Monk, Monastic Tradition: Way of the Pit

Overview & Creation

Knowledge of pressure points - high density valves of a person's inner ki - allows many great masters to disable opponents, by blocking or disrupting the flow of ki through their bodies. Others, however, have applied this understanding of the mystical connection between body and ki in a different way: by manipulating one's own ki flow around these areas, an enemy's ki can be sapped directly from their body, and into the Leech.

Such activity - theft, of a sort, of lifeforce - is seen as an abomination by some sects. Occasionally, it may indeed be such; some monks who follow the Way of the Pit are drawn by the feeling of ki overflow down a dark path, their addiction (or perhaps just moral apathy) compelling them to kill in order to satisfy their hunger. Others join with the understanding that ki is a transient thing, over which it is impossible to claim ownership - and that manipulation thereof can be committed to good or evil ends. Such monks use their ability to draw ki as a way to disable their opponents without major injury, while bolstering themselves in the fight.

Class Features

At Level 2, use the same rules for Way of the Pit as you would for Ki in typical D&D.   At Level 3 feat, When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your eyes and hands open to the ki pathways flowing through the bodies of your opponents. You gain the following benefits:   Way of the Pit, While a creature is grappled by you, at the end of each of its turns, it takes an amount of necrotic damage equal to your monk level. You may then gain an amount of temporary hit points equal to half of the damage dealt, rounded down. These temporary hit points do not stack with other sources of temporary hit points. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, you may immediately regain 1 ki point. If a creature was reduced to 0 hit points within the last round of combat, you may spend your Action grasping their body. This provokes attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies. If you do so, you regain hit points equal to your monk level. If the creature was unconscious, rather than dead, it must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it dies instantly. On a success, it fails one death check.   Agile Grappler, Your goal in a grab is typically simply to keep your hand on your enemy, and not to strong arm them into an advantageous position. Starting at 3rd level, you may make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check instead of a Strength (Athletics) check when attempting to grapple a creature, as you outmaneuver it to establish a hold. If you do so, any attempts to break the grapple must be against your Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. However, in this case, your movement speed also becomes 0. You can still release the target at any time.   Additionally, the grapple Special Attack now counts as an attack with a monk weapon for the purpose of the Martial Arts class feature.     Level 6 feat, Bewildering Throw At 6th level, you learn to use baffling movements and your opponent's own momentum to lift even enemies much heavier than you into the air and move them as you will. When you use the Attack action to shove a creature, you may use your Dexterity (Acrobatics) modifier instead of your Strength (Athletics) modifier for the check. If the creature is grappled by you, and you succeed on the check to shove, you may also re position them to any space adjacent to you before the effects of the shove occur.   Level 11 feat, Ebb Tide At 11th level, you learn to use your own ki to direct the ki flow of others not only out of their bodies, but out of particular areas within their bodies. When you deal necrotic damage to a creature with your Path of the Pit feature, you may spend 1 ki point and choose a body part. It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, or suffer one of the following effects, based on the body part you chose:     Body Part Condition Duration Eyes Blinded 1d4 rounds Ears Deafened 1d4 minutes Brain Stunned 1 round Limbs Poisoned 2d4 rounds Heart Fatigued See Exhaustion If a creature lacks a body part listed here, you cannot target that body part with this ability.   Level 17 feat, Hungry Ghost At 17th level, your body becomes so receptive to the ki of others that you can drain them at the briefest touch. Whenever you hit a creature who is grappled by you with an unarmed strike, you may spend 2 ki points. If you do, you deal additional necrotic damage equal to your monk level, then may gain temporary hit points equal to half of the damage dealt, rounded down, as with the Path of the Pit base feature. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, you may immediately regain 1 ki point. This necrotic damage also allows the use of Ebb Tide.   Additionally, your ability to manipulate the flow of ki through an enemy's body renders you capable of immobilizing and moving even the most intimidating foes. You may now grapple or shove a creature of any size. However, for any creature two or more size categories larger than you, you must spend 1 ki point each round you wish to maintain a grapple, or each time you attempt a grapple or shove.

Starting Equipment

(a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon

(a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack

10 darts

Spellcasting

Ki

Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table.

You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.

When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.

Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:  

Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier  

Flurry of Blows

Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.  

Patient Defense

You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.  

Step of the Wind

You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.

Subclass Options

Archetype Additions:

You have an aversion to clothing, armor, and most weaponry

You have a resistance to attacks with an necrotic damage type

Along with the obvious battle presence the Monk class typically takes on, your connection to the Pit makes you inspire fear and loathing in any gods worshiping creatures.