A waterfall, three-hundred feet tall, deafens the ears. At the bottom, a tranquil lake with drifting sheets of ice surrounds the beaten forms of smooth Vulcanic rock. Behind the veil of tiny droplets, rests the broken silhouette of a temple long since forgotten... It's walls scorched, the floors submerged and the air edged with cold. Once pristine, it housed all elements in synchronous harmony; now, it's dwindling figure mirrors the scattered teachings of a dying order. 

You, one of the last few members of the Order of Elements, must re-establish your presence among the citizen and powers of the world. The teachings entrusted to you - ancient and sacred - go beyond petty emotions and mortal quarrels; they call to your essence, primal and unrelenting. Your will and control over Fire, Earth, Water and Air uplift you from commoners and beasts. You have no need for titles and trinkets.

The Elements call to you... They are everything, everywhere. You are their conduit.

You are their Avatar.

---

 We're Fire, Water, Air and Earth,
traditions of old once understood;
and strove to share their insights,
through the ages the best they could.

Now greed and violence stain the heart,
selfish in their conquest, the reflection now crimson stained;
inner reflection abandoned, the soul nowhere in sight,
with dissonance all that remained.

~ Elder Robyn ~
Warden of the Elements

Elemental Stances

You have been taught to channel the elemental powers at your disposal through monastic combat stances. During combat on your turn, as a bonus action, you can shift your elemental stance to gain different benefits.

Fire Stance. When a creature within 5 feet of you hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to make with an unarmed strike against that creature.

Water Stance. When you take the attack action, your Patient Defense feature costs no ki points. This effect lasts until the end of your current turn.

Earth Stance. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can move it 15 feet to an unoccupied space, provided the target is no more than one size larger than you.

Air Stance. You can move up to 15 feet as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.

Teachings of the Monastery

Ancient teachings passed on from master to student instil a deeper understanding when harnessing the might of Fire, Water, Earth and Air. When taking on an Elemental Stance, you gain access to its respective hidden technique:

Fangs of the Fire Snake. When you use the Attack action on your turn while in Fire Stance, you can spend 1 ki point to cause tendrils of flame to stretch out from your fists and feet. Your reach with your unarmed strikes increases by 10 feet for that action and all hits with your unarmed strikes deal fire damage instead of bludgeoning damage, plus an additional 1d10 fire damage per additional ki point spent (up to three). This persists until the end of your current turn.

Upon reaching level 17 and while in Lava Stance, the reach of your empowered unarmed strikes increases by 20 feet and the extra fire damage from additional ki points spent increases to 2d10 fire damage per ki point.

Shape of the Flowing River. As an action while in Water Stance, you can spend 1 ki point to choose an area of ice or water no larger than 30 feet on a side within 120 feet of you. You can change water to ice within the area and vice versa, and you can reshape ice in the area in any manner you choose. You can raise or lower the ice’s elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can’t exceed half the area’s largest dimension. For example, if you affect a 30-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 15 feet high, raise or lower the square’s elevation by up to 15 feet, dig a trench up to 15 feet deep, and so on. You can’t shape the ice to trap or damage a creature in the area directly (i.e. causing bludgeoning damage with the ice).

Upon reaching level 17 and while in Storm Stance, the extent of which you can change reshape the water or ice can now exceed half the area’s largest dimension (up to the original). Furthermore, you can shape the ice to trap a creature in the area, to the extent where it can cause damage indirectly (i.e. trapping a creature in an ice cage underwater).

Stomp of the Black Ox. As an action while in Earth Stance, you can spend 4 ki points to execute a mighty crush. An intense tremor rips through the ground in a 30-foot radius around you. The ground in the area becomes difficult terrain. Each creature on the ground that is concentrating on a spell must make a Constitution saving throw (against your ki save DC). On a failed save, the creature's concentration is broken and is knocked prone. 

Upon reaching level 17 and while in Lava Stance, the stomp also causes magma to erupt from the ground, dealing 5d8 fire damage to every creature (except you).

Fist of Unbroken Air. You can create a blast of compressed air that strikes like a mighty fist. When you use the Attack action on your turn while in Air Stance, you can spend 2 ki points and choose a creature within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus an additional 1d10 bludgeoning damage per additional ki point spent (up to three) and you can push the creature up to 20 feet away from you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and is not pushed it away.

Upon reaching level 17 and while in Storm Stance, this ability deals lightning damage instead of bludgeoning damage. Furthermore, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.

Improved Elemental Stances

Your Elemental Stances become more advanced, granting you additional benefits during combat:

Improved Fire Stance. You gain resistance to fire damage and your Stillness of Mind feature now makes you immune to the Frightened and Charmed condition.

Improved Air Stance. You gain resistance to thunder and lighting damage. Furthermore, your Step of the Wind feature no longer costs ki points.

Improved Earth Stance. You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. Furthermore, your movement is unaffected by difficult terrain.

Improved Water Stance. You gain resistance to cold damage as well as a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Elemental Concord

You have mastered the Elements to the point where you are now able to combine them to empower you even further. As a bonus action, you can spend 3 ki points to combine the benefits of two Elemental Stances into a more powerful one.

Lava Stance. You combine the powers of Fire and Earth. You gain all benefits from the Fire and Earth Stances, as well as access to an improved version of the stance-specific ability from the Teaching of the Monastery feature. You can maintain this stance for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature or taken damage since your last turn.

Storm Stance. You combine the powers of Air and Water. You gain all benefits from the Air and Water Stances, as well as access to an improved version of the stance-specific ability from the Teaching of the Monastery feature. You can maintain this stance for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t moved since your last turn.

Exhaustion. When dropping either Lava or Storm Stance, you gain a level of exhaustion, as your body experiences a sudden onset of both physical and mental fatigue.