Thunder Breathing: Lightning Style

For many, the night is a time of solace, bringing rest and slumber, peace and quiet.

For some, the night represents that which is unknown, the monsters that hide within the dark, lurking around twilight corners and within silent alleyways.

For those who choose to peer further, to investigate the alleyways and unveil the hidden monsters, the night becomes a time of horror, bloodshed and war, revealing the fragile reality of peace in this world, revealing the abominations of man that stalk the night — Demons. Those who've witnessed these monsters of the dark will never be able to return to a life of solace in the night, now cursed with the knowledge that something truly dangerous lurks within the dark. These burdened few will do one of two things: fear the night, or fight.

The Demon Slayer corps is an organization hundreds-strong that has existed since ancient times, dedicating its existence to protecting and safeguarding humanity from these demons, vanquishing the monsters of the night with the might of human swordsmen trained to combat this twilight threat through specialized breathing techniques — infusing the fragile bodies of mere men with strength rivalling those of the demons themselves.

You are a part of this organization as an almost unnaturally talented practitioner of Thunder Breathing, hailing from a distant and foreign land as one of the last remaining samurai; and although you may not be officially recognized by the government, your task — as it has been for every demon slayer before you — is to slay any and every demon in an effort to protect those unaware of these monsters and the danger they bring.

You are humanity's first and last line of defence against the demons. The lives of countless innocents depend on you.

Do not fail them.

Thunder Breathing Techniques

You gain Thunder Breathing Techniques at the monk levels listed, which you can invoke with ki points.

Thunder Breathing Techniques

Shock and Awe

Starting at 6th level, your lightning-fast senses have become closely attuned to your body, almost to a preternatural degree. You gain a bonus to your initiative equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1). When you attack a creature that has not yet acted in an encounter, such attacks are considered to have been made in an Iaijutsu Stance. If you are already in an Iaijutsu Stance, you may benefit from advantage on your next attack roll instead.

Mind of Mercury

Starting at 11th level, you’ve honed your awareness and reflexes through mental aptitude and pattern recognition. Once per turn, if you’ve already taken your reaction, you may spend 1 ki point to take an additional reaction. You can use only one reaction per triggering effect.

Debilitating Barrage

Upon reaching 17th level, you’ve gained the knowledge to manipulate a creature’s ki to undermine their fortitude. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to cause the creature to gain vulnerability to one damage type of your choice for 1 minute, or until the end of a turn in which it has taken damage of that type.

If a creature has resistance to the damage type you choose, this resistance is suppressed for 1 minute, rather than gaining vulnerability. A creature that is immune to the damage type you choose is unaffected. A creature who is affected by this feature cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours.

Mystical Erudition (Additional)

You gain an additional language and an additional skill proficiency from the above list (or you can double the bonus of an existing proficiency from the list) at 17th level.