#elemental monk

[the-1-foxy]

My Meddling Monk OC and C’rizz because I can do anything

[abayomisworld]

Revisiting my first Durge, Atiena! And Elemental Monk and White Draconic Sorcerer Multiclass!

[dailycharacteroption]

Elemental Monk (Monk Archetype)

(art by Jesika Art on Artstation)

 While we’ve had plenty of monks that gain the elemental fist as a free bonus feat, or master one element, Pathfinder shockingly didn’t have a purely elemental-focused archetype until late in the system’s lifespan (which isn’t to say you couldn’t make them elemental focused, but rather it would be through feats, rather than an archetype)

The way of the elemental monk focuses on the various elemental styles of the five most well-known types of genies: Djinn, Efreet, Janni, Marid, and Shaitan, mastering all five styles at once in an effort to be perfectly balanced.

This focus on balance means they are less focused on raw discipline than most monks, allowing themselves indulgences every now and then to offset what would normally be a very lawful outlook.

The end result is a powerful warrior monk able to adapt themselves to many different situations

 While other monks that master the elemental fist work on channeling a single element, these monks instead master all four, able to switch between acid, cold, electricity, and fire even between individual strikes!

They also learn how to enter the stances for the five different genie style, be it fierce and intimidating Efreet Style, acrobatic Djinn Style, fluid and graceful Marid Style, solid Shaitain Style, or flexible Janni Style.

As they grow in mastery, they also learn to implement the second, and finally third stage of each of those styles

But true masters can take this further, able to become totally immune to the associated element when in that stance (or in the case of Janni Style, able to shrink and grow as needed), becoming unparalleled masters of all five styles.

This mastery of the elements charges their attacks with a balanced energy that pierces the defenses of chaotic foes, and lets them perfectly pierce the defenses of elementally-aligned foes.

Additionally, true masters can use their connection to the elements to plane shift themselves and others to the elemental planes, though coming back to the material plane is harder.

What’s interesting about this archetype is that while it technically does not give you the elemental styles all at once, you can still enter any of them as a swift action as many times as you want each day. This basically means that they are integrated into the archetype’s teachings themselves, and that you do not need to spend feats to pursue any of them, you just have them, which can be quite useful for helping you decide on your build. In any case, be sure to research the benefits of each style so you can pick the right one for the right situation as well.

 These monks have to be true neutral, rather than any kind of lawful, but what does that mean for them? I feel the answer has to lie in perspective. From their point of view, the elements are evocative of a single, primal fact. And that is, chaos simply order without omniscience, and order is nothing but something we impose on the world around us. In this way, they find it in themselves to find personal discipline while also accepting that they will never be able to control everything, and that is more powerful than punching things with your fists on fire will ever be.

  Elka Tempesthoof is an atypical example of a monk, being a centaur and all, but when her fists and hooves blaze with elemental power, there can be no denying her mastery of the elements. It took a long time to modify the styles to suit her form, and she might be able to share insights on other modifications to other martial artists.

 Resistant to all four elements, the fiendish serpentine constructs known as abrakarn vipers easily negate the advantages of the elemental fist. As such, the legendary elemental monk Vicass captured and repurposed one of these horrors for use in his tomb, a perfect way to test if a true successor of his discipline could make do with the Janni Style, often forgotten by monks who have never been tested enough to run dry of elemental energy.

 The House of the Elements, that legendary school of the five genie styles, came together from the five masters putting aside their differences and discovering how much more they could learn from each other. This cooperation crumbled, however, after the master of water perished, and their grief and differences drove them apart. Now the monastery stands empty aside from lurking horrors and whatever secrets might be left behind.

[kamocha]

A sketch of my DnD human monk, Grandma Farha! We survived our first combat but goodness were we beat up!!

[the-1-foxy]

My Meddling Monk fan incarnation. The rabbit in the 2nd image is Pippin which belongs to @deadbeatescape 

[bttmbunk]

my new dnd character, a half-orc monk