Talk:Way of the King of Crimson (5e Subclass)

Kinda Awkward

I get this is the first version of this page, but it seems mostly complete. So, I'm just gonna voice my concerns.

• Crimson Stab is kinda not great. You deal an average of 8(scaling to 20) damage, compared to a normal action worth 7(scaling to 20) damage. On top of that, it technically doesn't count as an attack action, so you can't use Flurry of Blows or your BA unarmed strike from Martial Arts. For costing 1 ki point, this is iffy.
• Epitaph, on the other hand, is alright. In conjunction with Patient Defence, you could do some decent dodge tanking for 4 ki points. Although, at that level, it is a lot.
• Such Futility is a thematic non-combat thing, sure. It's kinda lame, in my opinion, but it's fine-ish.
• Finally, onto the reason you'd ever use this. Time Erasure. At the cost of 6 ki points, you essentially get freedom of movement for a round, with the added bonus that you can't be detected and you can only make one attack at the start of your next turn. I can't decide whether this is better or worse than the Stab.

Overall, this needs work. I've got a couple of suggestions.

• Change Crimson Stab to allow you to replace one attack with a stab for a ki point, dealing bonus damage. Could have another detriment.
• Potentially lower the cost of Epitaph. Maybe. Unsure on that.
• For that cost, have Time Erasure trigger at the start of your turn and allow people to whack people during it, maybe granting advantage on attacks or disadvantage on saving throws. Could limit the cost though.

These changes would actually grant this subclass some synergy with itself, namely with Time Erasure which is nearly worthless. This is mostly just what my gut says, and I'd appreciate a second look. --SwankyPants (talk) 07:17, 21 August 2021 (MDT)

After further discussion on the discord server I've created some drafts for the first and last features. --SwankyPants (talk) 08:25, 21 August 2021 (MDT)

• "'Crimson Stab. When you take the attack action, you may spend a ki point and use your bonus action to make a Crimson Stab. You make one unarmed strike, and on a hit you deal two extra dice of damage, and may immediately attempt to grapple the target."
• "Time Erasure. When you are targeted by an attack or forced to make a saving throw, you may use a reaction and spend 6 ki points to immediately start your next turn before any attack rolls or saving throws are made. During this turn, you cannot be seen or targeted by opportunity attack, and the trigger of this reaction no longer targets you after you finish your turn."