Way of the Flowing Waters (5e Subclass)
Way of the Flowing Waters[edit]
Monk Subclass
While other monastic traditions teach their students to block and face attacks head on, students of the Way of the Flowing Waters instead learn to redirect the force of an attack, moving it like water in a river. Monks of this school learn to use their enemy's power against them, taking their attacks and letting them glance by harmlessly or even redirecting their own attacks against them.
- Redirect Attack
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you learn to redirect your enemies' attacks. When a creature hits you with a melee attack roll, you can use your reaction to redirect the attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.
When you reduce the damage to 0, you can use 1 ki point using the same reaction to make an unarmed strike against the target. On a hit, you can choose to impose one of the following effects on the target:
- It takes additional damage equal to half the damage the incoming attack would have dealt.
- It is disarmed. If you have a free hand, you catch the weapon.
- It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, it is knocked prone.
- Improved Deflection
Also at 3rd level, your ability to deflect and redirect incoming projectiles is more finely tuned. The range of the ranged attack you make as part of your Deflect Missiles feature is now the range of the weapon that made the attack against you.
Additionally, the damage dice of the ranged attack you make as part of your Deflect Missiles feature is now your martial arts die or the damage dice of the deflected attack, whichever is higher.
- Change the Current
Starting at 6th level, you learn to redirect even magical energies. When you are hit with a spell attack roll, a line spell or effect, or the Magic Missile spell, you can use your reaction to reduce the spell's damage by 2d10 + your Wisdom modifier + your monk level. When you reduce the spell's damage to 0, you can spend 2 ki points to reflect the spell back at the attacker or at a creature of your choice within 30 feet of you, as though you cast the spell or caused the effect.
If you are hit with the Magic Missile spell, you add the damage from all the darts that hit you before redirecting the total damage.
If you succeed a Dexterity saving throw against a line spell or effect and take no damage as part of your Evasion feature, you can spend 2 ki points to automatically redirect the effect as though you cast the spell or caused the effect.
If you successfully redirect a line spell, any creature also caught in the area of effect are unaffected by the spell.
- Improved Redirection
Starting at 11th level, you are much more capable of deflecting attacks. The damage you can mitigate with Redirect and Deflect Missiles increases to 2d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level while the damage you can mitigate for your Change the Current feature increases to 4d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.
You can also expend up to 3 ki points to increase the damage you are able to mitigate with your Redirect, Change the Current, and Deflect Missiles feature. The damage mitigated is increased by 1d10 for every additional ki point you spend.
- Perfect Counter
Starting at 17th level, you become a master in countering enemy attacks. In combat, you get a special reaction that you can take once on every creature's turn, except your turn. You can use this special reaction only to use your Redirect Attack, Change the Current, and Deflect Missiles features, and you can't use it on the same turn that you take your normal reaction.
Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Character Options → Subclasses