Way of the Cobalt Soul

Overview & Creation

Monastic Tradition for Monks     Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and their worship of the Knowing Mistress, the monastery of the Cobalt Soul (known as the library of the Cobalt Reserve) stands as one of the most well-respected and most heavily guarded repository of tomes, history, and information across Exandria. Here, young people seeking the clarity of truth and the strength of knowledge pledge to learn the arts of seeking enlightenment by understanding the world around them, and mastering the techniques to defend it. To become a Cobalt Soul is to give one’s self to the quest for unveiling life’s mysteries, bringing light to the secrets of the dark, and guarding the most powerful and dangerous of truths from those who would seek to pervert the sanctity of civilization. The monks of the Cobalt Soul are the embodiment of the phrase “know your enemy”. Through research, they prepare themselves against the ever-coming tides of evil. Through careful training, they have learned to puncture and manipulate the spiritual flow of an opponent’s body. Through understanding the secrets of their foe, they can adapt and surmount them. Then, once the fight is done, they return to record their findings for future generations of monks to study from.

Class Features

Mystical Erudition     Upon choosing this tradition at 3rd level, you’ve undergone extensive training with the Cobalt Soul, allowing you to mystically recall information on history and lore from the monastery’s collected volumes. Whenever you make an Intelligence (Arcana), Intelligence (History), or Intelligence (Religion) check, you can spend 1 ki point to gain advantage on the roll. In addition, you learn one language of your choice. You gain additional languages at 11th and 17th level.   Extract Aspects   Beginning at 3rd level when choosing this tradition, when you pummel an opponent and connect with multiple pressure points, you can extract crucial information about your foe. Whenever you hit a single creature with two or more attacks in one round, you can spend 1 ki point to force the target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, you learn one aspect about the creature of your choice: Creature Type, Armor Class, Senses, Highest Saving Throw Modifier, Lowest Saving Throw Modifier, Damage Vulnerabilities, Damage Resistances, Damage Immunities, or Condition Immunities. Upon reaching 6th level, if the target fails their saving throw, you can choose two aspects to learn. This increases to three aspects at 11th level, and four aspects at 17th level.   Extort Truth     At 6th level, you can hit a series of hidden nerves on a creature with precision, temporarily causing them to be unable to mask their true thoughts and intent. If you manage to hit a single creature with two or more attacks in one round, you can spend 2 ki points to force them to make a Charisma saving throw. You can choose to have these attacks deal no damage. On a failed save, the creature is unable to speak a deliberate lie for 1 minute. You know if they succeeded or failed on their saving throw. An affected creature is aware of the effect and can thus avoid answering questions to which it would normally respond with a lie. Such a creature can be evasive in its answers as long as the effect lasts.   Mind of Mercury     Starting at 6th level, you’ve honed your awareness and reflexes through mental aptitude and pattern recognition. You can take a number of additional reactions each round equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), at the cost of 1 ki point per reaction beyond the first. You can only use one reaction per trigger. In addition, whenever you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check, you can spend 1 ki point to gain advantage on the roll.   Preternatural Counter     Beginning at 11th level, your quick mind and study of your foe allows you to use their failure to your advantage. If a creature misses you with an attack, you can immediately use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature.   Debilitating Barrage     Upon reaching 17th level, you’ve gained the knowledge to temporarily alter and lower a creature’s fortitude by striking a series of pressure points. Whenever you hit a single creature with three or more attacks in one round, you can spend 3 ki points to give the creature disadvantage to their attack rolls until the end of your next turn, and they must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature suffers vulnerability to a damage type of your choice for 1 minute, or until after they take any damage of that type. Creatures with resistance or immunity to the chosen damage type do not suffer this vulnerability, which is revealed after the damage type is chosen. You can select the damage type from the following list: acid, bludgeoning, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, piercing, poison, psychic, radiant, slashing, thunder.

Starting Equipment

see PHb