Monk talents

Adventurer Tier Talents

Ascended Animal

You, or your ancestors, were born as animals. The blessing of an icon, most often the High Druid or the Elf Queen, gave you a humanoid form and made you what you are now. Still, you bear a physical feature that marks your former status, be it eyes, skin coloration, or even a tail.

You can still transform into the animal that you were, at will. This form is similar to the Shifter Druid's scout form, but you always transform into the same individual animal.

Choose a Ki power from the list below based on your original animal form.

(Viper Fang): When you hit with an unarmed attack, you can spend 1 ki point to deal ongoing poison damage equal to five times your level.

(Bear Hug): When you hit with an unarmed attack, you can spend 1 ki point to grab the target. (See grabbing) While the target is grabbed, it is also hampered.

(Guardian Instinct): When an enemy moves to engage a nearby ally, you can spend 1 ki point to pop free and engage that enemy as an interrupt. You gain a +4 bonus to defenses on the same turn.

(Cat's Pounce): When you move to engage an enemy, you can spend 1 ki point to make an unarmed punch attack against the target.

Champion feat: You gain a second ki power from the list.

Fortress of the Mind

You have achieved a clarity of mind beyond what mortals can hope to achieve. You often appear distant, unemotional and unworldly. This is far from the truth. When you choose to experience an emotion, you can do so with more intensity than any of the uninitiated. It is merely that you do not require simple triggers such as drinking or gambling to experience joy.

Once per battle, when you are hit by an attack that targets MD, as a free action, you can take half damage from that attack instead.

Adventurer feat: You also block any non-damage effect from the attack.

Champion feat: You gain resist psychic 18+.

Epic feat: You gain a +1 bonus to MD.

Ki Power

(Cleansing of Thought): You can spend a ki point to reroll a save against the dazed, fear, confused and stunned conditions as well as ongoing psychic damage with a bonus equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Hidden Scrolls of the Windswept Cave

You learn an additional adventurer tier form.

Champion feat: You can switch one adventurer tier form during a short rest.

Flames of the Inner Demon

Demons and evil spirits who possess the power to enter their victim's mind are the most frightening adversaries of good, because they can hide among the innocent and any attempt to purge the spirit puts them in danger too. Therefore most devout monks volunteer to imprison these creatures within themselves, where they are under control to prevent mischief.

Once per day, as a quick action when the escalation die is 1+, you can unleash the power of the imprisoned demon. Until the end of the battle, you roll two d20 for melee attacks. Use the highest die as your attack roll, but track whether the other die hits. For each die that misses, you take damage equal to double the level of the target of your attack.

Adventurer feat: When you unleash the demon, your unarmed attacks deal fire damage. On a critical hit, you deal 5 ongoing fire damage per level.

Champion feat: When you unleash the demon, you gain resist fire 16+.

Epic feat: You gain an additional relationship die with the Diabolist. On a successful icon relationship roll, you gain an additional daily use of this power.

Iron Body

You can push your body beyond mortal limits. You can walk over hot coals and meditate for hours in an ice-cold waterfall. You can put your body in a state where you can survive days, months, even years with a minimum of air, water, or food. You never take damage from the natural environment.

Once per battle, when you are hit by an attack that targets PD, as a free action, you can take half damage from that attack instead.

Adventurer feat: You also block any non-damage effect from the attack.

Champion feat: You gain resist poison 18+.

Epic feat: Increase your recovery dice to d10.

Ki Power

(Seal of Steel): You can spend a ki point to reroll a save against the weakened, hampered, vulnerable and stuck conditions as well as ongoing poison damage with a bonus equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Waterfall in the Mountain Mist

You use wisdom instead of dexterity and strength for unarmed attack and damage rolls. When you learn a form, you gain its feat that is the same tier as a the power (adventurer, champion or epic) for free.

Sacred Ki

Your unarmed attacks deal holy damage.

Adventurer feat: Add your Wisdom modifier to all recovery rolls you make or grant. Double this bonus at 5th level, triple it at 8th.

Ki Power

(Flow Restoration): As a quick action, you can spend a ki point to let an adjacent ally spend a recovery to heal.

Shadow Disciple

You learn a power from the Rogue list. You can use it as an unarmed JAB attack, and it counts as an opening attack.

You don't have the momentum power, and can't use any powers that require momentum.

Adventurer feat: Gain three background points towards a stealth and espionage background.

Shell of the Dragon Turtle

Instead of an ascending AC bonus after making a form attack, you gain a flat +3 bonus to AC (your base AC in light armor is now 14).

You take a -4 penalty to initiative.

Adventurer feat: You gain resist lightning 12+.

Sohei

You serve as a foot soldier in the standing army of a monastery. You treat polearms (two-handed d8 weapons like a naginata) as traditional monk weapons. You can also wear heavy armor without penalty.

Adventurer feat: When you wield a polearm, opponents take a penalty to disengage from you equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Champion feat: You can switch out one monk talent for a fighter talent.

Epic feat: You learn a tactic from the commander's list of up to two levels lower than your own.

Champion Tier Talents

Midnight Storm topples the Oak

Once per battle, you can make a flow attack against a staggered enemy as a move action.

Champion feat: If you make a finishing attack during the same turn, you gain a +2 bonus to the attack roll.

Crane steps on the River Stone

When you use the opening, flow and finishing attack of the same form in order, and your finishing attack is a natural even roll, it is a critical hit.

Champion feat: On a miss with the finishing attack, regain a ki point.

Epic feat: When you use a flow or finishing attack after your previous attack was from the same form, you gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll.

Epic Tier Talents

Shadow Mastery

For one battle per day, as a quick action, you can summon a shadow double of yourself. It has the same stats and abilities, but no ki points and half your maximum hit points. You control the double as per the summoning rules.

Ki Power

(Shadow Restoration): When you spend a recovery to heal, you can also spend a ki point to heal your shadow double for the same amount.