Monk

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Overview & Creation

Her fists a blur as they deflect an incoming hail of arrows, a half-elf springs over a barricade and throws herself into the massed ranks of hobgoblins on the other side. She whirls among them, knocking their blows aside and sending them reeling, until at last she stands alone.   Taking a deep breath, a human covered in tattoos settles into a battle stance. As the first charging orcs reach him, he exhales and a blast of fire roars from his mouth, engulfing his foes.   Moving with the silence of the night, a black-clad halfling steps into a shadow beneath an arch and emerges from another inky shadow on a balcony a stone’s throw away. She slides her blade free of its cloth-wrapped scabbard and peers through the open window at the tyrant prince, so vulnerable in the grip of sleep.   Whatever their discipline, monks are united in their ability to magically harness the energy that flows in their bodies. Whether channeled as a striking display of combat prowess or a subtler focus of defensive ability and speed, this energy infuses all that a monk does.

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Class Features

Unarmored Defense

Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier. When another creature hits you with a melee attack while you are wielding a monk weapon, or no weapon at all, you can use your reaction to add a +1 bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you. This bonus increases with your monk levels, as shown in the Unarmored Defense column of the Monk table.  

Martial Arts

At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords, improvised weapons, and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.   You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:  

• You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
• You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
• When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.

  Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama). Whatever name you use for a monk weapon, you can use the game statistics provided for the weapon in Chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook.  

Ki

Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the ki Points column of the Monk table.   You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.   When you spend a ki point, it is normally unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You spent part of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.   Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:   Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier   Flurry of Blows 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. The number of unarmed strikes increases as you gain monk levels. At 11th level, this increases to three unarmed strikes. At 20th level, this increases to four unarmed strikes.   Patient Defense You can spend 1 ki point when you take your action on your turn to impose disadvantage on all attack rolls against you until the beginning of your next turn.   Step of the Wind You can spend 1 ki point when you take your move on your turn to move like the wind. Your speed is doubled until the end of your turn, your movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you have advantage on any Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.  

Unarmored Movement

Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table (15 ft at 6th level, 20 ft at 10th level, 25 ft at 14th level, and 30 feet at 18th level).   At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.  

Monastic Tradition

When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition, detailed at the end of the class description. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.  

Deflect Missiles

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect or catch missiles when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from these attacks are reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. When you use your reaction this way, you may reduce the damage of any further ranged weapon attacks until the beginning of your next turn.   If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, you can make a ranged attack with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught as part of the same reaction. You you are considered proficient with the missile for this attack, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet. You may make only one such attack until the beginning of your next turn.  

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. You can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.  

Slow Fall

Beginning at 4th level, while you are conscious you reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.  

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.  

Stunning Strike

Starting at 5th level, you can interfere with the flow of ki in an opponent’s body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon 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. You can use this feature against one enemy no more than a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once) each turn.  

Ki-Empowered Strikes

Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.  

Evasion

At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a *fireball* spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.  

Standing Still

Starting at 7th level, on the first round of a combat, you may take your turn to stand still, mentally preparing yourself for combat. When you do so, you must concentrate as if concentrating on a spell. You cannot take actions, move or speak until the beginning of your next turn. During this time, any creature who targets you with an attack or a harmful spell must first make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell. Standing Still doesn't protect you from area effects, such as the explosion of a Fireball.   At the beginning of your next turn, the effect ends, you regain up to 2+Wisdom modifier expended ki points and the you may act normally. For the next minute, or until you lose concentration, you may attack 3 times instead of twice when you take the attack action on your turn. Furthermore, whenever a melee weapon attack against you misses, you may use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against the attacker. If this attack hits, in addition to dealing damage, the target must make a Dexterity saving throw. If the saving throw fails, you may disarm the held weapon that made the attack. You may choose to grab the weapon yourself, or have it land anywhere within 10 feet of the attacker.   Once you use Standing Still, you may not use it again until you complete a short or long rest.  

Purity of Body

At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.  

Agile Athletics

Starting at 13th level, you learn to use your speed and agility to fuel feats of strength. You may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier whenever a Strength ability check is called for.  

Diamond Soul

Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.   Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.  

Timeless Body

At 15th level, 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.  

Empty Body

Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage but force damage.   Additionally, you can spend 8 ki points to cast the Astral projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you can’t take any other creatures with you.  

Perfect Self

At 20th level, when you roll for initiative you regain all expended ki points. If you start your turn with no ki points, you regain one ki point.

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Starting Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• a shortsword, or any simple weapon
• a dungeoneer’s pack, or an explorer’s pack
• 10 darts

 

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Subclass Options

Way of the Open Hand

Monks of the Way of the Open Hand are the ultimate masters of martial arts combat, whether armed or unarmed. They learn techniques to push and trip their opponents, manipulate ki to heal damage to their bodies, and practice advanced meditation that can protect them from harm.  

Open Hand Technique

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your enemy’s ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:  

• It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
• It can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.

 

Wholeness of Body

At 6th level, you gain the ability to heal yourself. You gain a healing pool equal to three times your monk level. As an action, you can regain hit points up to the maximum amount remaining in the pool. Your healing pool is restored to full after a long rest.  

Tranquility

Beginning at 11th level, you can enter a special meditation that surrounds you with an aura of peace. At the end of a long rest, you gain the effect of a Sanctuary spell that lasts until the start of your next long rest (the spell can end early as normal). The saving throw DC for the spell equals 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus. While the Sanctuary spell is in effect, you may end the effect in the first round of combat as a free action to gain the benefits of the Standing Still ability without foregoing your action on their first turn if that ability is available for use. When you do so, you gain neither the protections of the Sanctuary spell or of Standing Still.  

Quivering Palm

At 17th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal vibrations in someone’s body. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to start these imperceptible vibrations, which last for a number of days equal to your monk level. The vibrations are harmless unless you use your action to end them. To do so, you and the target must be on the same plane of existence. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.   You can have only one creature under the effect of this feature at a time. You can choose to end the vibrations harmlessly without using an action.
 

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