Way of the Graveward

Monks who follow the Way of the Graveward serve as living wards against undeath. Trained in monasteries built atop ancient burial grounds and haunted battlefields, they learn to sense necromantic corruption, sever the bindings that tether spirits to the world, and release the dead to their rightful rest.

Unlike clerics and paladins, Graveward monks do not draw power from divine sources. Their abilities are born of intense discipline, breath control, meditation among the dead, and mastery of spiritual resonance. They see undeath not as evil alone, but as a violation of the natural cycle — a wound in the boundary between worlds that must be healed.

A Graveward monk travels where the dead will not rest, acting as exorcist, guardian, and executioner when mercy fails.

Level 3: Graveward Techniques

You gain the following abilities:

Radiant Ki. When you deal damage with an unarmed strike or monk weapon, you may change the damage type to radiant.

Sense the Restless. As a bonus action, you may spend 1 Focus Point to sense undead within 60 feet for 1 minute. You learn their general direction but not their exact location.

Spirit Disruption. Once per turn when you hit an undead creature, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier) or have disadvantage on its next attack roll or saving throw before the end of its next turn.

Level 6: Cleansing Flow

You gain the following abilities:

Purifying Strikes. Your radiant damage ignores resistance to radiant damage, and undead creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against your monk features.

Still the Dead. When you reduce an undead creature to 0 hit points, you may spend 1 Focus Point to prevent it from being raised again by any means short of a wish spell.

Grave Step. When you use Step of the Wind, you can move through difficult terrain created by corpses, bones, or necrotic terrain without penalty.

 

Soul Severance

You gain the following abilities:

Sever the Binding. When you hit an undead creature with Flurry of Blows, you may spend 2 Focus Points to force it to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, it is stunned until the end of your next turn.

Warding Presence. You and allies within 10 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or possessed by undead.

Level 17: Avatar of the Quietus

As a bonus action, you may spend 4 Focus Points to enter this state for 1 minute:

• Your movement speed increases by 10 feet.

• Your unarmed strikes deal an extra 1d10 radiant damage to undead.

• Undead within 10 feet of you have disadvantage on attack rolls.

• If an undead creature starts its turn within 10 feet of you, it takes radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest unless you spend 6 Focus Points to use it again.