Paths of the Monk

Starting at 3rd level many Monks look to specialise their talents, depending upon their particular personal goals.
The options open are:
* Generic Monk – all rounder
* Warrior Monk – Improved combat	abilities
* Guardian – Improved defensive &	protection abilities
* Invigilator – Improved knowledge	abilities
* Blackfist - Posion and fast kill
Training in any of these options requires tuition, generally only available from specific individuals who may be able to provide training in only one specific path. Training generally costs around 40gp. Should the Monk achieve 6th level, without any specialisation then he has lost the opportunity.
(There are other paths, but these need to be discovered)
==All Paths==
4th lvl and above: Open hand attacks function as +1 weapons
6th lvl and above: Open hand attacks do not risk touch attack effects (e.g. you can punch a Mummy without catching disease)
8th lvl and above: Open hand attacks function as +2 weapons
10th lvl and above: Open hand attacks function as +3 weapons and take best form for damage dealing (e.g. blunt vs. skeletons)
==Comparison==
 	Generic 	Warrior Monk 	Guardian 	Invigilator 	
Stat Choices 	Str, Wis, Con	Str, Wis, Con 	Dex, Con, Wis 	Int, Wis, Char	
Thief Abilities	Retained 	2nd level limit	2nd level limit for Open locks and Climb walls	Retained 	
Weapon Damage 	0.5/lvl 	0.5/lvl 	Max 2 	Lost 	
Skills Lost 	n/a 	
*A (speak with Animals)
*F (speak with Plants)	
*D (catalepsy)
*E (self heal)
*J (immunity to Quest/Geas)	
*OH Stun
*Quivering Palm	
Skills Gained 	n/a 	
*OH attack as Fighter
*Flurry of blows
*OH Dex/Str bonus
*Con HP as Fighter
*Can be hasted
*+2 init, First move @8th>	
*Dex to own AC and counter opponent
*Attack interception
*+1 HP/dice
*Improved Heal
*Best saving throw table	Free Spell casting
*Cleric(@ 4th)
*Druid(@ 5th)
*Mage(@ 7th)
*Illusionist(@ 9th)
Skill gain per 3 levels	
==Generic Monk==
All normal Monk rules apply, the Monk will gain +1 Str, +1 Wis or +1 Con (player choice) at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter.
==Warrior Monk==
The Monk stops any development of his thief abilities in order to focus on improving their combat skills. The Monk will continue to have the basic thief skills (as a 2nd level thief only).
In addition the Monk loses abilities A (speak with Animals), F (speak with Plants).
Warrior Monks gain the following benefits:
* Their open hand attacks are made	on the Fighter table (weapon attacks still use Thief)
* Flurry of blows, at 5th	level the monk gains the ability to have a number of open hand	attacks as a monk 4 levels higher, but doing damage as a monk 4	levels lower
* Open hand attacks gain Dexterity	bonuses to hit and Strength bonuses on damage
* They gain Con bonuses to HP as a	fighter
* They retain their immunity to slow	spells, but can elect to be subject to a haste spell (not that if	hasted, the monks immunity to slow will not prevent a slow spell	from cancelling the haste)
* At third level the Warrior Monk	gains +2 to any initiative rolls, unless surprised
* At eighth level the Warrior Monk	gains the ability: 1/day – automatically gain initiative and act	first in any given situation
Warrior Monk gains +1 Dex, +1 Con or +1 Str at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter.
==Guardian==
The Guardian focusses on providing improved security and defending others.
The Guardian loses the following Monk abilities:
* Additional weapon damage is capped	at +2 (4th level)
* Open locks and Climb walls	abilities are capped at 2nd level thief
* D (catalepsy), E (self heal), J	(immunity to Quest/Geas)
The Guardian gains the following benefits:
* They can apply their Dex bonus to	hit as a negative modifier to a single opponents attack which they	are in h2h combat with – even if the opponent is attacking someone	else
* They gain +1 hp/dice
* They are able to intercept	opponents attacks (20%+3%/lvl chance) of taking an attack that was	intended for another (this includes missile attacks if the intended	target is within 10’ of the Guardian)
* They can apply Dexterity bonuses	to their own AC
* At 7th level the	Guardian gains the ability to heal himself or others, once per day.	The damage healed is 1hp/lvl + Wisdom bonus to save
* Guardians make saving throws on	the best possible table (exception the Petrification save vs.	missiles remains on the thief table)
Guardian gains +1 Dex, +1 Con or +1 Wis at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter.
==Invigilator==
A more mystic route, followed by the more religiously dedicated monks.
The invigilator loses the following Monk abilities:
* Can no longer stun or use	quivering palm with open hand attacks
* No additional damage when using	weapons
At 4th level and above, the invigilator gains the ability to use clerical spells, a total of (Invigilator level -3 + Wisdom-14) levels of spell can be cast per day. These spells do not need to be pre-selected, but can only be Divination spells.
At 5th level and above the Invigilator gains access to druidic spells (against the same limit of levels)
At 7th level and above the Invigilator gains access to magic user spells (against the same limit of levels but with Intelligence-14 as an additional bonus)
At 9th level and above the Invigilator gains access to illusionist spells (against the same limit of levels)
(Clarification: Only divination spells, doesnt matter what list they are drawn from. It is a common pool)
Invigilators gain new skills at the rate of +1 Skill per 3 levels
Invigilators gain +1 Int, +1 Wis or +1 Cha at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter.
==Blackfist==
The Monks focus shifts towards effective ways of killing swiftly, generally looked down on by most of the other Monk subclasses because of what is seen as their lack of mental discipline.
The Blackfist loses abilities B (ESP Block), D (Self coma), G (Resistance to Charm etc.), H (Mental Discipline), J (Quest/Geas Immunity).
Blackfists gain the following benefits:
* If they	surprise or attack an unaware opponent, their attacks that round	gain double damage in addition to any other bonuses
* Their open	hand attacks stun if they exceed the to hit roll by 4 (as opposed to	5)
* Their kill	%age is calculated as Enemy AC + Monk Level-5
* At Level 4	the Blackfist can safely handle poisons and can envenom weapons with	only a 5% chance of failure
* Focussed	Blow, at 6th level the monk gains the ability to focus	their multiple blows/round into a single attack. The single attack	has a to hit bonus of +2 (+3 at 10th lvl, +4 at 14th	lvl) and the damage inflicted is multiplied by the number of attacks	the monk would normally have.
* Ability ‘I’	 (Immunity to poison) is gained at level 9, this allows the	Blackfist to envenom his hands
Blackfist gain +1 Con, +1 Int or +1 Str at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter.