Mindstalker (5e Subclass)
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Known as the Caradhaker in the dwarvish tongue and often mistaken for battleragers due to their intensity in combat, mindstalkers are a special breed of monk who have trained themselves to battle mind flayers. Their goal? To overcome the great threat the illithid present to all the good people of the megaverse.
Known for their somewhat bizarre mastery of hand crossbows, they are easily recognizable by their wild hair similar to the githzerai zerths of whom they first learned the secrets of their art. More experienced members of their sect often wear mummified illithid heads on their harnesses as a mark of their dedication, and a warning to any mind flayers they come across. Regardless of their appearances, they are highly-skilled combatants who have unlocked the secrets of psionics—albeit only barely, but what they have learned is quite formidable in their hands... err, minds—to not only offer a helping hand in reloading their weapons, but to strengthen themselves against the fell attacks of their chosen prey.
Over the years, other races who have had encounters with the mind flayers have sought out the Caradhaker to teach them their ways. Despite the Stout Folk's traditionally stubborn and xenophobic ways, these dwarves have only been too happy to do share their secrets. It is far more important to them to see the illithids eliminated from the face of Toril, and they care not who's responsible for doing so as long as it gets done.
Special Note: This subclass has been updated to the 2024 One rules.
Level 3: Wild Talent[edit]
Freshly awakened with untamed intuitive powers of the mind like the wilders of old, you have learned to harness your newborn psionic potential almost exclusively in the use of hand crossbows, which you can wield with unnerving skill in battle.
- Intuitive Wild Talent: Upon taking this subclass, you may use your Charisma in place of Wisdom score for all of your monk features.
- Zen and the Art of Bolting: You gain the Archery fighting style feat. You may also treat hand crossbows as monk weapons, and you can make an attack with a hand crossbow in place of an unarmed strike for any of your monk abilities.
- Two-Fisting It: When wielding a pair of hand crossbows, you can make an extra attack as per the Light weapon property, even if they lack the Light property or wouldn't otherwise qualify for two-weapon fighting. When you do so, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of that attack if you aren't already adding it to the damage. You can make this extra attack as part of the Attack action you use to fire the weapon instead of as a bonus action. This otherwise functions as per the standard two-weapon fighting rules.
Level 3: Helping Hand[edit]
You have begun to shape your psionic potential, forging into a psychokinetic construct to aid you in battle.
You learn a psionic version of the mage hand cantrip that you call your helping hand. When you cast mage hand this way, you do so without verbal or somatic components, it does not have a visible presence (it's not even invisible; it is a purely intangible force), it can be cast as a bonus action instead of a Magic action, and its range increases to 60 feet. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
In addition to its normal uses, you can also instinctively call upon your helping hand to reload your hand crossbows as part of the same action you use to attack with them. This effectively allows you to ignore their loading property and the requirement to have one hand free for the ammunition property. When cast this way, your mage hand has a range of personal, a duration of Instantaneous, and it can only affect a hand crossbow that you are wielding or otherwise have equipped. You cannot use it for any other purpose.
Level 6: Psychic Conditioning[edit]
Your psionic powers expand further, shielding your mind from hostile forces while simultaneously allowing you to reach out to others.
You gain resistance to psychic damage, you are protected by a permanent nondetection spell, and your mind can no longer be read or communicated with via any means unless you wish it.
You can also form a telepathic connection between your mind and the mind of another. As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself. You and the chosen creature can communicate telepathically with each other while the two of you are within a number of miles of each other equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 mile). To understand each other, you each must mentally use a language the other knows. The telepathic connection lasts until you gain the unconscious condition, you form a telepathic connection with another creature, you willingly break the connection, or the target creature forces you out with a successful Wisdom saving throw against your spellcasting DC (8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus).
Level 11: The Will and the Way[edit]
Your psionic powers continue to advance.
- Rapid Shot: When using your Flurry of Blows monk feature and wielding two hand crossbows, you can fire one additional bolt.
- Greater Helping Hand: Your helping hand becomes more powerful. You always have the telekinesis spell prepared and can cast it without providing verbal or somatic components. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a short or long rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have, should you have access to them through some other class.
- Psychokinetic Guidance: You are able to subconsciously guide your hand crossbow shots with preternatural precision. You deal a critical hit on a roll of 18-20 when attacking with hand crossbows, and critical hits with them deal one additional weapon damage die. Attacks with these weapons ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. If you have the Sharpshooter feat, they can also ignore total cover if there's so much as a one-inch opening available, though you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can also cause your hand crossbow shots to deal your choice of bludgeoning, force, or psychic damage instead of its normal damage by adding a small amount of psychokinetic "punch" to them. You make this decision each time you attack with one of these weapons.
Level 17: Improved Rapid Shot[edit]
Your Rapid Shot ability lets you fire two additional bolts during a Flurry of Blows instead of one.
For one point of focus, you can also use your Rapid Shot feature as part of any other bonus action you perform that does not already include an attack, such as your Step of the Wind or Patient Defense monk features. If the bonus action already requires one or more points of focus to perform, its cost is instead increased by one.
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