Alternate Monk

While all Monks strive for physical mastery, honing their fists and feet into weapons, creatures born with natural weapons; vicious claws, imposing horns, or sharp fangs, have a natural advantage. They learn to enhance their physical features with Techniques, and combine their mastery of Ki with the ferocity that dwells within all creatures of wild and bestial heritage.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You gain proficiency in two of the following: Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Stealth, or Survival.

Choose any two skills from the list above that you are proficient in. Whenever you make an ability check with either of those skills, you gain a bonus to your roll equal to your Martial Arts Die.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

No mercy in the wilds. You can use the crippling strike Technique without expending Ki a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once), and you regain all uses when you finish a long rest.

If you have already hit the target of your crippling strike with an unarmed strike since the end of your last turn, your target has disadvantage on its Constitution saving throw.

You combine primal instinct with monastic training to reach your true wild potential. You gain one of the features below. Once chosen it cannot be changed:

Balance in all things. This is the mantra of Monks who devote their lives to the Way of Harmony. Famous for their mystical abilities to manipulate Ki to heal wounds, cure disease, and even disrupt powerful curses, these Monks keep all things in balance. However, when creatures look to extend their lives through unnatural means or cheat death, these warriors will use their power to destroy said creatures, restoring balance.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your ability to affect the Ki of others has grown, allowing you to manipulate more intricate afflictions. When you use Touch of Life, you can also cure a disease or end either the Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, or Stunned condition.

Moreover, whenever you use Touch of Death, you can cause the creature to be Poisoned until the end of your next turn.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The harmony within your own spirit empowers your mystical abilities. When you use Touch of Life or Touch of Death, you can spend additional Ki (up to your Wisdom modifier) to add one Martial Arts Die to the hit points restored or the damage dealt per additional Ki spent.

You can restore harmony to life even if it has been shattered by death. As an action, you can touch a creature that has died within the last 24 hours and expend 6 Ki to return it to life.

When you do so, the creature also regains a number of hit points equal to your Monk level + your Wisdom modifier and any conditions afflicting it at the time of its death are ended.

Once you use this on a creature, that creature must complete a long rest before it can benefit from this feature again.

Legends tell of wandering sages who channel bursts of light from within their bodies. These disciples of Radiance have such fine control over their spirit that they can assault others with luminous blasts of Ki. These wondrous warriors travel the land promoting harmony and justice among all peoples.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Luminous Ki suffuses your spirit. When you deal radaint damage to a creature, you can expend 1 Ki and force it to make a Constitution saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failed save, the creature is Blinded until the beginning of your next turn.

You can overwhelm your foes with bursts of your radiant Ki. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 Ki to force all creatures in an adjacent 15-foot cone to make a Dexterity saving throw against your Technique save DC.

Creatures take radiant damage equal to three Martial Arts Dice on a failure, and half as much damage on a success.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your spirit brims with burning radiance. As an action, you can unleash a blast of radiant Ki in a 5-foot wide, 100-foot long line, forcing creatures in the area to make a Dexterity saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failure, they take radiant damage equal to six Martial Arts Dice. On a success they take half as much radiant damage.

When you use this feature you can expend Ki (up to your Wisdom modifier) to empower your Luminous Burst adding one Martial Arts Die to its damage for each Ki spent.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all uses when you complete a long rest. When you have no uses left, you can spend 3 Ki to use Luminous Burst again.

Your radiant spirit is a shining beacon of hope for all who stand against the forces of evil. You gain the benefits below:

Focusing almost completely on the development of the spirit, disciples of this Tradition learn to manifest their inner selves into the world through Ki. With great dedication and practice these esoteric warriors learn to manifest their Astral Self, a luminescent projection of their Ki that covers them in armor.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The power of your Astral Armor infuses your presence even when it is dormant. You learn the thaumaturgy Cantrip, and Wisdom is your spellcasting modifier for it. Also, whenever you make an Insight or Intimidation check you gain a bonus to your roll equal to your Martial Arts Die.

When your Astral Self is manifested you can see normally in both magical and mundane darkness in a 120-foot radius.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your Astral Armor is reinforced with otherworldly power. You can use deflect strike and deflect missile without spending Ki while your Astral Armor is manifested. You also gain the 11th level benefits of both Techniques one level early.

After you use one of these Techniques, your next unarmed strike deals bonus damage equal to your Martial Arts Die.

You have become one with your true self, and perfected your Astral Armor. Your Astral Armor now takes 2 Ki to manifest, but while it is manifested, you can reduce any damage you take by your Wisdom modifier.

Lastly, while your Astral Armor is manifested, you can use an action to unleash a barrage of punches in an adjacent 20-foot cone, forcing creatures in that area to make a Dexterity saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failure, creatures take force damage equal to four Martial Arts Dice, and half as much force damage on a success.

As ancient as the mountains themselves, this Tradition has been passed down from master to student since the earliest days of civilization. Building their monasteries on mountain peaks and in deep caverns, students of this Tradition focus on becoming as large and immovable as the mountains.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your great bulk allows you to deflect mighty blows. You can use the deflect strike Technique without spending Ki. When you do so, you use your Constitution in place of Dexterity to calculate how much the incoming damage is reduced by.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The density of your spirit infuses your body with great weight. You gain resistance to your choice of acid, bludgeoning, cold, fire, lightning, piercing, slashing, or thunder. You can replace this resistance with another from the same list each time you finish a short or long rest.

You can also spend 2 Ki as a bonus action to replace this damage resistance with another from the list above.

With spiritual reinforcement, your body has surpassed the normal mortal limits of density and mass. Your Constitution score, and your maximum Constitution score, increase by 2, up to a maximum of 22.

You can use your supernatural density to cause the earth to quake. Whenever you use the tremor strike Technique, you can choose to affect the area within a 25-foot radius of you in place of the normal 25-foot cone of earth. You can ignore any difficult terrain created by this Technique.

Finally, you can use your tremor strike Technique without expending Ki a number of times equal toyour Constitution modifier (a minimum of once),and you regain all uses when you finish a longrest. When you use it without spending Ki, ittakes effect as if you had spent 1 Ki, thoughyou can spend more Ki to empower yourTechnique further, as normal.

The Way of the Brawler is an informal Monastic Tradition that masters use to denote those who never received formal martial arts training. Brawlers are those who learn to fight in the back alleys and fighting pits. They are often underdogs who come from nothing, and will do whatever it takes to win. To these brutish scrapers, every fight is a fight for survival.

The brutality and chaos of battle fuels your spiritual power. Your melee Martial Arts attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.

Also, whenever you score a critical hit with a melee Martial Arts attack, you instantly regain 1 expended Ki.

Your reputation for violence and brutality precedes you. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 Ki to force one creature that can see or hear you within 30 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failed save, it is Frightened of you until the start of your next turn.

Any creature that is Frightened of you has disadvantage on saving throws to resist the effects of your Savage Exploits.

You are a master of ruthless combat. You have advantage on Martial Arts attacks against creatures Frightened of you.

Finally, whenever you score a critical hit against a creature with a melee Martial Arts attack, it automatically fails saving throws to resist your Techniques or Savage Exploits.

Where most monks are serious and contemplative, students of the Drunken Fist seek out joy wherever they go. Masters of a style that mimics the unpredictable movements of a drunk, these monks will use their considerable skills to play the fool and make others laugh, or to embarrass haughty nobles.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your erratic movements have become more complicated and even harder to predict. You gain the benefits listed below:

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You have an almost comical way of turning the misfortunes that befall you on their head. Whenever you make an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw with disadvantage, you can spend 1 Ki to cancel the disadvantage on that roll.

You fly about the battle with an unparalleled level of chaos. When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make a single Martial Arts attack against each creature you move past that is within range of your unarmed strikes, even if the number of attacks you make would exceed the normal limit.

Novices who adopt the Way of the Flowing River are taught a style of martial arts that emphasizes nonviolence and the use of force only when necessary. Named for the masterful grace and fluidity that these warriors exhibit in battle, practitioners of the Flowing River are often known as dancing Monks.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The serenity that comes with the flow of battle allows you to turn your foe's violent intent against them. When a creature you can see misses you with an attack while you are in your Flowing River Stance, you can force it to make a Dexterity saving throw against your Technique save DC as a reaction. On a failure, it is knocked Prone and its speed is reduced to zero until the start of your next turn.

Also, while you are in your Flowing River Stance, you can use deflect strike and deflect missile without spending Ki.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The mystical power of your abilities has grown. If a creature casts a spell that deals damage or forces a saving throw while it is under the effect of your Flowing River Stance, you must be one of the targets of that spell.

While you are in Flowing River Stance you gain a special reaction that you can take on each creature's turn. It can only be used for River's Reprisal, deflect strike, or deflect missile.

You can turn even the most violent blows against your foes. Whenever you use deflect strike or deflect missile, you can spend additional Ki (up to your Wisdom modifier) to reduce the damage by an additional Martial Arts Die per Ki spent.

Finally, when a creature fails its saving throw against your River's Reprisal, you can also knock it back in a straight line a number of feet, then it falls Prone. The distance you knock a creature back is dependent on size, as shown below:

Where most martial arts traditions focus on quick strikes and quick movement, disciples of the Hurricane technique master mighty weapons. Hurricane Monks wield massive weapons to devastating effect. On the battlefield they become tempests of steel, cutting down any foe who dares to stand against them.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You use the great weight of your massive weapons to rebuke your foes. When a creature you can see hits you with a melee attack while you are wielding a Heavy melee weapon, you can attack it with that Heavy weapon as a reaction.

If you hit with this attack, the force of the blow reduces the attacker's speed to zero until the start of your next turn.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You empower your strikes with great gusts of wind. When you hit a creature with a Heavy melee weapon attack or damage it with Typhoon Strike, you can spend 1 Ki (per target) to force it to make a Strength saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failure, it is knocked back in a line a number of feet equal to 5 times your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 5 feet).

Also, whenever you use Typhoon Strike, you can expend Ki (up to your Wisdom modifier) to empower your Technique. If you do, the Techniques deals bonus thunder damage equal to your Martial Arts Die for each Ki spent. If you do, creatures also take half damage from the Technique on a success.

Your skill with massive weapons makes them appear light as a feather. While wielding a Heavy melee weapon you can use your action to disappear and make one melee weapon attack against up to five creatures you can see within 60 feet.

You can use this feature once between each short or long rest, after which, you must spend 5 Ki to use it again.

Meditating on the true spiritual potential of Ki, Mystic Monks gradually forgo their physical training to plumb the depths of their spirit. Often misunderstood to be Wizards or Sorcerers, these mystical sages can draw upon the Ki within their spirits to perform wondrous supernatural feats.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You can strike from spirit to spirit, bypassing mortal flesh. As a bonus action, you can force one creature that you can see within 15 feet to make a Charisma saving throw against your Technique save DC.

On a failed save, it takes psychic damage equal to your Martial Arts Die and it has disadvantage on the first Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throwthat it makes before the start of your next turn.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all uses when you finish a long rest. If you have no uses left, you can spend 1 Ki to use your Spiritual Assault feature again.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your spirit protects you from supernatural assaults. When you take necrotic, psychic, or radiant damage you can spend 1 Ki to gain resistance to that instance of damage.

Your spiritual power eclipses that of most living mortals, and some immortal beings. Whenever you deal psychic damage to a creature you add your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) to the damage roll if you do not do so already.

Finally, during a long rest, you can meditate for 1 hour and replace one Talent you know with another of your choice.

While all monks are warriors, monks who follow the Way of the Open Hand train relentlessly, forging their bodies into deadly weapons. They do not neglect spiritual training, but disciples of the Open Hand pride themselves on their skill with martial arts, and it is exceptionally rare to see an Open Hand monk who wields a weapon other than their fists.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You have trained to redirect your enemy's momentum against them. When a creature you can see misses you with a melee attack, you can use one of the following reactions:

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your strikes disrupt the flow of Ki. If you score a critical hit with an unarmed strike, the creature has disadvantage on any saving throw that you force it to make as part of that attack.

During each long rest, you can spend 10 minutes practicing martial arts to replace one Technique you know with another Technique which you meet the prerequisites for.

You have become an unparalleled master of unarmed martial arts and are able to strike with overwhelming power and wondrous speed. Whenever you use Flurry of Blows, Swift Reprisal, or make an opportunity attack you can make one additional unarmed strike.

While most monastic orders teach students to live their lives to their full potential, those who follow the Way of the Reaper are obsessed with the process of death and dying. Reaper Monks learn to channel deathly Ki to fuel their own martial prowess and are experts at using fear and other sinister techniques to drain the life force from others in order to prolong their own lives.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The pain of death gives you life. Once per turn when you deal necrotic damage to a living creature, you can gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).

While you have temporary hit points from this feature, you are resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magial and non-silvered attacks.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your intimacy with death allows you to resist its pallid touch. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, but not killed outright, you can spend 1 Ki to fall to 1 hit point instead. When you do so, you can also choose to fall under a feign death spell.

However, each subsequent time you use this ability before you complete a long rest, its cost increases by 1 Ki.

Your knowledge of death allows you to directly attack the life giving Ki within other creatures. Once on each of your turns, you can forgo one attack to touch a creature and spend up to 10 Ki, forcing it to make a Constitution saving throw against your Technique save DC.

The target takes necrotic damage equal to two Martial Arts Dice per Ki spent on a failure, and half as much on a success.

Creatures that are Frightened of you have disadvantage on this saving throw. This feature also has no effect on Undead.

Often found in the service of ancient dragons, disciples of the Rising Dragon learn to use their Ki to mimic the power of dragons. These draconic warriors vary greatly based on the dragons they emulate, but despite differences, they all carry themselves with the regal bearing of a great dragon.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your Techniques mimic the power of dragons. Whenever you use step of the wind, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed which lasts until the end of your turn.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your draconic presence wards those around you from harm. You and creatures of your choice within 10 feet are resistant to your Element and have advantage on all saving throws to resist the Charmed or Frightened conditions.

In addition, when you use your Elemental Breath, you add your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1) to the damage roll.

The true potential of your draconic spirit has been unleashed. You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and the radius of your Draconic Mantle increases to 30 feet.

Finally, whenever you use your Elemental Breath, you can target a 30-foot cone or a 60-foot long, 5-foot wide line.

Initiates of the Sacred Inks spend years practicing celestial calligraphy. Once they are ready, the monks mark their bodies with increasingly complex celestial tattoos, granting them access to divine power. As the monk's spiritual connection to the divine grows, so does the beauty of their celestial tattoos.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Both your connection to the divine and the complexity of your celestial tattoos has increased, granting you a divine blessing that protects you from death. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can choose to fall to 1 hit point instead.

You can use this feature once, and you regain its use after you finish a long rest. Alternately, you can expend 5 Ki as an action on your turn to regain your use of this feature early.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

As a bonus action, you can unleash the divine energies within your Celestial tattoos. For 1 minute, you emit bright sunlight out ot a 10-foot radius, and when you expend Ki to use Divine Judgement, your target must also make a Constitution saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failed save, it is Blinded until the start of your next turn.

This feature ends if you are Incapacitated or if you end it as a bonus action. Once you use this feature, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.

As a bonus action, you can unleash the divine energies within your Celestial tattoos, transforming into a living icon of divine beauty for 1 minute, gaining the following benefits:

You can transform in this way once between each long rest at no cost, after which, you must spend 5 Ki to use it again.

While most traditional martial artists value honorable tactics and combat styles, disciples of the Shadow Arts exploit every weakness, no matter how dishonorable. Assassins and spies, Shadow Monks only strike if success is absolutely assured.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You move undetected through the darkness, and can step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, you can use a bonus action to teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. After teleporting, you have advantage on the first Martial Arts attack you make before the end of that turn.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You can cloak yourself with Ki and merge with the shadows. When you are in dim light or darkness, you can use an action to become invisible, and you remain invisible until you attack, cast a spell, or move into an area of bright light.

If a creature moves into your reach while you are invisible, you can make one opportunity attack against it as a reaction. These opportunity attacks only end your invisibility if you hit the target. If the attack misses, you remain invisible.

You are an unrivaled master of the Shadow Arts, and wield dark powers which mark you as a true Master of Shadows. You gain the following benefits:

While all monks are able to wield the weapons of their style to great effect, those who follow the Way of Shining Steel dedicate their lives to complete mastery over a chosen few weapons. These warriors are known for their extreme focus, and are always looking for progressively stronger warriors to challenge and test their skill with the weapons of war.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Mastery over your Signature Weapons allows your Ki to flow through them as if they were an extension of your body. Your Signature Weapons gain the following benefits:

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You can imbue your Signature Weapons with deadly Ki. Over the course of a long rest, you can spend 1 hour performing a mystical ritual on your Signature Weapons, infusing each of them with Ki (up to your Wisdom modifier).

The critical hit range of your Signature Weapons increases depending on the Ki you infuse each with, as shown below:

Ki infused into a Signature Weapon remains within it and cannot be regained until you perform this mystic ritual again, at which point you can remove Ki and return it to your spirit.

You are an unquestioned master of your Signature Weapons. Once between each short or long rest when you attack with a Signature Weapon, you can replace the result of your d20 roll with your Monk level.

If using your Monk level would result in a critical hit, that Signature Weapon attack becomes an automatic critical hit.

Monks who practice this Tradition use their martial arts skill to fight evil and uphold the virtues of justice, liberty, and fair play. Lauded as heroes by some, and derided as extrajudicial criminals by others, these Vigilante warriors will often adopt a Heroic Persona, a larger-than-life identity that they take up to fight against the forces of evil and injustice in the world.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The mystical power of your Heroic Persona increases your physical abilities. You gain proficiency in either Acrobatics or Athletics, and while your Heroic Persona is donned, you can use indomitable Spirit once per turn without spending Ki.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

Your Heroic Persona inspires those who fight alongside you. While your Heroic Persona is donned, you and creatures of your choice within 20 feet have advantage on saving throws to resist being Charmed or Frightened.

As you gain Monk levels, the radius of this effect increases to match your Unarmored Movement bonus.

Your Heroic Persona is a legendary symbol of justice. You are immune to both the Charmed and Frightened conditions, and whenever you hit a creature equal to your size or smaller with an unarmed strike it is knocked back 10 feet in a line.

While all Monks look to unite their will with the cosmos, Void Monks seek unity through annihilation. Nihilistic disciples of this Tradition use their mystic power to accelerate the natural processes of cosmic decay, and see themselves as conscious agents of entropy. All will eventually become one in the Void.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

You can draw upon the energies of the Void to discorporate. When you use step of the wind, you can move through solid non-magical objects and creatures as difficult terrain.

However, if you stop this special movement while you are inside a solid object or creature, you are instantly shunted to the nearest unoccupied space and take 1d10 force damage for every 5 feet you are forced to move to do so.

You learn an additional technique for your archetype.

The entropic power of your spirit allows you to disrupt and destroy magic. You can spend 3 Ki to cast the counterspell (alternate) or dispel magic spells at 3rd level. When you do so, Wisdom is considered your Spellcasting ability for these spells.

Your power is annihilation itself. Once one each of your turns, you can forgo one unarmed strike to instead touch a creature and force it to make a Constitution saving throw against your Technique save DC. On a failed save, it suffers the effects of a disintegrate spell cast at 6th-level.

You can use this feature once per long rest at no cost, after which, you must spend 6 Ki to use this feature again.

Rather than focus inward, some monks attune themselves to the forces of nature. Known as Wu Jens, these primal sages augment their skills with the power of the five elements; Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood. Through meditation, they can learn to channel their Ki into displays of elemental power.

Your spirit is a conduit for your elemental magic. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend Ki equal to 1 + your Slot Level to regain one expended Wu Jen spell slot.

Moreover, when you use your action to cast a Wu Jen spell, you can make one unarmed strike attack as a bonus action.

You weave your martial arts with spiritual magic. When you cast a Wu Jen spell with a casting time of 1 action, you can expend 2 Ki to cast it as a bonus action instead.

As an action, you can draw all five elements into yourself to take on an Elemental Form, gaining the following benefits:

Your Elemental Form lasts for 1 minute, but it ends early if you are Incapacitated or use a bonus action to end it. You can use this feature once per long rest at no cost, after that, you must expend 6 Ki to transform again.