Way of the Coiling Current
If you think monks were 'lightning fast' before, you haven't seen anything yet! While Way of the River acts like water, Coiling Current takes things a step farther, both channeling and becoming electricity to surge through the battlefield with ease. We hope you enjoy it, and that you keep a look out for the article on it this Friday, which will go into the archetype's more wandering path to its final version. This subclass is our second to last for March of the Monks, and as we approach the end, we are all the more interested to hear what you think of the project, and what you look forward to seeing next!
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Way of the Coiling Current
Monks of the Way of the Coiling Current have a unique approach to the study of ki. While other monks treat their ki as internal energy that can affect others, students of the current believe that ki flows through everything in one, unbroken ‘current’, and that their connection to this current is the path to greater enlightenment.
Rather than simply perfect the body, students of the current learn to follow the flow of ki energy through themselves and others, transmuting their ki and eventually their bodies into crackling electrical energy. The volatility of this transmutation makes monks of this tradition deadly in battle, and their lack of reliance on their physical body makes them blindingly fast, and nearly impossible to pin down for a normal combatant.
Way of the Coiling Current Features
Monk Level Feature
3rd Bonus Proficiencies, Coiling Dance, Uncoiled Chain
6th Leaping Current
11th Electromagnetism
17th Stormchaser
Bonus Proficiencies
At 3rd level, your study of the rapid arcing movements of the current have taught you to incorporate unorthodox weapons into your martial arts. You gain proficiency with whips, and whips are considered monk weapons for you.
Coiling Dance
Also at 3rd, your ki becomes ionized, allowing your unarmed strikes to disrupt an enemy’s body. On your turn, when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or monk weapon, that creature can’t make opportunity attacks until the start of your next turn.
Uncoiled Chain
Finally, at 3rd level, you have learned to unleash the current in your body to electrify your foes. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to link your Current with those of your enemies. For each creature that you hit with an unarmed strike or monk weapon this turn, choose another creature within 10 feet of them. You deal lightning damage to those creatures equal to your proficiency bonus.
When you link your current to other creatures in this way, you can increase the magnitude of the link by spending 1 ki point. If you do, the targets instead take lightning damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier, and they can’t make opportunity attacks until the start of your next turn.
Leaping Current
At 6th level, the magnitude of your internal current has grown, and you have learned how to follow it wherever it carries you. Whenever you disrupt a creature with your Coiling Dance or you deal lightning damage to a creature with your Uncoiled Chain, you can teleport to any unoccupied space within 10 feet of that creature, as your body becomes lightning and arcs through your target and out again.
In addition, your body’s increased alignment with the Current allows electricity to pass through your body more easily. You have resistance to lightning damage.
Electromagnetism
At 11th level, your internal current is powerful enough that it is constantly active just below the surface, ready to leap out at any time. Whenever a creature hits you with a melee attack while you are conscious, they take lightning damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die. Whenever a creature takes this damage, you can use your reaction to teleport to a space within 10 feet of that creature, and to force that creature to make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, the creature is pushed 10 feet away from the space where you were hit.
Stormchaser
At 17th level, your mastery of the Current is honed to the point that you can guide as well as follow the arcs of your Current. As an action, you can spend 2-6 ki points to disappear into an arc of lightning and channel yourself though your enemies. Select a target within 30 feet of you, then a second target, which must be within 30 feet of the first, and so on, until you have selected one target for each ki point spent. Each target must be either a creature or an object primarily made of metal. Each target must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, each target takes 3d10 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. Then, you reappear in an unoccupied space within 15 feet of the last target.