Way of the Water Lily | A Monastic Tradition, and on monk design

At last, another archetype homebrew that is not a Sacred Oath! I'll bet some of you will be able to recognize the inspiration behind this Monastic Tradition. I created the Way of the Water Lily as a birthday present for my sister, and she is a fan of My Hero Academia. 

And if you were to guess that my sister's favorite character from the show is Tsuyu Asui, then you'd be right! The Way of the Water Lily is a homebrew tribute to that character, also known as Froppy: The Rainy Season Hero!

Making a Monastic Tradition is very different from Sacred Oaths, my usual wheelhouse. The levels are all different, and the power offered by a Monastic Tradition is completely different from that offered by a Sacred Oath. Channel Divinity usually gives me a pretty straightforward framework within which to design a paladin homebrew. The monk, however, demands a lot more independent creativity.

The 3rd level feature is best off if it gives the monk a unique boost to the way they fight. Open Hand Technique is of course a star example. In that light, I'm pleased with Hop Along—though I have to confess that my creativity with it lies in the name and movement speed. The mobility through jumping I borrowed from a friend who also designs homebrew!

I am proudest of Form of the Frog, because I feel like that is the most creative feature in the homebrew. Applying the monk's Deflect Missiles ability to melee attacks felt like a unique and effective way to convey the idea of being as slippery as a frog.

11th level Monastic Tradition features are pretty diverse, though typically somewhat tame. And for the 17th level feature I looked at Quivering Palm and tried to make a feature that seemed to have a similar cost-benefit ratio. The name, of course, came from Academia's Tsuyu: Rainy Season Hero.

Monastic Traditions are a lot shorter than Sacred Oaths, and that left me with extra room on the page. I decided to fill it with a rollable quirks table. When I have extra space, I like to fill it with either a table, spells, or magic items. For the Way of the Water Lily, a quirks table seemed appropriate because of how amusingly strange the froggy theme was.

That's another homebrew, so please enjoy!