Monastic Tradition - Juggernaut

Many monks rely on their natural evasiveness to aid them in combat, preferring to avoid attacks instead of taking them at all. Juggernauts are the opposite: a monastic tradition that believes mastering ones body is enhanced, not diminished, by utilising hefty armour. Powerful frontline fighters, these juggernauts use their hefty equipment as a weapon itself, and their charge attacks strike with force able to knock down even the largest and most stalwart of enemies.

Juggernaut Training

A monk who follows the juggernaut tradition eschews the typical unarmoured defense of a monk. When you reach third level in this class you gain proficiency in light and medium armour, but not shields. All of your monk features such as Martial Arts and Unarmored Movement now work even while wearing armour or a shield.

Unbreakable Stance

Your stance is as solid as the armour you wear. While your feet are on the ground, you cannot be knocked prone or forcibly knocked back. In addition as a reaction to being grappled, you may choose to escape the grapple. You can do so a number of times equal to your wisdom modifier, refreshing on a long rest. Once all your uses of this have been expended you may use 1 ki to use it again.

Advanced Juggernaut Training

At 6th level your training advances further. You gain proficiency in heavy armour and shields. For the purpose of determining if armour slows your movement you can use your Wisdom score instead of Strength. In addition, medium and heavy armour do not grant you disadvantage on Stealth checks.

Shield Bash

Juggernauts are used to using their shield as a weapon. While you have one donned, you can use this as a monk weapon, dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage. You retain the shield bonus to your armour class when you do so. If your shield has a magical enhancement (such as a +1 bonus), this bonus applies to attack and damage rolls with your shield.

Weighted Gauntlet

From 11th level you've learned how to twist your martial arts to make the best use of your armour. While wearing heavy or medium armour your martial arts die is increased by 1 size (eg. d6 to d8).

Heavy Charge

At 11th level your movement in heavy armour grants you the momentum to strike harder than normal. After moving 20ft in a straight line during your turn you can choose to add one of the following effects to your next successful attack this turn:-

• The target is moved back 10ft.
• The target is knocked prone.
• The target rolls 1d4 and subtracts that from their saving throw against your stunning strike, if you used one on this attack.

From 15th level, if you move 40ft in a straight line, you can add two effects from the above list instead of just one.

Second Skin

At 11th level you are so used to wearing armour that you are now able to take it into yourself. As a bonus action while wearing armour or a shield, you can choose to absorb it into your body. While doing so its effects, both magical and mundane, are suppressed. You can resummon this to yourself as another bonus action, instantly donning both armour and shield (if you have one). You may only have one set of armour and one shield absorbed into your body at a time.

Thunderous Blow

From 17th level your Heavy Charge becomes even more potent, letting you add one of two special effects to the attack. These are in addition, not instead of, the normal effects of Heavy Charge. At 20th level, you apply both.

• You deal 2d8 thunder damage to all other creatures within 10' of your target. A successful constitution save halves this damage.
• You lower the target creature's initiative count by half your proficiency bonus. This cannot give them an additional turn in the same round.