Way of the Wanderer

A lone wanderer staggers into town, surviving the vast wastes when they should be dead. A towering monk steps in to defend a bullied shop vendor being extorted by a local gang. A former student stands over the body of their now dead master, angered that their teacher would not share the final secrets of their order, and now they must search the world for these lost techniques.

The Way of the Wanderer can be a lonely one, but it is always exciting. The wanderer knows that strength is the key, but how that strength is achieved and used is up to each monk. Will the wanderer adopt the age-old philosophy of “might makes right,” or will they use their strength to lift others up? Either way, monks who walk this path strive to be the strongest in the land. But what does that mean in the end? Is it worth it to achieve unlimited power? What happens when there are no more challenges to best?

Way of the Wanderer Features

Monk Level	Feature
3rd	Scales of Might, Iron Fists
6th	Stone Bones
11th	True Grit
17th	ONE PUNCH!

Level 3: Scales of Might

You have worked to toughen your skin to rival the strongest armor, natural or otherwise. You may use your Strength instead of Dexterity when calculating your Unarmored Defense. Your AC equals 10 + your Strength modifier + your Wisdom modifier.

Level 3: Iron Fists

Your strikes rain like a blacksmith’s hammer, molding your target into any shape you desire. Your Martial Arts die is increased to a d6 and follows the same progression with the increased die size: d8 at 5th, d10 at 11th, and d12 at 17th.

Level 6: Stone Bones

You have worked to make your body unbreakable, allowing you to turn your defense into offense and deal extra damage to inanimate objects. When you are hit with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage dealt by spending 1 ki point to roll two Martial Arts dice plus your Strength modifier. In addition, you may spend 1 or 2 more ki points and add one Martial Arts die per ki point spent, making the maximum you may spend for this reaction 3 ki points in total. The amount of damage you roll is subtracted from the initial damage total, and you take any damage not negated. If your roll is higher than the damage dealt to you, the creature that dealt the damage takes damage equal to the difference.

Additionally, you deal double damage to unattended inanimate objects.

Level 11: True Grit

You have the kind of determination that makes lesser foes tremble, losing their nerve and any upper hand they might have had. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain proficiency in Constitution ability checks and saving throws.
• Any damage type you deal using monk weapons or unarmed strikes ignores damage resistance, and a creature’s immunity to this damage is treated as resistance instead.

Level 17: ONE PUNCH!

You have honed your body to be a conduit for the might of your ki, allowing you to deliver a single devastating punch. If you hit with an unarmed strike, you may use your bonus action to spend ki points to add an equal number of Martial Arts dice to the damage roll for the attack. You may only use this feature once per short rest unless you slay your foe. If you defeat your foe with your ONE PUNCH!, it is immediately available for use. If you spend the last of your ki points to defeat an opponent with your ONE PUNCH!, you immediately regain 5 ki points.

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