Way of the Host (5e Monastic Tradition)
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Way of the Host[edit]
Monks of the Host bond themselves to a psychoactive symbiote, gaining strength, agility, and protection in exchange for nourishment and guidance. The two creatures can grow to become powerful allies as they mingle their skills and senses.
Symbiotic Skin[edit]
At third level, you acquire and bond to your symbiote, a small shapeshifting creature that will tend to hide somewhere on your person when dormant. Your initial psychic bond is weak, and the symbiote communicates it's mood and needs very basically. Under normal conditions, the symbiote can survive off scraps from your meals, but if you refrain from feeding it, it will siphon 1d4 health from you at dusk each day.
Also at third level, your symbiote can spread itself to completely cover your body, clothing and carried objects will be encapsulated as well unless you direct otherwise, but the symbiote will part its' surface whenever you require it. While bonded, your Dex and Wis modifiers are treated as one higher when determining your AC, this bonus increases to 2 at 12th level, and 3 at 18th level. Additionally, as a bonus action you can command the symbiote to alter it's surface over your fists, allowing your unarmed strikes to deal either bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage as you specify.
Symbiotic Arsenal[edit]
At sixth level, your symbiote has grown accustomed to working in concert with you, and has taught you to utilize it's form in combat. You gain a climbing speed equal to half your walking speed when bonded, and can lash out with symbiotic tendrils when bonded. Tendrils has the stats of a whip, but count as monk weapons for you and have a reach of 15 feet. You can forgo damage on a successful tendril attack to grapple an opponent, with an opposed Dex check to escape, and drag them into normal melee range.
Symbiotic Anatomy[edit]
At eleventh level, your bond has strengthened considerably, and your symbiote can manipulate your form to your mutual advantage. As an action while bonded, you can spend 2 ki points to transform into a flowing liquid that can move and climb at half your normal speed, and move through any spaces or cracks water could. An action is required to reform yourself. You can also spend 3 ki points to manifest a predatory maw for one minute, allowing you to make a poisonous unarmed attack that uses your monk damage die.
Duality[edit]
At seventeenth level your symbiote can splinter fragments of itself away from you and form a doppelganger. Your doppelganger has stats and abilities equal to your own, but takes half of your hit points, and half your ki points to use as its own. The doppelganger acts on its own initiative immediately after you, and will mentally coordinate with you. Either you or your doppelganger falling to zero hit points will result in recombination, which returns you to half your hit point maximum and consumes your action on your next turn.
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