Way of the Darkmoon Tide
The Way of the Darkmoon tide teaches its adherents how to subsume the enemy like an inexorable tide, turning their strengths against them, sapping their vigor, and drawing them beneath the black undertow to a cold and breathless demise.
Training in endurance is as vital as technique for this tradition, and students learn to steel and steady themselves, their presence as vast and flowing as the ocean.
Flowing Form
When you join this tradition at 3rd level, you become closely attuned to the ebb and flow of combat. You can make Athletics checks with either your Dexterity or Wisdom modifier, and you gain proficiency in the Athletics skill if you don't already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with Athletics.
In addition, whenever you make an unarmed strike, you can attempt to shove or grapple instead.
Darkmoon Technique
You learn special techniques that help you fend, bind and seize targets. You learn three such techniques, which are detailed under "Techniques" below. You learn two additional techniques of your choice at 6th, 11th and 17th level. Each time you learn new techniques, you can also replace one technique you know with another one.
Vortex
Starting at 6th level, every time you make an attack against a creature no larger than one size larger than you within 5 feet, you can move it to another space within 5 feet of you.
In addition, your deft flowing motions let you use your Dexterity score in place of your Strength score when determining how far you can drag or lift a creature in a single round.
Drown in Pain
By 11th level, your unyielding grasp inflicts ever more grievous pain. You gain a pool of pain equal to your monk level x 5 that replenishes on a long rest. Each time when you physically attack a creature through trips, grapples, shoves, throws, chokes, or unarmed strikes (regardless of success), you can expend a number of these points equal to half your monk level (rounded up), dealing additional magical bludgeoning damage against a single affected creature.
Seas of Blood
Your travails have left you no fear of pain, and by 17th level you’ve learned to channel it back into your strikes. While you are below half of your maximum hit points, you can make an additional attack when you take the Attack action. When you are below one fourth of your maximum hit points, you gain a second additional attack. When you are dropped to 0 hit points and not killed outright, you can make one melee attack against each creature of your choice within range before you fall unconscious.
Techniques
High Tide. You can make a special grapple against a creature that is two or more sizes larger than you, in order to climb it. You make an Athletics or Acrobatics (Dexterity) check against the creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Acrobatics (Dexterity) check. If you succeed, you can move freely atop that creature, treating its body as difficult terrain. While climbing another creature, you gain advantage on attacks made against it, and it has disadvantage on attacks against you. The creature flings you off onto an adjacent space of its choice if it successfully contests your grapple.
Riptide. When a creature within 5 feet of you makes any attack (against any creature) that does not successfully hit you, you can use your reaction to attempt to grapple them.
Dark Depths. You can deploy headlocks, a special grapple. You are considered one size larger for the purpose of this grapple if you use two arms or two legs to execute and maintain it. While a creature that has blood or requires air is grappled this way, you can use a subsequent grapple attack to choke them, dealing unavoidable damage equal to one roll of their hit dice + your Dexterity modifier. A creature attacked this way cannot vocalize until it breaks free of this grapple, or the beginning of your next turn.
Roaring Water. You can deploy limb locks, a special grapple. On a success, you can equip one limb of a creature in a free hand, restraining its use. You are considered one size larger for the purpose of this grapple if you use two limbs. If you successfully grapple all of a creature’s arms, the target has the restrained condition until they break free of this grapple.
Crashing Waves. As an attack, you can use a grappled target as a thrown melee weapon if you are strong enough to lift it. This weapon has a range equal to 5 + your Dexterity modifier (times four, attacking at disadvantage) and an area of effect equal to the creature’s size. You are considered proficient in this attack, making one attack roll for all affected creatures.
The creature and any creatures or objects struck by it take bludgeoning damage based on the thrown creature’s size (1d4 small, 1d6 medium, 1d8 large, 1d10 huge, 1d12 gargantuan), plus your Dexterity modifier. The creature you throw falls prone, and those thrown on are shunted into the nearest space regardless if you hit or miss. Features that reduce falling damage by a certain amount of damage can be used to defend against this attack.
Alternatively, you can make a melee attack against creatures with your grappled creature in this way, maintaining the grapple.
Eclipser. You can equip a creature you have grappled as a special kind of shield you are proficient in (that does not impede your unarmored defense), and you can draw grappled creatures into your own space. If an attack that would normally hit you is blocked by the additional AC provided by either the creature shield or the cover it provides, the creature takes the damage in your stead. If you succeed on a Dexterity saving throw to avoid damage because of the cover provided by the creature, the grappled creature takes the damage you avoided.
Black Torrent. If you shove a creature into another creature, obstacle or object, it and anything it slams into takes 1d6 + your Dexterity modifier in damage.
Deluge. If you lift up a creature and slam it into the ground from elevation, you add your Dexterity modifier and half the falling damage you receive to any falling damage dealt to your target. If you use any feature to reduce falling damage dealt to you, they still take half the damage rolled.
Wax and Wane. A special move that replaces one attack to increase your AC and Dexterity saving throws by 2 until the end of your next round, usable once on each of your turns.
Surging Strength. A special move that replaces one attack, granting you temporary hit points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier, usable once on each of your turns.
Art Credit:
The Black Sea at Night, by Ivan Aivazovsky
Elf Monk, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, ©PaizoDesign:
EmpyrealWorlds