There exist many unearthly threats to the realm that cannot be solved with the blade or word. Monks that follow the Way of the Shackle have become a willing vessel to an otherworldly entity, most often to imprison it until it can be destroyed, a veritable prison of flesh and bone. To contain such a malicious being requires unerring resolve that few mortals could hope to attain. What results is a deadly struggle between the mortal mind and the monster within, one that is not certain to go in either direction...

As a follower of the Way of the Shackle, you must decide what entity dwells within you, determining the nature of your struggle and the damage type of your Way of the Shackle abilities:

D4	Origin
1	You hold a powerful demon or devil inside of you, a vicious and conniving entity that burns with primordial flame. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is fire.
2	You are the vessel of a fallen celestial, which seethes with misguided hatred. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is radiant.
3	An aberration dwells within you, its alien nature creeping into your very being. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is psychic.
4	An ancient spirit or curse has taken hold in your flesh. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is necrotic.

The Power Within

Starting at 3rd level, your body's physiology has been irrevocably altered by the being dwelling within you. You gain resistance to your origin damage type, and your Way of the Shackle abilities deal damage of that type.

Aberration

An aberration dwells within you, its alien nature creeping into your very being. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is psychic.

Accursed

An ancient spirit or curse has taken hold in your flesh. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is necrotic.

Devil/Demon

You hold a powerful demon or devil inside of you, a vicious and conniving entity that burns with primordial flame. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is fire.

Fallen Celestial

You are the vessel of a fallen celestial, which seethes with misguided hatred. Your Way of the Shackle damage type is radiant.

Stance: The Unerring Shackle

At 3rd Level, you have come to understand the threat you contain, and how better to control it. By devoting oneself to peace and protection and refusing senseless violence, a follower of the Way of the Shackle can better restrain the entity dwelling within. Eschewing violence except to protect yourself or others, you become a quiet and unrelenting bulwark.

The Stance of the Unerring Shackle is your standard stance, which you remain in at all times unless one of the following occurs:

• You fall to 0 hitpoints or are incapacitated.
• You choose to activate Stance: Broken Shackle, instantly falling to 0 hitpoints.

While in the Stance of the Unerring Shackle, you gain the following benefits:

• Whenever you take nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, or damage of your origin type, you can roll a Martial Arts die and reduce the damage taken by that amount (to a minimum of 1).
• The first time you attack on each of your turns, you can transfer your proficiency bonus from your attack rolls to your Armor Class; reducing your attack roll and damage roll bonuses by that amount on any attacks that turn. For example, if you have a +2 proficiency modifier, you could reduce the bonus to your attack and damage rolls by 2 and gain a +2 bonus to AC. The adjusted bonuses remain in effect until the start of your next turn, or until your stance changes.
• You gain access to the Stalwart Protector ability. As a reaction when an allied creature you can see within 20 feet takes damage, you can reduce the damage that creature takes by an amount equal to your Martial Arts die plus your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 damage reduced to a minimum of 1 damage). The range of this ability increases to 30 ft. at 11th Level.

Stance: Broken Shackle

Your willpower breaks, allowing the entity within to unleash its horrible fury on those around you. You lose all effects of Stance: Unerring Shackle and gain the following effects:

• If this ability is triggered by your hitpoints being reduced to 0, you do not fall unconscious or die unless subjected to an instant-death effect such as power word kill, or unless you take sufficient damage to die instantly. You instead remain standing until the end of your next turn, regardless of your hitpoints.
• Your melee weapon and unarmed strike attacks deal bonus damage equal to your Martial Arts die. The damage type of this bonus damage is determined by your origin.
• The first time you kill a creature during this phase, you regain missing hitpoints equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier + half your Monk level. Every kill beyond the first restores an additional amount of hitpoints equal to your Martial Arts die + half your Monk level.

During this phase, you remain only partially in control of your actions, with the entity within now influencing your actions. The exact nature of the entity's influence is determined by your DM. You can only use your Action to make the Attack action or otherwise make an aggressive act towards creatures around you, and you can only use your movement to get closer to hostile creatures. You may choose the targets for your attacks, but the entity may influence which creatures you target based on the entity (for example, a fallen celestial may direct you to target a hostile paladin or cleric over other enemies). If there are no hostile creatures available, you must take the Attack action against the nearest friendly or neutral creatures to you, with multiple attacks divided evenly among them.

At the end of your turn, this Stance ends along with any and all effects. If you have 0 hitpoints, you fall unconscious as normal. If you have at least one hitpoint, you immediately regain the benefits of Stance: Unerring Shackle and remain conscious. You can utilize this ability once per Long Rest, increased to two uses at 11th Level and three at 17th Level.

Mystical Defense

By 6th level, you have extensively studied nature of your calm stance and influence, gaining additional benefits while in your Stance of the Unerring Shackle:

• You can now reduce magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage when in this Stance, as well as damage of your origin type.
• When you expend a Ki point to use Patient Defense, you can choose to taunt your foes into attack you instead of your allies. You forgo the benefits of Dodge, instead granting them to a number of allied creatures within 20 ft. equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. The range of this ability increases to 30 ft. at 11th Level.
• When you use Stalwart Protector to defend an ally against a ranged attack, you can choose to expend an additional Ki point to bestow the benefits of Deflect Missiles on that ally instead, increasing the damage reduction to 1d10 + Dexterity modifier + Monk Level and allowing you to redirect the ranged attack according the the description of Deflect Missiles.

Reckless Abandon

Starting at 6th level, your Broken Shackle Stance becomes even more powerful as the entity within you forces itself further and further into the world of the living. You gain additional effects while in this stance, based upon your origin choice:

Origin	Additional Ability
Demon/Devil	The unleashed primordial flame roils, striking fear into your foes. When you initially enter your Broken Shackle Stance, all creatures within 30 ft. of you that can see you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of their next turn. Allied creatures and fiends have advantage on this saving throw.
Fallen Celestial	Your celestial's unbound power scorches all foes in sight. Whenever you strike a creature within an attack, you can choose one additional creature you can see within 30 ft. The targeted creature takes radiant damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die.
Aberration	Your aberration's tendrils lash at your foes, causing your unarmed strikes to gain 10 ft. of reach while in this form. Once on this turn, when you strike a creature of Large size or smaller with an unarmed strike, you can force it to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save the target is pushed or pulled 15 ft. in a direction of your choice.
Accursed	Your curse consumes your foes, drinking their lifeblood and restoring your own. Whenever you first heal from killing a creature in this stance, you can add your full Monk level to the healing received.

Essence Feast

Your curse consumes your foes, drinking their lifeblood and restoring your own. Whenever you first heal from killing a creature in this stance, you can add your full Monk level to the healing received.

Fiendish Eruption

The unleashed primordial flame roils, striking fear into your foes. When you initially enter your Broken Shackle Stance, all creatures within 30 ft. of you that can see you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of their next turn. Allied creatures and fiends have advantage on this saving throw.

Scorching Radiance

Your celestial's unbound power scorches all foes in sight. Whenever you strike a creature within an attack, you can choose one additional creature you can see within 30 ft. The targeted creature takes radiant damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die.

Undulating Menace

Your aberration's tendrils lash at your foes, causing your unarmed strikes to gain 10 ft. of reach while in this form. Once on this turn, when you strike a creature of Large size or smaller with an unarmed strike, you can force it to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save the target is pushed or pulled 15 ft. in a direction of your choice.

Trial of Spirit

When you reach 11th Level, you can employ your methods of imprisonment against external foes as well as internal ones. You may expend three Ki points to target one creature you can see within 30 ft., forcing it to make a Wisdom saving throw. Creatures of the same type as your origin entity have disadvantage on the saving throw against this ability. On a failed save, spiritual shackles appear to chain the target in place, causing the target to be restrained for 1 minute. While restrained in this way, the creature cannot teleport or use any magic that would transport it to a plane or location other than the one you currently inhabit.

Each time the chained creature is struck by you or another creature, it takes additional damage of the attack's type equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).

The chained creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each turn, ending the effects on a success. Upon succeeding the saving throw, a creature is immune to the effects of Trial of Spirit for 24 hours.

Unbreakable Will/Embracing the Inevitable

Upon reaching 17th level, you’ve gained the ability to endure unimaginable pain and anguish to contain the monster within, or have come to see the value of the monster within you. You gain one of the following abilities, either reaching the peak of your tenets or falling into the depths of depravity.

Unbreakable Will. You can endure any challenge through sheer willpower. Whenever you would fall to 0 hitpoints, you can choose to expend a Ki point to fall to 1 hitpoint instead. Additionally, whenever you fail a saving throw, you can likewise expend 1 Ki point to reroll, potentially succeeding instead. Each time you use this ability for either effect, the price for all subsequent uses increases by one until you finish a Long Rest.

Embracing the Inevitable. You no longer resist the monster within, for you have become it. On any of your turns, you can expend a Ki point to enter Stance: Broken Shackle as a free action. You do not lose your current hitpoints and no longer sustain any of the ill effects described in the Class Feature. At the end of your turn, you revert into Stance: Unerring Shackle, regaining all benefits. You can utilize this feature up to three times per Long Rest.

Embracing the Envitable

You no longer resist the monster within, for you have become it. On any of your turns, you can expend a Ki point to enter Stance: Broken Shackle as a free action. You do not lose your current hitpoints and no longer sustain any of the ill effects described in the Class Feature. At the end of your turn, you revert into Stance: Unerring Shackle, regaining all benefits. You can utilize this feature up to three times per Long Rest.

Unbreakable Will

]You can endure any challenge through sheer willpower. Whenever you would fall to 0 hitpoints, you can choose to expend a Ki point to fall to 1 hitpoint instead. Additionally, whenever you fail a saving throw, you can likewise expend 1 Ki point to reroll, potentially succeeding instead. Each time you use this ability for either effect, the price for all subsequent uses increases by one until you finish a Long Rest.