Way of Unending Breath

As she exhales slowly, her mind expands, her senses hone themselves to incredible heights as she hears a flock of birds take flight in the distance. As the blade swings down to meet her, she deftly twists her body the moment before the blade impacts, evading the strike completely and drawing her own, slashing across its chest. She releases her breath as she sheaths her blade, her body relaxing and her senses returning to normal.

- Corrin Masal, The Dragon's Breath

Through the control of breath, one can control their entire being, strengthening themselves and expanding their senses. The breathing techniques that monks of the Way of Unending Breath learn allow them to react abnormally quickly with minute movements and sense the movements of everything around them. Some even learn to use their breath control to strengthen their physicality, moving faster and striking harder. Of course, breath is not endless, despite the aspirations of the training, and if one loses their breath while performing these breathing techniques it can have a disastrous effect on the person. 

Monks of Unending Breath must use their breath cleverly, weighing up the risk of the potential hazard if they lose their breath, against the reward of the enhancement the techniques allow.

Bonus Proficiency

Starting when you choose this way at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with longswords. They count as monk weapons for you.

Breathe

Starting at 3rd level, your training and focus has allowed you to tap into the power that is your Breath.

As an action, you begin to inhale and exhale in a steady, consistent, and measured way, focusing your senses and enhancing your body. You can Breathe like this for a number of rounds equal to 10 times your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). While you are Breathing, you gain access to special actions you can take which reduce your amount of Breath remaining.

If you take damage while Breathing, you must make a Constitution saving throw, the DC of which is 10 or half the damage you took, whichever is higher. On a success, you lose 10 Breath. On a failure, you lose 10 Breath or half your remaining Breath, whichever is higher. If you are incapacitated, your Breath is immediately reduced to 0.

If your Breath is reduced to 0, or you end it by exhaling completely on your turn (no action required), you cannot use this action again until you finish a short rest or you spend a number of Ki points equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1).

If your Breath is reduced to 0 by taking damage, you become paralyzed until the end of your next turn as you try to recover your breath.

Breathing Techniques

Starting at 3rd level, you gain access to some powerful abilities that you can use while Breathing. 

When you use the following abilities, you expend an amount of your remaining Breath, increasing the effects of the action by the amount you expend. You can only use each Breathing Technique once per turn.

Sigh. As a reaction, you exhale softly as you twist your body out of the way. You can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath and grant yourself a bonus to your AC equal to half the amount of expended Breath until the start of your next turn.

Whiff. Your senses heighten, every smell smells stronger, every sound louder, every minute detail larger. When you make a Wisdom check, you can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath and gain a bonus to the check equal to half the expended Breath. You can do so after the roll but before any effects occur. 

Gust. As you strike, your breath guides you, quickening your strikes, making them harder to avoid. When you make an attack, you can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath and grant the roll a bonus equal to half the amount of Breath expended. You can do so after the roll but before you know whether it hit or missed.

Breath of Power

Starting at 6th level, you adopt additional teachings from an element. Due to the differing styles of the techniques, the different elemental techniques cannot be used in tandem, else they would kill the user.

You choose from the following elements, your choice grants you additional benefits while using your Breath and an additional Breathing Technique.

Breath of Fire

Your breath burns the air around it, your movements sharp and ferocious, igniting the air around your weapons and yourself.

While Breathing, you gain resistance to fire damage. Additionally, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you deal an additional 1d6 fire damage.

You also gain the following Breathing Technique;

Searing Embers. The flames you create leave embers in their wake, slowly burning your foes. When you deal fire damage to a creature, you can expend up to 2 x Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath to ignite the creature for a number of turns equal to half the amount of Breath expended. Until the effect ends, the creature takes half the triggering fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can end this effect early by taking an action to extinguish the embers. 

Starting at 11th level, the bonus fire damage increases to 1d8 while Breathing.

Breath of Lightning

Your breath is sharp, arcing out and around you, each movement you make is quick and deliberate.

While Breathing, you gain resistance to Lightning damage. Additionally, your melee weapon attacks gain advantage against creatures that are wearing metal armour or are made out of metal.

You also gain the following Breathing Technique;

Lightning Flash. As you exhale sharply, your legs carry you with tremendous speed, reaching your location before the breath is finished. When you take the attack action, you can expend up to 5 x Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath, allowing you to teleport a distance equal to the amount of Breath expended before or after each attack you make until the end of your turn.

Starting at 11th level, your melee weapon attacks also deal bonus lightning damage equal to your Wisdom modifier while Breathing.

Breath of Stone

Each breath you take is deep and powerful, and your body follows suit.

While Breathing, your AC increases by 1. Additionally, you ignore difficult terrain.

You also gain the following Breathing Technique;

Sandstorm. Your techniques allow you to send blasts of force with your strikes. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend up to 5 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath and force the creature to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is knocked away from you a number of feet equal to the amount of Breath you expended and knocked prone. A creature that is two or more size classes larger than you is knocked back half as far and is not knocked prone.

Starting at 11th level, the bonus AC while Breathing increases to +2. Additionally, you cannot be moved by effects unless you allow it. This does not affect teleportation effects.

Breath of Water

Your breath flows like a river, each breath the ebb and flow of the tide, each strike a wave crashing against cliffs, eroding away slowly but surely.

While Breathing, you gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed, and you can breathe under water. 

You also gain the following Breathing Technique;

Crashing Wave. Like a wave pounding the stones of a cliff, your strikes can erode even the strongest armour. When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can reduce your remaining Breath by up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and grant the next attack roll against that creature a bonus equal to half the amount of Breath expended.

Starting at 11th level, your melee weapon attacks ignore any effect that would cause them to be made at disadvantage while Breathing.

Breath of Wind

Your breath is slow, quiet, yet powerful, your body moving with seemingly no resistance.

While Breathing, your movement speed is increased by 10 feet.

You also gain the following Breathing Technique;

Gale. A powerful wind follows each of your strikes, buffeting your foe. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath, increasing the damage of the attack by an amount equal to half the Breath expended.

Starting at 11th level, you gain the benefits of the disengage action while breathing. Additionally, your movement speed is increased by another 10 feet (20 feet total bonus while Breathing).

Abated Air

Starting at 11th level, your breath comes to you significantly easier and is retained easier as well.

You can begin Breathing as a bonus action instead of an action. When you take damage and you succeed on the saving throw, your remaining Breath is reduced by 5 instead of 10. 

Additionally, your Breath of Power gains an additional bonus while Breathing, detailed at the end of its description.

Resplendent Respiration

Starting at 17th level, Breathing comes easy to you, extreme training and maintaining the techniques within intense situations has allowed you to continue the breaths significantly longer.

Your Constitution score increases by 2, as does your Constitution score maximum. The maximum number of rounds you can Breath for is doubled.

Additionally, you gain an additional Breathing Technique based on the Breath of Power you chose at 6th level.

Breath of Fire

You gain the following Breathing Technique;

Eruption. Your breath ignites the air around you, a fact that you use to great effect. As an action, you can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath. Each creature in a 20 feet radius around you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes a number of d6 equal to the expended Breath as fire damage. On a success, the creature takes half as much damage. 

Once you have used this Breathing Technique, you cannot do so again until your Breath is reduced to 0 and you begin Breathing again.

Breath of Lightning

You gain the following Breathing Technique;

Lightning Storm. As you exhale, lightning sparks around you, dashing forward quickly releases that lightning to all the creatures you pass. As an action, you can expend an amount of Breath up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). You teleport up to 40 feet in one direction to an unoccupied space you can see, and each creature in a 40 foot long and 20 foot wide line originating from your starting position toward your ending position must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes a number of d6 equal to the amount of expended Breath as lightning damage. On a success, a creature takes half as much damage.

Once you have used this Breathing Technique, you cannot do so again until your Breath is reduced to 0 and you begin Breathing again.

Breath of Stone

You gain the following Breathing Technique;

Quake. You fill your body with incredible force, cracking the ground beneath you as you move to strike. As a bonus action, you can expend up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath to charge your body with immense force, ready to be unleashed on your next attack. Before your next attack, you can move up to 20 feet in any direction toward a creature as part of the same action. Your next attack will deal a number of d6 equal to half the amount of Breath expended as bonus damage. If the attack misses the target, the target still takes half the damage it would have taken from the attack. 

Once you have used this Breathing Technique, you cannot do so again until your Breath is reduced to 0 and you begin Breathing again.

Breath of Water

You gain the following Breathing Technique;

Ripple. Like a raindrop hitting a still pond, your energy ripples out from you, protecting you and those nearby. As a reaction, when you are subjected to an effect that would require you to make a Dexterity saving throw, you can expend up to 5 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1) Breath. Until the start of your next turn, a sphere centred on you is exempt from all area of effect spells and abilities. The radius of the sphere is equal to the amount of Breath you expended.

Once you have used this Breathing Technique, you cannot do so again until your Breath is reduced to 0 and you begin Breathing again.

Breath of Wind

You gain the following Breathing Technique;

Whirlwind. Your breath swirls around you, protecting you and buffeting your foes. As an action, you can expend an amount of Breath up to 2 x your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). The wind swirls around you and moves with you in a 5 foot radius sphere for a number of turns equal to half the Breath you expended. For the duration, ranged attacks automatically miss you, the area is difficult terrain for any creature except for you, and any creature that begins its turn within the radius takes a number of d6 equal to your Constitution modifier as bludgeoning damage. 

Once you have used this Breathing Technique, you cannot do so again until your Breath is reduced to 0 and you begin Breathing again.