Monk Tradition: Way of the Soulknife
Never caught unarmed, the soulknife is the literal embodiment of using the power of the mind as a weapon. These psychic warriors do battle using both their physical body and the mind blade, a telekinetic field honed by the wielder's focus into a razor's edge.
While the soulknife may not appear to be a traditional monk, the path that these psionically-gifted individuals take is so similar as to be identical, whether their powers are called "psi" or "ki". A soulknife meditates, focuses, and develops the mind and body in similar manner to any monastic order.
Mind Blade
When you reach 3rd level, your study and meditation is rewarded in the forming of your mind blade, a semi-solid weapon of psychic energy powered by your will. You manifest your mind blade as a bonus action, and can dismiss it at will.
The mind blade has the form of a one-handed weapon of your choice. It is a simple melee weapon, deals 1d8 psychic damage on a hit, and has the finesse, light, and thrown properties (range 20/60).
You cannot be disarmed of your mind blade, but if you stop wielding it or are incapacitated, it dissipates. When thrown, your mind blade dissipates immediately after the attack resolves. If you are targeted by, start your turn in, or enter an anti-magic effect (such as the anti-magic cone of a beholder's central eye), your blade dissipates or fails to manifest unless you succeed on a DC15 Wisdom saving throw to maintain it.
Flurry of Blades
When you use Flurry of Blows, you can make one of your unarmed attacks using your mind blade instead.
Wild Talent
At 3rd level, you manifest minor psionic gifts, often known as telepathy, telekinesis, and psychometry.
You learn the cantrips message and mage hand, with the following changes: you do not need to speak or point when you cast message, and when you cast mage hand the hand is invisible. In addition, you can spend 1 ki to cast identify, or 2 ki to cast detect thoughts.
You cast your Wild Talent spells without components, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them.
Psionic Focus
Starting at 6th level, your combat trance allows you to maintain a mental reserve of power - your psionic focus - which is recovered when you roll initiative. During your turn, you can recover your focus by expending 1 ki point. While you have psionic focus, you can manifest your mind blade as if you were drawing a weapon (an object interaction).
At the start of your turn, you can choose to recover your psionic focus and reduce your speed to zero until the end of your turn. You cannot recover focus in this way when your speed is already zero, such as when paralyzed or restrained.
Psychic Strike
When you deal damage to a creature with your mind blade, you can expend your psionic focus to do one of the following:
- Bladewind. Your mind blade shatters into razor shards of psychic energy. Each creature of your choice within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against your ki save DC or it takes psychic damage equal to your martial arts die plus your Wisdom modifier. Afterward, your mind blade dissipates.
- Neuroptic Blast. At the start of its next turn, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your ki save DC or be blinded until the end of its turn.
- Synaptic Overload. The creature is unable to take the Dash, Disengage, or Dodge actions on its next turn.
Imbued Blade
Starting at 11th level, you can manifest your mind blade as part of a weapon attack with it.
As a bonus action, you can expend your psionic focus and up to 2 ki points to enhance your mind blade, concentrating as if on a spell. Your mind blade gains a magical bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to 1 + the expended ki for ten minutes or until your concentration ends.
While your blade is imbued, you have advantage on saving throws you make to maintain or manifest your mind blade.
Knife to the Soul
Beginning at 17th level, your mind blade strikes directly to the spirit. When you deal damage to a creature with your mind blade that reduces it below 40 hit points, you sense the creature's psychic vulnerability. You can choose to expend your psionic focus to force the creature to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the creature's hit points are immediately reduced to 0.
