Ki is an esoteric power which flows through the world and within the individual. Though sometimes confused for akashic magic, psionics, or even simple spellcasting, the ki power harnessed by monks is a unique and potent force. Anyone who harnesses ki is called a cultivator.
Ki abilities are cast extremely quickly compared to most other forms of esoterica. Ki abilities usually take the place of a single attack or modify an attack, allowing the cultivator to use a single ki ability as a standard action or to use multiple ki abilities as part of a full attack action.
Ki is stored in the cultivator’s ki pool in the form of ki points. Each ki ability has a ki cost associated with it which must be paid to use the ability. Ki abilities need not be prepared ahead of time. A cultivator either has sufficient ki point to use a ki ability or they do not.
Ki Cultivation
When you learn to cultivate, you become able to channel ki to empower yourself. Your ki flows through you, waxing and waning with your use of your abilities in battle. Outside of battle, your ki flow slows, limiting how much ki you can call upon at any given moment. You can only gain and use ki while you remain centered (see below).
Ki Pool
Ki cultivators fuel their ability through a pool of ki points. Your maximum ki pool is equal to your cultivator level + your cultivation ability score (usually Wisdom). Outside of combat, your maximum ki pool is equal to your cultivator level, and any excess ki at the end of combat drains away immediately.
For example, a 2nd level monk with a Wisdom score of 16 would have a maximum ki pool of 18 in combat but only 2 outside of combat.
If you have levels in more than one ki cultivation class, you add those levels together to determine the size of your ki pool.
Gaining Ki
When you enter combat, at the start of your first turn, you immediately gain ki equal to your cultivator level, which is added to any ki you may already have in your ki pool.
Each class offers its own methods of gaining ki in combat; however, all cultivators can gain ki points through focused meditation. You can spend 1 round meditating to refocus your ki flow to regain ki points. This provokes attacks of opportunity. At the start of your next turn, you can make a concentration check using your cultivator level. You gain a number of ki points equal to your check result, up to your maximum ki pool.
Being Centered
Maintaining a centered state of being is critical for a cultivator to draw upon their internal ki and direct properly its flow. Becoming uncentered disrupts the ki flow, causing a cultivator to become clumsy and awkward. If a cultivator is not centered, they cannot gain ki points or use any ability that requires ki but do not lose any ki they currently possess.
To remain centered, you must not wear armor or use a shield and must not be encumbered by more than a light load. You become uncentered if you are disabled, dying, helpless, or unconscious.
Some classes may add additional restrictions.
Ki Abilities
Ki abilities come in several distinct forms: Strikes, Stances, Talents, and Formations.
Most ki abilities have an elemental affinity, which affects your ability to use ki formations (see below). Whether or not the attack hits or ability is successful, you are still considered to have used the ki ability for this purpose.
Ki Strikes
The most simplistic form of ki ability is the ki strike. Each strike enhances or replaces an attack made with a weapon (usually an unarmed strike). A ki strike that misses its target is expended, and any ki points spent to activate it are lost.
Once per attack, you can spend ki points to apply a ki strike effect to your attack. You cannot apply more than one ki strike to any attack. Any attack that you spend one or more ki points to empower with a ki strike counts as magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Ki strikes come in four tiers of power: Student, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster.
Ki Stances
A ki stance utilizes a combination of body position, mental focus, and regulation of internal ki flow to create a permanent ongoing effect. While centered, you can activate a ki stance as a swift action. Once activated, a ki stance remains in effect until you choose to end it (a free action), change to a new ki stance, become uncentered, or otherwise become unable to maintain it.
Ki stances come in four tiers of power: Student, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster.
Ki Talents
Simple ki abilities which are neither strikes nor stances are collectively called ki talents. These ki talents have a wide range of effects. Each talent defines the ki point cost, activation action, and effect of the talent in its description.
All ki talents are considered to be of the Student tier.
Ki Formations
The most complicated esoteric effect a cultivator uses is called a ki formation. By using a series of other ki-empowered abilities, a ki formation can be created. A cultivator can then use this ki formation to further empower an attack or replace an attack with a magical effect. A ki formation is expended once used, and the cultivator must create a new formation to use the effect again.
Ki formations are fragile constructs that require special effort to setup and can be easily disrupted if the cultivator doesn’t follow the precise methods necessary to create the formation. However, unlike most esoteric effects, ki formations are inherently tied to melee combat and thus never provoke attacks of opportunity, even if they duplicate a spell or other ability that normally provokes.
Unless otherwise stated, the saving throw DC for a ki formation is 10 + 1/2 the cultivator’s class level + their cultivation modifier.
Ki formations come in three tiers of power: Student, Adept, and Master.
Elemental Affinities
Almost every ki strike, stance, and talent has an elemental affinity associated with it: Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, or Wood. These affinities are the cornerstone to building an effective ki formation. Each time a cultivator uses a ki ability with an elemental affinity, it leaves a resonance in his ki flow. Only a cultivator’s three most recent ki abilities used are remembered, and using other esoteric abilities can disrupt this resonance.
When certain ki abilities are used in a specific order, the resonance harmonizes to create a specific ki formation. For example, by using ki abilities with the wood, fire, and water affinities in that exact order would grant a cultivator access to the Dance of Clouds ki formation.
Beyond setting up a ki formation, the elemental affinity of a ki ability has no effect. For example, creatures immune to fire damage are not immune to ki abilities with the Fire affinity (unless that ability also deals fire damage).
Elemental Affinities and Energy Types
While elemental affinities are not directly linked to energy damage types, there are some abilities which take this into consideration. For such abilities, each energy type is associated with a particular elemental affinity as follows: acid [Earth], cold [Water], electricity [Metal], fire [Fire], and sonic [Wood].
Ki Formation Descriptions
Ki formations use the following standard format.
Name
The first line of every ki formation description gives the name by which the formation is generally known.
Combination
The combination line gives the elemental affinity types and the order necessary to generate the formation. For example, a combination which reads “Wood → Fire → Earth” would require a cultivator to use wood, fire, and earth ki abilities in that precise order to create the formation.
Cost
This line is the cost in ki points required to activate the ki formation.
Type
Each ki formation is either a Strike or an Effect.
Strike type ki formations enhances a normal attack. When using a Strike ki formation, you make a normal attack and apply the additional effects of the ki formation.
Effect type ki formations completely replace a normal attack. You must sacrifice one of your attacks to resolve the effect.
Descriptive Text
This portion of a ki formation description details what the formation does and how it works. If one of the previous entries in the description included “see text,” this is where the explanation is found. The basic description is for the student tier of the formation.
Adept Ki Formation
This portion provides rules for an improved version of the formation for a cultivator who has unlocked adept tier formations.
Master Ki Formation
As with Adept Ki Formation, this portion provides an improved version of the formation for those who have unlocked master tier formations.