The Monastic Tradition of the Bulwark specializes in the use of shields in tandem with other monastic abilities. A Guardian disciplines themselves in the use of the shield, valuing the defense of others as a noble purpose.

Way of the Bulwark

You gain proficiency with the shield, your shield is considered a monk weapon and your shield may be used with Unarmored Defense and other monk abilities without penalty as long as you do not have another weapon in your other hand. You only gain half the AC bonus(Rounded up) from shields. In order to gain these benefits you must attune your Ki to your shield which you can do over the course of a short or long rest.

Additionally you can use your shield to attack enemies at range. You can use your action to throw your shield as an attack, you can spend 1 ki point to bounce the shield off of an enemy and attack another one. After you make these attacks, the shield returns to you. All attacks with this feature adhere to the range on the shield.

Shields attack stats are as follows:

Weapon      Damage                     Weight          Traits

Shield         1d6 Bludgeoning       6 LB              Versatile(1d8),Thrown (range 30/60),

Shockwave Bash

After you hit with an attack with your shield, you are able to trigger a secondary shock wave by spending 2 ki points and using your bonus action, All creatures within a 20 feet cone must make a Constitution saving throw against your DC, or take 2d10 thunder damage, and be knocked prone. On a successful save they take half damage. And you can spend additional ki points, to increase the damage by 1d10 per point spent, up to a maximum of 3.

Guardian

You have learned to throw your shield for not just destructive purposes. You can impose your shield on enemies at range to defend allies. You’ve become a beacon of defense for your party, you gain the protection fighting style, and you can spend 2 ki point to use protection on an ally within 30 feet of you.

Shield Avenger

You have learned to channel your Ki through your shield completely. Your AC bonus from your shield is no longer halved. When you attack with your shield it now deals an extra 1d8 thunder damage when you hit with it. You can spend ki points, to increase this damage by 1d8 per point spent, up to a maximum of 10. If the maximum of 10 is spent the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, or be paralyzed until the end of your next turn. On a successful save the target is not paralyzed and takes half damage.