PF2 Class Monk

Pathfinder 2 – Class Reference

Class – Monk

Class Features

Updated Class Features:

• Unarmed Attack Proficiency and Benefits
• Powerful Fist
• Key Terms

Unarmed Attack Proficiency and Benefits

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

For any class feature that improves the proficiency rank or grants the critical specialization effect access for simple weapons or a specific set of weapons, that ability also grants that benefit for unarmed attacks.

• (5th) Expert Strikes: You’ve practiced martial arts and have now surpassed your former skill. Your proficiency ranks for unarmed attacks and simple weapons increase to expert.
• (7th) Expert Strikes: You’ve learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal 2 additional damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you’re a master, and 4 if you’re legendary.
• (13th) Master Strikes: You have honed your skill in using your body as a weapon. Your proficiency ranks for unarmed attacks and simple weapons increase to master.
• (15th) Greater Weapon Specialisation: Your damage from weapon specialization increases to 4 with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you’re an expert, 6 if you’re a master, and 8 if you’re legendary.
• (15th) Third Path to Perfection: You have made great progress in your personal studies of enlightenment. Choose one of the saving throws you selected for path to perfection or second path to perfection. Your proficiency rank for the chosen type of save increases to legendary. When you roll a critical failure on the chosen type of save, you get a failure instead. When you roll a failure on the chosen type of save against an effect that deals damage, you take half damage.

Powerful Fist

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

You know how to wield your fists as deadly weapons. The damage die for your fist increases to 1d6 instead of 1d4. Most people take a –2 circumstance penalty when making a lethal attack with nonlethal unarmed attacks, because they find it hard to use their fists with deadly force. You don’t take this penalty when making a lethal attack with your fist or any other unarmed attacks.

Key Terms

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

You’ll see the following key terms in many monk abilities.

• Flourish: Actions with this trait are special techniques that require too much exertion for you to perform frequently. You can use only 1 action with the flourish trait per turn.
• Incapacitation: An ability with this trait can take a character out of the fight. But when you use an incapacitation effect against a creature of higher level than you, you reduce the degree of success of your attack roll by one step, and that creature improves the degree of success of its saving throws for that effect by one step.
• Ki Spells: By tapping into a supernatural inner reserve called ki, you can create magical effects. Certain feats grant you special spells called ki spells, which are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell. When you gain your first ki spell, you also gain a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to meditate in order to reach inner peace.
  • When you first gain a ki spell, decide whether your ki spells are divine spells or occult spells. You become trained in spell attacks and spell DCs of that tradition and your key spellcasting ability is Wisdom.
  • Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. Taking feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 points. The full rules for focus spells appear on page 300.
• Stance: A stance is a general combat strategy that you enter by using an action with the stance trait, and that you remain in for some time. A stance lasts until you get knocked out, until its requirements (if any) are violated, until the encounter ends, or until you enter a new stance, whichever comes first. After you take an action that has the stance trait, you can’t take another one for 1 round. You can enter or be in a stance only in encounter mode.

Monk Feats

Mountain Stance – Monk Feat 1

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

• Traits: Monk, Stance
• Requirement: You are unarmored and touching the ground
• You enter the stance of an implacable mountain – a technique first discovered by dwarven monks—allowing you to strike with the weight of an avalanche. The only Strikes you can make are falling stone unarmed attacks. These deal 1d8 bludgeoning damage; are in the brawling group; and have the forceful, nonlethal, and unarmed traits.
• While in Mountain Stance, you gain a +4 status bonus to AC and a +2 circumstance bonus to any defenses against being Shoved or Tripped. However, you have a Dexterity modifier cap to your AC of +0, meaning you don’t add your Dexterity to your AC, and your Speeds are all reduced by 5 feet.

Tangled Forest Stance – Monk Feat 8

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

• Traits: Monk, Stance
• Requirement: You are unarmored
• You extend your arms like gnarled branches to interfere with your foes’ movements. You can make lashing branch unarmed attacks. These deal 1d8 slashing damage; are in the brawling group; and have the agile, finesse, nonlethal, and unarmed traits.
• While you’re in Tangled Forest Stance and can act, every enemy in your reach that tries to move away from you must succeed at a Reflex save, Acrobatics check, or Athletics check against your class DC or be immobilized for that action. If you prefer, you can allow the enemy to move.

Stance Savant – Monk Feat 12

Errata 1.0 – 2019-10-30

• Traits: Monk
• Action: Free Action
• Trigger: You roll initiative
• You enter a stance without a thought. Use an action that has the stance trait.

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