Way of Enlightened Water - 5e

Monks of the Way of Enlightened Water view the world not through books and archives, but through the universal flow of energy. By treating the environment, magic, and the life force of others as shifting currents in a grand ocean, these martial artists achieve unparalleled sensory awareness. They do not merely fight; they listen to the vibrations of reality. Through deep meditation and physical attunement, a practitioner can sense the residue of arcane spells, feel the distinct pulse of living auras, and read an opponent’s intent before a punch is even thrown.

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Sense the Flows

Also by 3rd level, you have come to understand flows and patterns in such a profound way. You gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice:

Athletics, Acrobatics, Insight, or Perception.

If you already have proficiency in one of the listed skills, you can instead choose to double your proficiency bonus for any ability check you make that uses the chosen proficiency.

(Note the choice of proficiency must be restricted based on user choice as I could not figure out homebrew prerequisites)

Acrobatics

Acrobatics Proficiency

Acrobatics Expertise

Acrobatics Expertise

Athletics

Athletics Proficiency

Athletics Expertise

Athletics Expertise

Insight

Insight Proficiency

Insight Expertise

Insight Expertise

Perception

Perception Proficiency

Perception Expertise

Perception Expertise

Rippling Stance

You learn to fluidly shift your body and mimic the unstoppable movement of water. When you are unarmored and have the option to make an attack, you may instead forgo that attack and expend 1 Ki point to enter a specialized stance.

The stance lasts for a number of minutes equal to your monk level. It ends early if you are stunned, restrained, or encumbered.

 While you are in Rippling Stance you have the following abilities:

• Flow Like Water: +1 AC
• Undertow: When you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you analyze its flow and learn its greatest weakness (vulnerability, low saving throw, or lowest ability). For the rest of the combat, whenever this analyzed creature misses you with an attack, you can immediately use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against it if it is within your reach. This analysis lasts until you finish a short or long rest and does not require the stance to provide the special reaction.

Sense Currents

Attuned to the flux of energies in your environment:

• You can't be surprised while you are conscious.
• You gain a +5 bonus to initiative.
• Additionally, while you are in Rippling Stance you gain Blindsight out to a range of 30 feet. Within this range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you are blinded or in darkness. You can also see invisible creatures within this range unless they successfully hide from you.

One with the Flows

Fully in tune with the energies around you, your awareness and reactions enhance:

Aura Sense: As an action, you can spend 1 Ki point to open your awareness to the spiritual energies around you for 1 minute. While actively concentrating, you gain the following benefits within a 30-foot radius:

• When you focus on an area, object, or creature, you instantly perceive whether its energy is natural or magical.
• You can read the current state of a creature or object’s aura. You learn if it is sickly (diseased/poisoned), stressed (cursed/agitated), powerful (high challenge rating/potent magic), or non-threatening.
• If a creature or magical effect is actively using deception to hide its true nature (such as a disguise spell, an illusion, or a lie), you can make a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by the target’s Charisma (Deception) or the spell's saving throw DC. On a success, you see past the facade and perceive the true nature of the aura.

Flowing Reactions: Additionally, while you are in Rippling Stance your observations and flowing actions are so instinctual, allowing you to react to multiple threats at once. 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.

Relentless Erosion

You have mastered the art of striking a target relentlessly until their physical defenses crack and their form becomes brittle. While in your Rippling Stance if you have hit an analyzed target with an unarmed strike at least three times within 1 minute without attacking another target, you can spend 1 Ki point and release the energy in your Rippling Stance thereby ending the stance, to create a temporary vulnerability. The target gains vulnerability to bludgeoning damage until the end of your next turn.

• Exceedingly Fragile: If the target was already vulnerable to bludgeoning damage, the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your Ki save DC.
• Failure: The target is Petrified for 1 minute. This effect is a locking of internal energy. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
• Success: The creature is Restrained until the end of your next turn instead.
• Overriding Resistance: If the target has resistance to bludgeoning damage, the resistance is suppressed for the duration instead.
• Overriding Immunity: If the target is immune to bludgeoning damage, its immunity is degraded and becomes resistance for the duration instead.