Monk Feats

Key Terms

You'll see the following key terms in many monk abilities.

Flourish: Actions with this trait are special techniques that require too much exertion for you to perform frequently. You can use only 1 action with the flourish trait per turn.

Incapacitation: An ability with this trait can take a character out of the fight. But when you use an incapacitation effect against a creature of higher level than you, you reduce the degree of success of your attack roll by one step, and that creature improves the degree of success of its saving throws for that effect by one step.

Ki Spells: By tapping into a supernatural inner reserve called ki, you can create magical effects. Certain feats grant you special spells called ki spells, which are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell. When you gain your first ki spell, you also gain a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to meditate in order to reach inner peace.

When you first gain a ki spell, decide whether your ki spells are divine spells or occult spells. You become trained in spell attacks and spell DCs of that tradition and your key spellcasting ability is Wisdom.

Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. Taking feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 points. The full rules for focus spells appear here.

Stance: A stance is a general combat strategy that you enter by using an action with the stance trait, and that you remain in for some time. A stance lasts until you get knocked out, until its requirements (if any) are violated, until the encounter ends, or until you enter a new stance, whichever comes first. After you take an action that has the stance trait, you can't take another one for 1 round. You can enter or be in a stance only in encounter mode.

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Every level at which you gain a Monk feat, select one of the following feats. You must satisfy any prerequisites before taking the feat.

1st Level Monk Feats

• Crane Stance -   You enter the stance of a crane, holding your arms in an imitation of a crane’s wings.

• Dragon Stance - You enter the stance of a dragon and make powerful leg strikes like a lashing dragon’s tail.

• Gorilla Stance -  You lower yourself to the ground and take an imposing, knuckle-walking stance.

• Ki Rush - You can use ki to move with extraordinary speed and make yourself harder to hit.

• Ki Strike - Your study of the flow of mystical energy allows you to harness it into your physical strikes.

• Monastic Archer Stance - You enter a specialized stance for a unique martial art centered around the use of a bow.

• Monastic Weaponry -  You have trained with the traditional weaponry of your monastery or school.

• Mountain Stance - You enter the stance of an implacable mountain allowing you to strike with the weight of an avalanche.

• Stumbling Stance (trained in Deception) - You enter a seemingly unfocused stance that mimics the movements of the inebriated—bobbing, weaving, leaving false openings, and distracting your enemies from your true movements.

• Tiger Stance - You enter the stance of a tiger and can make tiger claw attacks.

• Wolf Stance - You enter the stance of a wolf, low to the ground with your hands held like fanged teeth.

2nd Level Monk Feats

• Ancestral Weaponry (Monastic Weaponry, a feat granting you access to all weapons with an ancestry trait) - You blend monastic techniques with the ancestral fighting styles of your people.

• Brawling Focus -  You know how to make the most of your attacks when fighting hand-to-hand.

• Crushing Grab - Like a powerful constrictor, you crush targets in your unyielding grasp.

• Dancing Leaf - You are as light as a leaf whirling in the breeze.

• Elemental Fist (Ki Strike) - You call upon the power of the elements, infusing your ki with elemental energy and allowing your attacks to deal energy damage.

• Shooting Star Stance (Monastic Weaponry) - You enter a stance that lets you throw shuriken with lightning speed.

• Stunning Fist (Flurry of Blows) - The focused power of your flurry threatens to overwhelm your opponent.

4th Level Monk Feats

• Cobra Stance - You enter a tight stance, coiled up like a lashing cobra with your hands poised as venomous fangs.

• Deflect Arrow - Your reflexes allow you to deflect ranged attacks.

• Flurry of Maneuvers (expert in Athletics) - Your flurry is a combination of maneuvers.

• Flying Kick -  You launch yourself at a foe.

• Guarded Movement - Your guard is up, even while moving.

• Peafowl Stance (Monastic Weaponry) - You enter a tall and proud stance while remaining mobile, with all the grace and composure of a peafowl.

• Sacred Ki (Ki Strike, you follow a deity) - The power of your faith suffuses your ki

• Stand Still - You strike out when your foe tries to flee.

• Wholeness of Body (ki spells) - You can restore your health by tapping into your ki.

6th Level Monk Feats

• Abundant Step (incredible movement, ki spells) - You can teleport yourself a short distance.

• Align Ki (ki spells) - The power of your ki soothes your wounds and energizes you for battle.

• Crane Flutter (Crane Stance) - You interpose your arm between yourself and your opponent.

• Dragon Roar (Dragon Stance) - You bellow, instilling fear in your enemies.

• Gorilla Pound (expert in Intimidation, Gorilla Stance) - You pound your chest before slamming into your foes.

• Ki Blast (ki spells) - You can unleash an impactful cone of force by channeling your ki.

• Mountain Stronghold (Mountain Stance) - You focus on your connection to the earth and call upon the mountain to block attacks against you.

• One-Inch Punch (expert strikes) - You put all your force into a single mighty, carefully controlled blow.

• Return Fire (Deflect Arrow, Monastic Archer Stance) - Snatching an arrow out of the air, you instantly put it to your bow and return fire.

• Stumbling Feint (expert in Deception, Stumbling Stance) - You lash out confusingly with what seems to be a weak move but instead allows you to unleash a dangerous flurry of blows upon your unsuspecting foe.

• Tiger Slash (Tiger Stance) - You make a fierce swipe with both hands.

• Water Step - You can Stride across liquid and surfaces that don’t support your weight.

• Whirling Throw - You propel your grabbed or restrained foe a great distance.

• Wolf Drag (Wolf Stance) - You rip your enemy off their feet.

8th Level Monk Feats

• Clinging Shadows Initiate (ki spells) - You learn a mystical stance that transforms your ki into sticky smoke that shrouds your limbs, clinging to everything you touch.

• Ironblood Stance - You enter the stance of impenetrable iron, refusing to yield to any blow.

• Mixed Maneuver (master in Athletics) - You combine two different maneuvers together into a single flowing whole.

• Pinning Fire -  You target your opponent's clothing, equipment, or loose flesh with piercing projectiles to pin them to the ground or a nearby surface.

• Tangled Forest Stance - You extend your arms like gnarled branches to interfere with your foes’ movements.

• Wall Run - You defy gravity, traversing vertical planes as easily as the ground.

• Wild Winds Initiate (ki spells) - You learn a mystical stance that lets you attack from a distance.

10th Level Monk Feats

• Cobra Envenom (Cobra Stance, expert in unarmed attacks) - You lash out with devious intent and the power to envenom your foe.

• Knockback Strike - You focus your strength into a blow powerful enough to push an enemy away from you.

• Peafowl Strut (Peafowl Stance) - You slowly move across the battlefield with dangerous grace.

• Prevailing Position (at least one stance feat) -  Your willingness to flow from one stance to another lets you sacrifice their benefits to better protect yourself.

• Sleeper Hold - You pinch crucial points of your target’s nervous system, impeding its ability to function.

• Wind Jump (ki spells) -  You gather the wind beneath you, allowing you to soar as you jump.

• Winding Flow - Any journey consists of more than simply reaching your destination.

12th Level Monk Feats

• Diamond Soul - You have fortified your body and mind against eldritch effects.

• Disrupt Ki - Your strike can block a creature's inner life force.

• Dodging Roll (master in Acrobatics) - You dodge a blow at the last possible moment.

• Focused Shot (Monastic Archer Stance) - You achieve a state of perfect calm before unleashing your attack, opening your mind to the minute movements of the world around you to increase your accuracy.

• Improved Knockback (master in Athletics) - Your shoves cause the target to go farther.

• Meditative Focus (ki spells) - Your meditation is so effective that you can achieve a deep focus.

• Overwhelming Breath -  You control your breathing and align it with your ki, exhaling with controlled force in order to overcome your opponent's resistance.

• Stance Savant - You enter a stance without a thought.

14th Level Monk Feats

• Form Lock - Your ability to control your own ki empowers you to pressure other creatures into resuming their true forms.

• Ironblood Surge (Ironblood Stance) - You steel yourself, preparing to resist oncoming attacks and using your muscles to absorb the impact.

• Mountain Quake (Mountain Stronghold) - You stomp, shaking the earth beneath you and causing quakes.

• Shadow's Web (ki spells) - You launch a wave of shadowy ki outward from your body, damaging your opponents and potentially binding them in place.

• Tangled Forest Rake (Tangled Forest Stance) - You reposition foes with raking attacks.

• Timeless Body - You cease aging.

• Tongue of the Sun and Moon -  You have transcended the barriers between words and meaning.

• Wild Wind Gust (Wild Winds Initiate) - You store up energy and release it in an enormous gust of rushing wind.