Way of the Spirit Guardian

Some monks are blessed to have an ethereal entity watching them and guiding them down their path. As a monk of the Way of the Spirit Guardian you have learned to hone your ki to reach out to another plane and channel the essence of this spiritual protector.

 

Otherworldly Avatar

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you Select a creature from the Monster Manual or work with your DM to come up with a creature to be your spirit guardian. It can be the symbol of your monastery or it can resemble someone you hold in high regard. You have trained with this spirit looking out for you, aiding you in battle and guiding you in your life.

Spiritual Distraction

Beginning at 3rd level, your guardian can divert an enemy's attention away from you. When a creature targets you with a nonmagical attack, you can use your reaction to spend 1 ki point to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its attack roll but before the DM determines whether the attack roll hits.

Ki Projection

Starting at 6th level, you can cast your guardian out to attack. You can use an action to spend 2 ki points to have your spirit guardian attack a creature within 20 feet of you. The damage of this attack is equal to 2 of your martial arts dice.

Mortal Defense

By 11th level, your connection with the spirits grants you protection from death. When you drop to 0 hitpoints, all attacks against you have disadvantage. Spells that require a saving throw do not harm you. This effect lasts until you regain at least one hitpoint.

Ki Incarnate

At 17th level, your bond with your spiritual guardian is so strong you can manifest it into a physical form. As an action you can spend any number of ki points to summon your spirit guardian for 10 minutes. It has hit points equal to triple the number of ki points you used to summon it plus your monk level and a flying speed of 40ft. It shares your AC, and is immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage made by nonmagical weapons. It shares your ability scores and proficiency bonus. It acts on your initiative count and can only make the attack action or, if you forego your action, can attack 3 times. It does force damage equal to your martial arts die. While active, you cannot use your Ki Projection feature. The Guardian disappears if either your or its hitpoints reach 0, or the duration ends.