Master of Five Excellences

**Master of Five Excellences**

For many monks, perfection of their martial art provides absolute fulfillment. It is perfection in and of itself, and they need nothing more, though their morals may compel them to act for other causes.

For some, however, pure martial arts feel incomplete. A worthy study, but incapable of fully satisfying them. A longing in their souls compels them to seek other expressions.

For these, and by these, a loose curriculum has emerged, offering other, related avenues, that can help them find completion. This curriculum is known as the Fivefold Lotus, and teaches Medicine, Calligraphy, Painting, and Poetry, in addition to the Taiji. Those who walk these avenues often focus on a single complement, finding that this singular art was what their soul sought. However, sometimes, a hungry soul seeks all paths at once, finding beauty in the way that each of the five arts complements the others. Those who find success along this path are known as Masters of the Five Excellences.

**Mastery of Medicine**

The first excellence to show combat application is the art of medicine. Unsurprising, as those who know how the body's harms can be corrected also know, by default, how those harms can be caused.

At 8th level, profound understanding of the points where ki can be knotted allow a Master of Five Excellences to attempt one Stunning Fist per long rest on each creature the Master observes without spending a ki point. In addition, the Master of Five Excellences gains the Healer feat, and may make use of its features without a healer's kit.

**Mastery of Calligraphy**

The second excellence to show adventuring application is the art of calligraphy. While only a madman would set out his four treasures of the study in the middle of a melee, it is said by some that when the Overdeity set out to make the world, the first thing that he did was draw out his heavenly ink stone, fill it with ink, set down his paper, and use his brush to begin to define the laws of the universe. When one is sufficiently attuned to the world, in a small way, one can emulate this.

At 10th level, the Master of Five Excellences gains the ability to use any ritual spell, as long as they have access to the specific types of ink stone, ink, paper, and brush that they have practiced their calligraphy with. Further material components of no gold piece value are unnecessary.

**Mastery of Poetry**

The third excellence to find use in adventuring is the art of poetry. A wise word, well-spoken, can enlighten another to myriad possibilities. Including the possibility of ducking just a bit lower to avoid the fireball.

At 13th level, a Master of Five Excellences may, as a bonus action, speak a koan that grants an ally Insight.  That ally can expend this boon to gain a bonus of +1d8 to a saving throw, or to inflict a -1d4 penalty to a single creature's saving throw against one of their effects. If unused, this boon fades when its recipient takes a short rest. A Master can use this ability a number of times between short rests up to their Wisdom modifier.

**Mastery of Painting**

The fourth excellence to find use in adventuring is the art of painting. Being the a reactive excellence, seeking to capture the essence of ideas, rather than set down ideas of one's own, and not possessing the clear utility of medicine, it takes a great Master indeed to find its strength. However, if one truly captures the essence of a thing, one can call it forth by pure will.

Over the course of a short rest, a 15th-level Master of Five Excellences can cast one of Conjure Animals, Conjure Minor Elementals, Conjure Woodland Beings, or Conjure Celestial, at level 8 or below. These are not the actual entity normally summoned, but a construct of ink and thought. They are thus absolutely loyal to the Master, and need not be issued commands. However, as with any such spell, having one's concentration broken does cause the thought of these beings to collapse.

**Mastery of the Taiji**

At this, the final level of mastery of the five Excellences, the Master discovers the full relation of each of the other Excellences to his ultimate fist. His strikes can harm or heal. His calligraphy spells the doom of his foes. He is poetry in motion. He paints in the blood of those who would stand against him. Also, he beats people up pretty badly, so that's cool.

At 18th level, once per long rest, a Master of Five Excellences can call upon one of the following four effects.  The save DCs of any of these effects are the same as that of Stunning Fist.

*Movement Between Moments*- The body's limits are seldom explored by those who do not fully understand it. As a free action, the Master calls upon his absolute mastery of Medicine and his own form to take an additional Bonus Action each round for one minute.

*Universal Edict-* His hand is his brush, his foe's blood is his ink, his mind his inkstone, and his foe's essence is his paper. The Master may cast any of the Power Word spells on an opponent struck by an unarmed strike. The verbal component is replaced with a somatic one.

*Koan of Enlightenment*- Nothing stands against truth. By speaking a poem of pure beauty and wisdom, the Master of the Five Excellences can transport an individual who hears it to nirvana momentarily, casting Power Word Heal upon them as a bonus action. This spell does not require a somatic component.

*Essence of Sensation*- With a well-placed unarmed strike, the Master can cause the visage of the foe they battle to perfectly capture the suffering that they are experiencing, acting as an activated Symbol spell, cast as a Free Action upon completion of a successful unarmed strike. Unlike the normal spell, no material components are required, and the effect only targets those within 60' of the afflicted at the moment of casting, upon whom the effects last until the end of the Master's next turn. The afflicted itself, unable to see itself under most circumstances, and the Master, fully aware of the painting being created, are unaffected.