Mindstalker (5e Subclass)
Known as the Caradhaker in the dwarvish tongue and often mistaken for battleragers due to their intensity in combat, mindstalkers are a special breed of monk who have trained themselves to battle mind flayers. Their goal? To overcome the great threat the illithid present to all the good people of the megaverse.
Both renowned and feared for their expertise with knives, Caradhakers walk straight into battle and take their opponents on mano-e-mano. They show no fear, broker no shenanigans, and keep their opponents off-guard with their crazy antics so that they don't even have the opportunity to unleash their powerful mental blasts upon them. They are easily recognizable by their wild hair similar to the githzerai wilders (more properly known as "zerths"), of whom they first learned the secrets of their art. More experienced members of the sect often wear mummified illithid heads on their belts or armor as a mark of their dedication, and a warning to any mind flayers they come across. Regardless of their appearances, they are highly-skilled combatants who have unlocked the secrets of psionics—albeit only barely—to not only offer a helping hand in combat, but to strengthen themselves against the fell attacks of their chosen prey.
Over the years, other races who have had encounters with the mind flayers have sought out the Caradhaker to teach them their ways. Despite the Stout Folk's traditionally stubborn and xenophobic ways, these dwarves have only been too happy to do share their secrets. It is far more important to them to see the illithids eliminated from the face of Toril, and they care not who's responsible for doing so as long as it gets done.
Special Note: This subclass has been updated to the 2024 One rules.
Level 3: Crazed Combatant[edit]
Freshly awakened with untamed powers of the mind, you have learned how to harness your psionic potential to excel at the use of daggers, which you wield with unnerving skill in battle.
- Flurry of Blades: You can make an attack with a dagger in place of an unarmed strike for any of your monk abilities, such as flurry of blows.
- Psychic Tether: You can expend 1 focus point to cast hunter's mark, except the bonus damage only occurs when attacking with a dagger. Once you reach 6th level, you can expend 2 focus points instead to increase the duration to up to 8 hours. After reaching 11th level, you can expend 3 focus points instead to increase the duration to up to 24 hours. At 17th level, you can move your mark to another subject as a reaction instead of a bonus action and it no longer requires concentration.
- Uncanny Aim: Each Caradhaker develops a semi-unique fighting style with their daggers. You gain one of the following fighting style feats that only applies when you are armed with and/or attack with a dagger: Archery, Blind Fighting, Dueling, Thrown Weapon Fighting, or Two Weapon Fighting. At 11th level, you gain a second feat from this list with the same caveat. Blind Fighting and Two Weapon Fighting are recommended. Each time you gain a level, you can change one of these feats to any other from the same list.
Level 3: Helping Hand[edit]
You have begun to develop your wilder talents, forging a psychokinetic construct that you use to aid yourself in battle.
You learn the mage hand cantrip, which you refer to as your helping hand. When you cast mage hand this way, you do so without verbal or somatic components, it does not have a visible presence (it's not even invisible; it is a purely intangible force), and it can be cast as a bonus action instead of a Magic action. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
You also gain the ability to use your helping hand to help you draw or sheath two daggers at once when you would normally only be able to draw or sheath one. This is purely instinctive and does not take any effort or action on your part, but is otherwise limited to the rules on drawing and sheathing weapons.
Level 6: Mind Over Body[edit]
Your psionic powers improve, allowing you to shield both your body and your mind from hostile forces.
You gain resistance to force and psychic damage, and you are immune to fear and the frightened condition.
Lastly, your empowered strikes monk feature can be applied to any dagger attack you make as you enshroud its blade with psychokinetic force.
Level 11: Rapid Strike[edit]
When armed with a dagger and using your flurry of blows monk feature, you gain one additional unarmed strike attack.
Level 11: The Will and the Way[edit]
Your psionic powers continue to advance.
- Greater Helping Hand: Your ability to create a helping hand improves, increasing its weight limit up to a maximum of 5 pounds per point of Wisdom you possess. The hand can move up to 30 feet or your own land speed, whichever is faster. You can also perform delicate actions with your helping hand, using your Wisdom score in place of your Strength or Dexterity for any necessary ability checks as determined by the DM. In addition, you can supercharge your helping hand by duplicating the effects of the telekinesis spell, casting it with the same rules you use for your helping hand. Once you cast it, you cannot do so again until you complete a long rest.
- Psychokinetic Guidance: You can use your innate psychokinetic powers to heighten the strength of your daggers even more, gaining preternatural precision and control over them, especially when thrown. This grants you two perks.
- Psychic Edge: You deal a critical hit on a roll of 18-20 when attacking with daggers, and critical hits with them deal one additional weapon damage die.
- Sling Blade: Any dagger you throw gains the returning weapon property, returning to your hand immediately after the attack. The long range of any dagger you throw doubles, and attacking at long range with one no longer imposes disadvantage on your attack rolls.
- Shielded Mind: You become incredibly difficult to detect through psychic senses, improving upon your Mind Over Body feature. You are unaffected by anything that would detect your alignment or emotional state, read your thoughts, or magically detect your location, just as if you were protected by a permanent nondetection spell. At 17th level, this ability improves further, duplicating the effects of a permanent mind blank spell.
Level 17: Improved Rapid Strike[edit]
Your rapid strike ability lets you make two additional attacks during a flurry of blows instead of only one.
For two points of focus, you can also use flurry of blows (but without the extra attacks from rapid strike and improved rapid strike) as part of any other bonus action you perform that does not already include an attack, such as your step of the wind or patient defense monk features.
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