Monk (5A)
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| Starfox's 5th Edition Fan Page |
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.
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, scimitars, and shortswords.
- Tools: Choose one type of artisan's tools or one musical instrument
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth
Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a shortsword or (b) scimitars or (c) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- (a) 10 darts
Multiclassing
You must have a Dexterity and Wisdom of 13 to multiclass into or out of this class.
Multiclassing into the class gives you proficiency simple weapons, scimitars, and shortswords.
Monk multiclassing gives no spellcasing progression.
Monk Table
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Martial Arts | Ki Points | Unarmored Movement | Features |
| 1st | +2 | d6 | – | – | Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts |
| 2nd | +2 | d6 | 2 | +10 ft. | Dedicated weapon, Ki, Unarmored Movement |
| 3rd | +2 | d6 | 3 | +10 ft. | Monastic Tradition, Deflect Missiles, |
| 4th | +2 | d6 | 4 | +10 ft. | Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall |
| 5th | +3 | d8 | 5 | +10 ft. | Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, Focused Aim |
| 6th | +3 | d8 | 6 | +15 ft. | Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition feature |
| 7th | +3 | d8 | 7 | +15 ft. | Evasion, Stillness of Mind |
| 8th | +3 | d8 | 8 | +15 ft. | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | d8 | 9 | +15 ft. | Ki Master Strikes |
| 10th | +4 | d8 | 10 | +20 ft. | Purity of Body |
| 11th | +4 | d12 | 11 | +20 ft. | Monastic Tradition feature |
| 12th | +4 | d12 | 12 | +20 ft. | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | d12 | 13 | +20 ft. | Tongue of the Sun and Moon |
| 14th | +5 | d12 | 14 | +25 ft. | Diamond Soul |
| 15th | +5 | d12 | 15 | +25 ft. | Timeless Body |
| 16th | +5 | d12 | 16 | +25 ft. | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | d20 | 17 | +25 ft. | Monastic Tradition feature |
| 18th | +6 | d20 | 18 | +30 ft. | Empty Body |
| 19th | +6 | d20 | 19 | +30 ft. | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | d20 | 20 | +30 ft. | Perfect Self |
Class Abilities
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier or 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Strength modifier (your choice).
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 shortswords scimitars, and simple melee weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property.
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
- You can roll a d6 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or 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 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), a dart that is a star-shaped disc (called a shuriken) 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.
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 is unavailable until you spend an action to perform the Dodge action. When you spend an action to perform a Dodge (not when you use Patient Defense or otherwise dodging without spending an action), you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. This restores your Ki points to their maximum value. When you spend an action to Dodge in combat, as a part of this action, you can also make an Intelligence (History or Religion) check to recall knowledge regarding the situation at hand. This represents a flashback or inspiration related to your teachings.
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 an unarmed strike. as a bonus action. You can only do this once per turn, but can use this is the same turn you spend a bonus action to get an additional unarmed attack from Martial Arts.
- Patient Defense. You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action. on your turn.
- Step of the Wind. You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash actions as a bonus action. on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Unarmored Movement
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor and not wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
When you are able to use unarmored movement you also get a bonus to jump distance. For every 5 ft. of unarmored movement bonus, your horizontal jump distance increases by 2 ft. and your vertical jump distance increases by 1 ft.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move. You must still end your turn in a position legal without this ability, or you suffer the normal effects.
Dedicated Weapon
At 2nd level, you train yourself to use a dedicated weapon with your martial arts. You gain proficiency with any one weapon of your choice and count that weapon as a monk weapon. If you choose a weapon with the heavy property that lacks the finesse property, you must use Strength and not Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls with this weapon.
Also at 2nd level, 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 be a melee weapon.
- It must lack the heavy and special properties.
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 are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you 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 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 with a range of 20/60 using 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.
Ki-Fueled Attack
Also at 3rd level, 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.
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.
Quickened Healing
Also at 4th level, as a bonus action, you can spend 2 ki points and roll a Martial Arts die. You regain a number of hit points equal to the number rolled plus your proficiency bonus plus your Constitution modifier (minimum +0). Each use of this ability reduces the number of Hit Dice available to heal during a short rest by one.
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
Also at 5th level, 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 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 use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened. You can do this even if you are under an effect would prevent you from taking this action.
Ki Master Strikes
Starting at 9th level, the damage of your unarmed strikes ignore damage resistance and count damage immunity as damage resistance.
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, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you are immune to the paralyzed and stunned conditions and no longer need air, food, or water.
Empty Body
Beginning at 18th level, when not wearing armor and not wielding a shield, you gain two abilities.
- You can use a bonus action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage but force damage.
- 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, when you start your turn, roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points up to your normal maximum.