Those who follow the Way of the Laughing Hand (aka Gigglefist) are deadly serious…about living it up!  These unorthodox brawlers get along great with drunken masters, but focus on channeling the power of humor rather than alcohol.  Those who scoff at these comedian-monks have never seen them make a mind flayer collapse into hysterics or hurl a minotaur into the air with peals of laughter.  When the Gigglefist comes a knockin’, those who know best go a runnin’!

Thank you to BadSkeelz and Travis Willingham for inspiring this subclass.

Comedy Kung Fu

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Performance if you don't already have it. Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with the precision of a dancer and the antics of a jester.  Costumes are funny, especially hats, so you also gain proficiency with the disguise kit if you don’t already have it.

You can spend 2 ki points to cast Hideous Laughter.

Laugh Uproariously

Violence is hilarious. Starting at 3rd level, when you score a critical hit, reduce a creature to 0 hit points, or when a creature fails its saving throw against your Hideous Laughter, you can laugh uproariously, bolstering the spirits of you and your allies.  You and any creatures of your choice that can hear you gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Punchline

At 6th level, your punches can send your foes into a fit of giggles.  When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a punchline.  The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be affected by Hideous Laughter.  When you cast the spell this way, it is not a concentration spell.

You can use Laugh Uproariously when a creature fails its saving throw against Punchline or Stunning Strike.

Belly Laugh

Starting at 11th level, your deep chuckles can toss your enemies away.  You can spend an action and 2 ki points and say “Ha!” to make a wave of thunderous force erupt from your mouth. Each creature in a 20-foot cube originating from you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d10 thunder damage, is pushed 15 feet away from you, and is deafened until the end of your next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed or deafened.

In addition, unsecured objects that are completely within the area of effect are automatically pushed 15 feet away from you by the feature’s effect, and your laughter emits a thunderous boom audible out to 500 feet.

This feature does an additional 1d10 damage for each additional ki point you spend.  At 11th level, you can spend up to 4 ki points.  At 13th and 17th level, you can spend an additional ki point. 

The Funniest Joke in the World

By 17th level, you have stumbled upon something long thought to be a myth; a joke so funny it can kill.  Your ki protects you from actually knowing what it is. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to establish a ki connection that allows it to understand this lethal joke. The connection lasts for a number of weeks equal to your monk level.  As an action, you can tell the joke to a creature that you’ve established a ki connection with that can hear you.  Other creatures listening don’t understand and are unaffected. When you use this action, the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, it spends its next turn doing nothing but laughing hysterically.  At the start of the turn after, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 psychic damage.

You can establish a ki connection with only one creature at a time.  The ki connection is required to understand the joke, so even those who hear the joke and survive cannot remember its deadly details.