Monk
A Monk is a martial arts-focused class in Dungeons & Dragons that uses inner power, or ki, to perform supernatural feats, specializing in unarmed combat and physical discipline. They excel at battlefield control and mobility, using abilities like Stunning Strike to incapacitate enemies, and often fill a versatile role as a damage dealer or skirmisher. Their abilities are channeled through their training in different monastic traditions
Monk
Monks harness a magical energy called ki, which they use to enhance their physical and combat abilities, allowing them to perform extraordinary feats of speed, strength, and precision. Through intense martial training and spiritual discipline, monks gain mastery over their own bodies and the ki energy that flows through all living things. Some monks live in isolated cloisters, seeking personal perfection, while others serve as spies or assassins. Many monks protect their communities, trading their services for necessities, while others become adventurers to test their growth and pursue higher spiritual missions. Monks generally care little for material wealth, focusing instead on personal and spiritual development.
Novice
Skills
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Proficiency in saving throws Dexterity +2 & Strength +2
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Proficiency in Acrobatics +2 & Stealth +2
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Proficiency in Simple Weapons [Cannot have heavy or 2h weapon property] & Shortswords.
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Health increase of 8 per rank.
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Ki Points: 3
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Flurry of Blows:
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Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
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Patient Defense:
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You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn. Dodge +2 AC and -2 to Hit until your next turn.
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Step of the Wind:
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You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your movement distance is increased by 1 tile for the turn.
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Unarmored Movement:
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Your speed has increased by 1 tile for a total of 5 movement while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
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Deflect Missiles:
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You can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. If you catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with a range of 6 tiles using the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. The missile counts as a magic weapon for the attack.
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Unarmored Defense:
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While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
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Martial Arts:
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Your Unarmed Attacks become a D4.
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Adept
Skills
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Ki Points: 6
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Stunning Strike:
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When you hit another creature with a melee attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. (Save DC: 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Wisdom modifier)
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Ki-Empowered Strikes:
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Starting at Adept mastery, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.
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Martial Arts II:
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Your Unarmed Attacks become a D6.
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Expert
Skills
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Ki Points: 9
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Extra Attack:
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You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn you can attack again on the same target using a Free Action. It must be the same target. If the target you attacked with your first Attack option dropped to 0 and does not rise during your turn, you may not use this free action to attack again.
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Specialist
Skills
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Timeless Body:
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At Specialist, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water. Your natural lifespan will increase by 15% of your total lifespan.
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Martial Arts III:
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Your Unarmed Attacks become a D8.
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Purity of Body:
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At Specialist, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison. This includes alcohol unless you are a Drunken Monk due to continually infusing your ki with alcohol.
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Unarmored Movement II:
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At Specialist, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
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Way of the Shadows
Monks of the Way of Shadow follow a tradition that values stealth and subterfuge. These monks might be called ninjas or shadowdancers, and they serve as spies and assassins. Sometimes the members of a ninja monastery are family members, forming a clan sworn to secrecy about their arts and missions.
Other monasteries are more like thieves' guilds, hiring out their services to nobles, rich merchants, or anyone else who can pay their fees. Regardless of their methods, the heads of these monasteries expect the unquestioning obedience of their students.
Novice
Skills
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Shadow Arts:
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You can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cast spells. See the spell tab. Additionally, you gain the minor illusion cantrip if you don't already know it.
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Adept
Skills
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Shadow Step:
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At Adept level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport up to 4 tiles to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. This costs 1 Ki Point.
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Expert
Skills
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Intimidating Presence:
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As an action, you can force a creature within 6 tiles to make a Wisdom saving throw against your Wisdom DC or be frightened for 5 rounds. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns.
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Specialist
Skills
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Cloak of Shadows:
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By Specialist, you have learned to become one with the shadows. When you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you can use your action to become invisible. You remain invisible until you make an attack, cast a spell, or are in an area of bright light. In combat, this lasts two turns and can be used once per long rest or trance. You are not subject to attacks of opportunity while invisible under normal circumstances.
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Way of the Drunken Master
The Way of the Drunken Master was a monastic tradition that taught unique fighting techniques that caused the practicing monk to appear inebriated and lacking control of their body.These monks rather enjoyed acting foolishly in public places. Their clumsy and laughable exploits often brought joy to bystanders and could be used to humiliate contemptuous onlookers.
Those that followed the path of the Drunken Master were just as skilled performers as they were expert combatants, masterfully keeping their true skills hidden from others until precisely the right moment.As was expected, many practitioners of the Way of the Drunken Master spent much of their time at taverns.
Novice
Skills
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Bonus Proficiencies:
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You gain proficiency in the Performance skill +2. Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with the precision of a dancer and the antics of a jester.
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Adept
Skills
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Drunken Technique:
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You learn how to twist and turn quickly as part of your Flurry of Blows. Whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you gain the benefit of the Disengage action, and your walking speed increases by 2 tiles until the end of the current turn.
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Expert
Skills
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Tipsy Sway:
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You can move in sudden, swaying ways. You gain the following benefits.
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Leap to Your Feet: When you're prone, you can stand up by spending 1 tile of movement, rather than half your speed.
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Redirect Attack: When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can spend 1 ki point as a reaction to cause the creature that just missed to roll a melee attack on a target within 1 tile of them.
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Specialist
Skills
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Drunkard's Luck (Cost: 1 Ki Point):
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Once per Long Rest, when you take any instance of Damage, you can use your reaction to stumble out of the way and avoid being hit.
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Way of Mercy
Monks of the Way of Mercy learn to manipulate the life force of others to bring aid to those in need. They are wandering physicians to the poor and hurt. However, to those beyond their help, they bring a swift end as an act of mercy.
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Those who follow the Way of Mercy might be members of a religious order, administering to the needy and making grim choices rooted in reality rather than idealism. Some might be gentle-voiced healers, beloved by their communities, while others might be masked bringers of macabre mercies.
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The walkers of this way usually don robes with deep cowls, and they often conceal their faces with masks, presenting themselves as the faceless bringers of life and death.
Novice
Skills
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Implements of Mercy:
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You gain proficiency in the Insight and Medicine skills +2. You also gain a special mask, which you often wear when using the features of this subclass. You determine its appearance.
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​Hands of Healing:
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Your mystical touch can mend wounds. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to touch a creature and restore 1d4+Wisdom health.
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Hands of Harm:
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You use your ki to inflict wounds. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 ki point as a free action to deal extra 1d4+Wisdom necrotic . You can use this feature only once per turn.​
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Adept
Skills
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​Hands of Healing II:
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Increases to 1d6+Wisdom
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Hands of Harm II:
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Increases to 1d6+Wisdom
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Knowledge of Medicine: You gain +2 Knowledge Medicine
Expert
Skills
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​Hands of Healing III:​
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You can now cleanse conditions affecting the creature, such as blinded, paralyzed, poisoned or stunned
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Hands of Harm III:​
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​You can poison a creature until the end of your next turn.​
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Specialist
Skills
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​Hands of Healing IV:
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Increases to 1d8+Wisdom
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​Flurry of Healing
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Starting at Specialist, you can now mete out a flurry of comfort. When you use Flurry of Blows, you can now replace each of the unarmed strikes with a use of your Hands of Healing. This heal cannot miss and must be within melee range. This uses the same Ki Cost as Flurry of Blows.​
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Hands of Harm IV:
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Increases to 1d8+Wisdom
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Kensei
Monks of the Way of the Kensei train relentlessly with their weapons, to the point that the weapon becomes like an extension of the body. Founded on a mastery of sword fighting, the tradition has expanded to include many different weapons.
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A kensei sees a weapon much in the same way a calligrapher or a painter regards a pen or brush. Whatever the weapon, the kensei views it as a tool used to express the beauty and precision of the martial arts. That such mastery makes a kensei a peerless warrior is but a side effect of intense devotion, practice, and study.
Novice
Skills
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Path of Kensei
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Your special martial arts training leads you to master the use of certain weapons. This path also includes instruction in the deft strokes of calligraphy or painting. You gain the following benefits:
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Kensei Weapons: Choose two types of weapons to be your kensei weapons: one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Each of these weapons can be any simple or martial weapon that lacks the heavy and special properties. You gain proficiency +2 to hit with these weapons. Weapons of the chosen types are monk weapons for you. Many of this tradition's features work only with your kensei weapons.
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Agile Parry.
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If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a kensei weapon, you can use it to defend yourself if it is a melee weapon. You gain a +1 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn, while the weapon is in your hand and you aren’t incapacitated.
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Kensei's Shot.
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You can use a bonus action on your turn to make your ranged attacks with a kensei weapon more deadly. When you do so, any target you hit with a ranged attack using a kensei weapon takes an extra 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type. You retain this benefit until the end of the current turn.
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Adept
Skills
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One with the Blade:
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At Adept, you extend your ki into your kensei weapons, granting you the following benefits.
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Magic Kensei Weapons: Your attacks with your kensei weapons count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
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Deft Strike: When you hit a target with a kensei weapon, you can spend 1 ki point to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target equal to 1d6 as a free action. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.
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Expert
Skills
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Well Cultured: +2 to History
Specialist
Skills
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Sharpen the Blade:
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At Specialist, you gain the ability to augment your weapons further with your ki. As a bonus action, you can expend 3 ki points to grant a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls when you attack until the end of turn.
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Deft Strike II:
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Damage improved to now be 1d8​​
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