Monk Subclass Changes (5e)

## Way of the Astral Self

Monks of the Way of Immortality are devoted to the concept of eternal life. They use their ki to help extend their own natural lifespan well past what would normally be possible whilst still keeping their body in peak physical condition. Monks of this monastic tradition will spend their entire unending lives devoted to mastery of its techniques.

### Arms of the Astral Self

*3rd-level Way of Astral Self feature*

At 3rd level, your mastery of your ki allows you to summon a portion of your astral self. As a bonus action, you can spend 2 ki points to summon the arms of your astral self. When you do so, each creature of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take force damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die.

For 10 minutes, these spectral arms hover near your shoulders or surround your arms (your choice). You determine the arms' appearance, and they vanish early if you are incapacitated or die.

While the spectral arms are present, you gain the following benefits:

* ***Arms' Strength:*** You can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

* ***Arms' Strike:*** You can use the spectral arms to make unarmed strikes. When you make an unarmed strike with the arms on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal. The unarmed strikes you make with the arms can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls, and their damage type is force.
* ***Arms' Will:*** When making unarmed strikes with your astral arms, you ignore half cover and do not have disadvantage against targets you cannot see.

### Visage of the Astral Self

*6th-level Way of Astral Self feature*

When you reach 6th level, you can summon the visage of your astral self. As a bonus action, or as part of the bonus action you take to activate Arms of the Astral Self, you can spend 2 ki points to summon this visage for 10 minutes. It vanishes early if you are incapacitated or die.

The spectral visage covers your face like a helmet or mask. You determine its appearance.

While the spectral visage is present, you gain the following benefits.

* ***Sense Emotions:*** You can use Wisdom in place of Charisma for Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion checks.
* ***Sense Environ:*** You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet. Additionally, you add your Wisdom modifier to initiative rolls.
* ***Sense Ki Flow:*** When you use your Stunning Strike feature, creatures that fail their save are instead paralyzed.

### Body of the Astral Self

*11th-level Way of Astral Self feature*

Starting at 11th level, when you have both your astral arms and visage summoned, you can spend 1 ki point to cause the body of your astral self to appear (no action required). This spectral body covers your physical form like a suit of armor, connecting with the arms and visage. You determine its appearance.

While the spectral body is present, you gain the following benefits.

* ***Absorb Energy:*** When you take acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you can use your reaction to gain resistance to that energy type. This lasts until your Body of the Astral self ends, or until you use this feature again, replacing the previous energy type. Once on each of your turns when you hit a target with your astral arms, you can deal extra damage equal to your martial arts die of the energy type you resist from this feature.
* ***Absorb Force:*** While you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield, you gain a +2 bonus to your AC.
* ***Absorb Ki:*** When you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to 0 HP with your astral arms, you can spend your reaction to gain 1 Ki point. You cannot exceed your maximum number of Ki from this.

### Awakening of the Astral Self

*17th-level Way of Astral Self feature*

Starting at 17th level, your connection to your astral self is complete, allowing you to unleash its full potential. As a bonus action, you can spend 6 ki points to summon the arms, visage, and body of your astral self and awaken it for 10 minutes. This awakening ends early if you are incapacitated or die.

While your astral self is awakened, you gain the following benefits.

* ***Awakening of the Arms:*** When you take the attack action or use your Flurry of Blows feature, you make 1 additional attack.
* ***Awakening of the Body:*** You are able to use a bonus action to project your Astral Self away from your physical form, up to 15 feet away from you in an unoccupied space. Your astral self has AC 14 + your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It is the same size as you, and it occupies its space. On your turn, you can mentally command the echo to move up to your speed in any direction (no action required). You are able to see through its eyes and hear what it does. You may choose for any attacks you make to originate from your square or your astral self's, and make this choice for each attack.
* ***Awakening of the Visage:*** You can't be surprised and have advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. Additionally, other creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against you for the duration.

## Way of the Four Elements

### **Disciple of Nature**

*Note: the previous elemental attunements have been changed into spells, listed below in italics*

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn magical disciplines that harness the power of the four elements. A discipline requires you to spend ki points each time you use it.

You know one elemental discipline of your choice. You learn one additional elemental discipline of your choice at 6th, 11th, and 17th level. Whenever you learn a new elemental discipline, you may also swap out one of your previous choices.

* **Elemental Fist**: When you take the attack action, you may spend one ki point and choose fire, cold, acid, lightning, or thunder damage. Any unarmed strikes you make until the start of your next turn deals additional damage equal to your martial arts damage die of that damage type. Alternatively, you may spend 2 ki points when casting a spell that deals damage to change the damage type to one of these.
* **Flexible as the Twisting Winds**: When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell's full force. To do so, you spend 1 ki point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw against the spell.
* **Force of a Great Typhoon**: When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can spend a number of ki points equal to the spell's level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 ki point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell's current level.
* **Strength of a Raging Fire**: When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls.
* **Sturdy as an Ancient Mountain**: When you are hit by a melee attack, you may reduce the damage by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier+ your monk level. If you reduce this damage to 0, you may spend 1 ki point to increase your armor class by +2 until the end of your next turn.
* **Swift as the Coursing River:** When you spend ki to make a flurry of blows, you may spend an additional ki point to cast a cantrip instead of making one of the unarmed strikes. You may spend an additional ki point to cast a first level spell instead.
* **Tranquil as a Forest:** When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 ki point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.

### **Spellcasting**

 5th-8th
 9th-12th
 13th-16th
 17th-20th

When you reach 3rd level, you augment your monk abilities with the ability to cast spells based on the elements.

###### Cantrips

You learn the Elemental Attunement cantrip and two additional cantrips of your choice from the spell list below. You learn an additional cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

###### Spell Slots

The Way of the Four Elements Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Shield and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Shield using either slot.

###### Spending Ki on spells

You may expend ki points to increase the level of a spell you are casting, costing 1 ki point for each spell level increase. You may use this to cast spells of a level higher than you would normally be able to, and may be required to use this in order to cast certain spells (see spells below). You may expend an extra 2 points of ki to cast a spell from the list below that you do not know. You must always expend at least one spell slot to cast a spell (other than cantrips).

###### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know three 1st-level Four Elements spells of your choice.

The Spells Known column of the Way of the Four Elements Spellcasting table shows when you learn more Four Elements spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the Four Elements spells you know with another spell of your choice from the Four Elements spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

###### Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Four Elements spells, since you learn your spells through study and memorization. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Four Elements spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

**Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

**Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

### **Way of the Four Elements Spells**

**Cantrips**: *Elemental attunement*, Acid Splash, Control Flames, Fire Bolt, Frostbite, Gust, Lightning Lure, Mold Earth, Ray of Frost*,* Shape Water, Shocking Grasp, Thunderclap

**1st level**: Absorb Elements, Acid Stream, Burning Hands, Catapult, Chromatic Orb, Create or Destroy Water, Earth Tremor, *Fangs of the Fire Snake,* Feather Fall, Fog Cloud, Frost Fingers, Guiding Bolt, Ice Knife, Magic Missile (in the form of large stones), *Shape the Flowing River,* Thunderwave, Zephyr Strike,

**2nd level**: Barkskin, Continual Flame, Dragon's Breath, Dust Devil, *Fist of Unbroken Air,* Flaming Sphere, Gust of Wind, Heat Metal, Hold Person, Icingdeath's Frost, Levitate, Maximillian's Earthen Grasp, Melf's Acid Arrow, Misty Step, Pyrotechnics, Rime's Binding Ice, Scorching Ray, Shatter, Skywrite, Snilloc's Snowball Storm, Warding Wind, *Water Whip*

**3rd level**: Call Lightning, Create Food and Water, Elemental Weapon, Erupting Earth, Fireball, Fly, Gaseous Form, Lightning Bolt, Meld into Stone, Melf's Minute Meteors, Protection from Energy, Sleet Storm, Thunder Step, Tidal Wave, Wall of Water, Wall of Sand, Water Breathing, Water Walk, Wind Wall,

**4th level**: Control Water, Elemental Bane, Fire Shield, Ice Storm, Stone Shape, Stoneskin, Storm Sphere, Wall of Fire, Watery Sphere

**5th level\***: Cone of Cold, Control Winds, Flame Strike, Maelstrom, Steel Wind Strike, Wall of Stone,

\*Way of the Four Elements monks do not gain 5th level spell slots, they must expend spell slots and ki points to cast spells of 5th level or higher.

*Fangs of the Fire Snake*: 1st level transmutation.

*Fist of Unbroken Air*: 2nd level evocation, at higher levels deal +1d10 per spell level and knock creatures back additional 10 feet per spell level.

*Water Whip*: 2nd level transmutation, at higher levels deal +1d10 per spell level and pull creatures additional 10 feet closer per spell level.