Way of the Pressure Points (5e Subclass)

Way of the Pressure Points

Monk Subclass

Parody image of Kenshiro Kasumi from Fist of the North Star manga by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson

The way of the Pressure Points is a secretive martial arts handed down from father to son. Based on 4'000 years of knowledge in combat and in the medical research. This martial art is defined mythical not for its killer power but for its adaptability to any enemy. Each new generation of this martial art, after receiving training, travels around the world to test themselves with the most talented fighters and the most fearsome monsters. Each generation aims to improve its style for the next generation by adapting it to the combat of its time. (For this subclass you must have the medicine skill)

Meridian Points

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, with your knowledge in the field of medicine you know of the beneficial and destructive points of the body, your actions can save the life of your friends and yours attacks can be more precise and more painful for your enemy.

The opponents affected by your attacks suffer stings of pain distracting them for a small period of time, for the rest of the turn you don’t provoke opportunity attacks from them.

Your unarmed attacks are more precise and when they hit in the meridian point of yours enemy they can cause critical damage, you score a critical hit on a roll of 19-20 and 18-20 at 15th level.

You can give temporary hit points equal to your medicine skill modifier + one dice of your martial art and the target succeed directly in the Death Saving Throws, but the target take 3 level of exhaustion. Finishing a short rest can reduces this kind of exhaustion by 1 and a long rest end this condition. You can only use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1), after a long rest you can use it again. At 6th level the exhaustion is reduces at 2, at 11th at 1 and at 17th at 0.

Shura Techniques

With your control of the hidden meridian points at 6rd level, you can manipulate your enemy’s ki when you harness your own. Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, with the use of another ki you can impose one of the following effects on that target.

It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be blind until the end of your next turn. (ex: fingers in the eyes)

It must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or not be able to move, swimming or fly until the end of your next turn. (ex: the nerves of the legs are damaged)

It must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or suffer internal bleeding and take damage equal to one dice of your martial art. It must repeat the saving throw at the start of each of its turns. On each successive failed save, the damage of internal bleeding increases of a martial dice. After three turns the internal bleeding ends.

It must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or not being able to speak until the end of your next turn. (ex: blow to the throat)

It must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away from you and fall prone.

It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be confused by your feint and be at a disadvantage in attacking until the end of your next turn.

Shura Ki

Beginning at 11th level, your control over ki power improves, you are able to attack more quickly and you are able to absorb ki from your opponents during the fight.

When a creature within 10 ft. of you is reduced to 0 hit points or when you score a critical hit, you can use your reaction to regain ki points equal to your of your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

Whenever you use Flurry of Blows to attack once, now you can instead attack twice times and three at 17th level.

You gain the ability to heal yourself. As an action, you can regain hit points equal to three times your monk level. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Quivering Palm

(you can modify your final attack under the approval of your DM)

At 17th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal vibrations in someone’s body. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to start these imperceptible vibrations, which last for a number of days equal to your monk level. The vibrations are harmless unless you use your action to end them. To do so, you and the target must be on the same plane of existence. When you use this action, the creature must make a Constitution saving throw. If it fails, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.

You can have only one creature under the effect of this feature at a time. You can choose to end the vibrations harmlessly without using an action.

Table - Examples of Medicine applications

DC	Medicine applications
5	Stabilize/revive a drowning creature. Determine relatively obvious cause of death (decapitated and so on).
10	Determine it's not safe to move a patient. Stabilize the dying (of course). Deliver a baby, complicated delivery. Diagnose dehydration, starvation, or madness. Many checks to determine time and manner of a death that left marks.
15	Checks to determine time and manner of a death not leaving marks. Save the mother in complicated delivery. Blood spatter analysis. Remove an impaling object from a creature. Determine a container recently held poison. Ending the effect like bleeding.
10+CR	Determining amount of hit points remaining on another humanoid. Determining the Constitution, Dexterity or Strength saving throw modifiers of another humanoid.
15+CR	Determining amount of hit points remaining of a monster. Determining the Constitution, Dexterity or Strength saving throw modifiers of a monster.

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