Way of the Flesh

The Way of the Flesh is a monk subclass that seeks to bring a wildly different flavor to monks, focusing instead on a very literal interpretation of one of the design pillars behind the monk’s class: using the body as a weapon. The way of the flesh monk can be played following the somewhat traditional idea of the monk, but it can also very easily be used for very unorthodox monk characters. A monk of the flesh could be a scientist that irreparably changed their body after using it as a subject for their experiments, or someone that has found that their body has been permanently transformed after being subjected to wild surges of magic. The possibilities unlocked by the way of the flesh are all brand new to the monk class.

 

Gameplay-wise, the subclass reinforces and complements the existing design of the monk rather than completely changing it, strengthens it, and adds its own very specific flavor to traditional monk abilities. Monks of the way of the flesh use their bones as their monk weapons, and they get a ranged option on top of the traditional melee ones. They get additional sources of healing to contribute to the monk’s sustainability, but theirs come through controlling their own blood. They become not just hard to grapple, but completely immune to them, and gain the amorphous trait reserved to monsters. Its capstone ability allows the monk to hold their own in combat by increasing the amount of damage it can deliver by adding additional opportunities for unarmed strikes, all while increasing their survivability by increasing their AC temporarily.

Level 3: Flesh and Bone

Whenever you hit a creature with an attack granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target.

Addle. The target can’t make Opportunity Attacks until the start of its next turn.

Push. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away from you.

Topple. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or have the Prone condition.

Level 6: Wholeness of Body

You gain the ability to heal yourself. As a Bonus Action, you can roll your Martial Arts die. You regain a number of Hit Points equal to the number rolled plus your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 Hit Point regained).

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Level 11: Blood Flow Mastery

Starting at 11th level, your control over your body extends to being able to increase blood flow to any wound, allowing you to heal yourself unnaturally fast.

When you receive any healing, you can spend one ki point as a free action to receive the maximum amount of healing instead of rolling a die.

For example, when you consume a Potion of Healing, you can spend one ki point to receive a total of 10 hit points, instead of rolling 2d4+2. This extends to any source of healing, including spells and hit dice.

 

Level 17: House of Bone

At 17th level, you have attained mastery over your body, turning it into a deadly weapon against all who dare come near it.

Whenever a creature enters the reach you have with your unarmed strikes or makes a melee attack against you, you can spend 1 ki point as a reaction to make an unarmed strike against them by producing bone spikes out of your body. When you do so, your AC increases by one until the end of your next turn.