Monk

Foundations
Required Abilities	Con, Wis, San
Axiom	Disciple
Affinity	Mystical
Spell Casting	Kno
Spell Attack	Cha
Saving Throws	Dex, Kno, San
Hit Dice	D10
HP @ Lvl 1	Your Con Modifier + 1d10 or 6.
HP @ Higher Lvls	Your Con Modifier + 1d10 / Level After 1st

Introduction

Scattered across the face of Avilon, always in tiny hidden vales, are the Colonies. No one knows who built them or when they were built, but they have endured for longer than the modern age, and none have ever been struck during any Skyfall (though it has been close).

There are five Colonies, and each has drawn to it the disaffected, the lost, those seeking redemption or a sense of purpose, the outcasts and the loners, and it is in these colonies that they have found connection, forgiveness, welcome, and belonging. Colonies seek peace, understanding, and harmony above all else, and they frown on the use of weapons of war or violence, though not entirely. They are focused on the development of the self, the bringing out of the innermost best of each person.

Colonies are egalitarian and meritocratic places, where one is encouraged to find a place and become what you will in the way that you will, and those who drift to the Cause of the Colonies becomes Monks, but they are self-sufficient locales, and the Monks are only one small part of the whole.

The Cause, as they have come to call it, is the Dire War, a series of martial contests held every seventh year with many contests that lead up to it, where those chosen participate in a series of single combat bouts that are always to the death. They go through this because the price of losing any single contest is the world being overrun by the Nightmares, Denizens and terrors whose very shape is subject to the horrors and fears of those they oppose. These are the monsters under the bed, the monsters in the wardrobe, the terror in the corner of the eye, and long ago a bargain was struck when the founder of the first Colony stood firm and unarmed and unarmored against a horde single-handedly.

Only the best are able to fight, though the price to do so is high, and so while some leave after reaching Novice, the reasons for doing so vary from person to person, but are always based in some way or form around this brutal, absolute contest, this mortal combat, that has robbed the world of many a great teacher and kind person, who stood before the worst opponent and fell, and yet, over the many years of this ongoing contest, the Monks and the Colonies have held firm, have held strong, and have held fast, winning the overall contests enough to block the flood of Nightmare into this Mortal Realm.

Role

Proficiencies
Skills (Pick 2)	Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth
Spell Proficiency	Simple
Armor Training	See Fortes
Weapon Training	See Fortes

Monks are a kind of mystical warrior, devout in their cause and their mission of self-improvement and defending the world. They are not like other warriors, however, for they are trained and have trained their bodies to be weapons themselves, weapons which seek to be more than merely tools for killing.

for philosophical reasons Monks turn their mystical magic towards empowering the self and for effects that allow them to improve their own abilities, rather than to use their mojo for other ends. As a result, they are focused on the honing of mind and body that come from their studies.

Monks, then, are specialists of unarmed combat and battle, using what tools and skills and items around them they can, who have focused their will and desire into a pinpoint and hardened ability that rivals even Warriors, then adding to it the peculiar gifts that come from their natural magic.

This makes them dangerous foes, and so many will leave the safety and security of their Colony to explore and test themselves against the greater challenges that lie out in the wider world, to prepare them to enter the contest of the Cause and protect the world.

While there are five Colonies, there are three Ways, and Monks are trained under one of the three ways, or approaches, to the style of fighting.

The oldest and first is the Way of the Open Hand. The way of the Open hand is a loose and flexible style that involves much movement and graceful action, without giving any ground, becoming a fluid wall that defies that which stands before it and expects it to move. It eschews armor for armor interferes with the ability to move in sometimes complex ways, and it considers weaponry to be a betrayal of what the founder of this Way believed in and what she stood for.

Those who devoutly follow the Way of the Open Hand will always start a fight with one hand extended in hopes of peace, in offering, and never make a fist. They use fingers and elbows, knees and feet, open hands and side of hands, forearms, thighs, and shins to deflect blows, cause harm, and maintain that no battle should ever be initiated by them. Once they do commence, they do.

The second is the Way of the Shattered Heart. Those who devoutly follow this Way are inclined to accept the use of weapons, and much of this stems from a disagreement between the then then Grand master of the Way of the Open Hand and its dismissal of Weaponry in favor of more rigid development and the founder of this Way. This way is less fluid in movement, more about stances and focused on balance and centering. Shattered Hearts see a weapon in much the same way a calligrapher or painter regards a pen or brush. Whatever the weapon, the Monk views it as a tool used to express the beauty and precision of the martial arts. That such mastery makes them a peerless warrior is but a side effect of intense devotion, practice, and study. It is said that the Way of the Shattered Heart comes from the heartbreak of his love for the Grand master that spurned him.

The third and newest is the Way of Peaceful Hope. This path is unusual in that they focus on drawing out some of the ancient secrets around magic and concentrate on using them to their best ability, making them unusual in the extreme (except for the rumored Way of the Brilliant Mind).

Fortes

Unarmed Combat

Affray

At 1^st Level, you can roll 1d6 plus your strength modifier in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. If you aren’t holding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.

• At 9^th Level, you can roll a d8, or d10 if open handed.
• At 17^th Level, you can roll a d10, or d12 if open handed.

At 5th Level, when you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a Monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.

At 9^th Level, your mastery of martial arts grants you extraordinary accuracy. If you miss with an attack roll on your turn, you can reroll it. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.

At 13^th Level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn

At 17^th Level, when a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can use your 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.

Brawling

You automatically have Yeoman level of Proficiency in Affray at 1^st Level.

At 1^st Level, you can roll 1d6 plus your strength modifier in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. If you aren’t holding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.

• At 9^th Level, you can roll a d8, or d10 if open handed.
• At 17^th Level, you can roll a d10, or d12 if open handed.

At 5^th Level, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. When you use unarmed strike in this way, you must choose the grapple or shove option. In addition, at the start of each of your turns, you can deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage to one creature grappled by you.

At 9^th Level, you have advantage on attack rolls made with improvised weapons and unarmed strikes against a creature grappled by you.

At 13^th Level, you are a master at making the ordinary deadly. Whenever you hit a creature with an improvised weapon, you can add your proficiency bonus to the damage roll, and the damage die of your twohanded improvised weapons becomes 1d12. In addition, whenever you attack with an improvised weapon, you can use two mastery properties from improvised expert, instead of one.

Elia

Elia is roughly approximate to what some incarnates have called Ki, Qi, Chi, and Aura. It is the form of Mystical magic that Monks embrace, and is classified as a form of Mojo, with the effects being Jujus. They do not call it that, however. They call it Inner Light, or Ilya, with the practice of using Ilya being called Elea, and it is the way that have shaped and brought about the energy they use to their benefit.

Your training allows you to harness the mystic energy called Ilya. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of Mana points. You can spend these points to fuel various Eliaic practices and empower yourself.

At 1^st Level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level. You can also use this to reduce any kind of other Crushing damage you take by twice your Monk Level. Starting at 5^th Level, by spending 5 points of mana, you can extend this to up to one additional person per degree of mastery.

At 5^th Level, you can choose an additional Practice.

At 9^th Level, you can choose an additional Practice.

At 13^th Level, you can choose an additional Practice.

At 17^th 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 15 mana 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. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Practices

You start knowing one Practice of your choice. You learn more practices as you gain levels.

Saving Throws. Some of your Mojo features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

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

Empowered Strike

You can spend 10 mana points to increase your unarmed strike damage dice by one, up to a maximum of additional die equal to their degree of mastery. Thus, a Novice can increase it to 2, a Professional can increase it up to three, an Adept can increase it up to four, a Master can increase it up to five, and a grand master can increase it up to six. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Empowered Tool

As a bonus action, you can expend 10 mana points to grant one weapon in use, including a specific strike, a bonus to attack and damage rolls when you next attack with it. The bonus equals the number of mana points you spent. This bonus lasts for 1 minute or until you use this feature again. The weapon counts as a magical weapon, as well. This feature has no effect on a magic weapon that already has a bonus to attack and damage rolls. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests.

Flurry of Blows

By spending 10 mana points, 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, provided that each Flurry of Blows attack targets a different creature this turn. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Fortune’s Favor

Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 3 Mojo points to make one unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Illuminated

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. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests.

Patient Defense

You can spend 1 Mojo point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests.

Step of the Wind

You can spend 1 Mojo point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests.

Stunning Strike

you can interfere with the flow of mana in an opponent’s body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 5 mana points to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Swift Reaction

You’ve honed your awareness and reflexes through mental aptitude and pattern recognition. Once per turn, if you’ve already taken your reaction, you may spend 1o mana points to take an additional reaction. You can use only one reaction per triggering effect. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Weakening

you’ve gained the knowledge to manipulate a creature’s mana to undermine their fortitude. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 10 mana points to cause the creature to gain vulnerability to one damage type of your choice for 1 minute, or until the end of a turn in which it has taken damage of that type.

If a creature has resistance to the damage type you choose, this resistance is suppressed for 1 minute, rather than gaining vulnerability. A creature that is immune to the damage type you choose is unaffected. A creature who is affected by this feature cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Self Mastery

You gain proficiency in the Insight and Medicine skills, and you gain proficiency with the herbalism kit.

At 1^st Level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.

This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels: 15 Feet at 5^th Level, 20 feet at 9^th level, 25 feet at 13^th Level, 30 feet at 17^th Level.

At 5^th 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.

At 9^th Level, when you’re prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.

At 13^th Level, your mastery of the mana flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.

At 17^th Level, your mastery of mana grants you proficiency and advantage in all saving throws. Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 5 mana points to reroll it and take the second result.

Colonial Ways

Each Colony has a particular approach to the task, which varies from Colony to Coony. There are five colonies, but only three ways.

Open Hand

Those who follow the Way of the Open Hand receive a +2 to their AC; do 1d6 plus their Wisdom modifier in damage with each blow; have proficiency in Affray, Brawling, and Martial Arts; and gain four additional Proficiency slots.

Those who follow the Way of the Open Hand learn how they can manipulate your enemy’s mana when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of your attacks, 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.

You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Shattered Heart

Those who follow the Way of the Shattered Heart have proficiency in Basic, Common, Light, and Medium Armor; Simple, Basic, Common, and Adept weapons in the Staves, Rods, and Thrown Weapon types only; Affray, Brawling, and Martial Arts; and do 1d4 plus their Strength modifier in damage with each unarmed blow initially, increasing from there due to having focused more on the use of weapons.

Those who follow the Way of the Shattered Heart learn how they can use weapons more efficiently, choosing one of the two things to do, and gain proficiency with your choice of calligrapher’s supplies or painter’s supplies.

• If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack action on your turn and are holding a Way 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.
• Heart’s Shot. You can use a bonus action on your turn to make your ranged attacks with a Way weapon more deadly. When you do so, any target you hit with a ranged attack using a Way weapon takes an extra 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type. You retain this benefit until the end of the current turn.

You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

You train yourself to use a variety of weapons as monk weapons. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can touch one weapon, focus your Ilya on it, and then count that weapon as a monk weapon until you use this feature again.

The chosen weapon must meet these criteria:

• The weapon must be a simple or common weapon.
• You must be proficient with it.
• It must lack the heavy and special properties.

Peaceful Hope

Those who follow the Way of Peaceful Hope receive a +1 to their AC; do 1d6 plus their Constitution modifier in damage with each blow; have proficiency in two Weapons, Basic or Common Armor, Affray, Brawling, and Martial Arts; and gain one additional Proficiency slots.

Those who follow the Way of the Peaceful Hope can hurl searing bolts of magical radiance for a cost of 5 Mana points per die of damage, with each bolt doing D4 damage.

• 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, increasing one die for each degree of mastery.

You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Apprenticeship

Starting Gear
Gear	Small Backpack, Tinderbox, Large Sack, 30’ Rope, Waterskin
Tools or Kit	one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
Focus	Physical Self
Armor	See Ways
Weaponry	See Ways
Wealth Bonus	20

All Monks trained under one of the three Ways. Each way is antithetical to the others, and the Dire Wars are fought by the best of each type, who are determined through a series of bouts that test Mastery and creative form.

Monks can only train at the Colonies, and must have attended one, where they were trained by the watchful eye of a Guru. Gurus only take a few students at a time, and often an apprentice monk will have to wait for some time after arriving at a temple for a space to open up. This is particularly focused because of one of many strange things about Monks: they can start at any time in their lives.

Monks are most often people for whom nothing they encountered in the world was “right”, was interesting, was able to catch their attention. Often, they will have wandered for some time before ultimately stumbling on some legend, hint, or rumor of the place, and it caught their fancy, drew their mind, and after an arduous journey to find one of the Colonies, they discover that the location is so secret they must swear an oath never to reveal the location, merely offer a rumor or other hearsay about it – though they are free to state that they cannot tell anyone, for that is part of the Apprenticeship: to find a Colony.

Some new to adventuring Monks have been n their 60’s or older – it is the rare one that is of an age, as above all else, a Monk must find themselves before they can find their place and their role – and most especially when that role is fighting nightmares.

Aspects

Orders

Orders are available only to those from the Way of the Shattered Heart.

At 1st Level, you gain 1 First Order.

At 5th Level, you gain 1 Second Order, or 1 First Order.

At 9th Level, you gain 1 Third Order, or 1 Second Order, or 1 First Order.

At 13th Level, you gain 1 Fourth Order, or 1 Third Order, or 1 Second Order, or 1 First Order.

At 17th Level, you gain 1 Fifth Order, or Fourth Order, or 1 Third Order, or 1 Second Order, or 1 First Order.

Those from the Way of the Open Hand gain the Way of Woe and Weal instead.

Woe and Weal – Way of the Open Hand

The Way of Woe and Weal takes two forms, but you can only choose to have one of the forms in a given day, changing it after a long rest.

Hand of Healing. You can now mete out a flurry of comfort and hurt. When you use make an unarmed strike, once per turn you can replace the unarmed strikes with a Hand of Healing, adding the die roll as an amount of healing, without spending mana points for the healing. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Hand of Harm. You can now add additional damage to your unarmed blows. When you make an unarmed strike, once per turn you can use Hand of Harm with that strike without spending the mana point for an additional 1d6 points of slashing damage. You can use the feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus between long rests, but only one time in a given turn.

Those who are from the Way of Peaceful Hope gain Mysteries, instead, which are not available to the other Ways.

Precepts

At 3^rd Level, you can choose one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 7^th Level, you can choose one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 11^th Level you can choose one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 15^th Level you can choose one aspect from the Hieros list, or one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 19^th Level you can choose one aspect from the Alumni list, or one aspect from the Hieros list, or one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

Maxims

At 4^th Level, you can choose one Dedicated Maxim.

At 8^th Level you can choose one Persistent Maxim or one Dedicated Maxim.

At 12^th Level you can choose one Zealous Maxim or one Persistent Maxim or one Dedicated Maxim.

At 16^th Level you can choose one Unyielding Maxim or one Zealous Maxim or one Persistent Maxim or one Dedicated Maxim.

At 20^th Level you can choose one Absolutist Maxim or one Unyielding Maxim or one Zealous Maxim or one Persistent Maxim or one Dedicated Maxim.

Esoterica

At 2^nd Level, you can choose one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 6^th Level, you can choose one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 10^th Level, you can choose one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 14^th Level, you can choose one aspect from the Hieros list, or one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

At 18^th Level, you can choose one aspect from the Alumni list, or one aspect from the Hieros list, or one aspect from the Member list, or one aspect from the Initiate list, or one aspect from the Postulant list.

Mysteries

Affinity	Axiom	Cipher	Manifestation	Orgone
Mystical	Disciple		Whirlwind	Ilya (Juju)
Affinity Score	Axiom Score	Spell	Spell Book	Focal
Cha	Kno	Practice (Mojo)	Nomicon	Their Body

Monks are not known for their particular facility with spells in general, but those in the Way of the Peaceful Hope have put time into learning some facility, drawing from ancient scrolls and other difficult to find lore that has enabled them to have spells available that might otherwise not be to a mystical based Mage. Neither of the Other ways have access to the Mysteries, otherwise, their mystical magic being focused on their disciplines.

At 1^st Level, you can choose 2 Cantrips from any list.

At 5^th Level, you can choose 2 1^st Level Spells from any list.

At 9^th Level, you can choose 2 2^nd Level Spells from any list.

At 13^th Level, you can choose 2 3^rd level spells from any list.

At 17^th Level, you can choose 2 spells from any list that are not above 3^rd Level.

Spell Level	Spell Point Cost	Actions to Cast
Cantrips / 0	1	1
1 Level Spells	3	1
2 Level Spells	5	2
3 Level Spells	8	2

Mana Stored & Spells Per Level

Complexity ->		Mana Stored
Mastery	Level
Novice	1	7
	2	15
	3	22
	4	27
Yeoman	5	33
	6	45
	7	52
	8	60
Adept	9	68
	10	75
	11	82
	12	90
Master	13	97
	14	105
	15	113
	16	120
Grand Master	17	127
	18	135
	19	142
	20	150

Proficiencies

At 2^nd Level, you gain 2 proficiency slots.

At 6^th Level, you gain 2 proficiency slots.

At 10^th Level, you gain 3 proficiency slots.

At 14^th Level, you gain 2 proficiency slots.

At 18^th Level, you gain 2 proficiency slots.

Ability Score Increases

At 3^rd Level, You gain 2 points.

At 7^th Level, You gain 2 points.

At 11^th Level, You gain 3 points.

At 15^th Level, You gain 2 points.

At 19^th Level, You gain 1 point.

Leveling Table

Level	Mastery	Prof Bonus	Skill	Forte	ASI	Maxims	Precepts	Mysteries	Orders	Esoterica
1	Novice	0		Yes				Simple	First
2		0	Yes							Yes
3		0			Yes		Yes
4		+1				Yes		Rudiments
5	Yeoman / Doyen	+1		Yes					Second
6		+1	Yes							Yes
7		+1			Yes		Yes
8		+2				Yes		Medial
9	Adept	+2		Yes					Third
10		+2	Yes							Yes
11		+2			Yes		Yes
12		+3				Yes		Advanced
13	Master	+3		Yes					Fourth
14		+3	Yes							Yes
15		+3			Yes		Yes
16		+4				Yes		Expert
17	Grand Master	+4		Yes					Fifth
18		+4	Yes							Yes
19		+4			Yes		Yes
20		+5				Yes