Monk
This document contains a homebrew subclass for the monk class. This is playtest material and should not be, in any way, regarded as official and finished content.
Monastic Tradition
At 3rd level, a monk gains a monastic tradition feature. Here's a homebrew option for that feature: Way of the Sword.
Way of the Sword
You follow one of the unorthodox monastic traditions. Practitioners of the way of the sword see the sword not just as an object, but they take it for what it represents, a weapon designed to deliver lethal blows, a weapon designed for finesse and skill. They focus on becoming the sword itself, a materialization of their own will to kill and fight.
Monks of the Dao of the Sword usually dress themselves in clothes of vivid or neutral color, most like to use themes as black and white to represent the ying yang, although others will choose red or golden robes to showcase their affinities and qualities of their own ki.
Dao of the Sword Features
| Monk level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 3rd | Dao of the Sword |
| 6th | Sword Aura |
| 11th | Art of Sword Flight |
| 17th | Sword Intent |
Dao of the Sword
At 3rd level, your training and cultivation have turned your ki into sharp and sword-like vital energy. Due to the new nature of your ki you gain the following benefits:
Sword ki. whenever you make an unarmed strike, you can make the damage of your strike be of the slashing type.
Art of Sword Control. You can control your weapons as extension of your own body. After the end of a short or long rest, you can attune to and control up to a number of melee monk weapons equal to your proficiency bonus. These weapons will hover around you, and you can control them consciously. You can't take control of weapons that are being held by other creatures, or weapons that you haven't touched before. Once you attune with a weapon, the bond lasts until you decide to end it. You gain the following benefits:
- Whenever you would take the attack action in your turn, you can make the attack using a weapon under your control as if you were holding them.
- You can use a bonus action and spend 1 ki point to change which weapons you are controlling.
- Whenever you would perform an unarmed strike as a bonus action due to one of your other monk features, you can spend 1 ki point and attack with one of the weapons under your control instead. If you would make several unarmed strikes, you have to spend 1 ki point for each strike.
Sword Aura
Starting at the 6th level, you begin emanating a powerful aura of sharp sword ki. Creatures that start or end their turn within 5-feet of you take your wisdom modifier as slashing damage.
As an action on your turn, you spend 1 ki point and emanate a burst of sword aura that affects all creatures in a 30-feet radius around you. All creatures of your choice within the area have to succeed on a wisdom saving throw against your Ki save DC or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature that fails it saving throw can make a new saving throw by the end of every one of its turns. Once you use this feature, you need to finish a short or long rest in order to use it again.
Additionally, whenever you make an attack action with a weapon that you are holding and causes slashing damage, you gain an additional 5-feet range in your attack.
Art of Sword Flight
Starting at the 11th level, you can control a melee monk weapon of your choice to hover up to 100-feet above the ground and fly with it. You can use an action to mount your weapon, while mounted you are considered to have a flying speed of 50-feet. You can't use both the art of sword flight and art of sword control at the same time.
If you take damage while flying, you have to make a constitution saving throw with a DC equal 10 or half the damage you took, whichever is higher. If you fail, you lose concentration and fall to the ground.
Sword Intent
Starting at the 17th level, you can exert your sword dao and intent directly. You gain the following benefits:
- Your unarmed attacks are considered to be melee weapon attacks, as well as unarmed strikes. And they benefit from the additional range of your sword aura.
- All damage of the slashing type that you cause ignores resistance and immunity to slashing damage.
- You can concentrate your sword intent in the point of your fingers, or at the tip of a weapon, and unleash a powerful technique known as "Heaven-splitting Earth-shattering Sword Strike". As an action, you can spend 3 ki points and have all creatures in a 1000-feet long 100-feet high straight line take 3d10 plus your wisdom modifier slashing damage. All creatures that are flying and are hit by this technique will have their flying speed turned to 0 for 24 hours and will fall to the ground, and all non-magical objects in its path are destroyed or cleaved, including buildings and natural formations. Once you've used this technique, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
