The monk sounds cool. A martial arts expert running circles around big, bulky fighters and confounding spellcasters. It’s a fun flavour of character to add to the traditional Western fantasy that makes up Dungeons & Dragons.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely your monk will be as fun as you imagine. In fact, two Dungeons & Dragons experts have argued that the monk is one of the least powerful classes in the game.

Monks are squishy, easy to hit, deal low damage, and have a resource pool that is drained so quickly that they soon find themselves unable to use their class or subclass features.

Ari Ashkenazi

Think of it like playing roulette. Yeah, you could come away a winner. It’s just not what you should expect to happen.

Treantmonk‘s Temple

Today, I’m going to change that. Here I present my version of the monk, along with three new subclasses. If I’ve done this right, it should feel like you’re playing as Neo from The Matrix, Iron Fist, or Beatrix “The Bride” Kiddo from Kill Bill. (I realize many other interpretations of the monk exist, but these are the ones I’m familiar with.)

I’ve kept a few of the best abilities from the original class and replaced the others. Here are some of the highlights:

• The monk no longer uses ki points as a resource for abilities. Instead I drew inspiration from the cleric’s Channel Divinity ability to create Channel Ki. I think this is a cooler representation of a monk expending their spiritual energy for a powerful effect – think Iron Fist’s glowing hand – while also being available reasonably often in an adventuring day. The Channel Ki option available to all monks is a supercharged Stunning Strike. Subclasses are entirely focused on providing an alternate and increasingly powerful Channel Ki ability.
• The monk no longer gets Extra Attack – I wanted it to feel distinct from a martial class. Instead, the monk’s additional attack now works like the Path of the Beast barbarian’s claw weapon. The Martial Arts dice also scale far higher, to the point where the monk’s damage is competitive with a dual-wielding rogue with sneak attack. The monk uses Wisdom instead of Dexterity for attacks, making a monk easier to build and better fitting the theme of a monk’s true power coming from enlightenment.
• Monks now get proficiency in Wisdom saving throws rather than Strength and an additional skill.
• I’ve removed the extra movement, mostly because it wouldn’t usually make a difference in theatre of the mind encounters, which are the kind I run. Instead, we’re just going to give the monk some active, cool ways to get to where they need to go.
• Lastly, this is hot off the press and has not been play-tested. Let me know what you think!

Monk

Monks are united in their ability to magically harness the energy that flows in their bodies. Whether channeled as a striking display of combat prowess or a subtler focus of defensive ability and speed, this energy infuses all that a monk does.

You must have a Dexterity score and a Wisdom score of 13 or higher in order to multiclass in or out of this class.

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Martial Arts	Features
1st	+2	1d6	Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts
2nd	+2	1d6	Channel Ki, Patient Defense
3rd	+2	1d8	Monastic Tradition
4th	+2	1d8	Ability Score Improvement, Ki-Empowered Grace
5th	+3	2d6	Shadow-dancer
6th	+3	2d6	Monastic Tradition feature
7th	+3	2d8	Evasion
8th	+3	2d8	Ability Score Improvement
9th	+4	3d6	Cleansing Spirit
10th	+4	3d6	Ki-Empowered Flight
11th	+4	3d8	Monastic Tradition feature
12th	+4	3d8	Ability Score Improvement
13th	+5	4d6	Ki-Empowered Rift
14th	+5	4d6	Diamond Soul
15th	+5	4d8	Channel Divinity: Shadowstep
16th	+5	4d8	Ability Score Improvement
17th	+6	5d6	Monastic Tradition feature
18th	+6	5d6	Astral Soul
19th	+6	5d8	Ability Score Improvement
20th	+6	5d8	Death Strike

Class Features

As a monk, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per monk level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per monk level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Dexterity
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, History, Insight, Religion, Perception and Stealth

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• any simple weapon
• (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• a light crossbow with 10 pieces of ammunition

Unarmored Defense

Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.

Martial Arts

At 1st level, opening yourself to your ki gives you mastery of unarmed combat. You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:

• You use Wisdom for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes.
• You roll a d6 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
• Once on each of your turns when you attack with an unarmed strike using the Attack action, you can make one additional unarmed strike attack as part of the same action.
• Your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Channel Ki

At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel your ki to fuel magical effects: Stunning Strike and an effect determined by your subclass. When you use your Channel Ki, you choose which effect to create. At 15th level, you also gain the Shadowstep option.

Some Channel Ki effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel Ki twice between rests, and beginning at 18th level, you can use it three times between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.

Channel Ki: Stunning Strike

You focus the power of your ki into a devastating attack. As an action, you can attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away, knocked prone and stunned until the end of your next turn. Any objects the target crashes into after being struck may be destroyed or damaged at the discretion of the DM.

Patient Defense

At 2nd level, you can take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain all uses after you complete a short or long rest.

Monastic Tradition

When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself to a monastic tradition. Your tradition grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and 17th level.

Ki-Empowered Landing

At 4th level, your ki grants you exceptional grace. You can cast the spell Feather Fall without expending a spell slot and without spell components. When you cast it this way, you may only target yourself.

Shadow-dancer

At 5th level, you can dash in and out of combat faster than the eye can see. Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

In addition, you become proficient in Acrobatics and you double your proficiency bonus for Acrobatics checks. If you are already proficient in Acrobatics, you can choose another Dexterity skill.

Evasion

At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Cleansing Spirit

Starting at 9th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened. You also become immune to disease and poison.

Ki-Empowered Flight

At 10th level, your body can break free of the limitations of the physical world. You may cast the spell Fly on yourself without using a spell slot and without needing spell components. When you cast it this way the spell lasts for 1 minute. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and you regain all uses after you finish a long rest.

Ki-Empowered Rift

At 13th level, you can call upon your ki to open rifts in reality. You may cast the spell Dimension Door without using a spell slot and without needing spell components a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain all uses after you finish a long rest.

Diamond Soul

Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.

Channel Divinity: Shadowstep

Beginning at 15th level, you can use your Channel Ki to become invisible for 1 minute or until you make an attack. An attack you make while invisible is an automatic critical hit.

Astral Soul

At 18th level, you can cast the Astral Projection spell, without needing material components. When you do so, you can’t take any other creatures with you. Once you have used this ability, you can’t do so again until you compete a long rest.

Death Strike

At 20th level, your ki is strong enough to cause instant death. As an action, you touch a creature. It must make a Constitution saving throw. It makes the saving throw with disadvantage if it has fewer than 100 hit points. On a failed save, the creature dies. You may not use this feature again until you have finished a long rest.

Monastic Traditions

Way of the Astral Master

All monks develop a connection to the Astral Plane. Followers of the Way of the Astral Master expand that bond to dramatic effect. They are the monks most open to society, with members serving as helpful wanderers or offering spiritual guidance to their communities.

Channel Ki: Astral Rift

At 3rd level, you can use your Channel Ki to draw from the power of the Astral Plane. As an action, you create a 15-foot radius sphere centred on a point you can see within 60 feet. Creatures within the sphere must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or float 5 feet into the air and become Restrained. The sphere lasts until the start of your next turn. When it ends, the Restrained condition ends on creatures within it and they drop to the ground unharmed.

Channel Ki: Rift Slam

At 6th level, you learn to turn the Astral Plane into a weapon. When the rift ends, creatures who were restrained by it are slammed into the ground and become Prone.

Channel Ki: Improved Rift

At 11th level, the radius of your astral rift increases to 30 feet.

Channel Ki: Astral Doom

At 17th level, you command tendrils of the astral plane to assault your foes. When your rift restrains a creature, it takes 5d10 force damage.

Way of the Dragon

Followers of the Way of the Dragon are reclusive and dangerous, like the creatures they worship. These monks often live in monasteries deep in the wilderness to protect ancient and powerful secrets – revealing themselves only to meet dire and evil threats.

Channel Ki: Dragonshift

At 3rd level, your spiritual connection with dragons allows you to assume their form. As an action, you can use your Channel Ki to take the form of a psuedodragon. The transformation lasts for 1 hour or until you end the transformation as an action. You retain your personality and mental statistics (such as languages known) while transformed. While shifted, your attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Channel Ki: Improved Dragonshift

At 6th level, you can dragonshift into a faerie dragon or pseudodragon.

Channel Ki: Greater Dragonshift

At 11th level, you can dragonshift into a metallic-coloured young dragon, faerie dragon or pseudodragon.

Channel Ki: Dragonshift Master

At 17th level, your connection with dragons reaches its zenith. You can dragonshift into a metallic-coloured adult dragon. When you use your Channel Ki this way, the transformation lasts for 1 minute and you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Way of the Ghost

These monks work in the shadows of society, secretly tipping the scales of the cosmos toward goodness and justice. By day, a Way of the Ghost monk may collect offerings for the sick. By night, she may dismantle a gang’s drug operation.

Channel Ki: Smoke Bomb

At 3rd level, you learn to use your ki to disappear. As a bonus action, you create a 15-foot radius sphere of smoke centred on yourself. The area becomes heavily obscured and you gain Blindsight while in the smoke. The smoke lasts until the start of your next turn.

Channel Ki: Poisoned Smoke Bomb

At 6th level, your smoke bomb becomes toxic. All creatures other than you who enter the smoke bomb’s area, start their turn there or are present when it appears must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned until the end of their next turn.

Channel Ki: Improved Smoke Bomb

At 11th level, the radius of your smoke bomb increases to 30 feet and lasts until the end of your second turn after you create it.

Channel Ki: Shape Smoke Bomb

At 17th level, you can extend your ki to protect your allies within the mystical smoke. When you create the smoke bomb, you may choose a number of allies within the area equal to your Wisdom modifier. They gain Blindsight and automatically pass saving throws against becoming poisoned by it.