Monk

Monks devote their lives to rigor and discipline, testing their physical limits and honing their martial prowess. For the monk, combat is more than just a brutal exchange of blows; it's an art form. And through years of intense training, monks elevate their bodies to become expression of that art.

Level	Combat Proficiency Bonus	Fast Movement	New Abilities
1st	+1	+0 ft.	Unarmored expertise, martial arts, new technique
2nd	+2	+0 ft.	Evasion, stunning fist
3rd	+3	+0 ft.	Fighting styles, new technique
4th	+4	+10 ft.	Fast movement, stunning fist technique
5th	+5	+10 ft.	Diamond body 1
6th	+6	+20 ft.	New technique, extra attack
7th	+7	+20 ft.	Hybrid Style
8th	+8	+20 ft.	Stunning fist technique
9th	+9	+30 ft.	New technique, Evasion 2
10th	+10	+30 ft.	Common Ability
11th	+11	+30 ft.	Extra attack
12th	+12	+40 ft.	New technique, stunning fist technique
13th	+13	+40 ft.	Diamond body 2
14th	+14	+40 ft.	Complex Styles
15th	+15	+50 ft.	New technique
16th	+16	+50 ft.	Stunning fist technique
17th	+17	+50 ft.	Quivering palm
18th	+18	+60 ft.	New technique
19th	+19	+60 ft.	--
20th	+20	+60 ft.	Perfect self, stunning fist technique

Class Features

Prime Ability: Wisdom

Hit Points: d10 + Con bonus per level

Skill Points: Medium (4 per level)

Knowledge Points: Low (2 per level)

Save DC: 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus

Starting Proficiencies

Weapon Proficiency: All simple weapons, swords (VL or L), exotic weapon proficiency for any monk-specific weapons

Armor Proficiency: None

Other: Unarmed Combat Proficiency

Martial Arts (Ex)

Monks are trained in martial arts and gain the following abilities.

Evasion (Ex)

At 2nd level you gain the Evasion ability, even if you don't qualify for the prerequisites. If you make a successful Dex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, you instead take no damage. Evasion can be used only if wearing light armor or no armor.

At level 9, you gain level 2 effects of Evasion. You still take no damage on a successful Dex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth you also take only half damage on a failed save.

Stunning Fist (Ex)

At 2nd level, you gain the Stunning Fist ability, even if you do not meet the prerequisites.

Stunning Fist forces a foe damaged by your unarmed attack to make a Constitution saving throw (against your DC), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw is stunned (level 1) until the beginning of your next turn.

You must declare that you are using stunning fist before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). You can use Stunning Fist a number of times per day equal to your monk level. Constructs, oozes, plants, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits cannot be stunned.

At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, you automatically learn one free Stunning Fist technique. These Stunning Fist techniques must be declared before attempting a stunning fist. Only one technique may be used at a time.

Fighting Styles (Ex)

At 3rd level, you may choose three fighting styles to learn (see below). To start, you must choose three distinct styles, not enhancements. To use a style, you activate it by adopting an appropriate stance as a bonus action. You may switch between styles using as bonus action as well.

Every level thereafter, you may learn another fighting style or enhance one that you already know.

ARCHON STYLE

Style Summary: Protects allies, even at the cost of your own safety.

Benefit: While using this style, as a move action, you can actively protect adjacent allies from a single opponent that is also adjacent to you. The opponent attacks your allies at disadvantage, but attacks you at advantage.

Enhancement: You protect your ally against as many opponents as you choose. While using this style, your armed and unarmed attacks count as good-aligned weapons that can affect a creature's resistances and vulnerabilities.

ATOMIE STYLE

Style Summary: A aggressive and fearless style that is well-suited for attacking larger creatures

Benefit: Larger creatures do not gain advantage on you when making grappling checks. Furthermore, if you move directly from out of range in to engage a larger cretaure in melee combat, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity, even if the creature has reach and would normally be able to attack as you approach. You still provoke an attack of opportunity if you move while threatened under any other circumstance, though.

Enhancement: Your unarmed attacks count as cold iron weapons that can affect a creature's resistances and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, as a bonus action, you can make a deception check against a creature that threatens you. If successful, you are considered invisible to that creature. This lasts until you make an attack, move ten feet, or finish your turn.

BEAR STYLE

Style Summary: Strong attacks with overwhelming presence that intimidate opponents.

Benefit: When you hit an opponent more than once in a round with an unarmed strike, as a free action you can make an intimidation check to demoralize them, adding one level of fear. You may only use this once per round.

Enhancement: When you land multiple attacks in a round, you also deal 1d6 bleed damage.

BOAR STYLE

Style Summary: You attack with viciousness and cruelty to demoralize your foes.

Benefit: You can deal bludgeoning or piercing damage with your unarmed strikes. When you hit an opponent more than once in a round with an unarmed strike, you can tear flesh, dealing 1d6 extra rend damage with the attack. You may only use this once per round.

Enhancement: When you enhance this style, you add an extra 1d6 damage (2d6 total).

CORNUGON STYLE

Style Summary: A violent and rage-filled stance that nonetheless flows with fluid movements.

Benefit: While in this stance, you may use Stunning Fist when making melee attacks with weapons.

Enhanced: While using this style, your armed and unarmed attacks count as evil-aligned weapons that can affect a creature's resistances and vulnerabilities.

CRANE STYLE

Style Summary: You focus on defense and agile counter-attacks

Benefit: When taking the total defense action, you gain a +6 bonus to your AC instead of +4.

Enhancement: You may make attacks of opportunity when on total defense.

DERVISH STYLE

Style Summary: Mystical stance that harnesses arcane power to allow you to slip between physical reality.

Prerequisite: Monk Level 8

Benefit: You can slip magically through physical space, as if using the misty step spell. You cannot take other creatures with you when you step.

DRAGON STYLE

Style Summary: Strong stance that relies on channeling internal energy through your breathing

Prerequisite: Monk Level 5

Benefit: While using this style, your unarmed attacks count as magical weapons. You are also able to focus arcane energy through your breath to create a breath weapon, which you can use to deal 2d6 damage to anyone in a 15-feet cone (dex save halves). When you first learn dragon style, pick one dragon color to determine the damage type dealt (red = fire, white = cold, black/green = acid, blue = lightning). You can only use this breath weapon once every 1d4 rounds.

Enhancement: Your breath weapon now deals 1d6 damage for every two levels, though it's still only usable once every 1d4 rounds.

EARTH STYLE

Style Summary: Strong, steady stances that root you to the earth

Benefit: You gain advantage on strength saving throws, and you cannot be knocked prone. Your unarmed attacks also count as masterwork weapons for the purpose of bypassing a creature's weapon resistance.

Enhancement: Whenever you move, you may move through 10 feet of difficult terrain as if it were normal terrain. You can ignore difficult terrain restrictions when performing a charge.

FIREFLY STYLE

Style Summary: Quick flitting movements linger long enough to highlight weak points in your foe's defenses

Benefit: If you hit an opponent while in firefly stance, the next attack from an ally against the opponent does so at advantage.

Enhancement: Your advantage remains in effects until an attack against your opponent is successful.

GRASSHOPPER STYLE

Style Summary: A style that focuses on steady footwork punctuated with strong, aggressive leaps

Benefit: While in this style, all jump DCs are halved and you can jump without a running start first. This stance can be used out of combat.

Enhancement: When next to a vertical surface, you can slow a fall, reducing the damage by 5 feet per monk level. Also, with a successful athletics check, you can perform the charge action by jumping.

HYDRA STYLE

Style Summary: Offensive style that works to help heal the body and close wounds

Prerequisite: Monk level 9

Benefit: While using this style, you gain the benefits of fast healing 4 at the end of your turn if you were able to do damage with unarmed strikes during your turn . If you are reduced to 0 hp while in this stance, you automatically stabilize.

Enhancement: Fast healing increases to 6.

KIRIN STYLE

Style Summary: Deliberative style that relies on analyzing and exploiting your opponents' weaknesses

Benefit: While using this style, each time you hit an opponent, you may make a knowledge check as a free action (DC = creature's save DC). If successful, you learn one characteristic about your opponent (worst saving throw, best saving throw, special actions, resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities, etc.).

Enhancement: You get advantage on your knowledge check and all unarmed attacks made count as masterwork weapons that can affect a creature's resistances and vulnerabilities.

MANTIS STYLE

Style Summary: Uses precise, accurate strikes to pinpoint your opponents' vital areas

Benefit: Your unarmed strikes score critical hits on a 19 or 20.

Enhancement: While in this stance you are immune to critical hits.

MONKEY STYLE

Style Summary: An acrobatic and versatile style inspired by monkeys

Benefit: While using this style, you get advantage on Acrobatics checks in combat. Melee fighting from prone is the same as fighting while standing (you don't get disadvantage and your opponents don't get advantage). You can stand up as a bonus action with a DC 20 Acrobatics check using only 5' of movement and without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Enhancement: While using Monkey Style, you also gain advantage on Athletics checks. You can can climb at 1/2 speed and crawl at full speed, even when not in combat.

PANTHER STYLE

Style Summary: Training in retaliatory strikes against opponents

Prerequisite: Monk level 5

Benefit: Your unarmed attacks count as either bludgeoning or slashing damage. While using this style, when an opponent makes an attack of opportunity against you that misses, you can use a reaction to make a retaliatory unarmed strike attack against that opponent. You can only use this ability once per round, regardless of how many reactions you have.

Enhancement: You can make as many retaliatory strikes as you possible, assuming you have reactions available to do so.

RABBIT STYLE

Style Summary: Fluid style that focuses on quick movement

Benefit: Your foes gain disadvantage on attacks of opportunity against you.

Enhancement: You get advantage on initiative checks. When you get a critical hit on an opponent, you may move 5 feet for free without provoking an attack of opportunity.

SCORPION STYLE

Style Summary: Style that focuses on strong, well-placed strikes that incapacitate your opponents

Benefit: Your unarmed strikes count as bludgeoning or piercing damage. While in this style, make a single unarmed attack as a standard action. If this unarmed attack hits, you deal damage normally, and the target's base land speed is reduced by 10 feet for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier (Con save negates).

Enhancement: Your scorpion strike now immediately reduces your opponent to a movement speed of 5 (Con save negates)

SNAKE STYLE

Style Summary: style with quick shifting movements that attack at unexpected times

Benefit: Your unarmed attacks can deal either piercing or bludgeoning damage. While using this style, you can use your unarmed attacks to deliver injury-based poison, just as you would with a weapon. Poison must be applied to your hands just as it would be to a weapon. Doing so requires a poison check to be successful (DC 5 as a standard action, DC 15 as a move action). Separate doses of poison can be delivered to each hand.

Enhanced: You are automatically successful in applying poison to your hands.

SNAPPING TURTLE STYLE

Style Summary: A style that emphasizes active defense

Benefit: While using Snapping Turtle Style with at least one hand free, you gain a +2 shield bonus to AC.

Enhanced: Your AC bonus increases to +4.

TIGER STYLE

Style Summary: A style that relies on strong two-handed attacks and emulates the tiger's slashing attacks

Benefit: Your unarmed attacks may do slashing or bludgeoning damage, your choice. As a full-round action, you can pounce, allowing you to take the charge action and perform a full attack.

Enhanced: When you score a critical hit on an unarmed attack, you also inflict 2d4 bleed damage.

WIND STYLE

Style Summary: a fluid, agile style that is hard to follow

Benefit: You gain 1/4 cover against ranged attacks (both mundane and magical). This counts as visual, not physical cover and can be negated by Blind-Fight or True Seeing.

Enhanced: Your cover against ranged attacks increases to 1/2.

WOLF STYLE

Style Summary: style that emulates the wolf's ability to trip or slow its opponent down with fierce attacks

Benefit: You gain advantage on all combat maneuver checks to trip or tackle. All opponents roll disadvantage on attempt against you.

Enhanced: All of your unarmed attacks now count as silvered weapons that can affect a creature's resistances and vulnerabilities. When rolling damage against prone targets, you may re-roll any 1's.

Fast Movement (Ex)

At 4th level, you learn to move faster. Your speed in combat (not overland travel) increases by 10 and continues to increase as you progress (see table).

Diamond Body (Su)

At 5th level, you learn to hone your body, making it more impervious to conditions that effect it. Pick of one the following attributes. At level 13, you may pick another.

Diamond Blood: you gain immunity to poisons of all kinds.
Diamond Mind: you gain immunity to enchantment effects.
Diamond Resolve: you gain immunity to fear effects
Diamond Soul: you gain spell resistance equal to your current monk level + 10.

Extra Attack (Ex)

At level 6, you gain an extra attack that you can use when making a full attack. When using a weapon, this functions as usual, giving you two attacks, the first at your full attack bonus and the second at -5.

Characters don't usually get more natural attacks as they level up, but a monk's special training allows them to apply their extra attacks to unarmed combat. At this level, monks get three unarmed attacks, each made at their full attack bonus. Note, that some abilities grant special attacks as a bonus action. These attacks may be natural or weapon attacks, but like all bonus actions, these are on top of the attacks you get from a full attack.

Hybrid Styles (Ex)

At level 7, you've learned how to combine two styles that you know together. When you assume or change a stance as a bonus action, you may select two stances and gain the benefit of both.

Common Ability (Ex)

At level 10, you gain a new common ability of your choice.

Extra Attack (Ex)

At level 11, you gain another extra attack that you can use when making a full attack. You now have three attacks, the first made at your full bonus and the next two made at -5.

When using unarmed attacks, you get four natural attacks, each made at your full attack bonus.

Complex Styles (Ex)

At level 14, you've learned how to combine three styles that you know together. When you assume or change a stance as a bonus action, you may select three stances and gain the benefit of each.

Quivering Palm (Su)

Starting at 17th level, you can set up vibrations within the body of another creature that can be fatal. You can attempt this quivering palm attack once per day as a standard action. To do so, you must announce your intent before making a single melee attack roll. If your target takes damage from the blow, it is afflicted with the quivering palm. At any time afterward, you can attempt to kill your target as a free action, after which it must make a Constitution saving throw or die. If successful, the quivering palm fades.

If not used, the quivering palm wears off after a number of days equal to your monk level. Creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected by quivering palm. You can have no more than 1 quivering palm in effect at one time. If you use quivering palm while another is still in effect, the previous one wears off.

Perfect Self (Su)

At 20th level, you become an exalted being who no longer ages. You may permanently change your creature type to Outsider or Augmented Humanoid. You also gain a weapon resistance of 20.