Hidden in mountain caves deep under The Blade Range lay the elusive and enigmatic Thri-Kreen. This race of insectoid beings are remarkably zen-like and peaceful, all striving to reach a unified state of peaceful consciousness within their collective hive mind. Located almost directly above their centralized hive on the surface of the Western Blade rests the Blue Crystal Monastery, a beautiful structure that houses a division of monks who have been in training for centuries, devoting themselves to awakening their heightened consciousness to a state they refer to as "Shining Mind." Those who possess this heightened state of awareness are able to communicate with the Thri-Kreen below, and share a great deal of information and further enlightenment with them. Through this new acuity, practitioners of The Way of the Awakened Fist have arisen.

The Way of the Awakened Fist utilizes astonishing psychic powers coupled with the inner power of ki to create effects that were not previously conceivable by users of either such aptitudes. These monks can use telekinetic force to strike enemies from a distance, jump astonishing heights beyond normal monk leaps, and create weapons out of psychic force. They might also channel telepathic abilities to detect any mind nearby, assault the senses of enemies, or perform clairvoyant abilities with heightened senses. When other mentalists would fail, The Way of the Awakened Fist can burn their ki to channel greater psychic reserves, and at the pinnacle of their ability, this discipline enables its practitioners to transform their bodies into a pure psychic energy essence for a short time.

Third-Eye Awakening

When you choose the Way of the Awakened Fist at 3rd level, you awaken your Shining Mind firstly by deep meditative practice which leads to the opening of your third eye. This opens your mind to psychic powers other beings do not readily possess. You harbor a wellspring of psionic power within yourself, an energy that ebbs and flows as you channel it in various ways. This power is represented by your Psionic Talent die, the starting size of which is a d6.

Psionic Talent Options. You can use your Psionic Talent die in the following ways:

Psi-Boosted Speed and Senses. When you make a Dexterity or Wisdom ability check, you can roll your Psionic Talent die and add the number rolled to the check. You can choose to do so before or after rolling the d20, but before you know whether the check succeeded or failed. If you choose to add your Psionic Talent die to a Perception check, you have advantage on that roll, also.

Psi-Guided Strike. Once on each of your turns when you hit with a Dexterity attack roll, you can roll your Psionic Talent die after you make the damage roll and then replace one of the damage dice with the number rolled on the Psionic Talent die.

Changing the Die’s Size. If you roll the highest number on your Psionic Talent die, it decreases by one die size after the roll. This represents you burning through your psionic energy. For example, if the die is a d6 and you roll a 6, it becomes a d4. If it’s a d4 and you roll a 4, it becomes unusable until you finish a long rest. Conversely, if you roll a 1 on your Psionic Talent die, it increases by one die size after the roll, up to its starting size. This represents you conserving psionic energy for later use. For example, if you roll a 1 on a d4, the die then becomes a d6.

Whenever you finish a long rest, your Psionic Talent die resets to its starting size. When you reach certain levels, the starting size of your Psionic Talent die increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12). If you have a Psionic Talent die from another source, such as a class feature, you don’t get more than one die; use only the one with the largest starting size.

Psi Replenishment. As a bonus action, you can calm your mind for a moment and restore your Psionic Talent die to its starting size. You then can’t use Psi Replenishment again until you finish a long rest.

Mental Focus Techniques

You begin to fully travel the road to inner awakening, but you encounter an unavoidable fork in the path: your discipline can train you to unleash telekinetic power, or telepathic power, but not yet both. Warrior monks often learn the telekinetic Distant Strike technique, whereas more scholarly or worldly monks tend to learn the Inner Reorganization technique. When you gain this feature at 3rd level, choose one of the following abilities:

Distant Strike

You learn the Mage Hand cantrip. Additionally, you may use your Mage Hand to strike enemies. If your Mage Hand is currently active, you may use it to strike an enemy by expending 1 ki point. You make a Martial Arts attack against a target within 30 ft, and if successful, you deal your normal Martial Arts damage. If you also spend ki to activate your Flurry of Blows feature while your Psionic Talent die is available, you may strike at this distance for each strike you make that turn, but doing so reduces your Psionic Talent die by one size before you make those attack rolls.

Inner Reorganization

You learn the Encode Thoughts cantrip. Additionally, you may use your Thought Strands produced by the Encode Thoughts cantrip in new ways. You may psionically inlay a strand onto your skin, which causes it to appear like a tattooed line, swirl, or whorl of any one color on the skin. Each limb can store two such strands, and the torso can store four, for a total of twelve. A Thought Strand may now be retrieved within one minute after the successful use of a skill to create a Skill Thought Strand of that skill. Skill Thought Strands may be activated from their location on your body as a bonus action to provide advantage on your next use of that skill, after which they disappear and the thought or memory of them returns to the mind they were taken from normally. For instance, you successfully use your Stealth skill, and within one minute, you Encode Thoughts to create a strand of that memory. At any later time, you may expend that strand as a bonus action to gain advantage on a Stealth skill check, after which time the thought returns to the mind normally. You may also Encode Thoughts within one minute of having completed a combat to grant yourself advantage on one Initiative roll in the same way. Thought Strands you have stored for these initiative rolls may be expended immediately when combat begins if you are not surprised. This ability functions with Thought Strands produced from other minds according to the description of Encode Thoughts, also.

Inner Reserves

At 6th level, you may spend 2 ki points as an action to restore your Psionic Talent Die to its starting level. This ability is usable once before you must complete a long rest to use it again.

Shining Mind Meditations

At 11th level, your third eye now fully opens, allowing you to obtain new heights of ability. If your Psionic Talent die is available and you expend ki to power your Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, or Step of the Wind features, you gain the following benefits: each strike of your Flurry of Blows now deals psychic damage +1 in addition to its normal types on a successful hit, when you activate Patient Defense you gain a +1 bonus to AC until the beginning of your next turn, and when you use Step of the Wind you may double your jump height maximum. Additionally, you may choose either of the following two abilities:

 

Telekinetic Projection

As an action if your Psionic Talent die is available, you expend 3 ki and reduce your Psionic Talent die by one size, then roll your Psionic Talent die, and you then manifest a telekinetic projection of a weapon as an action for a number of rounds equal to your roll on the Psionic Talent die +1 round, and the weapon immediately joins you in attacking. This weapon appears as a glowing, translucent monk weapon of your choice, which levitates in place in a square adjacent to you. This weapon is a functional copy of the monk weapon you choose, which attacks using your statistics as if you were wielding it, and dealing its damage as magical psychic damage instead of its normal types. When it is manifested, you immediately can make a melee attack from its square against any enemy in its melee range. Enemies or allies may occupy its space harmlessly, as it is a telekinetic apparition, and it does not count as occupying any square for the purposes of determining advantage from nearby allies, however it may still attack from a vantage point that bestows such benefits to it if you or other allies are adjacent to its target. As a bonus action, you may move this weapon to any space within 30 ft of you. When you attack in any turn while the weapon is summoned, you may perform one additional attack with this monk weapon immediately afterwards. This weapon cannot be disarmed, but you may immediately dismiss it at any time while it is manifested, and it remains for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom modifier. You may manifest no more than one such monk weapon at one time, until level 15, when you may use this ability again to manifest two such monk weapons simultaneously.

Telepathic Keening

As an action if your Psionic Talent die is available, you may expend 3 ki and reduce your Psionic Talent die by one size, and then you enter a heightened state of intuitive awareness for an hour. During this hour, you gain awareness of all non-undead non-construct creatures' minds within a 30 ft radius of you, you cannot be surprised by such creatures, and you can cast Detect Thoughts targeting any of these creatures that you sense at will without material components. You may telepathically send a message to any creature in this area, but you must share a language to communicate with it using this ability. Additionally, you may reduce your Psionic Talent die by one additional step to perform a psychic attack against any creature detected in this way. As an action, you focus your thoughts and the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. On a failure, it suffers 4d8 psychic damage and half as much on a successful save as you psychically ignite the pain receptors in its brain.

Psionic Awakening

At 17th level, as an action if your Psionic Talent die is available, you expend 7 ki points and reduce your Psionic Talent die by one size, then roll your Psionic Talent die, and you transform your body into a form of coalesced psychic forces. While in this form, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, immunity to psychic damage, and you become able to squeeze through any opening no smaller than one inch by one inch without using any additional movement. While you are in this form, you gain the benefits of the Levitate spell as if it were cast on you, the size of your Psionic Talent die cannot decrease (but can still fuel abilities that require a size change), and your Martial Arts strikes deal your choice of your Martial Arts die or your Psionic Talent die in psychic damage (chosen when you assume this form, and persisting until the form ends). This form lasts for a number of rounds equal to your roll on the Psionic Talent die +1 during combat, otherwise the form persists for one minute outside of combat or until you willingly cancel it.