Way of the Dauntless Shepherd

Monks that follow the Way of the Dauntless Shepherd walk the path between mysticism and scholarship, studying methods of healing both magical and mundane in order to better protect those under their charge. Those that walk this path are often beset by those who seek to misuse or abuse their generosity, and as such, they are also trained in a style of martial arts known as the Open Hand - a soft style that emphasizes control of one's self and one's enemy, for while a Dauntless Shepherd monk has sworn to never take a life, that doesn't mean they are to be at the mercy of others.

Monks of the Dauntless Shepherd path work alone or in small groups of non-monks who may need their assistance, but wherever they go, they offer their services to all, not just those they travel with. They cast their net wide so as to assist any who may need it, in all corners of the map, regardless of means or station - the poor are just as worthy of their aid as the wealthy and powerful; all are equal to their order. The only time a Dauntless Shepherd may seek out a like-minded individual is when they take on an apprentice to pass on their knowledge and training, after which, they part, to continue their solitary work.

 

Medicinal Studies

At level three when you take this subclass, you gain proficiency in the Medicine skill and with the herbalism kit. In addition, you gain the benefit of the Healer feat.

Way of the Open Hand

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can manipulate your enemy’s ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target:

• It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away from you.
• It can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn.

Hand of Mending

At level six, you gain the ability to mend wounds with a thrust of your open palm. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to touch a creature and restore a number of hit points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier.

When you use your Flurry of Blows, you can replace one of the unarmed strikes with a use of this feature without spending a ki point for the healing.

When you use Hand of Healing on a creature, you can also end one disease or one of the following conditions affecting the creature: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, or stunned.

Scholarly Pursuit

At level 6, 11, and 17, you gain proficiency (including literacy) in one language of your choice.

Practiced Physician

At level 11, you gain Expertise in the Medicine Skill. In addition, once per day, you can recall an obscure tidbit of information from your scholarly studies to perform a single healing check with advantage. This healing check cannot be performed under duress and must be done outside of the heat of battle.

Extract Aspects

Beginning at 11th level, your understanding of anatomy and martial arts allows you to strike pressure points to extract crucial information about your foe, granting you insight about their combat ability. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you mark them as analyzed. Whenever an analyzed creature misses you with an attack, you can immediately use your reaction to make an unarmed melee attack against that creature. If you strike with this attack, you can utilize one of the options of the Way of the Open Hand ability without expending additional ki. This benefit lasts until you finish a short or long rest.

In addition, you learn the following attributes about the target: Damage Vulnerabilities, Damage Resistances, Damage Immunities, and Condition Immunities.

Hand of Ultimate Mercy

Your mastery of life energy opens the door to the ultimate mercy. Starting at level 7 as an action, you can touch the corpse of a creature that died within the past 24 hours and expend 5 ki points. The creature then returns to life, regaining a number of hit points equal to 4d10 + your Wisdom modifier. If the creature died while subject to any of the following conditions, it revives with them removed: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, poisoned, and stunned.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.