Every bloom begins in blood.

Monks of the Blood Lotus embrace pain as a path to enlightenment. They master precise, devastating strikes that rupture both body and spirit, channeling their own blood loss into deadly focus. Through ritualized suffering, they mark enemies with lotus seals—spiritual brands that amplify agony and reward discipline. In the shadowed alleys of Vortessa and the ruins of forgotten gods, they are both feared and revered as harbingers of judgment and purification.

In Vortessa, few monastic paths evoke such awe and dread as the Way of the Blood Lotus. These monks practice a brutal, beautiful discipline: one that finds clarity through suffering, and purpose in pain. Where other warriors harden their bodies to resist harm, Blood Lotus monks invite pain, bleed with intent, and strike with ritual precision to rupture the spirit as much as the flesh.

Through mastery of breath, anatomy, and spiritual hemorrhage, practitioners embed Lotus Seals into their enemies—marks that intensify pain and awaken spectral echoes of the dying. In return, they pay with their own blood, transmuting their wounds into deeper awareness.

This tradition is born in the hidden quarters of undercities, sacred to rot-gods and grieving saints. Their techniques were shaped in battlefields that no longer exist, sanctified in the screams of tyrants, and polished in the stillness of self-inflicted silence. Where one Blood Lotus blooms, death follows in serenity.

 

Traits

3rd Level – Crimson Flow

When you hit with an unarmed strike, you may choose to deal additional necrotic damage equal to your Wisdom modifier by opening a minor vein or pressure point. When you do, you take damage equal to half your monk level (rounded up) as blood loss.

Additionally, you may use your reaction when you take damage to channel the pain: regain 1 ki point (limit once per short rest).

3rd Level – Rite of the Blooming Palm

You learn to imbue your strikes with spiritual hemorrhage. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you may spend 1 ki point to mark it with a lotus seal (visible only under certain veils or magic sight). For 1 minute:

• The target takes extra necrotic damage equal to your monk level the first time it takes damage each round.
• If the target dies while marked, you regain 1 ki and temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.

 You may only have one active lotus seal at a time.

 

6th Level – Blood Balance

When reduced to 0 HP but not killed outright, you may spend 3 ki to remain at 1 HP instead. In addition, whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you may choose to take damage equal to your Wisdom modifier to add one additional strike.

 

11th Level – The Blackened Bloom

As an action, you may spend 2 ki to cause all creatures of your choice within 10 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they take necrotic damage equal to two rolls of your martial arts die and can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn. On success, they take half damage.

 

You may also choose to take half that damage yourself to deal maximum damage to one target in the area.

 

17th Level – Lotus Ascendant

You become a living conduit of pain and purification. For 1 minute, as a bonus action (once per long rest or 6 ki):

• You gain resistance to all damage.
• Whenever you are hit by an attack, the attacker takes necrotic damage equal to your monk level.
• At the start of each of your turns, you regain HP equal to your Wisdom modifier if you are below half your max HP.

Crimson Flow

When you hit with an unarmed strike, you can choose to deal additional necrotic damage equal to your Wisdom modifier by opening a minor vein or pressure point. When you do, you take damage equal to half your monk level (rounded up) due to blood loss.

Additionally, you can use your reaction when you take damage to channel the pain: regain 1 ki point (limit once per short rest).

Blood Balance

When reduced to 0 HP but not killed outright, you may spend 3 ki to remain at 1 HP instead. In addition, whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you may choose to take damage equal to your Wisdom modifier to add one additional strike.

Level 11: Blackened Bloom

As an action, you may spend 2 ki to cause all creatures of your choice within 10 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they take necrotic damage equal to two rolls of your martial arts die and can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn. On success, they take half damage.

Lotus Ascendant

You become a living conduit of pain and purification. For 1 minute, as a bonus action (once per long rest or 6 ki):

• You gain resistance to all damage.
• Whenever you are hit by an attack, the attacker takes necrotic damage equal to your monk level.
• At the start of each of your turns, you regain HP equal to your Wisdom modifier if you are below half your max HP.