Mindstalker (5e Subclass)
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 wilders (more properly known as "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 Crossbowman[edit]
Freshly awakened with untamed powers of the mind, you have learned how to harness your psionic potential to excel at the use of hand crossbows, which you wield with unnerving skill in battle.
- Intuitive Shootist: You may 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.
- Uncanny Aim: You gain the Archery fighting style feat.
- Volley of Bolts: When wielding two hand crossbows and taking an Attack action with one of them, you can make a second attack with the other as part of the same action, even if they lack the Nick weapon mastery or wouldn't otherwise qualify for two-weapon fighting. When you do so, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the attack if you aren't already doing so.
Level 3: Helping Hand[edit]
You have begun to develop your wilder talents, forging a psychokinetic construct that you use to aid yourself in battle.
You learn the mage hand cantrip, which you refer to as 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), and it can be cast as a bonus action instead of a Magic action. Wisdom 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 allows you to effectively ignore the loading property and the requirement to have one hand free for the ammunition property, but only when wielding hand crossbows. 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.
Level 6: Third Eye Opening[edit]
Your psionic powers expand further, shielding your body and mind from hostile forces and allowing you to form a psychic connection with your fellow caradhakers through which to coordinate while on the hunt.
You gain resistance to force and psychic damage, 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 Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1 mile). To understand each other, you each must mentally use a language the other knows.
This connection lasts until you will it to end, one of you gains the unconscious condition, or the target creature shuts you down by succeeding on a Wisdom save vs. your spellcasting DC. You can maintain a telepathic bond with a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus. If you attempt to form a connection with additional creatures, you must break an existing bond first.
Level 11: Rapid Shot[edit]
When using your flurry of blows monk feature, you gain one additional unarmed strike attack. You must, however, replace one or more of your unarmed strikes with an attack with one of your hand crossbows, as per your Volley of Bolts feature.
Level 11: The Will and the Way[edit]
Your psionic powers continue to advance.
- Greater Helping Hand: Your helping hand becomes more powerful, at least in short bursts. You always have the telekinesis spell prepared and can cast it without providing verbal or somatic components. You can cast it at will, but you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your own spellcasting DC or gain one level of exhaustion. If you fail this saving throw, you cannot cast telekinesis again until you finish a long rest and recover from that level of exhaustion.
- Psychokinetic Guidance: You are able to subconsciously guide your hand crossbow shots with preternatural precision, granting you a number of perks.
- 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.
- Your hand crossbows attacks 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.
- You can cause your hand crossbow shots to deal your choice of 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 make an attack.
- You can instinctively "grab" any bolts you fire from a hand crossbow and pull them back to you after the attack, effectively granting it the returning property. After being fired, the bolt automatically returns to your choice of your weapon or your bolt case, ready to be used again. Note that this makes your ammunition unbreakable under normal circumstances as well, as you effectively surround and protect them with psychokinetic energy.
Level 17: Improved Rapid Shot[edit]
Your Rapid Shot ability lets you make two additional attacks during a Flurry of Blows instead of one if you are wielding a pair of hand crossbows. At least two of the attacks of your flurry of blows must be made with your hand crossbows.
In addition, for one point of focus, you can make a Rapid Shot 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.
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