Way of Iron

The monasteries scattered across the face of the world offer ways to attain enlightenment. What enlightenment means varies from monastery to monastery. For some, it could be to unite body and mind to transcend the limits of the physical form and for others, it might mean to become one with the universe.

Adherents to the Way of Iron seek tranquility in the art of combat. Unlike other monastic traditions, the Way of Iron focuses on the use of weapons, treating them as extensions of the monk’s own body. Followers of the Way of Iron are usually front-line combatants, leaving their temples behind to join in the dance of battle shoulder-to-shoulder with the rank and file soldiers. Grandmasters of the Way of Iron wield any weapon with such grace and ease that the weapons seem to have always been a part of them, the way a hand or an eye would be, and their movement and attacks are full of graceful arcs and twirling flourishes that make battle seem to be more of a dance than a conflict.

Adherents to the Way of Iron train relentlessly with one another, and are among the most exceptional duelists in the world, having honed their skill against the best warriors their temples have to offer.

Roiling Storm of Iron

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in all weapons and armor, and if you are wearing armor you can use your Unarmored Defense feature if the AC it would provide is higher than your AC in armor. Furthermore, all melee weapons that do not have the heavy property are monk weapons for you.

Test of Skill

Also starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can compel other creatures to engage you in a test of martial skill. One creature that you can see that is within 30 feet of you and that can hear and understand you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, for 1 minute the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls made against creatures other than you, and must make a Wisdom saving throw each time it attempts to move to a space that is more than 30 feet away from you; if the creature fails this saving throw, it cannot move to a space more than 30 feet away from you this turn. This effect ends if you attack any creature other than the affected creature, if you cast a spell that targets a creature hostile to you other than the affected creature, if a creature friendly to you damages the affected creature or casts a harmful spell on it, or if you end your turn more than 30 feet away from the affected creature.

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again for 1 minute.

Shifting Blades

At 6th level, attacks you make with monk weapons count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Whirlwind of Steel

Beginning at 11th level, when you would use a bonus action to make one or more unarmed attacks (either the attack granted by your Martial Arts feature, or when spending a ki point to make a Flurry of Blows), you can make attacks with monk weapons instead.

Perfect Strike

At 17th level, you learn to combine an economy of movement with perfect angles of attack, allowing you to strike hard with precision. When you use the Attack action and make only one attack, if the attack hits you can spend 1 ki point as a bonus action to add a +25 bonus to the damage of that attack, provided that you made the attack with a monk weapon.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Book of the Righteous, Copyright 2002, 2017, Aaron Loeb