Way of the Wild Soul

As a monk of the Way of the Wild Soul, you practice an unusual martial art that uses one's ki to call upon the aid of an animal spirit. Your own techniques emulate the movements and attacks of this spirit, which can grant boons that augment your attacks. You and your spirit possess a bond forged by a direct connection between each other's ki, allowing the spirit to share its own powers with you, and granting you the ability to perform mystical feats.

Monks of the Wild Soul typically train among druids, rangers, and other people and creatures with a strong, magical connection to nature. They often practice along the fringes of civilization, where beasts roam free, and where the land teems with vibrant life. Some of these monks serve as wardens of druid groves, secluded villages, and sacred sites, while others roam the world to answer the call of nature.

Bestial School

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you emulate a certain animal as part of your martial arts training, using its movements as inspiration for your fighting techniques. You can choose from one of the following creatures: eagle, monkey, and tiger. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can change your style to a different animal.

The animal you choose is not limited to the ones listed here. You may emulate an animal similar to the ones listed in this feature, such as an owl or a hawk for the eagle, an ape or a lemur for the monkey, or a lion or panther for the tiger. You might even take inspiration from more fantastical or monstrous creatures, such as a couatl or a girallon. These choices have no bearing on the benefits offered by each animal choice.

Eagle

Your movements are quick and precise like those of the deadly eagle, allowing you to strike with little fear of reprisal. Whenever you use your Step of the Wind feature, your jump distance is tripled instead of doubled, and you can make an unarmed strike against up to two different creatures.

Monkey

You mimic the cunning and agility of the mischievous monkey, frustrating your enemies as you punish their missed attacks. Whenever a creature misses you with a melee weapon attack, you can use your reaction to make an unarmed strike against the creature.

Tiger

You attack with the relentless fury of the fearsome tiger, wearing down your harried quarry. Whenever you use your Attack action to target a creature with a melee weapon attack, your Flurry of Blows attacks have advantage on that creature until the end of your current turn.

Beast Spirit

When you choose this archetype, you gain a nature spirit which resembles the beast you choose to emulate for your Bestial School feature, and which offers additional benefits based on your active Bestial School option.

You can call this spirit as a bonus action, which remains for 1 hour or until you dismiss it (no action required). It can pass through creatures, but not solid objects. Each spirit's speed is described below. The spirit can't be targeted by attacks, spells, or other effects, but it can be temporarily dispelled by phenomena that prevent magical effects, such as an anti-magic zone.

The spirit acts on your turn, and can move in an area within a 1-mile radius centered on you (no action required). If the creature would be forced beyond this radius, it immediately reappears at your side, in a space within 5 feet of you. You can also call the spirit to your side within this range as a bonus action.

While the spirit is summoned, you gain the benefit of the speak with animals spell, and can cast animal friendship once while the spirit remains, requiring no material components. As part of your bonus action when summoning the spirit, and as a bonus action on subsequent turns, you gain an additional benefit depending on the type of spirit summoned, as described below.

Once you call the spirit, you can't summon it again until you finish a long rest, unless you spend 2 ki points to do so.

Eagle

The eagle spirit has a walking speed of 10 feet and a flying speed of 60 feet.

As a bonus action, you gain a flying speed equal to half of your walking speed. If you end your turn in the air and do not have a way to stay aloft, you immediately begin to fall.

You can choose to gain this benefit when you use your bonus action to use your Step of the Wind feature.

Monkey

The monkey spirit has a walking and climbing speed of 30 feet.

As a bonus action, you mock hostile creatures of your choice within 15 feet of you. Chosen creatures that can see and hear you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on attacks against creatures other than yourself until the start of your next turn. A creature automatically succeeds on this saving throw if it is immune to being charmed.

You can choose to gain this benefit when you use your bonus action to use your Patient Defense feature.

Tiger

The tiger spirit has a walking speed of 40 feet.

As a bonus action, you mark a creature that you can see within 30 feet. The mark remains until the end of your next turn.

While a creature is marked, you ignore disadvantage on melee weapon attacks against the creature.

If you use your bonus action to gain this benefit, you can still use your Flurry of Blows as part of that bonus action as long as you take the Attack action, as normal. When you do so, you can apply the mark before your Attack action, and make your Flurry of Blows attacks afterwards.

Kindred Souls

At 6th level, you can switch positions with your beast spirit instantly. As a bonus action, if your beast spirit is within 60 feet of you, you can both teleport, swapping places. If you would teleport within 5 feet of another creature, you can immediately make an unarmed strike against the creature.

You can use this feature to teleport an unlimited number of times, but you can only attack with this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain your uses of these attacks whenever you finish a long rest.

You can teleport in this way whenever you use your Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, or Step of the Wind features.

Bestial School Mastery

Beginning at 11th level, your training and combat experience have allowed you to develop new techniques for your Bestial School fighting techniques.

You can change your Bestial School option whenever you finish a short rest. In addition, you gain the following benefits based on your current combat style.

Eagle

When you use your Step of the Wind feature, you become briefly incorporeal, allowing you to move through other creatures’ spaces. Whenever you would pass through a creature’s space, you can make an unarmed strike against that creature. You can also target three creatures instead of two with these attacks.

Monkey

Whenever a creature misses you with a melee weapon attack while you benefit from your Patient Defense feature, you can force the creature to make an attack against another creature within 5 feet of yourself.

Tiger

Whenever you hit a creature with an unarmed strike and have advantage on the attack, you deal additional damage equal to your martial arts die. This die is not doubled on a critical hit.

Spirit Storm

At 17th level, you can channel your ki directly to your beast spirit, unleashing its full, combative potential. As an action, you can spend 5 ki points to command your beast spirit to perform an action based on its form, as described below:

Eagle

The spirit soars in two straight lines, both 5 feet wide and up to 60 feet long. The first line starts at the spirit’s space, and the second line starts at the end of the first. Creatures of your choice within each line must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d10 slashing damage on a failure or half that damage on a success. A creature can only take damage from this feature once per turn.

Monkey

The spirit mocks all hostile creatures of your choice within 30 feet of itself, forcing them to make Wisdom saving throws. On a failure, a creature is compelled to use all of its movement to move towards the spirit on its next turn. If an affected creature ends in a space within 5 feet of the spirit, it makes a melee attack against the spirit, taking 2d10 bludgeoning damage as the spirit hits the creature back.

A creature immune to the charmed condition automatically succeeds on this save.

Tiger

The spirit rushes towards a creature within 60 feet, striking it and leaving a glowing, spectral mark. The spirit then ends in a space within 5 feet of the targeted creature. After using this action, you can use your bonus action to make an unarmed strike or to use your Flurry of Blows feature.

Whenever you deal damage to another creature with your weapon attacks, a creature marked by this feature takes half the damage.

The mark remains while the spirit remains, until you use this feature again, or until the creature dies.