Monk Leveling
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Martial Arts | Ki Points | Unarmored Movement | Heightened Reflexes | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d4 | — | — | — | Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d4 | 2 | +10 ft. | — | Dedicated Weapon, Ki, Unarmored Movement |
| 3rd | +2 | 1d4 | 3 | +10 ft. | 2 | Monastic Tradition, Heightened Reflexes |
| 4th | +2 | 1d4 | 4 | +10 ft. | 2 | Ability Score Improvement, Quickened Healing |
| 5th | +3 | 1d6 | 5 | +10 ft. | 3 | Extra Attack, Extra Reaction |
| 6th | +3 | 1d6 | 6 | +15 ft. | 3 | Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition Feature |
| 7th | +3 | 1d6 | 7 | +15 ft. | 3 | Evasion, Stillness of Mind |
| 8th | +3 | 1d6 | 8 | +15 ft. | 3 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 9th | +4 | 1d6 | 9 | +15 ft. | 3 | Unarmored Movement Improvement |
| 10th | +4 | 1d6 | 10 | +20 ft. | 3 | Purity of Body |
| 11th | +4 | 1d8 | 11 | +20 ft. | 4 | Monastic Tradition Feature, Extra Reaction (2) |
| 12th | +4 | 1d8 | 12 | +20 ft. | 4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 13th | +5 | 1d8 | 13 | +20 ft. | 4 | Tongue of the Sun and Moon |
| 14th | +5 | 1d8 | 14 | +25 ft. | 4 | Diamond Soul |
| 15th | +5 | 1d8 | 15 | +25 ft. | 4 | Timeless Body |
| 16th | +5 | 1d8 | 16 | +25 ft. | 4 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 17th | +6 | 1d10 | 17 | +25 ft. | 5 | Monastic Tradition, Extra Reaction (3) |
| 18th | +6 | 1d10 | 18 | +30 ft. | 5 | Empty Body |
| 19th | +6 | 1d10 | 19 | +30 ft. | 5 | Ability Score Improvement |
| 20th | +6 | 1d10 | 20 | +30 ft. | 5 | Perfect Self |
Class Features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d8 per monk level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier.
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per monk level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: None
- Weapons: simple weapons, claw bracers, jians, shortswords, war fans
- Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Perception, Religion, and Stealth
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.
- (a) a jian or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- (a) a war fan or (b) 10 darts
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Martial Arts
At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are claw bracers, jians, shortswords, war fans, and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
- You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
- 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.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama). Whatever name you use for a monk weapon, you can use the game statistics provided for the weapon.
Unarmored Movement
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Ki
Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.
If you spend 1 ki point or more as part of your action on your turn, you can make one attack with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon as a bonus action before the end of the turn.
Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
Step of the Wind
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Dedicated Weapon
Also at 2nd level, 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 ki on it, and then count that weapon as a monk weapon until you use this feature again. You must be proficient with the chosen weapon, and it cannot have the heavy and special properties.
Heightened Reflexes
In your practice of the martial arts, you have improved your reflexes beyond the norm. You have trained to respond to certain events with startling haste.
At 3rd level, you gain two Heightened Reflexes of your choice. A list of the available options can be found at the end of this class. When you gain certain monk levels, you gain additional reflexes of your choice.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the reflexes you know and replace it with another reflex that you could learn at that level. A level prerequisite in a reflex refers to monk level, not character level.
Monastic Tradition
When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition: the Way of the Open Hand, the Way of the Argent Fist, the Way of the Ascendant Dragon, the Way of the Heaven Piercer, the Way of Reclamation, the Way of the Rime Warden, the Way of the Serpent, the Way of the Still Tide, the Way of the Sun Soul, or the Way of the Four Elements, all detailed at the end of the class description. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Quickened Healing
At 4th level, you gain the ability to use ki to stimulate healing in your body. As an action, you can spend a ki point to spend and roll one of your Hit Die. You regain a number of hit points equal to the number rolled plus your Wisdom modifier.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Extra Reaction
Beginning at 5th level, you can can use a reaction up to twice before the start of your next turn. You can only use one reaction to a given trigger. If a feature or effect would prevent you from taking reactions but does not incapacitate you, you instead lose one use of your reaction for the duration of the effect.
The number of times you can use a reaction in between the start of your turns increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 17th level in this class.
If you gain the ability to use extra reactions from another source, you choose which feature to benefit from.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Evasion
At 7th level, 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 allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stillness of Mind
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
Purity of Body
At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, you can choose to let any creature understand you if they can understand a language.
Diamond Soul
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.
Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can use a reaction and spend 1 ki point to reroll it. You must take the second result.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can’t be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water, and you can hold your breath for a number of hours equal to half of your monk level.
Empty Body
Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1 minute. During that time, you also have resistance to all damage but force damage.
Additionally, you can spend 8 ki points to cast the astral projection spell, without needing any components. When you do so, you can’t take any other creatures with you.
Perfect Self
At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points. Additionally, whenever you spend and roll a Hit Die to restore hit points, you double the number it restores.
Heightened Reflexes
Listed below are the heightened reflexes available to a monk. If a reflex has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. A level prerequisite refers to your monk level. You can learn a reflex at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. Any DCs listed use your Ki save DC unless otherwise stated.
Deflect Missiles
This reaction allows you to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, 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. If you catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and 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.
Gentle Palm
You’ve mastered the art of narrowly deflecting incoming blows. Whenever another creature hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to add +2 to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.
Hawk Seeks Prey
Hiding from your keen senses becomes all but impossible. Whenever a creature within 60 feet of you that you are aware of attempts to Hide, you may use a reaction to take the Search action and search for them.
Slow Fall
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. If you still take fall damage from the triggering fall, it does not knock you prone.
Bear Watches Over
Prerequisite: 5th level You become a retaliatory force on the battlefield. Whenever a creature within your reach attacks an ally, you can use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against the attacking creature.
Cascading Strikes
Prerequisite: 5th level When you successfully land both attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you may spend an additional ki point to make a third unarmed strike as a reaction, which counts as an attack granted by Flurry of Blows for the purposes of other features.
Focused Aim
Prerequisite: 5th level You focus your perception to the very instant you make your attack, making minute adjustments to assure the blow hits. When you miss with an attack roll, you can spend 1 to 3 ki points to increase your attack roll by 2 for each of these ki points you spend, potentially turning the miss into a hit.
Monkey Step
Prerequisite: 5th level You become difficult to pin down during a fight. You can move up to half your movement speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Tiger Pounces
Prerequisite: 5th level Your predatory instincts keep your opponents from escaping. Whenever a hostile creature moves out of your reach, you can use your reaction to leap up to half your movement speed towards them, landing in an unoccupied space adjacent to the target. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. The creature must then succeed on a Strength saving throw, or be knocked prone.
Panther Stalks the Quarry
Prerequisite: 11th Level When you are forcibly moved, if the source of the effect was an adjacent creature, you can use a reaction to spend 2 ki and force that creature to make a Strength saving throw or be moved the same distance along side you. If the triggering creature is grappled by you, this movement does not break the grapple.
Part the Weave
Prerequisite: 11th level Your knowledge of magic and its users allows you to react swiftly to their machinations, and even use your ki to disrupt their work. Whenever a creature within your reach begins casting a spell, you can spend 3 ki points to make an unarmed strike against them as a reaction. On a hit, they take damage as normal, and you attempt to disrupt the spell’s magic. If the creature is casting a spell of 3rd level or lower, its spell fails and has no effect. If it is casting a spell of 4th level or higher, make a Wisdom ability check. The DC is equal to 10 + the spell’s level. On a success, the creature’s spell fails and has no effect.
Snake Strike
*Prerequisite: 11th level You learn to strike like a cobra at any openings your enemies present. Whenever a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against them.
Turn the Tide
Prerequisite: 11th level This reaction lets you spend 1 ki point to divert the force of a melee weapon attack you are hit by. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, you can divert the attack completely if you have at least one hand free. If you divert an attack in this way, you can spend 1 ki point to make an unarmed strike against the attacking creature as part of the same reaction.
Flash Focus Defense
Prerequisite: 17th Level Your focus hones to a razor’s edge, helping you roll with punches before they are even thrown. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.
Specter Haunts the Spirit
Prerequisite: 17th Level As a reaction when you or another creature within 30 feet of you teleports or is shunted to another plane of existance, if the source of the effect was created by a creature, you may spend 4 ki points to attune to their ki and also be shunted, appearing in an unoccupied space nearest to the target.
Still Lake’s Surface
Prerequisite: 17th Level When a creature within your reach begins to activate a magical effect, you may use your reaction to expend 5 ki and totally sever their connection to the weave. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw, or the triggering effect fails and is wasted. Moreover, on a failed save, the target loses the ability to cast spells and ongoing magical effects (other than this one) on the creature are suppressed until the start of your next turn. The powers and properties of magic items in the target’s possession are suppressed until the start of your next turn.