Spiritual Follower

The monk has dedicated themself to walking a spiritual path. They may have taken vows to a holy spirit, forged a bond with a wild spirit, or given their life to a spirit that offered solace in a time of suffering. The monk aligns their spirit with that of their patron, finding strength in unity. Through steadfast ritual, devotion, and discipline, the monk can become a physical incarnation of the spirit in the material world, even taking on some of the unseen, supernatural abilities of the spirit.

            When they are in need of support the monk calls upon their patron, requesting its assistance. The patron spirit channels its energy through the monk, producing miraculous effects. Monks entreat their patron spirits by way of calling, prayer, and meditation, and spirits grant knowledge, aid, and guidance in return. Spiritual knowledge is received by way of cryptic signs and veiled messages; monks that can decipher these spiritual offerings are able to receive deep insights and profound understanding.  

Unwavering Commitment

In order to receive the favor of a patron spirit, a monk must devote themself completely. They must commit themselves to embodying the essence of their spirit in their every thought and action. They relentlessly pursue the path of the spirit they follow, going to any length to please their spirit, constantly giving them praise and exalting their name. To a monk, all things can be seen through the spiritual lens.

            All monks, even those who commit themselves to chaotic spirits follow or build codes of action around how to best serve their spirits. A good monk follows this code with enthusiasm, zeal, espousing the values of their spirit, even preaching them for all to hear. The monk chooses to be a follower of their patron and their power derives from their belief. There is strength in certainty.

As a monk, you gain the following 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 each time you gain a level in this class

Chi Points

Chi Dice: 1d10 per monk level

Chi Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Intelligence modifier

Chi Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Intelligence modifier each time you gain a level in this class 

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor, Medium armor, shields

Weapons: All simple weapons

Tools: Choose one of any set of tools

Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence

Skills: Choose two from Chi, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, Spirit, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) any two simple weapons or (b) a martial weapon (if proficient)
• (a) leather armor, (b) scale mail, or (c) chain mail (if proficient)
• (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• A shield and a spiritual symbol

Bending

Your connection to your spiritual patron has enabled you to bend. See chapter 10 for the general rules of bending and chapter 11 for the monk technique list.

Basics

At 1st level, you know two basics of your choice from the monk technique list. Alternatively, if you are an elemental bender, you can choose basics from your elemental bending technique list. You learn additional monk basics of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Basics Known column of the Monk table.

Spiritual Text

At 1st level, you have a spiritual text containing four 1st-level monk techniques of your choice, plus the two faith techniques that you get from your Spiritual Faith. Your spiritual text is the book of monk techniques you know, except your basics, which you have devoted to memory.

Preparing and Performing Techniques

            You prepare the list of monk techniques that are available for you to perform. To do so, choose a number of monk techniques from your spiritual text equal to your Intelligence modifier + your monk level (minimum of one technique). The techniques must be of a level which you are able to perform.

            The Technique Level column of the Monk table shows what level technique you are able to perform at each monk level. If a technique can be performed at multiple levels, you can perform it an any level up to the level shown.

To use a technique, you must expend an amount of chi equal to the technique’s level. If you do not have enough chi available to you, you cannot perform the technique, or the technique fails. You regain all expended chi points when you finish a long rest.

You can change your list of prepared techniques when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of monk techniques requires time spent studying your spiritual text and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to perform the technique: at least 1 minute per technique level for each technique on your list.

Bending Ability

Intelligence is your bending ability for your monk techniques since your bending derives from your knowledge of ways to utilize the power of your spirit. You use your Intelligence whenever a technique refers to your bending ability. You use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a monk technique you use and when making an attack roll with one.

Technique save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Technique attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

If you are an elemental bender, you are able to extrapolate what you learn through your class to your elemental bending as well. Thus, you can choose whether to use your elemental bending abilities or your monk bending ability for your elemental bending techniques.

Meditation

You can perform monk techniques through meditation if the technique has the meditation tag and you have mastered the technique.

Bending Focus

You can use a spiritual symbol (found in chapter 5) as a bending focus for your monk techniques.

Learning Techniques of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain a monk level, you can add one monk (or elemental) technique of your choice to your spiritual text for free. Each of these techniques must be of a level that you are able to perform, as shown by the Technique Level column of the Monk table. On your adventures, you might find other techniques that you can add to your spiritual text (see the “Your Spiritual Text” sidebar).

Faith

Choose a spirit or group of spirits to whom you have devoted yourself. You can devote yourself to any spirit, but all spirits fall into one of four categories: Countless, Worldly, Heavenly, Earthly, and Ancestral. Each of these categories is detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you techniques and other features when you choose it at 1st level. It also grants you additional ways to use Channel Spirit when you gain that feature at 2nd level, and additional benefits at 6th, 8th, and 17th levels.

            Each faith description provides examples of spirits of that type. Spirits and their categories from each of the four nations can be found in Appendix B.

Faith Techniques

Each faith has a list of faith techniques that you gain at the monk levels noted in the faith description. These techniques come to you through divine inspiration, once you’ve learned them you can copy them into your spiritual text at any time. You must copy them into your spiritual text in order to use them.

            If you have a faith technique that doesn’t appear on the monk technique list, it is nonetheless a monk technique for you.

Channel Spirit

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel spiritual energy, using that energy to produce supernatural effects. You start with two such effects: Turn Spirit and an effect determined by your faith. Some faiths grant you additional effects as you advance in levels, as noted in the faith’s description.

            When you use your Channel Spirit, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Spirit again.

            Some Channel Spirit effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your monk technique save DC.

            Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel Spirit twice between rests, and beginning at 18th level, you can use it three times between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.

Channel Spirit: Turn Spirit

As an action, you wield your spiritual energy and speak to the spirits to gain their favor. Each spirit that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Charisma saving throw. If the spirit fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.

            A turned spirit becomes aligned to your spirit, sympathetic to your cause, and regards you and your companions as friendly. A turned spirit whose true nature is in opposition to yours will not go out of its way to help you, nor will it do any harm to you or your companions for the duration. If it would normally be neutral or naturally aligned with your spirit, it may be inclined to help, and may continue to do so after the effect wears off, so long as it is not under any other effects.

Gift of Faith

At 3rd level, the spirit of your faith bestows a gift upon you for your loyal service. You gain one of the following features of your choice.

Faith Familiar

You learn the technique familiar spirit. The technique doesn’t count against your number of techniques known.

            Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your spirit to make one attack of its own.

Faith Weapon

You perform a special ritual while holding a weapon, forging a bond with it, and turning it into your spirit weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest.

            You are proficient with your spirit weapon regardless of your normal weapon proficiencies, and the weapon counts as empowered for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to normal attacks and damage.

            While wielding your spirit weapon, you can use your bonus action to suffuse it with spirit energy, causing it to shimmer with a faint glow. When you do so, the weapon’s damage type turns to spirit damage. The energy dissipates if the weapon is more than 5 feet away from you for a minute or more, if you dismiss the energy (no action required), or if you fall unconscious. When searching for your spirit weapon, you are intuitively drawn to its location.

The ritual does cannot affect artifacts or weapons that already have a spirit bonded to them. The weapon ceases to be your spirit weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it.

Faith Basics

You receive insights from the spirit of your faith that you can copy into your spiritual text. When you gain this feature, choose three basics from any class’s technique list. While the text is on your person, you can use those techniques at will and they don’t count against your number of basic techniques known.

            If you lose your spiritual text, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to commune with your patron to receive the information again and copy it into a new text.

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.

Return Spirit

Starting at 5th level, when a spirit fails its saving throw against your Turn Spirit feature, you can choose to return the spirit to the Spirit World if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown in the Return Spirit table.

Return Spirit

Divine Intervention

Beginning at 10th level, you can call on a spirit of your faith to intervene on your behalf when your need is great.

            Requesting the spirit’s aid requires you to use an action. Describe the assistance you seek, and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your monk level, the spirit intervenes. The GM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any monk technique or ability would be appropriate.

            If the spirit does intervene, you can’t use this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use it again after you finish a long rest.

            At 20th level, your call for intervention succeeds automatically, no roll required.

Spiritual Faith

There are four types of spirits that a monk may devote themself to: Countless Spirits, Worldly Spirits, Heavenly Spirits, and Ancestral Spirits. Some spirits fall into more than one of these categories; as a monk, you choose which aspect of the spirit to magnify.

Some monks are familiar with their faith from a young age and decide early on in life to commit themselves to a life of spirituality. Others encounter their patrons later on and are enticed by the benefits of worship and the idea of devotion to higher purpose. The “how” and “why” differ from person to person, but all monks have made a commitment to the prioritization of their faith.

Countless

The Countless Spirits are ones that exist all around us in everyday life. Spirit exists in all things, so anything could be the object of the spirit of your faith. The spirit of a thing is the unseen truth of its existence. All-around spirits relate not only to physical objects, but to nonmaterial things like thoughts, ideas, and emotions too. All-Around Spirits are everywhere you look, you just have to know how to see them.

Bonus Basic

When you choose this faith at 1st level, you gain the See Spirit basic if you don’t already know it.

All-Seeing Eyes

Also at 1st level, you can use your action to focus your attention on the spirits around you, granting you spiritvision. For 1 minute, you can see spirits within 30 feet of you and you have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to glean the nature of spirits that you see. This ability only reveals spirits of size Medium or smaller.

Channel Spirit: Friend of All

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Spirit to charm the spirits around you.

            As an action, you speak to the spirits around you, asking for their trust. Each spirit of size Medium or smaller that you can see you within 30 feet of you must make a Charisma saving throw. If the spirit fails its saving throw, it is charmed by you for 1 minute or until it takes damage. While it is charmed by you, it is friendly to you and other creatures you designate.

Altruistic Interest

Beginning at 6th level, healing others heals your spirit as well. When you use a technique of 1st level or higher that restores hit points to a creature other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the technique’s level.

One for All

Starting at 8th level, you add your Charisma modifier to the damage you deal with any basic technique.

All for One

At 17th level, spirits trust you completely and will obey your command. While creatures are charmed by your Friend of All feature, you can take a bonus action on your turn to verbally command what each of those creatures will do on its next turn.

Worldly

Worldly Spirits are spirits of naturally occurring or geographic locations. They could represent a landmass, a landform, or a region. They are tied to a specific area or culture and are often at odds with other, competing Worldly Spirits. Monks who worship Worldly Spirits typically have a particular affinity for their homeland and culture, or the one to whom they spirit of their devotion is linked.

Natural Familiarity

At 1st level, you understand Mother Tongue. You also gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, or Survival.

Bonus Proficiency

Also at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor.

Channel Spirit: Manifest Destiny

Starting at 2nd level, you entreat the spirit of your faith to aid you in enacting its will. When you make an ability check or attack roll, you can use your Channel Spirit to gain a +10 bonus to the roll. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the GM says whether the roll is success or a failure.

Natural Resistance

Starting at 6th level, you have resistance to one type of damage. If you are an elemental bender, you have resistance to damage from that element.

If you are not an elemental bender, you gain resistance to spirit damage.

Otherworldly Endorsement

Starting at 8th level, you learn to channel the energy of the spirit of your faith through your weapon strikes, infusing them with spirit energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 spirit damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Earthly Endurance

At 17th level, you embody the earthly spirit of your faith, gaining resistance to all elemental damage and physical damage from normal weapons.

Heavenly

The Heavenly Spirits are those who represent universal constants, concepts, or bodies recognizable to all people regardless of culture or background. Heavenly Spirits are often linked to virtues and ideas, like life, light, beauty, and power. Many have humanistic representations that link them to worldly bodies known to all, like the sun, sea, sky, earth, and moon. Monks of different nations are known to squabble over the Heavenly Spirits’ names, though they tend to find that their fundamental insights are the same.

Bonus Proficiency

When you choose this faith at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor.

Heavenly Healing

Also starting at 1st level, your healing techniques are more effective. Whenever you use a technique of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the technique’s level.

Channel Spirit: Divine Favor

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Spirit to keep a dying ally alive.  

When a friendly creature within 120 feet of you is dying, you can use an action to restore the creature to 1 hp, using your Channel Spirit. This feature works on creatures who have failed three death saving throws, so long as the third save was not failed before

Channel Spirit: Mandate of Heaven

At 6th level, when a creature within 30 feet of you makes an attack roll, you can use your reaction to grant that creature a +10 bonus to its attack roll, using your Channel Spirit. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the GM says whether the attack hits or misses. If the attack hits, the creature also gains a +10 bonus to its damage roll.

Divine Strike

Starting at 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with heavenly energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 spirit damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Hand of God

Starting at 17th level, when you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a technique, you instead use the highest number possible for each die. For example, instead of restoring 2d6 hit points to a creature, you restore 12.

Ancestral

Ancestral Spirits are personal. They are a person’s spiritual roots, which run deep, deep into the essence of who they are. Ancestral Spirits may or may not be related to a person’s family tree. They include all ancestors to whom a person is connected by spirit, rather than by blood. A person’s spiritual ancestors are the ones that paved the way of life that the person walks today; and passed along what knowledge and understanding they found along the way.

Ancestors’ Blessings

At 1st level, you know two human languages of your choice. You also become proficient in your choice of two of the following skills: Chi, History, Nature, or Religion.

            Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those skills.

Channel Spirit: Ancestral Knowledge

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Spirit to tap into a spiritual well of knowledge. As an action, you choose one skill or tool. For 10 minutes, you have proficiency with the chosen skill or tool.

Channel Spirit: Ancient Ability

At 6th level, you can use your Channel Spirit to utilize the wisdom of your ancestors.

            As an action, you call upon your ancestors to grant you knowledge and understanding of one energybending technique of your choice from any class’s technique list. For one minute, you are able to perform that technique as if it were a Monk technique. You use your Monk bending ability modifier for the technique, which must be one of a level you are able to perform.

Ancestral Power

Starting at 8th level, you add your Charisma modifier to the damage you deal with any basic technique.

Visions of the Past

Starting at 17th level, you can call upon your ancestors to provide you with visions of the past.

To use this feature, you start to meditate with a thought, question, or intention in mind. After at least 1 minute has passed, you begin to receive dreamlike visions of the memories of your ancestors. You can receive a number of memories equal to your Wisdom modifier and must maintain concentration during that time, following the same rules as when you concentrate on a technique.

The visions that you receive depict the most relevant memories that your ancestors have to the object of your inquiry. They may include memories they have of noteworthy people, places, things, events, emotions, interactions, and more. In some cases, the relevance of your ancestor’s memory may not be immediately obvious to you. If your ancestors have no relevant memories, you will not receive a vision.

            Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest. If you attempt to use this feature and do not receive any visions, you can use this feature again without resting.