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Monk, Way of the Ascendant Dragon

Monks are united in their ability to magically harness 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.
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
armor proficiencies: NONE
weapon proficiencies: Simple Weapons, 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
starting equipment:
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

  • (a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon
  • (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) and explorer's pack
  • 10 darts
spellcasting:

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 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.   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. You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
class features:

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.  

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 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 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.  

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

Dedicated Weapon (Optional)

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 lack the heavy and special properties.
 

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 (Optional)

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 (Optional)

Also at 4th level, as an 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.  

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 (Optional)

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.  

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 no longer need food or water.  

Empty Body

Beginning at 18th level, you can use your 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.   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, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points.
subclass options:

Way Of The Ascendant Dragon

  The fundamental teaching of this tradition holds that by emulating dragons, a monk becomes a more integrated part of the world and its magic. By altering their spirit to resonate with draconic might, monks who follow this tradition augment their prowess in battle, bolster their allies, and can even soar through the air on draconic wings. But all this power is in service of a greater goal: achieving a spiritual unity with the essence of the Material Plane.   Source: Fizban's Treasury of Dragons   As a follower of this Monastic Tradition, you decide how you unlocked the power of dragons through your ki. The Ascendant Dragon Origin table offers some possibilities. Please roll from the table below, or come up with your own origin.  

Ascendant Dragon Origin

Roll the Dice
d6Origin
1You honed your abilities by observing a dragon and aligning your ki with their world altering power.
2A dragon personally took an active role in shaping your inner energy.
3You studied at a monastery that traces its teachings back centuries or more to a single dragon’s instruction.
4You spent long stretches meditating in the region of influence of an ancient dragon’s lair, absorbing its ambient magic.
5You found a scroll written in Draconic that contained inspiring new techniques.
6After a dream that featured a five-handed dragonborn you awoke with altered ki, reflecting the breaths of dragons.
 

Draconic Disciple

At 3rd level, you can channel draconic power to magnify your presence and imbue your unarmed strikes with the essence of a dragon’s breath. You gain the following benefits:  
  • Draconic Presence. If you fail a Charisma (Intimidation) or Charisma (Persuasion) check, you can use your reaction to reroll the check, as you tap into the mighty presence of dragons. Once this feature turns a failure into a success, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
  • Draconic Strike. When you damage a target with an unarmed strike, you can change the damage type to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison.
  • Tongue of Dragons. You learn to speak, read, and write Draconic or one other language of your choice.
 

Breath of the Dragon

At 3rd level you can channel destructive waves of energy, like those created by the dragons you emulate. When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of the attacks with an exhalation of draconic energy in either a 20-foot cone or a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide (your choice). Choose a damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your ki save DC, taking damage of the chosen type equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.   At 11th level, the damage of this feature increases to three rolls of your Martial Arts die.   You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. While you have no uses available, you can spend 2 ki points to use this feature again.  

Wings Unfurled

At 6th level when you use your Step of the Wind, you can unfurl spectral draconic wings from your back that vanish at the end of your turn. While the wings exist, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed.   You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.  

Aspect of the Wyrm

At 11th level the power of your draconic spirit now radiates from you, warding your allies or inspiring fear in your enemies. As a bonus action, you can create an aura of draconic power that radiates 10 feet from you for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain one of the following effects of your choice:  
  • Frightful Presence. When you create this aura, and as a bonus action on subsequent turns, you can choose a creature within the aura. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your ki save DC or become frightened of you for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a successful save.
  • Resistance. Choose a damage type when you activate this aura: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. You and your allies within the aura have resistance to that damage.
Once you create this aura, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend 3 ki points to create it again.  

Ascendant Aspect

At 17th level, your draconic spirit reaches its peak. You gain the following benefits:  
  • Augment Breath. When you use your Breath of the Dragon, you can spend 1 ki point to augment its shape and power. The exhalation of draconic energy becomes either a 60-foot cone or a 90-foot line that is 5 feet wide (your choice), and each creature in that area takes damage equal to four rolls of your Martial Arts die on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
  • Blindsight. You gain blindsight out to 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover, even if you’re blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.
  • Explosive Fury. When you activate your Aspect of the Wyrm, draconic fury explodes from you. Choose any number of creatures you can see in your aura. Each of those creatures must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your ki save DC or take 3d10 acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage (your choice).
LevelProficiency BonusMartial ArtsKi PointsUnarmored MovementFeatures
1st+21d4Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts
2nd+21d42+10 ft.Ki, Unarmored Movement, Dedicated Weapon(Optional)
3rd+21d43+10 ft.Monastic Tradition feature(Draconic Disciple, Breath of the Dragon), Deflect Missiles, Ki-Fueled Attack (Optional)
4th+21d44+10 ft.Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall, Quickened Healing (Optional)
5th+31d65+10 ft.Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, Focused Aim (Optional)
6th+31d66+15 ft.Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition feature(Wings Unfurled)
7th+31d67+15 ft.Evasion, Stillness of Mind
8th+31d68+15 ft.Ability Score Improvement
9th+41d69+15 ft.Unarmored Movement improvement
10th+41d610+20 ft.Purity of Body
11th+41d811+20 ft.Monastic Tradition feature(Aspect of the Wyrm, Breath of the Dragon improvement)
12th+41d812+20 ft.Ability Score Improvement
13th+51d813+20 ft.Tongue of the Sun and Moon
14th+51d814+25 ft.Diamond Soul
15th+51d815+25 ft.Timeless Body
16th+51d816+25 ft.Ability Score Improvement
17th+61d1017+25 ft.Monastic Tradition feature(Ascendant Aspect)
18th+61d1018+30 ft.Empty Body
19th+61d1019+30 ft.Ability Score Improvement
20th+61d1020+30 ft.Perfect Self

Created by

Kalin5513.

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