Monk Optional Features
| Level | New Optional Features |
|---|---|
| 1st | Self Defense, Martial Arts (Revised) |
| 2nd | Ki (revised), Spirituality |
| 3rd | Acupuncture, Counterstrike |
| 4th | Protective Mantra, Interception |
| 5th | Power Punch, Rushing Strike, Chakras' Lock |
| 6th | - |
| 7th | Uplifting Wisdom |
| 8th | - |
| 9th | - |
| 10th | Fluid Movements |
| 11th | - |
| 12th | - |
| 13th | Third Eye |
| 14th | Diamond Body |
| 15th | - |
| 16th | - |
| 17th | - |
| 18th | Inner Power, Projected Consciousness |
| 19th | - |
| 20th | Awaken Self |
Art Credit : Wizards of the Coast
Optional Features
You gain class features in the Player’s Handbook when you reach certain levels in your class. This section offers additional features that you can gain as a monk.
Unlike the features in the Player’s Handbook, you don’t gain the feature here automatically.
Consulting with your DM, you decide whether to gain a feature in this section if you meet the level requirement noted in the feature’s description. These features can be selected separately from one another; you can use one, multiple, or none of them.
Self Defense
1st level feature, which replaces the Unarmored Defense feature.
When a creature attacks you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to impose a disadvantage to this attack. If it misses, the attacker falls prone.
Martial Arts (Revised)
1st level feature.
At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords 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 medium or heavy 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 on the Weapons page.
NEW : In addition, choose a martial art from the list below when you get that feature : you gain the respective benefits.
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Monastic Magic. You learn 2 cantrips from the cleric spell list. Wisdom is your spell casting modifier for those spells. Moreover, when you cast a cantrip, you can then make an unarmed strike as a bonus action.
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Karate. When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. Moreover, when both of your hands are free, your unarmed strikes deal 1 extra damage on a hit.
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Sumo. Everytime a monk feature asks you to use your Dexterity modifier, you can use your Constitution modifier instead. You can also use your constitution modifier instead of your Strength modifier when you do a sepcial shove or grapple attack.
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Judo. You can make special shove or grapple attacks as a bonus action. Moreover, you can add you dexterity modifier instead of your strength when you make a grapple or shove attack, and you can grapple or shove creatures that are two sizes bigger than you.
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Kendo. Longswords counts as a monk weapon for you and when you use one, it counts as if it had the finesse property. In addition, you can, as a bonus action, add 1d6 + half your monk level to the damage dealt by an attack you made with a longsword.
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Kyudo. Longbows count as a monk weapon for you, and at the start of your turn, you can choose to reduce your speed to 0 until the start of your next turn to deeply focus on your shots. When you do so, you have the advantage on the next attack roll you make with a bow and all the range attacks you make with a bow this turn score a critical hit on a natural 19 or 20.
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Exotic weapons. Lances and glaives count as monk weapons for you, and when you wield a lance or a glaive, the reach of your unarmed strikes increases by 5 feet. Moreover, as an action you can tie a rope to a weapon with the thrown property. After each attack you make with this weapon, you can pull it back to your hand has a bonus action. If your attack has hit a large or smaller target, it must succeed a strength saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your dexterity modifier, or be pulled 10 feet toward you.
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Street Fighter. Improvised and Natural weapons count as monk weapons for you. Moreover, monk features that require you to make an unarmed strike also work when you make a melee attack with an improvised weapon instead, and when a monk feature allows you to make an unarmed strike, you can make a melee attack with an improvised weapon instead.
You can change your martial art for an other one from that list every time you gain an ASI.
Ki (Revised)
2nd level feature.
You get additional ki points equal to your wisdom modifier on top of the other benefits of this feature.
Spirituality
2nd level feature, which replaces the Unarmored Movement feature.
You can cast as a ritual any spell from the cleric spell list that has the ritual tag and that is of a level equal to half your monk level or lower (so if you are a 2nd level monk, you can cast 1st level spells).
Once you have used this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Acupuncture
3rd level feature, which replaces the Deflect Missiles feature.
You learn how to transfer you own vitality to other creatures. When you expend a hit die during a short rest, you can choose that an other creature you touch regains those hit points instead of you.
Counterstrike
3rd level feature, which replaces the Ki-fueled Attack feature.
As a reaction when a creature targets you with a melee attack, you can spend 1 ki point so that every time a creature targets you with a melee attack before the start of your next turn, it takes bludgeoning damage equal to your dexterity modifier.
Protective Mantra
4th level feature, which replaces the Quicken Healing feature.
When you finish a short or a long rest, you can choose to focus on a mantra to bolster your defenses. Choose a damage type, you become resistant to that damage type until you use this feature again or until you fall unconscious.
Interception
4th level feature, which replaces the Slow Fall feature.
As a reaction when a creature targets one of your allies within 15 feet of you with an attack, you can jump next to your ally before the attack so that the creature targets you instead.
Rushing Strike
5th level feature, which replaces the Extra Attack feature.
Once per turn when you make a melee attack, you deal an extra 1d6 damage for every 5-feet you traveled before the attack, up to a number of d6 equal to half your monk level, rounded up.
When calculating this extra damage, the distance you travel through areas you have already moved through this turn doesn't count (so just going back and forth doesn't increase the extra damage).
Power Punch
5th level feature, which replaces the Stunning Strike feature.
Once per turn when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 2 ki points to make a power punch. When you do so, the target and each creature within a 15-foot cone must succeed a strength saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus, or be pushed 10 feet away from you and be shoved prone.
Chakras' Lock
5th level feature, which replaces the Stunning Strike feature.
When you hit a creature, you can spend 1 ki point to block its chakras. When you do so, your target must succeed a constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your wisdom modifier + you proficiency bonus, or it can no longer use features that require to expend a resource (it can't cast spells, and can't use features with a number of uses per day or features that recharge on a 5-6 for instance). The target can make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Uplifting Wisdom
7th level feature, which replaces the Stillness of Mind feature.
As an action, you can tell inspiring words to your allies, like remembering important part of their past or the friendship that links you for instance. Each ally that can hear you make its next ability check or saving throw with advantage, and can immediately use its reaction to get on its feet if it is prone.
Once you have used this feature once, you must finish a short rest before you can use it again.
Fluid Movements
10th level feature, which replaces the Purity of Body feature.
When an effect should move you, you can instead move from that same distance in the direction of your choice. That movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
Third Eye
13th level feature, which replaces the Tongue of the Sun and Moon feature.
As a bonus action, you can focus your mind to open up your third eye. While your third eye is open, you gain blind sight in a 60-foot radius, and you have advantage on saving throws and ability checks against illusions. Moreover, you can focus your eye as an action to see through a solid surface such as a wall or a chest.
Once opened, your third eye stays opened for 1 minute or until you fall unconscious.
Once you have used this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Diamond Body
14th level feature, which replaces the Diamond Soul feature.
You become immune to all non-magical piercing, slashing and bludgeoning damage.
Inner Power
18th level feature, which replaces the Empty Body feature.
When you reach 0 hit points, or as an action during your turn, you can remember an important moment from your past, that gives you the will to continue the fight! At the start of your next turn, you recharge your features and you can expend hit dice as if you just took a short rest.
Once you have used this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Projected Consciousness
18th level feature, which replaces the Empty Body feature.
As an action, you project your mind into the body of a creature you can see. You gain the control of that creature's body and can see and hear from its eyes and hears. While your mind is in the creature's body, your own body remain immobile and you can't see or hear through your own eyes and hears.
When you control a creature thanks to this feature, you keep your mental ability scores and all your proficiencies. If the creature has a spellcasting feature that isn't innate, you can't use it while you control that creature. If the creature reaches 0 hit points when you control it, you die. You can return to your own body as an action by touching it.
An unwilling creature can make a charisma saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier when you try to take control of its body, stopping you on a success.
Once you have used this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Awaken Self
20th level feature, which replaces the Perfect Self feature.
As an action, you awaken yourself. For 10 minutes, or until you loose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell), every time you use a feature that requires you to spend ki points, you spend 1 less ki point.
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