A revised version of the Way of the Four Elements designed to be better balanced against alternative subclass choices.

Spellcasting

When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells.

Suggested Spells. If you want to focus your monk on a particular element, consider taking the blue spells for a water themed monk, the brown spells for an earth themed monk, the green spells for an air themed monk, and the red spells for a fire themed monk. The black spells are meant to fit well with any monk.

Cantrips

At 3rd level, you learn a list of cantrips chosen from the following list:

Balance. You focus on the basics of each element. The cantrips you learn are control flames, gust, mold earth, and shape water.

Water. You focus on the fundamentals of water magic. The cantrips you learn are frostbite, ray of frost, shape water, and spare the dying.

Earth. You focus on the fundamentals of earth magic. The cantrips you learn are magic stone, mending, mold earth, and resistance.

Fire. You focus on the fundamentals of fire magic. The cantrips you learn are control flames, create bonfire, and produce flame.

Air. You focus on the fundamentals of air magic. The cantrips you learn are gust, message, thaumaturgy, and thunderclap.

Spell Slots

Your Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Burning Hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Burning Hands using either slot. When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 ki point to double the range of the spell. When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 ki point to make the range of the spell 30 feet.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know three 1st-level spells of your choice, from your spell list.

The Spells Known column of your Spellcasting table shows when you learn more wizard spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be a spell from your spell list of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the spells you know with another spell of your choice from your spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your  spells. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell List. Your spell list is as follows:

1st level: Burning Hands, Catapult, Create or Destroy Water, Earth Tremor, Feather Fall, Fog Cloud, Hellish Rebuke, Ice Knife, Jump, Thunderwave

2nd level: Dust Devil, Earthbind, Flame Blade, Flaming Sphere, Gust of Wind, Hold Person, Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp, Melf’s Acid Arrow, Protection from Poison, Pyrotechnics, Shatter, Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm, Spider Climb

3rd level: Erupting Earth, Fireball, Fly, Gaseous Form, Lightning Bolt, Meld Into Stone, Melf’s Minute Meteors, Tidal Wave, Wall of Sand, Wall of Water, Water Breathing, Wind Wall

4th level: Conjure Minor Elementals, Control Water, Elemental Bane, Stoneskin, Storm Sphere, Wall of Fire

Master Spells.

At 20th level, you learn two 5th level spells which you can cast at 5th level by spending 6 ki points. You cannot cast these spells using spell slots. You choose two of the following spells: Cone of Cold, Conjure Elemental, Immolation, Maelstrom, and Wall of Stone.

Air

You focus on the fundamentals of air magic. The cantrips you learn are gust, message, thaumaturgy, and thunderclap.

Balance

You focus on the basics of each element. The cantrips you learn are control flames, gust, mold earth, and shape water.

Earth

You focus on the fundamentals of earth magic. The cantrips you learn are magic stone, mending, mold earth, and resistance.

Fire

You focus on the fundamentals of fire magic. The cantrips you learn are control flames, create bonfire, fire bolt, and produce flame.

Water

You focus on the fundamentals of water magic. The cantrips you learn are frostbite, ray of frost, shape water, and spare the dying.

Elemental Attack

You learn one elemental attack which you can use by spending 2 ki points.

Fangs of the Fire Snake

When you make an unarmed strike on your turn, you can spend 2 ki points to cause tendrils of flame to stretch out from your fists and feet. Your reach with unarmed strikes increases by 10 feet until the end of your turn.
A hit with such an attack deals fire damage instead of bludgeoning damage, and it deals an extra 1d10 fire damage in addition to your normal unarmed strike damage.

Fist of Unbroken Air

You can create a blast of compressed air that strikes like a mighty fist. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points and choose a creature within 30 feet of you. That creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, and you can push the creature up to 20 feet away from you and knock it prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don’t push it or knock it prone.

Quake

You can spend 2 ki points as an actjon action to shake the ground beneath a creature’s feet to unbalance it. A creature that you can see that is within 60 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage, and you can either knock it prone or move it up to 25 feet closer to you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, and you don’t move it or knock it prone.

Shape the Flowing River

As an action, ,you can spend 2 ki points to choose an area of ice or water no larger than 30 feet on a side within 120 feet of you. You can change water to ice within the area and vice versa, and you can reshape ice in the area in any manner you choose. You can raise or lower the ice’s elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can’t exceed half the area’s largest dimension. For example, if you affect a 30-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 15 feet high, raise or lower the square’s elevation by up to 15 feet, dig a trench up to 15 feet deep, and so on. If the ice cuts through a creature’s space when it appears, the creature is pushed to the side and must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d10 cold damage. The ice is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. It has AC 12 and 30 hit points per 15-foot radius section, and it is vulnerable to fire damage.

Elemental Travel

You gain one new movement type. This new movement type does not benefit from your unarmored movement class feature.

Burrowing

You gain a burrowing speed of 15 ft.

Flying

You gain a flying speed of 30 ft.

Step of Light

When you are in bright light, as a bonus action you can leap up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in bright light. All creatures within 5 feet of the space you teleport to must succeed on a Dexterity Saving throw or take 1d6 fire damage. This damage increases to 1d8 when you reach level 11 in this subclass and it increases again to 1d10 when you reach level 17 in this subclass. This does not cost movement and does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Swimming

You gain a swimming speed of 60 ft.

Elemental Defense

You can cast Absorb Elements at will.

Elemental Fury

As a bonus action you can enter a trance that fills you with elemental power. This trance lasts for 1 minute. After using this trance, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again. While trancing, you have the following benefits:

Creatures have disadvantage on saving throws against your monk spells and you have advantage on attack rolls for your monk spells.

When you cast a monk spell, you can spend one ki point to maximize the damage dice instead of rolling.