The Monk - With Some Adjustments

The idea behind the following additions and adjustments is to give a small boost to the base features of the monk class that will subsequently help their sub classes shine a bit brighter. Most of what will be listed will look quite familiar, but the old or new features with changes will have an * next to their name while the changes themselves will be highlighted in bold. Numbers in parenthesis (#) display the original ki point cost. This document does not display the monk class table because no changes were made to it. The only subclass adjusted in this document was the Way of the Sun Soul, it needed some love.

Fighting Style cont. *

Druidic Warrior

You learn two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. They count as monk spells for you, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the druid spell list.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Interception

When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon to use this reaction.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon. In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Unarmed Fighting

Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on a hit. If you aren't wielding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.

At the start of each of your turns, you can deal bludgeoning damage equal to your martial arts die to one creature grappled by you.

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 may be 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 must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.

Alternatively, you may recover your mystic energy while performing deft combative artistry. After you roll for initiative, if you perform a critical hit with your monk weapon or unarmed strike during combat or a creature critically misses you while you are performing the Dodge action, you recover 2 ki points. You may only recover 2 ki points per turn. This effect cannot be triggered once combat has ended.

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.

Patient Defense

You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.

Step of the Wind* (1)

You can take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.

Dedicated Weapon

2nd-level monk optional feature

You train yourself to use a variety of weapons as monk weapons, not just simple melee weapons and shortswords. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can touch one weapon, focus your ki on it, and then count that weapon as a monk weapon until you use this feature again.

The chosen weapon must meet these criteria:

• The weapon must be a simple or martial weapon.
• You must be proficient with it.
• It must lack the heavy and special properties.

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. If wearing light armor, this bonus decreases by 5 feet, and if wearing medium armor, this bonus decreases by 10 feet.

At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.

Deflect Attacks *

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect an attack when you are hit by a weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by your martial arts die + your proficiency bonus + your monk level.

If the attack was a melee attack and you reduce the damage to 0, you completely deflect the attack and may spend 1 ki point to make an unarmed strike against the attacking creature as part of the same reaction.

If the attack was a ranged attack and 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 spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack (range 20/60 feet) with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack.

Monastic Tradition

When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition, chosen from the list of available traditions. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Ki-Fueled Attack

3rd-level monk optional feature

If you spend 1 ki point or more as part of your action on your turn, you can make one attack with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon as a bonus action before the end of the 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.

If your DM allows the use of feats, you may instead take a feat.

Leaf on the Wind *

Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level. In addition, when you make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, you can spend 1 ki point and add your martial arts die to the roll, minimum of 1.

Quickened Healing *

4th-level monk optional feature

As an Action, you can spend 1 (2) ki point and roll a Martial Arts die. You regain a number of hit points equal to the number rolled plus your proficiency bonus.

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.

Focused Aim

5th-level monk optional feature

When you miss with an attack roll, you can spend 1 to 3 ki points to increase your attack roll by 2 for each of these ki points you spend, potentially turning the miss into a hit.

Ki-Empowered Strikes *

Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes and dedicated monk weapon 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.

Stillness of Mind *

Starting at 7th level, you can forgo your Action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.

Lethal Strikes *

At 9th level, your attacks made with your unarmed strikes and monk weapon score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

Purity of Body

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

Tongue of the Sun and Moon

Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.

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, you can't be aged magically, and you no longer need food or water. You can still die of old age, however.

During a short rest, you can forgo recovering your ki to instead decrease your exhaustion level by 1 and restore any effects reducing your hit point maximum.

Enhanced Martial Arts *

18th-level monk optional feature

Starting at 18th level, your continued practice and mastery of your martial arts has allowed you to truly turn your weapon into an extension of your body. Your dedicated monk weapon’s damage die is now enhanced by one level, which makes weapons with a d6 die become a d8, and a d8 become a d10, for example.

Monk weapons with the finesse feature also benefit from this enhancement by allowing a d10 to become a d12 when a finesse weapon is wielded with both hands, for example. If whenever you decide to focus your ki into a new dedicated monk weapon, your previous dedicated monk weapon will lose this damage enhancement immediately.

Empty Body *

Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 6 (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, you represent the zenith of martial artistry. You now recover 3 ki points when you critically hit with a monk weapon or unarmed strike or a creature critically misses you while you are performing the Dodge action. You may now only recover 3 ki points per turn.

Way of the Sun Soul

Monks of the Way of the Sun Soul learn to channel their life energy into searing bolts of light. They teach that meditation can unlock the ability to unleash the indomitable light shed by the soul of every living creature.