Monks of the Way of the Reaper are obsessed with the meaning and mechanics of death and dying. They study those facing the end of life while contemplating their own mortality. They then use this knowledge to guide their understanding of martial arts, yielding a deadly and resilient fighting style. Many are chosen of gods associated with death, such as the Raven Queen, whether they are aware of it or not. They are often tasked with delivering the souls of their adversaries to the afterlife. 

Touch of Death

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your study of death allows you to extract vitality from another creature as it nears its demise. When you reduce a hostile creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + your monk level (minimum of 1) and you regain 1 ki point.

Fear the Reaper

At 3rd level, you also gain the ability to unsettle or terrify those around you, for your soul has been touched by the shadow of death. As a bonus action, you can transform for 1 minute and take on a form of dread. When you do so, you can force each creature of your choice that you can see within 30 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature becomes frightened of you for 1 minute. Frightened targets can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. While you are transformed you gain the following benefits:

• Once during each of your turns, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw, and if the saving throw fails, the target is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
• You are immune to the frightened condition as you have made peace with your own mortality.
• You have advantage on attacks against creatures that are frightened of you.

You can transform a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Deadly Strike

Starting at 6th level, once during each of your turns, when you hit a creature with a melee attack you can expend 1 to 5 ki points to deal necrotic damage to the target, in addition to the attack's damage. The extra damage is equal to 1d8 additional damage per ki point spent.

Mastery of Death

Beginning at 11th level, you use your familiarity with death to escape its grasp. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend 1 ki point (no action required) to have 1 hit point instead.

Specter of Death

At 17th level, your spirit can become untethered from your physical form. As an action, you can project your spirit from your body. The body you leave behind is unconscious and in a state of suspended animation.

Your spirit resembles your mortal form in almost every way, replicating game statistics but not your possessions. Any damage or other effects that apply to your spirit or physical body affects the other. Your spirit can remain outside your body for up to 1 hour or until your concentration is broken (as if concentrating on a spell). When your projection ends, your spirit returns to your body or your body magically teleports to your spirit’s space (your choice).

While projecting your spirit, you gain the following benefits:

• Your spirit and body gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed and can hover. You can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain, but you take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or an object.
• Creatures that are frightened of you have their speed reduced to 0.

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