Monks of the Wilds attune their abilities to the influences of nature, often adopting fighting styles that emulate natural predators and gaining wisdom from the primordial forces that created the world.

Lay in Wait

At 3rd level, you master the art of the ambush. You can give yourself a bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.

At the start of your first turn of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, which lasts until the end of that turn. If you take the Attack action on that turn, you can make one additional weapon attack as part of that action. If that attack hits, the target takes an extra 1d8 damage of the weapon's damage type.

You are also adept at navigating darkness and evading creatures that rely on darkvision. You gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet. While in darkness, any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness has disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks it makes to see you.

Natural Explorer

At 3rd level, you are a master of navigating the natural world, and you react with swift and decisive action when attacked. This grants you the following benefits:

• You ignore difficult terrain.

In addition, you are skilled at navigating the wilderness. You gain the following benefits when traveling for an hour or more:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.

• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.

• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.

• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.

• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

Aspect of the Wilds

At 6th level, you have developed traits that emulate a beast associated with one of the five gods of eras past. Choose one of the options below.

Lynx.

• Unseen Movement. When you start your turn hidden, your connection to Alimex and the Faewild warps space around you, causing your movement speed for this turn to increase by 10 feet.
• Tracker Paragon. You can track other creatures while traveling at a fast pace, and you add your proficiency modifier to Wisdom (Survival) checks made to track creatures. If you already have proficiency in Survival, you gain expertise on those checks instead.
• Leaping Strike. When you finish your movement within 10 feet of an enemy but not within 5 feet of it, if you have no movement left, you may cover the remaining distance by jumping as part of taking the Attack action against that creature. If you do, any attacks you hit that creature with this turn deal an additional 1d6 slashing damage. You can spend 1 ki point to increase this jumping distance to 20 feet, and/or 1 ki point to increase the additional damage to 2d6.

Aurochs.

• Anchored Presence. While you're conscious, not incapacitated, and on the Prime Material Plane, your connection to Sehanine anchors you in physical space. You can't be pushed or moved against your will except by magical means, and you have advantage on saving throws against spells that would move you against your will (not including teleportation spells).
• Trampling Strike. If you move at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a Trampling Strike. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or take an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.
• Unending Resilience. If you would fail a Constitution ability check or saving throw, you can spend 1 to 3 ki points to increase your roll by 2 for each point spent.

Viper. 

• Envenomed Strike. When you hit with an attack against a creature that can't see you, your connection to Thotar corrupts the blood that flows through your enemy's veins. You may spend 1 to 3 ki points, and your attack deals 1d6 additional poison damage per ki point spent.
• Lurking Patience. When you end your turn without having moved, you may make a Dexterity (Stealth) check to attempt to hide in your current space. You may make this check without disadvantage even if your surroundings would normally not allow you to hide.
• Scaled Protection. When a weapon attack would hit you, you may use your reaction to spend 1 ki point to increase your armor class by 5 until the beginning of your next turn, possibly causing that attack to miss.

Owl.

• Keen Hearing. Your connection to Pholtus gives you superior perceptive abilities. You can attack creatures you can't see without disadvantage as long as you can hear them, and those creatures don't gain advantage on attack rolls against you. Additionally, magical darkness doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks as long as you can hear.
• Uninterrupted Flight. When you leave an enemy's reach, if you aren't wearing armor, you may spend 1 ki point to do so without provoking opportunity attacks.
• Rotating Perspective. In combat, you can sense things behind you as if you could see them with an owl's vision. Flanking does not grant creatures advantage on attacks against you.

Swarm of Beetles.

• Shadowed Retreat. When an attack would hit you, you can draw on your connection to Sirrion to melt into the shadows like a swarm of insects. You can use your reaction to spend 2 ki points to teleport up to 20 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that's in dim light or darkness, causing the triggering attack to miss you.
• Pervasive Presence. Your attacks take on the manifold nature of a swarm, making them difficult to avoid. Creatures can't impose disadvantage on your attacks by taking the Dodge action.
• Corrupting Essence. Your attacks carry plague and pestilence with them. Whenever you hit with a melee attack, you can spend 1 to 3 ki points to add 1d4 necrotic damage per ki point spent to that attack's damage.

Ancestral Journey

As an action, you may spend 4 ki points to cast the spell Transport via Plants without expending a spell slot. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Primordial Paragon

At 17th level, as a bonus action, you can spend 4 or more ki points to temporarily become an avatar of the animal whose abilities you emulate. You gain 10 temporary hit points for each ki point spent this way, which disappear when this form drops. While in this form, your attacks deal additional damage equal to 1d8 plus the number of ki points expended. In addition, you gain the following benefits, based on the animal you chose at 6th level.

Lynx. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, and your footsteps are light enough creatures with tremorsense can't perceive them. Additionally, once per turn, you can deal an extra 7d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must be an unarmed strike or use a finesse weapon.

Aurochs. You are difficult to influence by any means magical or physical; while in this form, you have advantage on all saving throws. Additionally, your movement speed increases by 10 feet.

Viper. When you hit a creature with an attack, that creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your ki save DC or become poisoned. At the end of each of its turns, the creature can attempt the saving throw again to end the condition. A creature that ends its third turn poisoned in this way without succeeding on the saving throw becomes affected by one form of Short-Term Madness (see the Short Term Madness table in the Dungeon Master's Guide). Additionally, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.

Owl. You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed. Additionally, your precise hearing gives you advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Swarm of Beetles. Your attacks reach beyond the physical reach of your body. Once per turn when you hit a creature with a melee attack, spectral biting insects attack that creature and any other creatures of your choice within 20 feet. Those creatures must make a Constitution saving throw against your ki save DC, taking 4d10 necrotic damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. Additionally, whenever you use your Shadowed Retreat ability in this form, you may spend an additional ki point to become invisible until the end of your next turn, or until you attack a creature or cast a spell.