Monk
Class Details
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.
The Magic of Ki
Monks make careful study of a magical energy that most monastic traditions call ki. This energy is an element of the magic that suffuses the multiverse—specifically, the element that flows through living bodies. Monks harness this power within themselves to create magical effects and exceed their bodies’ physical capabilities, and some of their special attacks can hinder the flow of ki in their opponents. Using this energy, monks channel uncanny speed and strength into their unarmed strikes. As they gain experience, their martial training and their mastery of ki gives them more power over their bodies and the bodies of their foes.
Training and Asceticism
Small walled cloisters dot the landscapes of the worlds of D&D, tiny refuges from the flow of ordinary life, where time seems to stand still. The monks who live there seek personal perfection through contemplation and rigorous training. Many entered the monastery as children, sent to live there when their parents died, when food couldn’t be found to support them, or in return for some kindness that the monks had performed for their families.
Some monks live entirely apart from the surrounding population, secluded from anything that might impede their spiritual progress. Others are sworn to isolation, emerging only to serve as spies or assassins at the command of their leader, a noble patron, or some other mortal or divine power.
The majority of monks don’t shun their neighbors, making frequent visits to nearby towns or villages and exchanging their service for food and other goods. As versatile warriors, monks often end up protecting their neighbors from monsters or tyrants.
For a monk, becoming an adventurer means leaving a structured, communal lifestyle to become a wanderer. This can be a harsh transition, and monks don’t undertake it lightly. Those who leave their cloisters take their work seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater mission than merely slaying monsters and plundering their treasure.
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Creating a Monk
As you make your monk character, think about your connection to the monastery where you learned your skills and spent your formative years. Were you an orphan or a child left on the monastery’s threshold? Did your parents promise you to the monastery in gratitude for a service performed by the monks? Did you enter this secluded life to hide from a crime you committed? Or did you choose the monastic life for yourself?
Consider why you left. Did the head of your monastery choose you for a particularly important mission beyond the cloister? Perhaps you were cast out because of some violation of the community’s rules. Did you dread leaving, or were you happy to go? Is there something you hope to accomplish outside the monastery? Are you eager to return to your home?
As a result of the structured life of a monastic community and the discipline required to harness ki, monks are almost always lawful in alignment.
QUICK BUILD
You can make a monk quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the hermit background.
The Monk Table
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Martial Arts | Ki Power | Unarmored Movement | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d4 | — | — | Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d4 | 2 | +10 ft | Ki, Unarmored Movement |
| 3rd | +2 | 1d4 | 3 | +10 ft | Monastic Tradition, Deflect Missiles |
| 4th | +2 | 1d4 | 4 | +10 ft | Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall, Life Force |
| 5th | +3 | 1d6 | 5 | +15 ft | Ki-Empowered Body |
| 6th | +3 | 1d6 | 6 | +15 ft | Stunning Strike, Monastic Tradition feature |
| 7th | +3 | 1d6 | 7 | +15 ft | Evasion, Stillness of Mind |
| 8th | +3 | 1d6 | 8 | +15 ft | Ability Score Improvement, Extra Unarmed Attack |
| 9th | +4 | 1d8 | 9 | +15 ft | Unarmored Movement improvement |
| 10th | +4 | 1d8 | 10 | +20 ft | Body Cultivation, Ability Score Improvement |
| 11th | +4 | 1d8 | 11 | +20 ft | Monastic Tradition feature |
| 12th | +4 | 1d8 | 12 | +20 ft | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | 1d10 | 13 | +20 ft | Tongue of the Sun and Moon, Monastic Tradition feature |
| 14th | +5 | 1d10 | 14 | +25 ft | Soul Cultivation |
| 15th | +5 | 1d10 | 15 | +25 ft | Timeless Body |
| 16th | +5 | 1d10 | 16 | +25 ft | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | 1d12 | 17 | +25 ft | Monastic Tradition feature, Stunning Strike improvement |
| 18th | +6 | 1d12 | 18 | +30 ft | Dao of Void, Unarmored Movement improvement |
| 19th | +6 | 1d12 | 19 | +30 ft | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | 1d12 | 20 | +30 ft | Enlightenment |
Class Features
As a monk, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per monk level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per monk level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: None
- Weapons: Simple Weapons, Shortsword, Scimitar and Whip
- Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Nature, Medicine, Perception, and Stealth.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) spear or (b) quarterstaff
- (a) 10 Dart or (b) any Simple Weapons
- (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
- If you are using starting wealth, you have 2d4 x 10 gp in funds.
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 11 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
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 any Simple and Martial Weapons, that lack the heavy and special properties. You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding weapons that you have proficiency 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.
- When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use Dexterity (Acrobatics) instead of Strength (Athletics) check.
- 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.
- Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space.
- You can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.
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 on the Weapons page.
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Ki
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 powers. The amount of ki power changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table. Additionally, when you score a critical hit you regain 1 ki power. You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Reactive Defense and Secret Technique. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class. Additionally, If you have a spell(s) granted through racial traits can be fueled by your ki. The amount of ki used is equal to the spell level. When you spend a ki power, it is 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 powers. 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:
Spell Save DC
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Flurry of Blows. You can spend 1 ki power to make one more unarmed strikes on your turn.
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Defensive Stance You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks to any creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach without using your reaction.
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Lightning Step You can spend 1 ki point to teleport up to twice your movement to an unoccupied space that you can see as a bonus action on your turn. You then have advantage on the first melee attack you make before the end of the turn.
- Secret Technique.
You can spend 1 ki to make a melee attack against one creature within 5 feet of you as an action. Choise one damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning or force. On a hit, the target suffers the attack’s normal effects, and you can change the damage done in the chosen element.
Each element will require a different saving throw. Fire and Electricity will require dexterity, Cold and Acid will require Constitution, and Force will require strength. You can add special effects to your ki weapon attack:
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Ki Extension Your attack becomes a 10 feet ranged attack, at 5th level 30 feet, at 11th level 90 feet, at 17th level 120 feet, and any enemies that is within 5 feet of the affected enemy take elemental damage equal to your wisdom modifier.
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Ki Burst. You can choose to hit your enemy, and any other enemy within 5 feet of you must pass a saving throw or take elemental damage. At 11th level 10 feet, at 17th level 15 feet.
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Ki Tremor. You can choose to hit your enemy and any enemy within 5 feet of you must pass a saving throw or be knocked prone. At 5th level 10 feet, at 11th level 15 feet, at 17th level 20 feet. The elemental energy lingers in the affected area making it a difficult terrain until the end of your next turn.
The elemental damage will increase according to your level in this class. At 5th level, the damage increases by one martial art die of the chosen element on a hit (1d6 / 1d8), at 11th level increase by another (2d8 / 2d10) and 17th level yet another (3d12).
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Unarmored Movement
At 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing heavy armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table. At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move. You can use your reaction to not fall for a turn. At 18th level, you gain the ability to move in the air on your turn without falling during the move.
Monastic Tradition
When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition. 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 the missile when you or an ally at 5 feet of you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if you have at least one hand free and it is small enough to hold. If you catch a missile, you can make a ranged attack with 20/60 of range using the weapon or 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.
Ability Score Increase
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 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.
Slow fall
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. Additionally, you can use the same reaction to give give the same power to 4 people within your movement range by consuming 1 ki.
Life Force
At 4th level, you can spend 1 ki as an action and roll a Martial Arts die. You or one willing creature that you touch regain a number of hit points equal to the number rolled plus your proficiency bonus. Additionally, you can do the reverse operation to recover 1 ki.
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Ki-Empowered Body
Starting at 5th level, your hard training has made your body a weapon. Your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Additionally, if your weapon is enhanced by a spell, your unarmed strike are also enhanced as well.
Stunning Strike
Starting at 6th 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 power to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. At 17th level every time you make a critical hit the enemy is automatically stunned until the end of your next turn.
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 use your action to end one effect that is causing you or one willing creature that you touch to be charmed or frightened.
Extra Unarmed Attack
Beginning at 8th level, after attacking with your bonus action unarmed strikes or with your secondary weapon, you can make an unarmed strikes as part of the same bonus action.
Body Cultivation
At 10th level, your powerful ki is now part of your body, this makes you immune to diseases and poisons and allows you to use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Athletics checks. Additionally the knowledge in the ki, allows you as an action to make a Medicine check to cure a disease or a poison from one willing creature that you touch.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Starting at 13th level, your way of speaking and your gestures are influenced by your powerful ki. You learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages and any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say. Moreover, when you make Charisma checks, you can use instead your Wisdom modifier.
Soul Cultivation
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throw. Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw or an ability check and fail, you can spend 1 ki power 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, for every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year and you can't be aged magically. You no longer need food or water, but you can still die of old age, however.
Dao of Void
Starting at 18th level, you can use your bonus action to spend 4 ki powers to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you have resistance to all damage but force damage. Additionally, you can spend 8 ki powers to cast the Astral Projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you can't take any other creatures with you.
Enlightenment
At 20th level, you to go beyond the human limit. Your body is so used to certain movements that has become one with your being. You can take two reactions in each of your turns. Additionally, every time you roll for initiative you have at last 5 + your Wisdom modifier ki available.
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ART
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