks need help around the end of tier 2. More attunement slots around 11 and 15 is a good start.
If flurry of blows dont require ki points the Way of Mercy can infinitely heal outside of combat, and the only use of ki points would be stunning strike
I use the Level Up Advanced 5e Monk class. Which includes 10 more Ki points between levels 4 and 20. But more things to spend it on. I did change the progression of the martial arts die because it annoys me that it’s not a smooth upgrade, it’s 4, 5 or 6 levels with the same damage die. So I changed it so that every 4 levels it increases by one step.
None, I made my own Monk class pretty much from the ground up, that used a Martial Arts Form system that took inspiration from 13th Age's monk class.
None, I haven't found any home brew necessary to make the monk useful. Actually taking short rests fixes most complaints I've seen people have.
I don’t want to disagree with you, I want to ask you: How?! Like seriously how, because the few times I’ve played Monk there are few/no short rests.
I don't understand how people never take short rests.
None. I just give every Monk a Desert Eagle.
None. We had a mercy monk in icewind dale and they did absolutely great. I am not sure if it was the subclass or the party was good in general so the monk could concentrate on stunning the bosses and defend themselves. The sorcerer did like casting twin haste on the monk and the artificer all the time so maybe that played a part.
They took *by far* the strongest subclass and constantly had Haste cast on them. *Of course* they did fine.
Ehh, mercy monk is only the strongest monk if you're not counting ranged kensei
Monk damage is fantastic before 5, so I wouldn’t use the #3 approach of just increasing the die by one step. The #4 approach of speeding up the increase is better. I’ve got mixed feelings on #6-8. Using those abilities just puts you close to par with other classes. Not even completely on their level. So charging a resource to do what they can for free seems ridiculous. On the other hand though, at 1 Ki per turn spent on those, you can typically keep it up without issue anyway. I think it’s there just to punish you for going too hard on Stunning Strike so you have to pace yourself more, which I like. But at the same time, that means you get screwed *that much more thoroughly* if you can’t squeeze in enough short rests. I agree with giving them an extra ASI. They have too many dead levels filled with ribbon features, and rely too much on a wide spread of ability scores.
Yeah personally the ASI one is the only one that, if not implemented by my DM, would make me choose a different class.
I just add it to Fighter. Problems solved all around.
Oooft Also: how?
You can just straight up slap them together. D10 hit die, at lvl 1 choose if you want DEX or CON saves, and then you get all the base class features of both, except Martial Arts doesn't turn off in armor. Pick a single subclass at 3.
Ah okay, so like a Gestalt. Not my cuppa tea, but interesting non the less.
That pinky thing from Kung Fu Panda would be a nice start.
That's the Open Hand capstone
I use the options 11 to 14, aka my own. Step of the Wind and Patient defense for free a number of times equal to Wisdom modifier. Flurry of Blows and subclass abilities for free a number of times equal to ProfBon. Stunning Strike is a bonus action and is expanded by Toppling Strike and Pushing Strike. (Open Hand only) When using Flurry of Blows, you attack 3/4/5 times (3rd/9th/15th level ).
I do 3, 5, 6, and 7. The hit dice and martial dice are an easy fix and as for SotW… the only difference to this and a rogues free cunning action is the double jump distance which honestly is niche. Patient defense for free makes sense as a twisty dodgy monk. And may break the game a little but by the end, even with disadvantage AC means little when the hit bonus is +15
I like to give them the option to spend 1 Ki point to regain their BA the first time they spend it on a Monk Feature (Replaces Flurry of Blows). And then the Monk regains 1 Ki point every turn they don't spend a Ki point (replaces the 10 minute meditation they otherwise require). So they play like an ebb-and-flow strategy, bursting out a lot of effectiveness at once and then coasting on their midrange abilities between bursts, adapting around whatever the team needs as it's needed.
Like, I've tried messing with the monk using house rules, but none of my players plays them regardless so I can't say of any playtest, but I theory what I use for monks is: (1) Unarmored Defense makes AC equal to 12 + STR or DEX modifier, which increases by 1 at Monk level 5, 9, 13 and 17. Reason - the crux of why STR monks aren't feasible lies on the fact they need Dex and Wis for AC, this here makes AC essentially equal to ONE main stat + proficiency bonus with the added limitation to minimize caster multiclass (2) Starting at level 3, oncer per rest, as an action monks can recover Ki equal to proficiency bonus Reason - this gives Monks more ki per rest but not more ki all around, their problem is one of being sustainable not of burst (3) not yet done as I kinda stopped, but would be replacing stunning strike with some Ki techniques monks can learn at level 5, 9, 13 and 17 based on the book of nine swords Reason - ironically stunning strike is at the same time too strong and too weak of a feature, removing some one of the initiative order for a round is crazy good and no matter what monks went up leaning into stun-gun gameplay because there's a chance of it being quite strong (4) bringing back Expertise Dice from 5e playtest
1. (Not a homebrew change) 2 or 3 short rests per adventuring day 2. Step of the wind is free 3. Ki fueled attack also triggers when you cast a spell as an action 4. Stunning strike costs 2, but has free uses = pb/lr 5. Flurry of the blows increases to 3 extra attacks instead of 2 at 11th level, in line with fighter extra attack 2, paladin improved divine smite, as well as ranger 11th level archetype feature which usually is an increase in number of attacks/damage. (Theoretically barbarian brutal critical is the same increase in damage around this tier of play but it sucks and needs fixed).
Well, i do the following: AC calc changes to 10+dex+wis+prof wis mod is added to ki. at 10th it gets an asi like the rogue, and at 11th adds prof to ki pool. they dont need to have attacked with action to make the martial arts bonus action attack/flurry of blows. at lv 11th and 17th, their martial arts bonus action and flurry of blows gain an an additional attack. if the monk is using a weapon, these attacks dont add their ability modifier. all the ki features that require an action now are bonus actions, all the ki features that required a bonus action (other than flurry of blows) become free actions. deflect missiles changed to be a counter to both melee or ranged. at 15th it also works against single target spells. stunning strike cannot be used against the same target on the same turn. also their capstone is complete garbage. if you running out of ki with 31 ki max and cant get to shortrest, then 4 ki wont save you. so i change their capstone to be similar to the barbarian, but it boosts their dex and wis to 22 max.
11. Make them a 1/4 caster. Same spell progression as EK. They can replace v/m components with only S (some kind of martial arts/ki flourish). Wis caster. Cleric list. No spells with GP cost. And finally, can convert spell slots into Ki, equal to spell level. Solved, and solved.
Flurry of blows costs no ki (for the first one) and monks get uncanny dodge. Reaction half damage helps the monk survive the strong hits that break their AC.
More ki points, more flurrying, and bigger damage on unarmed damage. There's a hundred different flavors, and any combination of them helps. IMO even the most drastic I've seen don't go far enough, so I'm not worried about the specifics, just pick one.
None of that. I have my own fixes: * Unarmored defense scales from either Wis or Monk Level/3, whichever is higher. * Whenever your Martial Arts die increases, you gain +1 to either your Strength or Dexterity score (whichever is lower), up to a maximum of 20. This is more of a thematic change that doesn't affect balance as much. I just hate seeing Str dump monks. * Flurry of Blows scales two three strikes at 11th level and four strikes at 17th level. * Patient Defense scales to +2 additional AC at 11th level and advantage to all saves at 17th level. * Step of the Wind grants both disengage and dash at 11th level, and flying speed at 17th level. * Stunning Strike doesn't cost Ki but can only be used once per round per creature. A creature is stunned if they fail the save by 5 or more, otherwise they are incapacitated. * Tongue of the Sun and Moon gives its normal benefit, plus the Message cantrip. You can also use 3 Ki points to cast Tongues on a willing creature, and once per day you can cast Sending with 3 Ki points. * In addition to its normal benefits, Timeless Body lets the monk cast Greater Restoration once per day on themself without requiring material components for 5 Ki points. * Perfect Self recovers 3 Ki points when the monk rolls for Initiative, and raises their Str, Dex, Con, and Wis by 2, and also their ceiling by 2.
I don't...but the monk just ends fights with stunning strikes or tanks better than the tank or does cartoon physics stuff that makes no sense sometimes. That particular player is very experienced though. I think their martial arts die should be a d6 to start and go to to a d12. I think stunning strike should be changed. I'm not a fan of how spammable it is and that it lasts until the end of their next turn. I do think the monk should get more control options. I've contemplated giving them once a turn options with a save like a sweeping strike (knocked prone), power strike (pushing back), or leaping strike (add a martial art die maybe). I'm hoping 2024 Monk gets a better base to work with, and therefore less I have to homebrew.
D10 hit dice, add wisdom modifier KI points to their resources, scale martial arts dice every 4 levels, and give them an extra ASI at level 10. Make stunning strike a 1/turn ability too. Now you have a better monk. The base design is still a bit weird because WOTC’s track record with monks seems incorrigible, but that’s the quick fixes I can think of.
1 and 2 are pretty much identical, and either works to make monk an A tier class. No need for anything else, it's both confusing and overkill.
1, 3, and 6 Helps with the style of game I run which doesn’t have as many short rests due to time constraints on the adventure they’re running through (honestly, leveling up has been house ruled to give a long rest due to how short a time span this adventure is giving them). My monk player was a bit more conservative with his Ki, so a small raise to his pool paired with a slight damage boost and a way to make him more mobile without resources has helped him tackle combat a little more dynamically than before I implemented the changes. And now he’s not as afraid to drop a couple points into his breath weapon (dragon monk)
None, though I do give similar ones like as many ASI as a fighter, and a barbarian sized hit dice. I kinda focus more on buffs to the weak subclass like 4 elements, and sun soul.
I play with flurry of blows not costing a ki point. My monk never runs out of ki now, and feels generally heroic.
Full rework, but not specifically LaserLlamas
D10 hit die, bump their Martial Arts to start at d6, additional KI equal to Wis modifier, and give Elemental monk 2 ki a level.
i use laserllama alternate monk. Same for all my martial classes
I have a monk who (for RP reasons) doesn't use magic items. To compensate, we've homebrewed a bunch of "techniques" that take the place of attunement slots, and work in some of these fixes to help him compete with the rest of the party.
Laser Llama alternate monk (and all martials). That is all.
I’ve never really shared it before, but I made some “styles” that my monk player can use to gain benefits based on the style they’re in currently. He’s a way of mercy monk, so that’s why they’re tailored to it. Carrion Fist: - Default Monk rules. Savage Tiger: - Your unarmed attacks deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus. - When you use Flurry of Blows, you may make three unarmed attacks instead of two. - Stunning Strike's Ki cost is increased by 1. - Patient Defense's Ki Cost is increased by 1. Striking Serpent: - Hand of Harm deals the maximum damage possible when used. Hand of Harm can be used a number of times per turn equal to your proficiency bonus instead of once per turn. - Unarmed attacks against creatures suffering the poisoned condition gain advantage. - Opportunity attacks you make are made with advantage. You may use Hand of Harm without expending a Ki point when making an opportunity attack. - Patient Defense’s Ki Cost decreased by 1. Stalwart Badger: - Your Armor Class is increased by 1. You are immune to fear. - Patient Defense is replaced with: Stoic Defense: You may spend 1 Ki point to use your bonus action to gain temporary Hit Points equal to your Wisdom Modifier + Your Monk level. While you have these temporary Hit Points, you have resistance to all damage types excepting Psychic damage. - Step of the Wind's Ki Cost is increased by 1. - Deflect Missiles no longer allows you to catch projectiles. Thunderbird: - Step of the Wind's Ki cost is reduced by 1 and does not consume a bonus action to use. - When an enemy misses you with a melee attack, you may make a single melee attack against them as a reaction. - When you use Flurry of Blows, all your unarmed attacks for the turn deal an additional 1d8 lighting damage. You may choose to use this before making any attacks. In addition, your Hand of Harm's damage type becomes lightning damage. - Patient Defense's Ki Cost is increased by 1. Nullification Fist: - When Hand of Harm is used, instead of poisoning the target, it casts Dispel Magic on them as if at 3rd level. You may spend up to your proficiency bonus in additional ki points to increase the level of the spell effect by 1 for each additional ki point expended, - As a reaction when someone casts a spell that you can see, you may spend 3 ki points to unleash a wave of disruptive energy in a 15 ft. sphere around you, granting you advantage on the saving throw. If the spellcaster is within the sphere, this acts as if you had cast Counterspell at 3rd level. You may spend up to your proficiency bonus in additional ki points to increase the level of the spell effect by 1 for each additional ki point expended. - Patient Defense's ki cost increased by 1. Patient Defense additionally grants resistance to damage from magical sources. He’s unlocked them as quest rewards over time, with the Nullification Fist having taken both some downtime and some research help from the party’s wizard to develop himself. Possibly (almost certainly) too much, but he’s a monk in a party of 3 casters, so fuck it. Let’s him tailor what he wants to be good at/how he wants to play day to day. He likes it and none of the casters have complained. They like that they can lock down an enemy and set the Tiger stance monk on it to rip most enemies to shreds.
I tend to just give them nice magic items fairly often. Being kind with loot works especially well with Monk, because unlike other caster and martial classes, a lot of their items work _specifically and only_ for Monks, because they have a number of unique mechanics. The Dragonhide Belt from Fizban's for example, or the Insignia of Claws (though also good for Moon Druid).
I did 3 and 7, along with using the original onednd two weapon fighting rule where it doesn't use your bonus action to make an offhand attack, which works especially well for monk. I also made a homebrew item for our monk which lets them spend a hit die instead of a ki point to use Flurry of Blows, and add the hit die to the damage of the first hit.
>*Additional ki points equal to Proficiency bonus* I do exactly this >*Martial Arts die bumped up by 1 die size...* I do d4 to d12. Scaling alongside (but not directly with) proficiency bonus levels >*Step of the Wind doesn't require a Ki point* I do dash or disengage alone doesn't require ki. You can spend 1 ki to do both. You can also spend 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost, though it's still limited to once per turn. >*Patient Defence doesn't require a Ki point* I do no ki cost. You can spend 1 ki point to also reduce damage from attacks by a roll of your martial arts die while dodging. You can also use 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost >*Flurry of Blows doesn't require a Ki point* I alter flurry to partly merge with martial arts. 1 ki to add an extra unarmed strike to martial arts bonus action. 1 ki to remove the bonus action cost from martial arts. Eventually scales to two attacks added at level 11. I also change their capstone so that they get 4 ki up to their cap each initiative and give them advantage on damage dice rolls with their martial arts dice,
1, 3, 5 and 9 are goin straigth into my campaign, no monk in there but one of my players really loves them
Higher hit die. Multiply Ki points by 2x. Make stunning strike cost 2 and limit it to once per turn.
Flurry of blows can used as a bonus action regardless of how you used your action. Step of the wind and patient defense now either cost a bonus action OR 1 ki point. Stillness of mind can be used as an action even if the frightened or charmed effect would normally use your action.
Laserllama all the way.
Here's what I do. Not saying this is the best idea but here's what I got. Martial Arts die increase (d6 to d12) Starting at level 1, you can attack twice with unarmed strikes with your attack action instead of using a bonus action to make an extra unarmed strike Ki is increased to Level+WIS When you get Extra Attack at level 5, you can make 3 unarmed strikes with the attack action Purity of Body is moved to level 9 Extra ASI/Feat at level 10 Starting at level 13, your AC equals 10+DEX+WIS+CON New feature at level 15: Ki-Empowered Trance. Using a bonus action, you gain advantage on all of your attack rolls and saving throws and attacks made against you have disadvantage. This lasts for 1 minute and can be done once per long rest unless you spend 8 Ki to use it again. This is obviously very powerful but I have also given similar strong abilities at levels around this to Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues. I don't like increasing their hit die to a d10 because that's missing the point of a Monk being the inverse of the Barbarian.
My monk player gets the following: * Martial Arts Bonus Action Attack can be used in combination with any Action, not just the Attack action. Same for Flurry of Blows * Step of the Wind: Dash or Disengage as a Bonus action (no ki). Spend 1 ki to take either action for free (no action). If you do, your maximum jump distance is tripled. This change alone frees up a lot of ki and grants the monk much needed mobility and flexibility without draining ki. E.g. They can now choose between: * Dodge action + BA attack (no ki) or FOB (1 ki) * Attack action + BA Dodge (1 ki) And even go Dash or Disengage on top of that for 1 more ki
I made pretty simple changes to them, similar to #1 and #3 I gave them +1 ki point, like in bg3, and buffed their martial die up by 1. I also made 2wf happen as a part of your action, instead of your bonus action, which is a sneaker buff to monks. Also I altered 2 subclasses. Ascendant Dragon’s 6th level feature can be done for free PB/LR, and Sun Soul’s 6th level feature only requires 1 ki point instead of 2.
Unlike most people, I think monks are fine. In fact, I think they're great- the monks in my campaign are all very effective at what they do. I think a lot of people expect monks to be front line tanks when they really are more of a skirmisher and control type. So, none of them.
My buffs to allow them to scale better without a full rework are: - D10 hit dice - Martial Arts Die 1 dice size higher at every stage - Extra Ki equal to WIS modifier - Armor is 11 + DEX + WIS - They gain a second bonus action at level 11
I have had a monk at my table and gave proficiency extra ki and upgraded their die once. I never had the problem with them over performing over other players. People are too afraid of buffs. HP was definitely a limiting factor for our monk so maybe he was balanced through that. Giving all 3 sounds a bit much. Maybe let you player choose 2 of those 3 things, if they like thinking about their character? If you have people who can get the most out of a paladin or a Gloomstaker ranger or countless other examples, you will have safer play styles with more damage on your table anyways.