Foxydono
2017-01-05, 11:05 PM
As the title says, I was inspired by the Way of the Four Elements monk, but I wanted a different approach making the archtype more verstile. After a lot of thinking I am proud to present to you the Way of the Psychometabolic monk! It is still in the construction fase though, so if you have feedback please let me know.
Way of the Psychometabolic Monk
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn magical disciplines that harness the power of your own body. You know the Heightened Senses discipline and one other psychometabolic discipline of your choice, which are detailed in the “Psychometabolic Disciplines” section below. You learn one additional psychometabolic discipline of your choice at 6th, 11th and 17th level. Whenever you learn a new psychometabolic discipline, you can replace one psychometabolic discipline that you already know with a different discipline, but you cannot know more than one 17th level discipline.
Each discipline has a passive and an active component. Active abilities use ki points to use. A passive ability does not require ki, but you can only have one passive ability active at any given time. You can change/choose your passive ability as a bonus action during your turn. If you choose another passive ability, the old one stops working.
Psychometabolic Disciplines
Afterimage
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend one 1 ki point to create an afterimage which acts the same as the spell ‘mirror image’ until the start of your next turn.
Passive: While concentrating, you have advantage on stealth checks.
Elemental Control
Active: By spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, capture incoming energy like the absorb elements spell. You may choose to spend extra ki points using this ability, dealing an extra 1d6 points of damage for each extra ki point spend, up to a maximum of 5 ki points.
Passive: While concentrating, you learn to adapt your body to a hostile environment. The change must by keyed to a specific surrounding: water, acid, extreme heat, extreme cold, etc. You adopt to the surrounding and you can breathe and move normally through it without taking any damage from that specific surrounding.
Body Equilibrium
Active: Your body is so balanced that, by spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, avoid damage from an attack giving you a +5 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn like with the shield spell. This does not avoid the damage from a magic missile.
Passive: While concentrating, you can levitate like the levitation spell.
Chemical Simulation
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to simulate certain elements to form a 10-foot sphere surrounding you made of acid, fire, lightning, poison or thunder. Any creature within this sphere, excluding yourself, must make a dexterity saving throw. On a failed they suffer 2d10 damage or half as much if successful.
Passive: You produce a chemical reaction within your body that releases a fog cloud with a radius of 20 feet surrounding you. This functions like the spell fog cloud.
Heightened Senses
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to sharpen all five of your normal senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. By doing so you are granted True Sight for up to 30 feet until the beginning of your next turn.
Passive: While concentrating, you get darkvision up to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, the range is extended with by 30 feet.
Biofeedback (6th level required)
Active: By spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, half the damage of an attack made against you. This can be done after you know whether the attack hit or missed, but before the damage is rolled.
Passive: While you concentrate, you control the flow of blood running through your own body. You suffer two fewer points of damage from every attack which causes physical injury. This is calculated before the resistance applies.
Expansion and Reduction (6th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki points to double or half your own size and weight like the enlarge or reduce spell for 1 minute without needing to concentrate.
Passive: Your body adapts when someone is trying to hold you back. While you concentrate, you cannot become entangled or restrained.
Lend Health (6th level required)
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki points to transfer your own hit points to someone else you are touching. Each hit point transferred heals two points of damage. You cannot transfer temporary hit points or bring your own live total below one.
Passive: While concentrating, healing spells or potions taken by you or a friendly creature within 10-feet of you, heal an additional hit dice of damage. For example, a healing potions heals 3d4+2 damage instead of 2d4+2.
Mind Link (6th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to establish a telepathic link with any intelligent creature (Intelligence five or greater) you can see for one minute. This is a two-way communication and language is not a barrier, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. Distance or sight form no barrier when a telepathic link has been established. You can spend one extra ki point for each additional creature you want to form a telepathic link with.
Passive: Wile concentrating, you can try to read the thoughts of a creature that you can see, as described in the detects thoughts spell.
Adrenaline Control (11th level required)
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 2 ki points to control the production of adrenalin running through your system for one minute. You can give yourself a temporary physical boost on demand. When you increase your adrenaline, you gain 1d4+1 points, which you can add directly to your Strength, Dexterity or Constitution scores however you choose. You enjoy all the normal bonuses for high attributes (max 24).
Passive: While concentrating, you are immune to critical hits.
Confusing gaze (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to turn your gaze into a weapon. Every creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of you must make a wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn and must roll a 1d6 to determine what is does during that turn: On a 1 to 4 the creature does nothing and on a 5 or 6, the creature takes no action but uses all its movement to move in a random direction. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid making a saving throw. If a creature chooses to do this, attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Passive: While concentrating, you gain blind sight of 30 feet.
Ectoplasmic Form (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you convert yourself to ectoplasm for one hour by spending 2 ki points, this acts like the etherealness spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you gain resistance bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks.
Upside down (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to alter the gravity of the area surrounding you until the start of your next turn. This acts like the reserve gravity spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you can make yourself immovable. A tremendous amount of force is required to uproot you from your spot. A successful DC 30 Strength check is required for every 10 feet you are moved. This power has nothing to do with weight. You will not crash through the floor because you made yourself immovable. You instead attach yourself to the fabric of the universe. This ability acts like that of an immovable rod.
Double Pain (17th level required)
Active: By making a successful melee attack, you can lower the resistance of a creature by spending 4 ki points. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn. You may choose a damage type: slashing, bludgeoning, piercing, fire, cold, poison, acid, psychic, necrotic, radiant, lightning, thunder or force. The effected creature’s resistance to this damage type is lowered by one degree. For example, a creature with resistance loses this ability and if it doesn’t have resistance it become vulnerable to this damage type. If the creature already is vulnerable to the chosen type damage type, the attack has no effect. Creatures immune to the chosen damage type are not effected either.
Passive: While concentrating, whenever damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken). On a success, you instead drop to 1 hit point.
Mind over Body (17th level required)
Active: As an action, you can blast the mind of a creature you can see within range by spending 4 ki points. This acts like the feeblemind spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you are immune to psychic damage and any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, like the mind blank spell.
Spirit bomb (17th level required)
Active: As an action, you can create a spirit bomb by spending 4 ki points until the start of your next turn. This bomb is created by tapping into the energy of all the (living) things surrounding you, including yourself. Before you initiate this power, you must decide on how many hit points you will sacrifice as a toll for creating such a field, the loss is inevitable and can only be regained through a long rest. You cannot sacrifice temporary hit points. You can shoot this bomb up to a 100 foot at a point of your choosing. Every creature within a 20-yard radius sphere centered on that point must make a constitution saving throw. Those who fail lose the same number of hit points as you sacrificed as radiant damage and become stunned until the start of your next turn. Those who succeed only take half the damage (rounded down). Undead creatures suffer twice as much damage from the spirit field.
Passive: While concentrating, you create an invisible 10-foot sphere of anti-magic that surrounds you. This sphere acts like an antimagic field. You cannot use ki points while this sphere is up.
Shinigami (17th level required)
Active: As an action and by spending 4 ki points, you can make a deadly attack. By channeling negative energy into the palm of your hand, your next attack acts like the spell finger of death.
Passive: While concentrating, you do no longer age and you can speak with the dead, provided it isn’t an undead creature. The corpse knows only what it knew in life, including the languages it knew. Answers are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive, and the corpse is under no compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are hostile to it or it recognizes you as an enemy.
Way of the Psychometabolic Monk
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn magical disciplines that harness the power of your own body. You know the Heightened Senses discipline and one other psychometabolic discipline of your choice, which are detailed in the “Psychometabolic Disciplines” section below. You learn one additional psychometabolic discipline of your choice at 6th, 11th and 17th level. Whenever you learn a new psychometabolic discipline, you can replace one psychometabolic discipline that you already know with a different discipline, but you cannot know more than one 17th level discipline.
Each discipline has a passive and an active component. Active abilities use ki points to use. A passive ability does not require ki, but you can only have one passive ability active at any given time. You can change/choose your passive ability as a bonus action during your turn. If you choose another passive ability, the old one stops working.
Psychometabolic Disciplines
Afterimage
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend one 1 ki point to create an afterimage which acts the same as the spell ‘mirror image’ until the start of your next turn.
Passive: While concentrating, you have advantage on stealth checks.
Elemental Control
Active: By spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, capture incoming energy like the absorb elements spell. You may choose to spend extra ki points using this ability, dealing an extra 1d6 points of damage for each extra ki point spend, up to a maximum of 5 ki points.
Passive: While concentrating, you learn to adapt your body to a hostile environment. The change must by keyed to a specific surrounding: water, acid, extreme heat, extreme cold, etc. You adopt to the surrounding and you can breathe and move normally through it without taking any damage from that specific surrounding.
Body Equilibrium
Active: Your body is so balanced that, by spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, avoid damage from an attack giving you a +5 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn like with the shield spell. This does not avoid the damage from a magic missile.
Passive: While concentrating, you can levitate like the levitation spell.
Chemical Simulation
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to simulate certain elements to form a 10-foot sphere surrounding you made of acid, fire, lightning, poison or thunder. Any creature within this sphere, excluding yourself, must make a dexterity saving throw. On a failed they suffer 2d10 damage or half as much if successful.
Passive: You produce a chemical reaction within your body that releases a fog cloud with a radius of 20 feet surrounding you. This functions like the spell fog cloud.
Heightened Senses
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki point to sharpen all five of your normal senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. By doing so you are granted True Sight for up to 30 feet until the beginning of your next turn.
Passive: While concentrating, you get darkvision up to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, the range is extended with by 30 feet.
Biofeedback (6th level required)
Active: By spending 1 ki point you can, as a reaction, half the damage of an attack made against you. This can be done after you know whether the attack hit or missed, but before the damage is rolled.
Passive: While you concentrate, you control the flow of blood running through your own body. You suffer two fewer points of damage from every attack which causes physical injury. This is calculated before the resistance applies.
Expansion and Reduction (6th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki points to double or half your own size and weight like the enlarge or reduce spell for 1 minute without needing to concentrate.
Passive: Your body adapts when someone is trying to hold you back. While you concentrate, you cannot become entangled or restrained.
Lend Health (6th level required)
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 1 ki points to transfer your own hit points to someone else you are touching. Each hit point transferred heals two points of damage. You cannot transfer temporary hit points or bring your own live total below one.
Passive: While concentrating, healing spells or potions taken by you or a friendly creature within 10-feet of you, heal an additional hit dice of damage. For example, a healing potions heals 3d4+2 damage instead of 2d4+2.
Mind Link (6th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to establish a telepathic link with any intelligent creature (Intelligence five or greater) you can see for one minute. This is a two-way communication and language is not a barrier, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. Distance or sight form no barrier when a telepathic link has been established. You can spend one extra ki point for each additional creature you want to form a telepathic link with.
Passive: Wile concentrating, you can try to read the thoughts of a creature that you can see, as described in the detects thoughts spell.
Adrenaline Control (11th level required)
Active: As a bonus action, you can spend 2 ki points to control the production of adrenalin running through your system for one minute. You can give yourself a temporary physical boost on demand. When you increase your adrenaline, you gain 1d4+1 points, which you can add directly to your Strength, Dexterity or Constitution scores however you choose. You enjoy all the normal bonuses for high attributes (max 24).
Passive: While concentrating, you are immune to critical hits.
Confusing gaze (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to turn your gaze into a weapon. Every creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of you must make a wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn and must roll a 1d6 to determine what is does during that turn: On a 1 to 4 the creature does nothing and on a 5 or 6, the creature takes no action but uses all its movement to move in a random direction. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid making a saving throw. If a creature chooses to do this, attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Passive: While concentrating, you gain blind sight of 30 feet.
Ectoplasmic Form (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you convert yourself to ectoplasm for one hour by spending 2 ki points, this acts like the etherealness spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you gain resistance bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks.
Upside down (11th level required)
Active: As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to alter the gravity of the area surrounding you until the start of your next turn. This acts like the reserve gravity spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you can make yourself immovable. A tremendous amount of force is required to uproot you from your spot. A successful DC 30 Strength check is required for every 10 feet you are moved. This power has nothing to do with weight. You will not crash through the floor because you made yourself immovable. You instead attach yourself to the fabric of the universe. This ability acts like that of an immovable rod.
Double Pain (17th level required)
Active: By making a successful melee attack, you can lower the resistance of a creature by spending 4 ki points. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn. You may choose a damage type: slashing, bludgeoning, piercing, fire, cold, poison, acid, psychic, necrotic, radiant, lightning, thunder or force. The effected creature’s resistance to this damage type is lowered by one degree. For example, a creature with resistance loses this ability and if it doesn’t have resistance it become vulnerable to this damage type. If the creature already is vulnerable to the chosen type damage type, the attack has no effect. Creatures immune to the chosen damage type are not effected either.
Passive: While concentrating, whenever damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken). On a success, you instead drop to 1 hit point.
Mind over Body (17th level required)
Active: As an action, you can blast the mind of a creature you can see within range by spending 4 ki points. This acts like the feeblemind spell.
Passive: While concentrating, you are immune to psychic damage and any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, like the mind blank spell.
Spirit bomb (17th level required)
Active: As an action, you can create a spirit bomb by spending 4 ki points until the start of your next turn. This bomb is created by tapping into the energy of all the (living) things surrounding you, including yourself. Before you initiate this power, you must decide on how many hit points you will sacrifice as a toll for creating such a field, the loss is inevitable and can only be regained through a long rest. You cannot sacrifice temporary hit points. You can shoot this bomb up to a 100 foot at a point of your choosing. Every creature within a 20-yard radius sphere centered on that point must make a constitution saving throw. Those who fail lose the same number of hit points as you sacrificed as radiant damage and become stunned until the start of your next turn. Those who succeed only take half the damage (rounded down). Undead creatures suffer twice as much damage from the spirit field.
Passive: While concentrating, you create an invisible 10-foot sphere of anti-magic that surrounds you. This sphere acts like an antimagic field. You cannot use ki points while this sphere is up.
Shinigami (17th level required)
Active: As an action and by spending 4 ki points, you can make a deadly attack. By channeling negative energy into the palm of your hand, your next attack acts like the spell finger of death.
Passive: While concentrating, you do no longer age and you can speak with the dead, provided it isn’t an undead creature. The corpse knows only what it knew in life, including the languages it knew. Answers are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive, and the corpse is under no compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are hostile to it or it recognizes you as an enemy.