The Monastic Order of the Eternal Flame

The Monks of the Order of the Eternal Flame are the spiritual guides and leaders of the Order of the Last Breath. They are a class in the Priest group.

Hit Die: d8

Prime Ability: Wisdom

Alignment: Any nonchaotic

Weapons: Bows, clubs, daggers, hand axes, javelins, polearms, spears, staves

Weapon Proficiencies: 2 + 1 per three levels

Non Proficiency Penalty: -3

Armor: None

Nonweapon Proficiencies: 4 + 1 per three levels

*Monks can attack open handed twice per round

**Monks can attack open handed three times per round

***Monks can attack open handed four times per round

****Monks can attack open handed five times per round

Ability Requirements: Strength 11, Dexterity 15, Wisdom 13

Prime Requisites: Dexterity, Wisdom

Nonweapon Proficiency Groups: General, Priest, Rogue, and Warrior

Restrictions: Monks of the Order cannot possess more wealth or treasure than they can carry on themselves. Any additional treasure must be donated to the Order. Monks of the Order must take vows of celibacy, chastity, poverty, and silence.

Spellcasting

Monks of the Order of the Last Breath do not receive spells from their patron and thus do not cast spells as priests do.

They can both turn and command undead.

Unarmed Combat

All monks begin with the ability to do lethal damage with their hands and feet as if they were carrying weapons. This "open hand" ability begins modestly but eventually allows the monk to strike several times per round in combat and inflict wounds equal to those from the most dangerous weapons; these multiple attacks cannot be accelerated through the use of magic such as haste.

Their ability to evade and to fortify their flesh against blows also gives them a bonus to their armor class, which increases by level.

While they prefer open-hand attacks to weapons, monks retain their awareness of anatomy and are able to cause extra damage when they use weapons against living creatures, equal to the monk's level divided by 2, rounded up. This extra damage only applies against creatures with familiar anatomies (musculature, skeletal system, joints, etc.), so this ability cannot be used against amorphous creatures such as slimes, gaseous life forms and so forth.

Once per day per level, a monk may attempt to stun an opponent with an open-hand attack. The monk declares the intent to stun and rolls to hit; if the attack hits, the target must roll a saving throw or be stunned (unable to attack and losing all Dexterity adjustments) for 1d4 rounds.

A monk may deflect an incoming fired or hurled missile (arrow, bolt, dagger, and so on) by forsaking any other action and making a Wisdom save.

If a monk is attacked by an effect that requires a saving throw, a successful saving throw vs. the attack results in the monk taking no damage, even if the attack was a fireball, for example.

Movement

Monks of the Order can move expeditiously, with their movement increasing as they gain levels.

Rogue Skills

Monks of the Order gain certain rogue skills: they can Climb, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and find Traps (but not disarm, remove, or set traps). They gain a +2 to Climb checks and a +1 to Listen checks.

Monk Skills

At 2nd level, a monk gains the ability to kill opponents with a successful stunning attack. The attack must successfully stun the target, who then must make a saving throw or die. If used against an undead creature, the undead is destroyed if it fails its save.

At 3rd level, a monk can resist ESP or other thought-reading attempts by making a save with a +2 bonus.

A 4th-level monk is able to spring 15 feet forward, 10 feet vertical, and 5 feet backwards. They can safely fall 20 feet as long as they can land on their feet, i.e. they are conscious and not immobilized.

At 5th level, a monk becomes immune to all diseases, as well as haste and slow spells. Their hands and feet are considered +1 weapons for the purposes of striking creatures that can only be hit by magic weapons.

At 6th level, the distance a monk can spring increases to 30 feet forward, 15 feet vertical, 10 feet backwards, and safely drop up to 40 feet.

A 7th-level monk gains the ability to momentarily accelerate the healing process of the body, repairing 2 points of damage suffered by the monk per level once a day.

An 8th-level monk may spring 60 feet forward, 30 feet vertical, 20 feet backwards, and can safely drop up to 80 feet. Called Master of Bones, the monk's initiative rolls are improved by 1.

A 9th-level monk is unaffected by charm-type spells and effects if they make a successful saving throw; if this resistance roll fails, normal saves (if any) apply to resist the effect. Monks of 9th level are called Masters of the North Wind.

At 10th level, the monk's hands and feet are considered +2 weapons for the purposes of striking creatures that can only be hit by magic weapons. A monk of this rank is called Master of the East Wind.

At 11th level, monks become immune to all poisons and assume the title Master of the South Wind.

At 12th level, a monk's initiative bonus increases to 2. Monks of this rank are called Master of the West Wind.

A 13th-level monk achieves the title Master of Spring and gains the ability to make an attack called the "quivering palm," which creates disharmonic vibrations in a target creature's body and may cause death if the monk so wishes. Use of the quivering palm is as follows:

• It may be attempted once per day, and must be announced before making an "open hand" attack.
• It only affects large-sized or smaller creatures that can be affected by the monk's stun attack, and only if the monk is of higher level (or hit dice) than the target creature.
• If the attack hits, it causes normal damage. The monk may slay the target with the vibrations at any time within the time limit of one day per level of the monk; the target gets a save to avoid the effect.

A monk of 14th level gains the title Master of Summer and always gets a saving throw vs. magical attacks, even when none is normally allowed.

A 15th level monk is called Master of Autumn and gains a limited precognitive ability; there is a 90% chance that a premonition of death or serious harm warns the monk 1-4 turns before the event occurs.

A 16th-level monk is called Master of Winter and their hands and feet are considered +3 weapons for the purposes of striking creatures that can only be hit by magical weapons;

A 18th-level monk is able to leave their body and project themself into the astral plane (as an astral spell they may do this once per week, remaining away for any length of time, although the physical body still needs nourishment and will starve if not cared for. The monk that attains this rank is called Master of Skulls.