Way of the Crimson Soul

Where others learned to quiet their thoughts, you learned to move through them — to let anger sharpen you instead of consume you. Or so you hope.

The monastery gave you form, structure, discipline. You gave it back broken and kept what was useful.

You are not the monk they tried to make. You are what happens when that training fails, and something else takes root instead.




Inspired by the Way of the Oni by reddit u/Jonhson_Uribe (cannot paste links here)

Level 3: The Wrong Lesson

Your monastery training gave you something - though not what they intended. You learned to read incoming strikes and let aggression carry you forward. When you use Flurry of Blows, your Speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the turn.

Ill Omen. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, flip a coin. Heads - the loss of control turns inward. You take Wisdom modifier plus Proficiency bonus psychic damage and have Disadvantage on your next attack roll. Tails - it redirects outward. The target takes amount of psychic damage equal to your Wisdom modifier plus Proficiency bonus and has Disadvantage on its next attack roll.

Level 3: Unbound Frenzy

You have learned, imperfectly, to channel the anger rather than suppress it. The result is faster, more relentless, and harder to stop. As a Bonus Action, you can spend 2 Focus points to enter Unbound Frenzy for 1 minute. While active:

Focused Aggression. You have Advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Creatures that can see you have Disadvantage on saving throws against being Frightened by any source.

Relentless Pressure. When you hit a creature, you can choose one of the following effects:

• Stagger. The target's Speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. This reduction doesn't stack with itself.
• Overwhelm. You spend 1 Focus point. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or it can't take reactions until the start of its next turn.

Sharpened Edge. Your Martial Arts die increases by one step (d6 → d8 → d10 → d12).

Loss of Restraint. You cannot deal non-lethal damage while Unbound Frenzy is active.

Unbound Frenzy ends early if you are Incapacitated, if you fail a Wisdom saving throw (see The Crack), or if you choose to end it (no action required).

Level 3: The Crack

The discipline the monastery tried to instill was never fully yours. You did not accept your inner self. There are moments when the anger does not hold - it simply breaks.

When you fail a Wisdom saving throw while Unbound Frenzy is active, you take psychic damage equal to your Wisdom modifier plus Proficiency bonus and Unbound Frenzy immediately ends as the energy collapses inward.

Level 6: Muscle Memory

You have taken enough hits to stop flinching. Some you have learned to absorb. The anger has a way of keeping you standing when nothing else would.

You have Resistance to Psychic damage.

When you use your Deflect Attacks feature against a melee attack and reduce the damage to 0, you may immediately make one unarmed strike against the attacker as part of the same Reaction. You do not need to spend additional Focus points for this strike.

When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points while Unbound Frenzy is active, you can use your Reaction to spend 2 Focus points. If you do, you drop to 1 Hit Point instead. Unbound Frenzy immediately ends.

Relentless Flow

There is a point past discipline, past control, past even anger - where the body simply moves.

When you activate Unbound Frenzy, you may spend 4 additional Focus points (6 Focus total) to also gain the benefits of the Haste spell for the duration. The additional action granted by Haste can only be used to take the Attack action. You do not need to concentrate on this effect. When Unbound Frenzy ends for any reason, the Haste effect ends immediately and you gain 1 level of Exhaustion.

What I Am

You have mastered and accepted what you are. The anger no longer breaks you when it spikes - you learned to redirect it.

You have Advantage on Wisdom saving throws. When you fail a Wisdom saving throw while Unbound Frenzy is active, you take the psychic damage from The Crack but Unbound Frenzy does not end.

When you use Flurry of Blows while Unbound Frenzy is active, you make three strikes instead of two. No additional Focus points is required.