Shadow Monk (Homebrew)
| Level | BAB | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Unarmed Damage | AC Bonus | Unarmored Speed Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Bonus feat, unarmed strike | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Bonus feat, evasion, slow fall 20 ft. | 1d6 | +0 | +5 ft. |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Prayerful Meditation, Shadow Step | 1d6 | +0 | +10 ft. |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Ki strike (magic), slow fall 40 ft. | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Purity of body, Shadow Decoy | 1d8 | +1 | +15 ft. |
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Bonus feat, slow fall 60 ft. | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. |
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Wholeness of body | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. |
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Ki strike (lawful), Slow fall 80 ft. | 1d10 | +2 | +25 ft. |
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Improved evasion | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. |
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Slow fall 100 ft. | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. |
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Diamond body Shadow Walk | 1d10 | +2 | +35 ft. |
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Ki strike (silver), Slow fall 120 ft. | 2d6 | +3 | +40 ft. |
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Diamond soul | 2d6 | +3 | +40 ft. |
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +9 | +9 | Slow fall 140 ft. | 2d6 | +3 | +45 ft. |
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +9 | +9 | Quivering palm, Improved Shadow Walk | 2d6 | +3 | +50 ft. |
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Ki strike (adamantine), Slow fall 160 ft. | 2d8 | +4 | +50 ft. |
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Timeless body, tongue of the sun and moon | 2d8 | +4 | +55 ft. |
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +11 | +11 | Slow fall 180 ft. | 2d8 | +4 | +60 ft. |
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +11 | +11 | Empty body | 2d8 | +4 | +60 ft. |
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +12 | +12 | Perfect self, Slow fall any distance | 2d10 | +5 | +60 ft. |
This is my attempt at "improving" the Monk class a bit. It's based on the original 3.5 Monk, with sections taken from the Unchained Monk, and Shadowdancer
I've removed the "Flurry of Misses" ability and substituted the Fighters BAB instead, so this should improve the Monks hand to hand ability while still allowing multiple attacks at higher levels.
Considering the imbalance with monks falling ability with regards to the 1st level Feather Fall spell, I've doubled all safe falling distances for the Monk. I also improved their AC bonus a bit.
Speed bonus has been tweaked slightly (I don't think this matters much) by adding 5 foot increments. I don't see why we can't have a 5 foot bonus. The battle map is measures in 5 feet squares.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the monk.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Monks are proficient with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, short sword, shortspear, shuriken, siangham, sling, spear, and any weapon with the monk special weapon quality.
Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.
When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses his AC bonus, as well as his fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.
AC Bonus
When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Shadow Step (Sp)
At 3rd level, a Shadow Monk can step through the Shadow Plane and reappear elsewhere on the Material Plane as a standard action.
The Shadow Monk can travel equal to their Unarmored Speed Bonus per day in this fashion, either in a single step or broken up across multiple shadow steps. This movement must be used in increments of at least 5 feet and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
The limitations are that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some dim light, and there must be a line of sight between the start and end point (you can't step to somewhere you can't see)
Shadow Decoy
You can cause your shadow to separate from you when you are being attacked and that attack will strike the decoy instead. Once hit, the decoy fades. The monk can move 5 feet away from their original location so they are not on the same square as the decoy which remains where the monk was when the ability was triggered. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to your listed Unarmed AC Bonus (not including your Wis bonus). This ability can be used as a free action but must be declaired after you are targeted for attack, but before the To Hit roll is made (you can't wait to see if you get hit before deciding to use this ability).
Shadow Walk
At 11th level, the Monk is able to access the Shadow Plane for longer periods of time allowing them to travel great distances. The monk can travel up to a distance equal to twice their total move speed (base speed + speed bonus) in miles by entering the Shadow Plane and coming out again on the material plane. This ability can be used a maximum times per day equal to the monks Wis bonus but costs 2 Wisdom points each time (it's not easy to hold open the way). These Wisdom points are regained after 8 hours rest.
Improved Shadow Walk
As per Shadow Walk, but the monk no longer has to pay the Wisdom cost.
Prayerful Meditation (CC, p 48):
(Lose still mind.) Gain +2 bonus on saves vs spells and effects from chaotic creatures, or those whose alignment is opposite yours.
| Good | Neutral | Evil | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law | LG | LN | LE |
| Neutral | NG | NN | NE |
| Chaos | CG | CN | CE |
Diamond Body (Su):
At 11th level, a monk is in such firm control of her own metabolism that she gains immunity to poisons of all kinds.
Diamond Soul (Ex):
At 13th level, a monk gains spell resistance equal to her current monk level + 10. In order to affect the monk with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level; see Spell Resistance, PHB page 177) that equals or exceeds the monk’s spell resistance.
Evasion (Ex):
A monk of 2nd level or higher can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save (such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a fireball), she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk (such as one who is unconscious or paralysed) does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Improved Evasion (Ex):
At 9th level, a monk’s evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks such as a dragon’s breath weapon or a fireball, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A help- less monk (such as one who is unconscious or paralysed) does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.