Way of Sagacious Savants

Monk Subclass (Source: Xanathar's Guide to Everything)

This is a reskinned variant of the Drunken Master subclass. It is as follows:

Taught via instruction manuals and direct one on one mentorship from more advanced practitioners, the so-called Gentle Art of Self-Defense of the Sagacious Savants is a primarily defensive but deceptively effective fighting style. Practitioners of this style usually appear to not be fighting at all, moving precisely but in unexpected, non-threatening, or avoidant ways which makes them very difficult to strike and causes attackers to suffer harm via self-inflicted injury, running into things or each other, or seemingly by accident. While doing so, practitioners generally monologue or attempt to engage their attackers in a conversation during a conflict, imploring them to reconsider their violent ways and cease their attack. They also tend to favor nonlethal outcomes when fighting sentient and redeemable creatures (knocking them out at 0 hit points instead of killing them). However, versus implacable foes that are immune to reason or beyond redemption, Sagacious Savants switch tactics and attempt to definitively end the encounter as quickly and decisively as possible; in such moments they are extremely direct, finishing their foe permanently and with shocking efficiency.

Practitioners of this discipline come from many walks of life, scholars, sages, contemplatives, diplomats, and gentlefolk primarily. And while a few do choose to live the existence of a wise wanderer or a contemplative hermit, most do not. As a group they are not organized in any overt way, they have no leader, and follow no hierarchy. Many worship the god Tor, but all at least venerate and recognize the kindly god as the honorary Grandmaster of the Way and the seminal teacher of its precepts.

Contemplative Self-mastery

This Way is a very loose philosophical tradition which has no monastaries or ranks or hierarchy, it can be self-taught with aid of nothing more than a book or scroll containing the Teachings of Tor plus a lot of practice and contemplation. Though Tor is the source of the tradition's wisdom, and many members do worship or at least venerate him as their personal deity, this is regarded as more of a coincidence or simply an appreciation for the philosophical resonance of his teachings rather than a religious adherence. Actual worship of Tor has no bearing on admission or progression within the tradition; instead it requires nothing more than a dedication to seeking inner peace and attempting to live in balance with the world as best one can. A follower of this Way must simply be willing to slow down, be one with their surroundings, and learn intentionality of thought, feeling, and motion. This is a Way that is simple to learn, but difficult to master.

You may not enter this Way if you are chaotic. As a member progresses in their personal journey, they should constantly improve their capacity for contemplative self-awareness, finding calmness in even the most trying of times, and mastering a sort of stillness of being which allows them to experience reality as if time has slowed down but they have not. If the next level you would take is the 6th, 11th, or 17th level of monk and you are chaotic, you cannot take that level.

Insightful Pragmatism

When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain the following benefits:

• Applied Insight: you gain proficiency with the Insight skill if you don't already have it, otherwise you gain your choice of one proficiency from History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, or Religion.
• Pragmatic Weapons: you gain proficiency with improvised weapons and cane swords; both are considered to be monk weapons when wielded by you.
• Insightful Avoidance: you gain +1 AC while not wearing armor or using a shield; you lose this bonus if you are encumbered or incapacitated or if your speed has been reduced to 0. This improves to +2 AC at 11th level.

At 6th level, you gain the following additional benefit:

• Calm Rationality: You have advantage on saving throws to resist being charmed or frightened.

Unexpected Maneuvering

Starting at 3rd level, you learn how to move in unexpected ways, while adopting relaxed and casual poses that are entirely out of context in the middle of violent conflict. You may go so far as to look like you don't even realize you are engaged in combat at all, stretching, lounging, bending, and somehow swaying around attackers seemingly by accident while remaining unaware of their existence or harmful intent. This tends to confuse opponents and give you a tactical edge. You initially gain the following benefit:

• Unexpected Inclination: When you're prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed. Additionally you do not suffer disadvantage on attacks you make while prone, and attackers within 5 feet do not gain advantage due to you being prone on their attacks against you.

At 6th level, you gain the following additional benefit:

• Unexpected Disengagement: When you use Flurry of Blows, you gain the benefit of the Disengage action and your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the current turn.

Finally, at 11th level you gain the following additional benefit:

• Unexpected Repositioning: As a reaction you may take when another creature you can see ends their turn, you may gain the benefit of the Disengage action and move up to 10 feet.

Error Exploitation

Starting at 6th level, when a creature within your reach that you can see misses you with a melee attack roll, you may spend 1 ki point and use your reaction to cause that attack to hit one other creature within your reach that you can see.

At 11th level, when a creature within your reach that you can see rolls a natural '1' on an attack roll, you may use your reaction to cause that creature to self-inflict the damage of their failed attack upon themselves. If you do, you may also spend 1 ki point to cause that creature to make a Dexterity saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. On a failed saving throw, that creature falls prone and drops any weapons or objects that they are currently holding.

Intuitive Adjustment

At 17th level, you can intuit a way out of most tight spots and difficulties. When you make an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw and have disadvantage, you can spend 2 ki points to cancel the disadvantage for that roll.

Calculated Culmination

At 17th level, your advanced perception of a slowed down reality allows you to consider multiple possible courses of action, factor angles, and calculate a complex fighting sequence intended to disable foes as efficiently as possible. When you use your Ki-Fueled Attack feature, you may make two unarmed attacks (instead of one), and when you use your Flurry of Blows feature, you may make three unarmed strikes (instead of two).