Way of the Samurai

Sword, spear, bow, and fist are not four separate arts, but one single discipline. Monks who follow the Way of the Samurai train their bodies to be a weapon, and their weapons to be an extension of the body. And so they move gracefully through battle with calm purpose, disciplined focus, and ruthless precision. Terrifying and beautiful to behold

To these warriors, victory is not found in fury, but in control. They read weakness before it is shown, disturb an enemy’s composure before the killing stroke, and strike with such certainty that defeat seems to arrive before the blade itself. Whether loosing an arrow through a line of foes, breaking an opponent’s stance with a bare-handed blow, or ending a battle with a single perfect strike, the samurai seeks not merely to overpower the enemy, but to make resistance meaningless.

Yet the Way of the Samurai is not only a path of war. Outside of battle, the followers of the way are shaped by restraint, and wisdom. They carrying themselves with certain noble dignity, whether dressed in rags or the finest of threads. They understand that a warrior’s strength is measured not only by the force of their strike, but by the stillness of their mind. 

They are more than a blade, may be calligraphers, poets, armorers, courtiers, or keepers of old traditions. In war, they are precise and merciless. In peace, restrained and honor-bound. A true samurai does not simply defeat the enemy, they make victory unavoidable.

Level 3: Fourfold Mastery

As a Bonus Action, your mind is focused into the Fourfold Mastery.

The style lasts for 10 minutes. It ends early if you are Incapacitated or if your focus is broken. While the Fourfold Mastery is active, whenever you take damage, you must succeed on a constitution saving throw to maintain it. The DC equals 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher. You can not concentrate on spells while focused into the Fourfold Mastery.

You can enter this focused state a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier per long rest. You recover one use of Fourfold mastery per short rest. While maintaining concentration you gain the following benefits;

Devastating Weapons

You gain an additional 1d4 damage to all Monk weapons.

Training Versatility

All Melee monk weapons gain the versatile property. When wielding a melee monk weapon with two hands the damage of the weapon increases by one dice size. Eg; 1d6 one handed becomes 1d8. This damage increases inline with the monk martial arts dice (Level 5, 1d8 one handed, 1d10 two handed. Level 11, 1d10 one handed, 1d12 two handed). When you reach level 17, the two handed base damage becomes 1d8 + 1d6.

Additionally, if a weapon already has the versatile property, it gains the reach property (10 feet).

Close quarter 

Once on each of your turns, when you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike, you can push creatures one size larger or smaller, up to 10 feet straight away from you.

Weapon Mastery

You gain the use of two weapon masteries. These can only be used when focused on the Fourfold Mastery

Weapon Mastery

You gain the use of two weapon masteries at level 3, one more at level 10, and a forth at level 14. 

Dagger (Nick)

Dagger (Nick)

Dart (Vex)

Dart (Vex)

Longbow (Slow)

Longbow (Slow)

Longsword (Sap)

Longsword (Sap)

Quarterstaff (Topple)

Quarterstaff (Topple)

Shortbow (Vex)

Shortbow (Vex)

Shortsword (Vex)

Shortsword (Vex)

Spear (Sap)

Spear (Sap)

Noble Warrior

A samurai is more than a blade in the service of war. 

They are a keeper of tradition, ceremony, and disciplined craft. Whether shaping calligraphy, tending a blade, preparing tea, or speaking before lords and commoners alike, you draw upon patience, wisdom and restraint, to gain greater insight in all cultural domains. Your wisdom allows you to read the weight of history, the order of nature, the demands of faith, and the hearts of those you address.

You gain proficiency in a musical instrument or one set of artisan’s tools of your choice.

In addition, when you make a Persuasion, History, Nature, or Religion check, you may use your Wisdom modifier instead of the ability modifier normally used for that check

Level 6: Shattering Feint

Not every strike is meant to wound. Some are meant to unravel. A slap across the face, a
blow to the temple, or a few quiet words about a failing stance can be enough to fracture
a foe’s certainty and widen the gap through which defeat enters.

When you make an Unarmed Strike you can spend 1 Focus Point and choose for that strike to deal no damage. Instead, you attempt to disrupt the target’s composure with a sharp distracting blow or cutting rebuke. If the strike hits, your save DC against that creature increases by 1 until the end of your next turn. If you make more than one successful strike the effect increases by 1 for each success. You spend the Focus Point only if the strike hits. This can be used in combination with Flurry of Blows. 

Level 6: Line of Ruin

Your bow is not a weapon of skirmish or harassment. In your hands, a single arrow becomes a sentence of death for many.

As a magic action, you may expend 3 Focus Points to fire a single arrow in a deadly line of destruction, 100 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 5 rolls of your martial arts die (Piercing damage). On a successful save, it takes half as much damage. This feature can only be used while wielding a ranged weapon.

Level 11: Hand of Finality

At the height of this discipline, the hand becomes more terrible than any blade. With a single motion, you seize the throat and crush the breath from it, or drive through flesh to rip the beating heart from its cage. The strike is so swift, so absolute, that the victim often lingers for a heartbeat to reflect on mortality before they fall.

As a bonus action you make an Unarmed Strike, you can spend 5 Focus Points to unleash this technique. The attack deals damage equal to 7 rolls of your Martial Arts die, plus the ability modifier used for the attack roll. If you kill the enemy you regain 1 focus. This feature can only be used once per turn. This feature can also be used as an opportunity attack.

Level 17: Passing Strike of Ruin

You strike with such speed and precision that your enemy often does not realise they
have been cut until you are already past them. The first blow lands in silence. The second
comes like a whisper at their back. Only a heartbeat later there is a red flood of
realization.

Your blow lands in silence. A heartbeat later there is a red flood of realization.

When you move at least 10 feet in a straight line toward a creature, you can spend 8 Focus Points and use your action to make one melee weapon attack against that creature. This attack is called a passing strike.

When making this attempt, you move through the target’s space and into an unoccupied space within 10 feet on the opposite side of it. This movement doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks. If the strike was a success, at the end of your movement your enemies' wounds open.

Your Passing Strike deals force damage equal to 12 rolls of your Martial Arts die + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier + your Proficiency Bonus.

You can use this feature only once per turn, and you expend the Focus Points only if the passing strike hits.

Patient Ruin can be used in combination with Hand of Finality using your bonus action.

You may NOT use Flurry of Blows on this turn.

Additionally at the cost of 1 Focus Point, you may use your reaction within the same turn to execute one of the following options;

a) Make an additional melee attack. This attack may be made against any enemy, including your primary target as you complete your Passing Strike. This attack may be made regardless of Patient Ruin landing or not.

b) You anticipate all incoming attacks at the end of your brutal combination giving you an increase to your AC equal to your proficiency modifier.