Many monks harness the power of ki for mastery of life, or of shadow, or of the soul, or even the might of dragons. Practitioners of the Hermit school do not do these things, instead seeking to master their ki for use in combat almost exclusively. An offshoot of the Open Hand school, the way of the Hermit is this: Work hard, study well, and eat and sleep plenty!

Special Techniques

Whether by conquering enemies, studying under a master, or mastering yourself alone, you've come to learn a number of distinct techniques in your time as a martial artist. At 3rd level, you learn 3 of these techniques. You learn 2 additional techniques at 6th, 11th, and 17th level. Each time you learn new techniques, you can replace one technique you know with a different one.

Afterimage

When you take the dodge action or activate your Patient Defense feature, you can make a stealth check to hide and leave one illusory double of yourself in your place as if created by the minor illusion cantrip. When you hide in this way, you do not automatically fail the check in bright light or without being heavily obscured. A creature whose passive investigation is higher than your ki save DC instantly realizes the afterimage is an illusion and can see through it, although they do not know your location as a result of this. A creature whose passive perception is higher than your stealth check made to hide from them knows your location, although they do not necessarily realize your afterimage is an illusion as a consequence. 

A creature that knows either of the two things revealed above can make either an investigation check to determine which you is the real one, or a perception check to determine your location. Otherwise, your illusory double is assumed to be you. If an enemy attacks your afterimage, you can use your reaction to attack that creature if they are within range.

Charge Warp

Prerequisite: 11th Level

While using your turns to charge your Charged Ki Blast, you can spend 1 ki point and use your bonus action to teleport to an unoccupied space that you can see within 30 feet of you. This bonus action does not cause you to stop charging your Charged Ki Blast.

Charged Ki Blast Attack

Prerequisite: 6th Level

When you use your Charged Ki Blast feature and choose to release it at the end of your turn, you can choose to make a spell attack roll using your WIS modifier against one creature you can see within 100 feet. If the attack hits, you deal the full damage of your Charged Ki Blast to the creature. The creature is also moved 10 feet in a straight line away from you for each turn your spent charging up.

When you use this special technique to make this attack, you do not create the 100 foot line effect generated by your Charged Ki Blast.

Dragon Fist

Prerequisite: 17th Level

Using your action, expend any number of ki points equal to or greater than 4 and make one unarmed strike attack. This attack deals damage as normal, as well as an additional 2d8 bludgeoning damage for each ki point spent. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Final Explosion

Prerequisite: 17th Level

Using your action, reduce yourself to 0 Hit points, simultaneously erupting in a final defiant explosion of ki, dealing twice your maximum HP in force damage to all creatures and objects within 60 feet of you that fail a Dexterity saving throw, or half as much damage to those that succeed. A creature does not benefit from cover when making this saving throw if the damage is sufficient to destroy the cover. When you use this ability, you can expend all of your ki points to increase the save DC by 1 for every 3 ki points spent.

After using this ability, you are petrified and cannot be stabilized, healed, or cured of petrification until you are finished making Constitution saving throws against your ki save DC, which you make at disadvantage in place of death saving throws. If you die from failing these saves, you disintegrate instantly. If you live, you remain in this petrified state for 24 hours and cannot be cured until you return to normal.

Flurry Counter

Prerequisite: 6th Level

When using a reaction to make an unarmed strike against a creature, you can spend 1 ki point to make 2 unarmed strikes against it instead.

Forceful Fist

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to cause your melee attacks to push the target 5 feet away from you.

Guard Up

Using a reaction and 1 ki point whenever you take bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, you can reduce it by one roll of your martial arts die + your STR or DEX modifier.

Improved Charged Ki Blast

Prerequisite: 6th Level

You have advantage on saving throws made to concentrate on charging your Charged Ki Blast, and can move up to half your movement speed while charging. Additionally when you roll damage for your Charged Ki Blast, you can reroll 1s but must keep the new result.

Improved Guard Up

Prerequisite: 6th Level, Guard Up

Guard Up no longer costs a ki point to activate. Additionally, when you use Guard Up, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt to you is further reduced by your WIS modifier. If you reduce an attack's damage to 0 you may expend a ki point as part of the same reaction to make an attack against the attacking creature with an unarmed strike or monk weapon.

Instant Transmission

Prerequisite: 11th Level

Using an action and 8 ki points, you cast the spell teleport. When you cast the spell in this way, you can only teleport other creatures that are touching you, or touching another creature that you are teleporting. Additionally, you can target a creature you know as your destination, treating your association with them the same way you would treat association with a place. However, any result of your teleportation that is not On Target results in the spell failing instead of resulting in an unsuccessful teleportation.

Ki Barrier

When you would be hit by an attack or the magic missile spell, you can use your reaction and 2 ki points to cast the shield spell.

Ki Blaster

When you attack using your Ki Blast feature, your attacks have an additional +2 bonus to hit.

Ki Sense

You know the location of any creature within 10 feet of you that is not an undead, automaton, or similarly lacks a life force.

Additionally using an action, you can focus your senses, calling on your mastery of ki to detect invisible or otherwise hidden creatures within 60 feet of you. All creatures within 60 feet that can be detected with Ki sense must make a CHA save against your Ki save DC, having their exact locations revealed to you on a failure.

Ki Wall

Prerequisite: 11th Level

You can spend 6 ki points to cast the spell Wall of Force.

Opportunity Escape

When a creature misses an attack against you, you can expend your reaction and a ki point to move up to half of your movement speed. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from the creature whose attack triggered this reaction.

Precision

You can critically hit enemies with attacks that use your Martial Arts die for damage on a roll of 19 or 20.

Punch It Harder

Prerequisite: 6th Level 

When you roll your Martial Arts die to calculate damage, you can reroll 1s once.

Solar Flare

As an action you can expend 3 ki points to suddenly surprise your enemies with bright light. All creatures within 10 feet of you must succeed on a CON saving throw against your Ki save DC or be blinded for one minute. Creatures who fail the initial saving throw can remake the save at the end of each of their turns, ending the condition early on a success.

World King Fist

Prerequisite: 11th Level

Using a Bonus Action and 5 ki points, you enter a dangerous empowered state. In this state, your movement speed is doubled. You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls for ki blasts and unarmed strikes, and your Ki save DC is increased by 3 as well. At the beginning of each of your turns, you can either chose to end this technique or spend 2 ki points to maintain it, retaining its benefits until the beginning of your next turn. If you begin your turn with 0 ki points, the technique immediately ends. 

Whenever the technique ends, you must succeed on a CON save (DC 10 + the number of turns the technique was active) or suffer a penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. This penalty is the same as the number of turns spent under the effects of World King Fist. Every time you finish a long rest, the penalty is reduced by 1 until it disappears. While you have this penalty, you take 5 necrotic damage every time you spend a ki point, and you cannot use Ki Charge. This necrotic damage cannot be reduced by any means.

X100 Solar Flare

Prerequisite: 6th Level, Solar Flare

This improved version of Solar Flare has a radius of 30 feet, and creatures that fail the saving throw are stunned until the end of their next turn, and then they are blinded for a minute, remaking the saving throw at the end of each of their turns to regain their sight. In exchange, it costs 5 ki points.

Ki Blast

You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action. This special attack is a ranged spell attack with a range of 30 feet. You are proficient with it, and you add your Wisdom modifier to its attack and damage rolls. Its damage is force, and its damage die is the same as your martial arts die. This special attack can replace any or all of your attacks when you use your Extra Attack feature if you have it, and can also be used to replace any of the attacks you make as part of your Flurry of Blows or Martial Arts bonus actions.

You cannot use this feature if you do not have any ki points.

Ki Charge

Using your action you focus your mind and body, regaining a number of ki points equal to your WIS modifier (minimum of 1). You an use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses of this ability on a long rest.

Charged Ki Blast

You can use your action and 4 ki points to begin charging up a special attack. This attack is a 100 foot line which makes all creatures and objects within make a Dexterity saving throw against your Ki save DC, taking force damage equal to 8 of your martial arts dice on a failure. Creatures that succeed on the saving throw take half damage.

Instead of releasing the attack on the turn you take this action, you can instead choose to hold the attack, spending up to 2 ki points on the next turn to charge the attack up further, adding 3 additional damage dice per ki point. You cannot move voluntarily or take any actions while holding the attack like this, and you must maintain concentration on it as if it were a spell. If you lose concentration on your Charged Ki Blast, the energy fizzles out and does nothing. You may continue charging the attack like this for as long as you have ki points, releasing the energy as a 100 foot line at the end of a turn on which you are charging. If you end your turn with 0 ki points, you must either unleash the attack or stop concentrating on it, letting it fizzle out and do nothing.

Ki-Empowered Flight

Using a bonus action and 1 ki point, you gain a fly speed equal to your walking speed that lasts for 1 minute. You lose this fly speed early if you end your turn with 0 ki points.

Potential Unleashed

Using your action and 9 ki points, you can enter a state in which your latent potential as a martial artist is maximized. For as long as you are in this state, your Wisdom, Dexterity, and Strength are increased by 4 to a maximum of 24. Additionally, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, and force damage, and your movement speed increases by 20 feet.

At the start of every turn while your potential is unleashed, you must either spend 2 ki points to remain in this state, end the unleashed state, or take 1 level of exhaustion. While in this state, the features granted by your Special Techniques require 1 less ki point to activate.