W • Five Animal Aspirant

Five Animal Aspirants draw inspiration from their life to develop a unique style of martial arts over the course of their life journey.  They pick and choose how to combine unarmed combat, weapons, and clever tactics to face combat in a way that is best suited to their bodies.  Most new Five Animal Aspirants are very prideful about their work, guarding it jealously, while more advanced practitioners seek to convert others to their Five Animal style.  True masters, however, are content merely to observe, practice, and continue refining their art.

Five Animal Aspirant Features

Fighter Level	Feature
3rd	Budding Novice, Young Grasshopper, Shift Stance
7th	Animal Style
10th	Breath of Mastery, Hand of Mastery
15th	Expanded Animal Style
18th	Spirit of Mastery

Budding Novice

At 3rd level, Five Animal Aspirants embark on a journey to craft their own unique style of martial arts by pulling from the natural world and their journeys.  As you begin your training, highlight the area from which you draw inspiration.  You gain proficiency with one additional fighter skill of your choice as well as expertise, doubling your proficiency bonus on ability checks made with your chosen fighter skill.

Acrobatics

Exploring the limits of a body in motion hint to new ways of applying yourself in combat.    You have proficiency and expertise in the Acrobatics skill.

Animal Handling

Time spent with animals has provided you with additional insight into the ways they move, think, and fight.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Animal Handling skill.

Athletics

The strength of your own body inspires you to continue rigorous practice, drilling and refining techniques through hard work.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Athletics skill.

History

Pouring over old texts and the guides of your predecessors offers a window into the successes and failures of grandmasters, informing your own path towards mastery. You have proficiency and expertise in the History skill.

Insight

Reading those around you has helped you to pick apart what keeps them alive in a fight, and disciplined outside of one.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Insight skill.

Intimidation

Surviving gritty realities like street fights, robberies, or arenas has made raw experience into your greatest teacher.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Intimidation skill.

Perception

Tapping into all five senses heightens your awareness and allows your body to fine tune its reactions to whatever comes your way.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Perception skill.

Survival

The land is a strict teacher, and its lessons reflect in your martial arts.  You have proficiency and expertise in the Survival skill.

Young Grasshopper

At 3rd level, by beginning your journey to forge a new martial art you have strengthened your body to perform more impressive physical feats.

• You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet.
• You can perform an unarmed or melee weapon attack as a bonus action immediately after hitting with an unarmed attack on your turn.

Shift Stance

At 3rd level, you learn to shift your stance as a reaction to being displaced, resisting an effect that would otherwise move you from your current position or knock you prone.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier, minimum of once, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a short or long rest.

Animal Style

At 7th level, continued training develops your martial arts style to more strongly reflect a chosen animal.  Unarmed attacks in your chosen style count as attacks that you are proficient with.

Crane

By strengthening your fingers and focusing on your body's full reach, you display the grace of a crane in combat.  Your attack range for all melee attacks increases by five feet.  You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Crane Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Strength modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals piercing damage, and its damage die is a d6.

Mantis

Leveraging your wrists, elbows, fingers, and the study of joint manipulation brings the predatory nature of a praying mantis to your unarmed attacks.  You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Mantis Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Strength modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals bludgeoning damage, and its damage die is a d6. When you hit a creature with a Mantis Style Strike on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.

Monkey

Your martial arts take on an energetic, flexible, acrobatic style, reflecting a monkey's clever nature in combat.  You gain proficiency with Dexterity saving throws if you do not already have it and when you’re prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.   You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Monkey Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Dexterity modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals bludgeoning damage, and its damage die is a d4.

Snake

Constriction and extension, coiling and release, your unique style of martial arts is visibly inspired by the majesty of a snake capturing prey.  You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Snake Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Dexterity modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals piercing damage, and its damage die is a d4.  When you take the Attack action with a Snake Style Strike or finesse weapon, you can force your target to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8+Dexterity Modifier+Proficiency) in place of your attack roll.  On a failed save, your attack hits.

Tiger

Intense training allows you to spread your fingers when you strike, mimicking a tiger's claws for ferocious unarmed attacks.  You gain a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Tiger Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Strength modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals slashing damage, and its damage die is a d10.

Breath of Mastery

At 10th level, you begin to study the soft styles, focusing on your breathing, your energy, and creating greater harmony between body and mind.  When you use the second wind or action surge feature, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier + your fighter level (minimum of 1 temporary hit point).

Hand of Mastery

At 10th level, your contemplation on the soft styles begins to empower your animal style strikes.  Your animal style strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Expanded Animal Style

Starting at 15th level, your knowledge grows beyond the five animals.  Seeking additional inspiration, you work the lessons of nature’s ferocity into your existing martial framework, expanding your martial arts style with a new animal granting passive bonuses based on your choice.

Bear Stance

You practice your stances until every movement is deliberate, rooting you firmly or rising powerfully, granting you the fortitude of a bear.  When you make a saving throw to resist displacement such as being pushed, pulled, or knocked prone, you can decide to use your choice of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution for the saving throw.

Dragon Form

Just as a dragon's form consists of many fearsome creatures, so too has your animal style adopted the practice of combining other animal forms into your martial art.  You can change the damage type of your animal style strike between bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing at will.  You choose the damage type before rolling to hit.

Eagle Claw

You hone your grip to resemble an eagle's talons.  When a creature is successfully grappled by you, it receives slashing equal to 1 + your Strength modifier.  At the start of each of your turns, you can also deal slashing damage to one creature grappled by you.

Leopard Paw

You train to match the speed of a leopard, allowing you to strike first.  Creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your chosen animal style strike's reach.  You must use your animal style strike to perform the opportunity attack.

Phoenix Fist

By developing a special way of striking, you can focus all of your damage into a single point of impact, mirroring the penetrating power of a legendary phoenix.  Critical hits with your animal style strikes are empowered, imposing disadvantage on your target's Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws for one minute.

Spirit of Mastery

Starting at 18th level, you gain the ability to apply your martial art in a new and deadly way,  combining the strength of five animals with the wisdom of soft styles.  You develop a final powerful technique based on your choice.  In addition, you gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

Immortal Alchemy

Contemplating all you have learned, your journey moves from martial arts to true self perfection, refining your spirit and purifying your body in the process.  You gain the following benefits:

• You gain proficiency with the Herbalism Kit, Calligrapher's Supplies, and one other artisan's tool or musical instrument of your choice.
• You gain proficiency and expertise in the Religion skill.
• You gain resistance to poison damage, cold damage, and radiant damage.
• You gain truesight out to 30 feet.
• You will not naturally age, though you can still be magically aged.  Reaching the end of your typical lifespan as a result of magically aging will still result in death.
• You no longer need food or water.

Iron Threads

You train your muscles to be as strong as woven iron threads, greatly increasing your durability.  You gain the following benefits:

• While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
• You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.

Luohan Style

Merging the hard and soft styles, you have developed a style of martial arts suffused with the wisdom of your journey.  You gain access to two new actions:

• You have a new attack option that you can use with the Attack action.  Luohan Style Strike is an unarmed attack that you are proficient with, and you add your Wisdom modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals force damage, and its damage die is a d12.
• You learn to perform a Five Point Palm strike.  As an action requiring at least one free hand, perform a palm strike on one creature within 5 feet of you, poisoning its energy.  On a hit the target takes 1d10 force damage and must make a Wisdom saving throw  (DC 8+Wisdom Modifier+Proficiency).  On a successful save the target is poisoned until the start of your next turn.  On a failed save, the target is afflicted with 1 level of exhaustion.
  
  Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.