Monk - Way of the Arcane Slayer

<div class='cover-header'>Way of the Arcane Slayer</div>

<div class='cover-footer-new' ><strong>By @g00dberry</strong></div>

<div class='cover-footer'>A New Monastic Tradition for D&D 5e</div>

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## Monastic Tradition
### Way of the Arcane Slayer 
Monks of the way of the arcane slayer have mastered the ability to incapacitate enemy mages and other arcane foes, interrupting the flow of magic within their bodies and disrupting their ability to channel magical effects of any kind.
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Arcane slayer monks often learn about magic themselves to better identify when it is being misused and to better understand how to counter it. Alongside this they learn about the weave, the way magical energy permeates the world around us, and how casters channel it through their bodies. They learn to attack certain weak points in these channels, effectively severing casters from the weave itself for a short period of time.

#### Bonus Proficiency
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When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn how to identify the traits of a mage, magical item, or magical effect.
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You gain proficiency in the **Arcana** skill if you don’t already have it. If you were already proficient in the Arcana skill, you gain expertise in the Arcana skill instead.

#### Arcane Snuff
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Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate the arcane energy in your enemy’s body when you harness your ki. 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 silenced until the end of your next turn.
- It can't take reactions until the end of your next turn.
- If the target needs to roll a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell as a result of this attack, it does so with disadvantage.

#### Arcane Deflection
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At 6th level, your knowledge of the way mages channel their magic into the material plane is incredibly acute. 
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Your Deflect Missiles feature now applies to ranged spell attacks as well as weapon attacks. If you reduce the damage you would take from the spell attack to 0, you can catch an arcane missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch an arcane missile in this way and spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with the arcane missile you just caught, the attack does the same type and amount of damage it would normally do. What arcane missiles you can deflect or catch are up to DM discretion. For example, a *Fire Bolt* attack would likely be considered a missile by many DMs, but a *Witch Bolt* may not be.

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Additionally, you can now spend **3 ki points** as a reaction on your turn to cast *Counterspell* at 3rd level using **Wisdom** as your spellcasting ability. At higher levels, You can spend additional ki points to cast *Counterspell* as a higher-level spell. Each additional ki point you spend increases the spell’s level by 1. The maximum number of ki points (3 plus any additional points) that you can spend on the spell equals half your monk level rounded down (to a maximum of 9).

#### Arcane Retaliation
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Beginning at 11th level, you've primed your body and spirit for storing and safely channeling arcane effects in short bursts. Whenever you use your reaction to cast *Counterspell* using your ki, you may spend **1 additional ki point** to attempt to store the spell within yourself instead of completely nullifying it. 
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If you expend this additional ki point and successfully *Counterspell* the triggering spell, that spell is now stored safely within you. While you have a spell stored, you can act as though it is a spell you can cast normally, and use the appropriate casting time on your turn to cast it yourself using **Wisdom** as your spellcasting ability. The spell is cast by you at the same level it was originally cast by a different mage. Once you cast a spell in this way, you must store another before you can cast a spell again. You may only ever have 1 spell stored at a time, any attempts to store an additional spell fail. Stored spells are lost at the end of a long rest if they have not been used.
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This effect only works if you successfully *Counterspell* the triggering spell in the first place. If you fail *Counterspell* 's ability check, the spell occurs as normal and all the ki spent trying to *Counterspell* and store the spell are expended.

#### Arcane Nullification
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At 17th level, you have become so familiar with the weave and the way that it interacts with other natural energies of the world that you can now completely negate its presence in the material plane, wreathing yourself in a tranquil aura. 
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As an action, you can spend **5 ki points** to gain the effects of an **Antimagic Field**, affecting only yourself. This special version of the field requires no concentration to maintain or material components to cast, does not extend beyond you, and lasts for **1 minute** or until you dispel it (no action required by you). As long as it is active, you cannot be affected by any spells or magical effects.

##### Credits
**Writer/Designer:** Abigail Sands [@g00dberry on Twitter].
**Legal:** *DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.*
*This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.*
*All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by Abigail Sands and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.*