Monk Talent Tree
For the truly exemplary, martial skill transcends the battlefield. It is a lifestyle, a doctrine, a state of mind. These warrior-artists search out methods of battle beyond swords and shields, finding weapons within themselves just as capable of crippling or killing as any blade. These monks (so called since they adhere to ancient philosophies and strict martial disciplines) elevate their bodies to become weapons of war, from battle-minded ascetics to self-taught brawlers. Monks tread the path of discipline, and those with the will to endure that path discover within themselves not what they are, but what they are meant to be.
Core Talents
| Talent | CP | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Martial Arts | 5 | - |
| Dance of the Crane | 5 | - |
| Chi | 5 | 2 Monk Talents |
| Stunning Strike | 5 | Chi and 3 Other Monk Talents |
| Calm in the Storm | 15 | Stunning Strike and 5 Other Monk Talents |
| Flying Crane | 20 | Calm in the Storm |
| Purity of Body | 25 | Flying Crane |
| Tongue of the Sun and Moon | 30 | Purity of Body and 9 Other Monk Talents |
| Diamond Soul | 50 | Tongue of the Sun and Moon |
| Timeless Body | 65 | Diamond Soul |
| Empty Body | 80 | Timeless Body and 13 Other Monk Talents |
| Perfect Self | 100 | Empty Body |
Martial Arts
Cost: 5 Character Points
Your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are short swords and simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or unwieldy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armour or wielding a shield:
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes.
- You can roll your martial feat die in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon.
- You learn the brawling fighting style. If you already know the brawling fighting style, gain 5 character points.
Dance of the Crane
Cost: 5 Character Points
While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your speed increases by 10 feet and you may use your Wisdom defence in place of your Strength or Dexterity defence versus melee and ranged attacks.
Additionally, the first time each round that you are hit by a ranged weapon attack, you deflect the missile as a free action. When you do so, the damage that you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier.
If you reduce the damage to 0, then you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free.
Chi
Cost: 5 Character Points
Prerequisite: 2 Monk Talents
Your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of chi. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of chi points equal to your Wisdom score.
You can spend these points to fuel various chi features. You start knowing 7 such features: Deflect Missiles, Flurry of Blows, Focussed Aim, Patient Defense, Quickened Healing and Step of the Wind.
When you spend a chi point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended chi back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your chi points.
As long as you have 1 chi point remaining, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Some of your chi features require you to make a chi attack roll versus your target’s defence. This is an attack roll using your unarmed proficiency and your Wisdom bonus.
Dedicated Weapon
Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can touch one weapon, focus your chi on it, and then count that weapon as a monk weapon until you use this feature again.
The chosen weapon must meet these criteria:
- You must be trained with it.
- It must lack the two-handed and unwieldy properties.
Deflect Missiles
If you catch a missile that was shot at you, you can spend 1 chi point to immediately make a ranged attack as a free action with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught. The missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
Flurry of Blows
When you take the Strike action, you may spend 1 chi point to ignore the multiple attack penalty.
Focussed Aim
When you miss with an attack roll, you can spend 2 chi points to reroll your attack roll, potentially turning the miss into a hit.
Patient Defense
You can spend 1 chi point to Dodge using only a single action.
Quickened Healing
As an action, you can spend 2 chi points and roll your recovery die. You regain an amount of Stamina equal to the number rolled plus your wisdom bonus.
Step of the Wind
You can spend 1 chi point to Step or Stride as a free action on your turn. Additionally, your jump distance is doubled for that turn.
Stunning Strike
Cost: 5 Character Points
Prerequisite: Chi and 3 Other Monk Talents
You can interfere with the flow of chi in an opponent’s body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 chi point to attempt a stunning strike. If your chi attack hits the target’s Constitution defence, they are stunned until the end of your next turn.
Calm in the Storm
Cost: 15 Character Points
Prerequisite: Stunning Strike and 5 Other Monk Talents
Your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that deals only half damage on a miss, you instead take no damage on a miss, and only half damage on a hit.
Additionally, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
Flying Crane
Cost: 20 Character Points
Prerequisite: Calm in the Storm
When you fall, reduce any falling damage that you take by an amount equal to five times your number of monk talents.
Additionally, your unarmoured speed bonus increass to 20 feet and you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during your move.
Purity of Body
Cost: 25 Character Points
Prerequisite: Flying Crane
Your mastery of Chi flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Cost: 30 Character Points
Prerequisite: Purity of Body and 9 Other Monk Talents
You learn to touch the chi of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.
Diamond Soul
Cost: 50 Character Points
Prerequisite: Tongue of the Sun and Moon and 10 Other Monk Talents
You mastery of chi grants +1d to all defenses.
Additionally, whenever you make a defence check and fail, you may spend 1 chi point to reroll it and take the second result.
Timeless Body
Cost: 65 Character Points
+Prerequisite:+ Diamond Soul
Your chi sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age.
You can’t be aged magically. However, you can still die of old age. In addition, you no longer need food or water.
Empty Body
Cost: 80 Character Points
Prerequisite: Timeless Body and 13 Other Monk Talents
As an action, you can 4 chi points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage except energy.
Additionally, you can spend 8 Chi points to cast the Astral Projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you cannot take any other creatures with you.
Perfect Self
Cost: 100 Character Points
Prerequisite: Empty Body
You’ve gained perfect control over your body.
Your Dexterity and Wisdom scores increase by 2. Your maximum for those scores increases by 22.
Additionally, when you roll for initiative and have no chi points remaining, you regain a number of chi points equal to your Wisdom modifier.