Way of Fly-Pierce-Center

Monks of the Way of Fly-Pierce-Center learn to master their emotion and attitude, directing their focus and ki into the flight of an arrow. Noble and calm, those that follow this form of meditation become feared warriors while under pressure.

"After hitting a target, the monk does not celebrate, but keeps their attitude in check." - Muto Yoshida

The men and women that follow the Way of Fly Pierce Center find parallels between life and an arrow finding a target. Fly-Pierce-Center is synonymous with Truth-Goodness-Beauty. Archers are taught that to shoot correctly and truthfully you must have a virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things. Marksmanship is not paramount, instead, those monks of the Way of Fly-Pierce-Center, are taught to shoot in proper form and meditation. Firing the bow correctly with make the arrow naturally find the correct target. Finding the center is not a competition, but a natural outcome of a pure session of meditation.

The methods and technique of this monastic tradition is meticulously prescribed, every step and form of the body has been codified and constructed. With 8 steps, and multiple variations, the details can only be learned over a long period of time, usually more than a decade.

If persistent, followers graduate up into three levels of skill, defined by meditative reasoning:

1. Strike Skill, the arrow hits the target.
2. Wound Skill,  the arrow pierces the target.
3. Material Skill, the arrow exists in and as the target.

These monks fire their long bows while holding the bow at a lower grip, 3/4 of the way down, forcing more propulsion into the arrow and reducing hand vibration. The bows they own run beyond the height of their bodies and look strange to outsiders. These monks favor bamboo arrows, as they fly more true. After drawing the bow so that the drawing hand is behind the ear, they release the arrow and the bow will (for a practiced archer) spin in the hand so that the string stops in front of the archer's outer forearm. This action of spinning the bow is a combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to the Way of Fly-Pierce-Center.

Instruments of the Arrow

At 3rd level you gain proficiency with the Longbow and half-proficiency with the Shortbow. Your range with the Longbow increases to 190/500. You can't attack a target beyond this range. Over 10 hours you can create a special Longbow if you don't own one already. For all intents and purposes, this special longbow counts as a monk weapon. This monk weapon can only fire arrows that you have made specifically for this longbow.

During a long rest you can also take some time to create up to (4) arrows that can only be fired by your monk weapon longbow. The arrows must be made of Bamboo or a plank of hard wood such as Red Walnut, Teak, Hard Maple, or Red Oak.

Strike Skill Trajectory

At 3rd level, you can use your ki to direct arrows. When you make a ranged attack roll with your special longbow, you can spend 1 ki point to remove any penalty of disadvantage on the attack caused by blindness, darkness, or other similar effects. Additionally, an attack made in this way ignores any AC modifiers given by cover.

An attack made in this way counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Wound Skill Accuracy

Beginning at 6th level, you gain the ability to greatly increase your aim after taking some deep breaths. As a bonus action you can spend 1 ki point to temporarily give yourself twice proficiency in the longbow. Your twice proficiency lasts until the beginning of your next turn.

Material Skill Marking

By 11th Level, you have reached the third and highest level of arrow skill; the Material Skill. Your ki-empowered arrows not only pierce your target, but embed so deeply that they "become part" of your target. When you deal damage with your special longbow, the target must make a Dexterity saving throw or you may impose one of the following effects on the target:

Ki Fragmentation

At 17th level, you can spend and delay channeled ki in your arrows to perfectly shatter them in mid-flight. When you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack from your special longbow, you can spend 3 ki points to break the arrow into multiple projectiles. In addition to the normal effect of the attack, the target of the attack and each creature within 5 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 1d10 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Spending 3 ki to use this feature destroys the arrow, whether adjacent creatures succeed their Dexterity saving throw or not.