Monk

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Overview & Creation

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. You must have a Dexterity score and a Wisdom score of 13 or higher in order to multiclass in or out of this class.  

The Monk

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Martial Arts	Ki Points	Unarmored Movement	Features
1st	+2	1d4	–	–	Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts, Monk Weapons
2nd	+2	1d4	2	+10 ft.	Ki, Unarmored Movement
3rd	+2	1d4	3	+10 ft.	Monastic Tradition, Deflect Missiles
4th	+2	1d4	4	+10 ft.	Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall
5th	+3	1d6	5	+10 ft.	Extra Attack, Stunning Strike
6th	+3	1d6	6	+15 ft.	Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition feature
7th	+3	1d6	7	+15 ft.	Evasion, Stillness of Mind
8th	+3	1d6	8	+15 ft.	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	1d6	9	+15 ft.	Unarmored Movement improvement
10th	+4	1d6	10	+20 ft.	Purity of Body
11th	+4	1d8	11	+20 ft.	Monastic Tradition feature
12th	+4	1d8	12	+20 ft.	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	1d8	13	+20 ft.	Tongue of the Sun and Moon
14th	+5	1d8	14	+25 ft.	Diamond Soul
15th	+5	1d8	15	+25 ft.	Timeless Body
16th	+5	1d8	16	+25 ft.	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	1d10	17	+25 ft.	Monastic Tradition feature
18th	+6	1d10	18	+30 ft.	Empty Body
19th	+6	1d10	19	+30 ft.	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	1d10	20	+30 ft.	Perfect Self

 
 

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Class Features

Unarmored Defense

While wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.  

Martial Arts

Your practice of martial arts gives mastery over unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons without the heavy or two-handed property.   You gain the following benefits when unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and not wearing armor or wielding a shield:   • Unarmed strikes and monk weapons count as finesse weapons (if they weren't already), allowing you to use either Dexterity or Strength for attack and damage rolls with those weapons.   • You can use a d4 in place of the normal weapon damage dice with unarmed strikes or monk weapons. This die increases as you gain monk levels, as shown on the table above.   • When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you may make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.  

Dedicated Weapon

At 2nd Level, you can use this feature to define your monk weapons, rather than using the definition in Martial Arts. You practice your martial arts with specially chosen weapons, which become monk weapons for you. You can choose a number of weapons to be your monk weapons equal to 5 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum of five weapons). The chosen weapons must each meet the following criteria:   • The weapon must be a simple or martial weapon.   • You must be proficient with the weapon.   • The weapon must lack these properties: heavy, special.

Ki

At 2nd level, your training allows you to channel the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this power is represented by a number of ki points. You have a number of ki points equal to your monk level. When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at which point you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at 30minutes of the rest meditating in order to regain ki.   If you spend 1 ki or more as part of your action on your turn, you can then immediately make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.   Some ki powers require your target to make a saving throw to resist the effects. The saving throw DCis calculated as follows:   Ki save DC= 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.   You start with the knowledge of these ki powers:   Distant Eye When you make a ranged weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to prevent attacking at long range from imposing disadvantage on your attack rolls until the end of the current turn.   Flurry of Blows: Immediately after taking the Attack action on your turn, you may 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.   Quickened Healing 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.   Step of the Wind: You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn. When you do so, your jump distance is doubled for the turn  

Unarmored Movement

At 2nd level, your speed increases when you are not wearing armor or using a shield. This bonus is listed on the table above.   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 end the movement on a solid, upright surface or risk falling or sinking.  

Monastic Tradition

At 3rd level, you must commit yourself to one of the monastic traditions below. You tradition gives you features at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Tradition	Source
Astral Soul	Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
Drunken Master	Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Four Elements	Player's Handbook
Gladiator	Arkadia
Kensei	Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Long Death	Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
Mercy	Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
Open Hand	Player's Handbook
Shadow	Player's Handbook
Sun Soul	Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Deflect Missiles

At 3rd level, you may use your reaction when you are kit by a ranged weapon attack to deflect or catch the missile. When you do so, the damage you take is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.   If you reduce the damage to 0 in this way, you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have a hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with the weapon or ammunition as part of the same action. You make this attack with proficiency, and treat the missile as a monk weapon for this attack.  

Ability Score Increase

At 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or increase two ability scores by 1 each. As usual, you cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this ability.   Alternatively, you can choose to gain a single feat of your choice.  

Slow Fall

At 4th level, you may use your reaction to reduce any falling damage taken by an amount equal to 5 times your monk level.  

Extra Attack

At 5th level, you can attack twice whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.  

Stunning Strike

At 5th level, you can interfere with the flow of ki in another creature'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 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.  

Ki Strikes

At 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purposes 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 attacks, such as a dragon's breath or the fireball. 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 half damage if you fail.  

Stillness of Mind

At 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect 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

At 13th level, you can touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, and creature that understands a language can understand what you say.  

Diamond Soul

At 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws. Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail you may spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.  

Timeless Body

At 15th level, your ki sustains so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. In addition, you no longer need food or water.  

Empty Body

At 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During this time, you have resistance to all damage except force damage.   In addition, you may spend 8 ki points to cast astral projection, without needing material components. When you do so, you can't take other creatures with you.  

Perfect Self

At 20th level, when you roll initiative and have no ki points remaining, you gain 4 ki points.

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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) an explorer's pack
• 10 darts

 

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Subclass Options

Way of the Astral Soul

A monk who follows the Way of the Astral Self believes their body is an illusion. They see their ki as a representation of their true form, an astral self. This astral self has the capacity to be a force of order or disorder, with some monasteries training students to use their power to protect the weak and other instructing aspirants in how to manifest their true selves in service to the mighty.  

Arms of the Astral Self

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 1 ki point 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:  

• You can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
• 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.

Visage of the Astral Self

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 1 ki point 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.  

• Astral Sight.

 You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.  

• Wisdom of the Spirit. 

You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks.  

• Word of the Spirit. 

When you speak, you can direct your words to a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you, making it so only that creature can hear you. Alternatively, you can amplify your voice so that all creatures within 600 feet can hear you.  

Body of the Astral Self

Starting at 11th level, when you have both your astral arms and visage summoned, you can 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.  

• Deflect Energy. 

When you take acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, or thunder damage, you can use your reaction to deflect it. When you do so, the damage you take is reduced by 1d10 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum reduction of 1).  

• Empowered Arms. 

Once on each of your turns when you hit a target with the Arms of the Astral Self, you can deal extra damage to the target equal to your Martial Arts die.  

Awakened Astral Self

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 5 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.  

• Armor of the Spirit. 

You gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class.  

• Astral Barrage. 

Whenever you use the Extra Attack feature to attack twice, you can instead attack three times if all the attacks are made with your astral arms.

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Way of the Drunken Master

Bonus Proficiencies

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Performance skill if you don’t already have it. Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with the precision of a dancer and the antics of a jester. You also gain proficiency with brewer’s supplies if you don’t already have it.  

Drunken Technique

At 3rd level, you learn how to twist and turn quickly as part of your Flurry of Blows. Whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you gain the benefit of the Disengage action, and your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the current turn.  

Tipsy Sway

Starting at 6th level, you can move in sudden, swaying ways. You gain the following benefits.   Leap to Your Feet. When you’re prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.   Redirect Attack. When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can spend 1 ki point as a reaction to cause that attack to hit one creature of your choice, other than the attacker, that you can see within 5 feet of you.  

Drunkard's Luck

Starting at 11th level, you always seem to get a lucky bounce at the right moment. When you make an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw and have disadvantage on the roll, you can spend 2 ki points to cancel the disadvantage for that roll.  

Intoxicated Frenzy

At 17th level, you gain the ability to make an overwhelming number of attacks against a group of enemies. When you use your Flurry of Blows, you can make up to three additional attacks with it (up to a total of five Flurry of Blows attacks), provided that each Flurry of Blows attack targets a different creature this turn.  

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Way of the Four Elements

You follow a monastic tradition that teaches you to harness the elements. When you focus your ki, you can align yourself with the forces of creation and bend the four elements to your will, using them as an extension of your body. Some members of this tradition dedicate themselves to a single element, but others weave the elements together. Many monks of this tradition tattoo their bodies with representations of their ki powers, commonly imagined as coiling dragons, but also as phoenixes, fish, plants, mountains, and cresting waves.  

Disciple of the Elements

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 the Elemental Attunement discipline and one other 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 can also replace one elemental discipline that you already know with a different discipline.   Casting Elemental Spells. Some elemental disciplines allow you to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting. To cast one of these spells, you use its casting time and other rules, but you don't need to provide material components for it.   Once you reach 5th level in this class, you can spend additional ki points to increase the level of an elemental discipline spell that you cast, provided that the spell has an enhanced effect at a higher level, as Burning Hands does. The spell's level increases by 1 for each additional ki point you spend. For example, if you are a 5th-level monk and use Sweeping Cinder Strike to cast Burning Hands, you can spend 3 ki points to cast it as a 2nd-level spell (the discipline's base cost of 2 ki points plus 1).   The maximum number of ki points you can spend to cast a spell in this way (including its base ki point cost and any additional ki points you spend to increase its level) is determined by your monk level, as shown in the Spells and Ki Points table.  

Spells and Ki Points

Monk Levels	Maximum Ki Points for a Spell
5th-8th	3
9th-12th	4
13th-16th	5
17th-20th	6

 

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Way of the Gladiator

Monks who follow the Way of the Gladiator live and die on the bloody grounds of the arena in pursuit of glory, gold, and perfection of their martial art. From the dirty fighting of the pits to the flashy spectacle of grand coliseums, there are few who can match their skill with a bronze blade and wrapped fist.  

Combatant's Gambit

Starting at 3rd level you specialize in an exotic signature weapon, such as a trident, net, or khopesh. The weapon can be any simple or martial melee weapon that does not have the heavy or two handed property. Weapons of the chosen type are considered monk weapons for you. The first attack you make each round with a monk weapon has advantage.  

Flash of Bronze

Starting at 6th level your attacks with monk weapons count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Additionally, whenever you are able to make an unarmed attack, you may spend 1 ki point to make the attack with your monk weapon instead, if you are wielding one. This attack deals bonus damage equal to your Martial Arts die.  

Superior Opponent

Beginning at 11th level you can enter a special meditation that prepares you for battle. Following a long rest, the next attack you make with a monk weapon you may treat the d20 roll as a 20, scoring a critical hit.

Glorious Spectacle

Beginning at 17th level, when another character’s turn ends, you may take an immediate additional turn this round. During this turn you have advantage on all Acrobatics, Athletics, and Performance skill checks. You must complete a short rest before you can use this feature again.  

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Way of the Kensei

Monks of the Way of Kensei train relentlessly with their weapons, to the point that the weapon becomes like an extension of the body. Founded on a mastery of sword fighting, the tradition has expanded to include many different weapons. A kensei sees a weapon much in the same way a calligrapher or a painter regards a pen or brush. Whatever the weapon, the kensei views it as a tool used to express the beauty and precision of the martial arts. That such mastery makes a kensei a peerless warrior is but a side effect of intense devotion, practice, and study.  

Path of the Kensei

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your special martial arts training leads you to master the use of certain weapons. This path also includes instruction in the deft strokes of calligraphy or painting. You gain the following benefits:   • Kensei Weapons. Choose two types of weapons to be your kensei weapons: one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Each of these weapons can be any simple or martial weapon that lacks the heavy and special properties. The longbow is also a valid choice. You gain proficiency with these weapons if you don't already have it. Weapons of the chosen types are monk weapons for you. Many of this tradition's features work only with your kensei weapons. When you reach 6th, 11th, and 17th level in this class, you can choose another type of weapon – either melee or ranged – to be a kensei weapon for you, following the criteria above.   • Agile Parry. If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a kensei weapon, you can use it to defend yourself if it is a melee weapon. You gain a +2 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn, while the weapon is in your hand and you aren’t incapacitated.   • Kensei's Shot. You can use a bonus action on your turn to make your ranged attacks with a kensei weapon more deadly. When you do so, any target you hit with a ranged attack using a kensei weapon takes an extra 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type. You retain this benefit until the end of the current turn.   • Way of the Brush. You gain proficiency with your choice of calligrapher's supplies or painter's supplies.  

One with the Blade

At 6th level, you extend your ki into your kensei weapons, granting you the following benefits.   Magic Kensei Weapons. Your attacks with your kensei weapons count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.   Deft Strike. When you hit a target with a kensei weapon, you can spend 1 ki point to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target equal to your Martial Arts die. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.  

Sharpen the Blade

At 11th level, you gain the ability to augment your weapons further with your ki. As a bonus action, you can expend up to 3 ki points to grant one kensei weapon you touch a bonus to attack and damage rolls when you attack with it. The bonus equals the number of ki points you spent. This bonus lasts for 1 minute or until you use this feature again. This feature has no effect on a magic weapon that already has a bonus to attack and damage rolls.  

Unerring Accuracy

At 17th level, your mastery of weapons grants you extraordinary accuracy. If you miss with an attack roll using a monk weapon on your turn, you can reroll it. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.  

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Way of the Long Death

Monks of the Way of the Long Death are obsessed with the meaning and mechanics of dying. They capture creatures and prepare elaborate experiments to capture, record, and understand the moments of their demise. They then use this knowledge to guide their understanding of martial arts, yielding a deadly fighting style.  

Touch of Death

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your study of death allows you to extract vitality from another creature as it nears its demise. When you reduce a creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + your monk level (minimum of 1 temporary hit point).  

Hour of Reaping

At 6th level, you gain the ability to unsettle or terrify those around you as an action, for your soul has been touched by the shadow of death. When you take this action, each creature within 30 feet of you that can see you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.  

Mastery of Death

Beginning at 11th level, you use your familiarity with death to escape its grasp. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend 1 ki point (no action required) to have 1 hit point instead.   Touch of the Long Death Starting at 17th level, your touch can channel the energy of death into a creature. As an action, you touch one creature within 5 feet of you, and you expend 1 to 10 ki points. The target must make a Constitution saving throw, and it takes 2d10 necrotic damage per ki point spent on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.  

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Way of Mercy

Monks of the Way of Mercy learn to manipulate the life force of others to bring aid to those in need. They are wandering physicians to the poor and hurt. However, to those beyond their help, they bring a swift end as an act of mercy. Those who follow the Way of Mercy might be members of a religious order, administering to the needy and making grim choices rooted in reality rather than idealism. Some might be gentle-voiced healers, beloved by their communities, while others might be masked bringers of macabre mercies.   The walkers of this way usually don robes with deep cowls, and they often conceal their faces with masks, presenting themselves as the faceless bringers of life and death.  

Implements of Mercy

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Insight and Medicine skills, and you gain proficiency with the herbalism kit.   You also gain a special mask, which you often wear when using the features of this subclass. You determine its appearance, or generate it randomly by rolling on the Merciful Mask table.

d6	Mask Appearance
1	Raven
2	Blank and white
3	Crying Visage
4	Laughing Visage
5	Skull
6	Butterfly

 

Hands of Healing

At 3rd level, your mystical touch can mend wounds. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to touch a creature and restore a number of hit points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier.   When you use your Flurry of Blows, you can replace one of the unarmed strikes with a use of this feature without spending a ki point for the healing.  

Hands of Harm

At 3rd level, you use your ki to inflict wounds. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 ki point to deal extra necrotic damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier. You can use this feature only once per turn.  

Physician's Touch

Starting at 6th level, you can administer even greater cures with a touch, and if you feel it's necessary, you can use your knowledge to cause harm.   When you use Hands of Healing on a creature, you can also end one disease or one of the following conditions affecting the creature: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, or stunned.   When you use Hands of Harm on a creature, you can subject that creature to the poisoned condition until the end of your next turn.  

Flurry of Healing and Harm

Starting at 11th level, you can now mete out a flurry of comfort and hurt. When you use Flurry of Blows, you can now replace each of the unarmed strikes with a use of your Hands of Healing, without spending ki points for the healing.   In addition, when you make an unarmed strike with Flurry of Blows, you can use Hand of Harm with that strike without spending the ki point for Hands of Harm. You can still use Hands of Harm only once per turn.  

Hand of Ultimate Mercy

By 17th level, Your mastery of life energy opens the door to the ultimate mercy. As an action, you can touch the corpse of a creature that died within the past 24 hours and expend 5 ki points. The creature then returns to life, regaining a number of hit points equal to 4d10 + your Wisdom modifier. If the creature died while subject to any of the following conditions, it revives with them removed: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, and stunned.   Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.  

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Way of the Open Hand

Monks of the Way of the Open Hand are the ultimate masters of martial arts combat, whether armed or unarmed. They learn techniques to push and trip their opponents, manipulate ki to heal damage to their bodies, and practice advanced meditation that can protect them from harm.  

Open Hand Technique

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your enemy's ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:   • It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.   • It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.   • It can't take reactions until the end of your next turn.  

Wholeness of Body

At 6th level, you gain the ability to heal yourself. As an action, you can regain hit points equal to three times your monk level. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.  

Tranquility

Beginning at 11th level, you can enter a special meditation that surrounds you with an aura of peace. At the end of a long rest, you gain the effect of a Sanctuary spell that lasts until the start of your next long rest (the spell can end early as normal). The saving throw DC for the spell equals 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your proficiency bonus.  

Quivering Palm

At 17th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal vibrations in someone's body. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to start these imperceptible vibrations, which last for a number of days equal to your monk level. The vibrations are harmless unless you use your action to end them. To do so, you and the target must be on the same plane of existence. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.   You can have only one creature under the effect of this feature at a time. You can choose to end the vibrations harmlessly without using an action.  

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Way of the Shadow

Monks of the Way of Shadow follow a tradition that values stealth and subterfuge. These monks might be called ninjas or shadowdancers, and they serve as spies and assassins. Sometimes the members of a ninja monastery are family members, forming a clan sworn to secrecy about their arts and missions. Other monasteries are more like thieves' guilds, hiring out their services to nobles, rich merchants, or anyone else who can pay their fees. Regardless of their methods, the heads of these monasteries expect the unquestioning obedience of their students.  

Shadow Arts

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cast Darkness, Darkvision, Pass without Trace, or Silence, without providing material components. Additionally, you gain the Minor Illusion cantrip if you don't already know it.  

Shadow Step

At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. You then have advantage on the first melee attack you make before the end of the turn.  

Cloak of Shadows

By 11th level, you have learned to become one with the shadows. When you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you can use your action to become invisible. You remain invisible until you make an attack, cast a spell, or are in an area of bright light.  

Opportunist

At 17th level, you can exploit a creature's momentary distraction when it is hit by an attack. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack made by a creature other than you, you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature.  

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Way of the Sun Soul

Monks of the Way of the Sun Soul learn to channel their own life energy into searing bolts of light. They teach that meditation can unlock the ability to unleash the indomitable light shed by the soul of every living creature.

Radiant Sun Bolt

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can hurl searing bolts of magical radiance. You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action. This special attack is a ranged spell attack with a range of 30 feet. You are proficient with it, and you add your Dexterity modifier to its attack and damage rolls. Its damage is radiant, and its damage die is a d4. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.   When you take the Attack action on your turn and use this special attack as part of it, you can spend 1 ki point to make the special attack twice as a bonus action.   When you gain the Extra Attack feature, this special attack can be used for any of the attacks you make as part of the Attack action.  

Searing Arc Strike

At 6th level, you gain the ability to channel your ki into searing waves of energy. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 2 ki points to cast the burning hands spell as a bonus action.   You can spend additional ki points to cast burning hands as a higher-level spell. Each additional ki point you spend increases the spell’s level by 1. The maximum number of ki points (2 plus any additional points) that you can spend on the spell equals half your monk level.  

Searing Sun Burst

At 11th level, you gain the ability to create an orb of light that erupts into a devastating explosion. As an action, you magically create an orb and hurl it at a point you choose within 150 feet, where it erupts into a sphere of radiant light for a brief but deadly instant. Each creature in that 20-foot-radius sphere must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 radiant damage. A creature doesn’t need to make the save if the creature is behind total cover that is opaque.   You can increase the sphere’s damage by spending ki points. Each point you spend, to a maximum of 3, increases the damage by 2d6.  

Sun Shield

At 17th level, you become wreathed in a luminous, magical aura. You shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. You can extinguish or restore the light as a bonus action.   If a creature hits you with a melee attack while this light shines, you can use your reaction to deal radiant damage to the creature. The radiant damage equals 5 + your Wisdom modifier.
 

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