You follow a monastic tradition that teaches you to harness the elements. When you focus your ki, you can align yourself with the forces of creation and bend the four elements to your will, using them as an extension of your body. For some who follow this path, this takes the form of using ki to replicate magical spells. For you, the elements themselves are at your command, often directly under your control.

Many monks of this tradition tattoo their bodies with representations of their ki powers, commonly imagined as coiling dragons, but also as phoenixes, fish, plants, mountains, and cresting waves.

Disciple of the Elements

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn how to manipulate the four elements in subtle ways. You learn two of the following cantrips at 3rd level, and the other two at 6th level: control flames, gust, mold earth, or shape water.

Control Flames

You learn the control flames cantrip.

Gust

You learn the gust cantrip.

Mold Earth

You learn the mold earth cantrip.

Shape Water

You learn the shape water cantrip.

Initiate of the Way

At 3rd level, you learn magical disciplines that harness the power of the four elements. You gain one of the following disciplines: Enduring Mountain Stance, Exploding Cinder Strike, Flowing River Form, or Ride the Wind.

You learn an additional discipline from this list at each of 6th and 11th levels in this class.

Enduring Mountain Stance

The earth moves for no one, and neither do you. When you use Patient Defense, as long as you are standing on the ground, you also gain advantage on ability checks and saving throws made to avoid being knocked prone, grappled, moved, or restrained against your will until the start of your next turn.

Exploding Cinder Strike

When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point as a bonus action to unleash a burst of flame. Each creature in a 10-foot cube originating from you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take fire damage equal to one roll of your martial arts die plus your wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 damage), or half as much damage on a successful saving throw.

Flowing River Form

You incorporate the movements of water when you move yourself. Whenever you use Step of the Wind to take the Dash action, attacks of opportunity have disadvantage against you until the end of your turn.

Ride the Wind

Your mastery of ki enables to to make yourself as light as a feather. Whenever you use Step of the Wind to take the Disengage action, you can also move up to half your movement speed.

Adept of the Way

At 6th level, your elemental powers grow stronger. Choose one feature to gain: Breath of the Ancients, Solid Stone Defense, Water Whip, or Wrath of the Gale Force.

You learn an additional feature from this list when you reach 11th level in this class.

Breath of the Ancients

You have learned to unleash the might of dragons, the most ancient fire-users in history. As an action, you can spend one or more ki points to breathe forth fire in a 15' cone originating from yourself. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d8 fire damage on a failed save and half as much damage on a successful one. For each ki point you spend in addition to the first, the fire damage increases by 1d8. The maximum amount of ki points you can spend for this ability at once is equal to half your monk level.

Solid Stone Defense

Through the power of ki, you have learned to manipulate the earth into protecting yourself and your allies. When a creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to spend 1 or more ki points to cause a barrier made of earth to erupt in front of that creature. This barrier has Hit Points equal to 2d10 + your Wisdom modifier. Until the barrier is destroyed or the creature it is protecting moves, it takes damage except for psychic damage instead of that creature. At the start of your next turn, the barrier is destroyed. This barrier can only be formed on an area of stone, dirt, or other natural earthen material. You can spend extra ki points when you take this reaction, and for each ki point you spend beyond the first, the barrier gains an additional 1d10 HP.

Water Whip

Your own ki allows you to manipulate nearby water to become a weapon in your hands. As a bonus action, you can cause a rubbery whip made of water to form in your hand. It is a melee weapon with a range of 15 feet, you are proficient with it, and you can add either your strength or dexterity modifier to its attack and damage rolls. It deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage on a hit, and its damage is considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunities. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the monk table. The whip lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier before disappearing.

When you hit a creature with an attack made with the weapon, you may spend a ki point to force the target to make a Strength saving throw, or be pulled up to 5 feet closer to you and either grappled or knocked prone (your choice). The escape DC for the grapple is your ki save DC, and the grapple ends if you use the weapon to attack another target.

Wrath of the Gale Force

You have harnessed the very winds to be at your command. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cause a powerful burst of air to emanate from you. Choose either a sphere with a radius of 10 feet or a line, 30 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each Large or smaller creature affected by this discipline must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed a number of feet directly away from you equal to 5 times your Wisdom modifier. If this movement would cause a creature to strike an obstacle, both the creature and the obstacle take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 5 feet the creature was pushed. If the obstacle is another creature, that creature can attempt a Dexterity saving throw to avoid being struck.

Master of the Way

When you reach 11th level in this class, your studies of the elemental forms grants you insights into their use outside of combat. You learn one of the following disciplines: Leaf on the Wind, One with the Tides, Patience of the Badger, or Soul of the Hearth.

Leaf on the Wind

Your mastery over air allows you to float along the breeze effortlessly. Whenever you use your Slow Fall ability, provided you are neither grappled or restrained, you can move 5 feet in any horizontal direction for every 5 feet you fall. Furthermore, whenever an effect would cause you to be moved against your will, you can use your reaction to also move that distance vertically. As a part of this same reaction, you can use your Slow Fall ability.

One With the Tides

You have mastered the relationship between the flow of ki and the flow of water. You gain a swim speed equal to the bonus from your unarmored movement feature, and you can hold your breath indefinitely. You also gain resistance to cold damage. Furthermore, as an action, you can spend 2 ki points to touch another creature and restore a number of hit points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier.

Patience of the Badger

Through your meditation and practice, you have learned to treat the earth as an extension of your self. You gain tremorsense with a range of 30 feet. You also gain a burrowing speed equal to the bonus from your Unarmored Movement feature. When you travel with this speed, you can choose to leave a tunnel behind you or to leave the earth undisturbed.

Soul of the Hearth

Through careful study and reflection, you have realized that fire is not just a force for destruction, but also for warmth and for protection. You gain resistance to fire damage, and whenever you take a short rest, you can choose a number of other creatures equal to your Wisdom modifier. If those creatures spend hit dice during this short rest, they can roll each die twice and take the higher result.

Avatar of the Elements

When you reach 17th level in this class, you realize the full potential of the elemental powers within you. Choose one final discipline to gain: Earthen Warrior, Flames of the Phoenix, Form of Tempest, or Freezing Fist strike.

Earthen Warrior

You can spend 6 ki points as an action to encase your body in stone, dirt, and other nearby earthen materials. You gain 50 temporary Hit Points. As long as these temporary hit points remain, you gain the following benefits:

• Your AC cannot be less than 20.
• You gain resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• When you hit with an unarmed strike, the target takes an extra 1d8 bludgeoning damage.

Flames of the Phoenix

As a reaction when you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can spend 7 ki points to have your body explode into flame. Each creature of your choice within 30 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 12d6 fire damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. At the start of your next turn, if you haven't been killed, you regain hit points equal to twice your monk level. Once you use this discipline, you cannot use it again until you have completed a long rest.

Form of Tempest

You can spend 4 ki points as an action to unleash the full fury of the skies. For the next 10 minutes, or until you end it as a bonus action, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain a fly speed equal to the bonus from your Unarmored Movement feature.
• You don't need to use your reaction to use Deflect Missiles. If you reduce a missile's damage to 0, you don't need to spend ki to make an attack with it, but you do need to use your reaction to do so.
• You don't need to spend ki to use Step of the Wind.
• You can spend 2 ki points as an action to cause a bolt of lightning to streak from you to a point you can see within 60 feet. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d10 lightning damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.

Freezing Fist Strike

Once per turn when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you may spend 5 ki points to cause ice to begin coating it. It must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become restrained. At the end of each of its turns, a restrained creature must repeat the save. If a creature successfully saves against this discipline three times, the effect on it ends. If it fails its saves three times, it becomes encased in ice and subjected to the petrified condition until thawed. Using this discipline on a creature already under its effects forces that creature to repeat the save, which is added to its total of saves and failures.