Monk starting with a d6 martial die feels better than a d4, at least

I want WotC to just finally admit that Barbarian and Monk need more ASIs. The capstone works for Barbarian because it fits the theme (bring back infinite rages btw), but for Monk it just stinks of having no ideas. They already know that Barbarian needs a shield for their AC because they have to invest in STR instead of DEX, they already know Barbarian needs advantage/bonuses to DEX saves, Acrobatics, Stealth, and Initiative. They know that Monk needs to use DEX for their weapon attacks because they have to invest in DEX instead of STR, they already know Monk needs BA Dash/Disengage, the ability to Deflect and apply Evasion to not just ranged but also melee and AoE damage, spending Ki/Discipline points to get Temporary HP/heal, have proficiency in all saves and resistance to all non-Force damage, all just to mitigate the fact their d8 Hit Dice won’t have CON investment due to needing WIS focus for AC/DC. All of that being said: I like a lot of these changes.

Barbarian: Regaining 1 Rage on SR really helps this martial class, it was super weird that their core class feature was tied to LR. Brutal Critical no longer being tied to 5% crits is great, and having pseudo maneuvers is nice too, though I’d honestly prefer it not require forgoing Reckless Attack’s Advantage to get the damage. On paper it effectively translates to: “Reckless Attack has a new option, instead of advantage, you get +1d10 damage for the same downside,” and I’m not sure that feels like a good trade. If they’re scared of GWM (which is surprising since lmao caster ASI progression) just have it apply 1/turn or as additional damage when you crit. Aside from that, while calling each effect “X blow” hurts my soul, I like all of the options. Persistent Rage, as mentioned, smells like they didn’t like infinite Rage and wanted to nerf it for squeezing it into a Level 15 feature that was already pretty good. Primal Champion buff to 24 to 26 is just silly. They only get one Level 19 ASI that lets them go up to 22, so it’s only going to apply to one of them. I’ve already made my statement on ASIs. World Tree subclass never gelled with me as while it doesn’t seem to have a strategy like other Barbs do. Still, new Branches as a single-target denial tool now sounds nuts to me, just STR save or you have no movement for the turn as you’re Mortal Kombat Scorpion’d right to the Barbarian. But then you have Battering Roots for… I guess when the STR save fails and your 40ft+ speed Barbarian is having trouble reaching the target, and then the ability to teleport to be EXTRA sure?

Druid: There’s not really much to touch on for the core class changes; Wild Shape is worded in a way that’s understandable. Moon Druid though, they not only get rules clarification, they get new spells!

Starry Wisp Faerie Fire as a cantrip that doesn’t grant advantage, Bards can do it too. I like it. Fount of Moonlight I guess this is like anti-Shadow of Moil? You get a smaller Daylight (not Sunlight), Radiant resistance and damage, and can Blind as a reaction. Also usable by Bards… most of these spell can be used by Bards actually. I think WotC has been tapping my friend’s Discord server. Biggest change besides that is Max CR is back down to Level 3, fine, and Lunar Form does extra damage instead of scooting Moonbeam around. Pretty okay.

Monk: Ah, the big one that everyone’s been gushing about. BA Unarmed Strike being untethered from Ki or Attack actions is QoL that many have asked for. RIP Weapon Mastery, but with all the new stuff they get, they had to cut something to let Fighter not get power-crept. DEX on Grapple/Shoves appeals to my inner Rey Mysterio fanboy. Patient Defense and Step of the Wind buffs, watch out Rogues! Now Monk doesn’t need to spend Ki to Dash or Disengage, and if they do they get both! Or at least Disengage + Dodge. Level 10 also buffs these further: Flurry gets 3 attacks instead of 2; Patient Defense gives you Temp HP; Step of the Wind lets you carry someone! I love all of these. Free Ki Points at level 2! It’s 1/LR and honestly that’s plenty. Deflect Missiles is now Deflect Rage Damage Types! Also adds your DEX to damage on top of 2Dkarate. Level 13 lets you smack away non-weapons too, pretty spicy. Stunning Strike gets a buff, on a success they still take Force damage. I think this is a very fair compromise. The anti-Charm/nonsense effect being free at the end of your turn is also a good compromise for making Stillness of Mind a Level 10 feature, and helps wave away how people are willingly ending things like Charm effects. No more Poison Damage immunity, but it’s only a big loss if you keep running into poison. Perfect Discipline being 3 or lower instead of 0 is good, prevents people from feeling like they need to Step of the Wind a few times before the next fight just to go from 2 to 0 to 4. The anime-tier, yet admittedly cool Defy Death capstone is now replaced with more Barbarian plagiarism, Primal Champion for DEX/WIS instead of STR/CON, see above. Subclass time~ Only removing Opportunity Attacks instead of Reactions is fine since Counterspell isn’t ass-busted anymore. I still wish Shield would be nerfed to +2 until your turn (you know, like a shield, maybe upcast scaling if you miss Tarrasque HP Wizards that much), but fight is as fight does. Fleet Step with the buffs to Step of the Wind makes Monk into a god damned rocket at Level 11 that only gets faster. It does NOT say when you spend a point, this works on any BA. This’ll work on BA self-applied potions, BA unarmed strikes/Flurry of Blows, just Dash + Disengage + carrying a friend, forever. Why is no one talking about this? Even if you still have to pay the 1 point for it again, it’s still a huge shot in the arm for mobility. Quivering Palm is “nerfed” back down to 4 points for a flat 10d12 damage, no monk level. Upside, it only uses one attack to end the effect instead of a full action, so you can apply it in a brawl without having to spend a whole turn standing still saying the Kenshiro line.

Other spells: Conjure spells are a single body that’s a swarm via flavor. DMs, rejoice! (Mass) Cure Wounds is buffed, hooray! I sure appreciate WotC recognizing that the melee healing needs something to give it an edge agai- WHY DID THEY BUFF HEALING WORD?! Who asked for this? By what means has WotC come to the idea that Healing Word is somehow not horribly problematic in regards to nigh-effortlessly preventing 0HP from happening? I’d understand it if they stole my idea for having HW only apply to creatures that can hear you (ergo, not Unconscious), but this is just a flat buff to make it almost objectively better than pre-buff Cure Wounds. Power Word: Fortify is nice I guess. 20-120 Temp HP/target is enough to last at least a turn, hopefully?

All in all, this one is getting a bookmark in my “has lots of good ideas to work on” folder. Very satisfied with the changes, and I can fit them into how to solve my remaining gripes very easily.

And once again, Unarmed Strikes can heal if you’re weak enough:

Damage. You make an attack roll against the target. Your bonus to hit equals your Strength modifier + your Proficiency Bonus. On a hit, the target takes Bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + your Strength modifier.