Qinggong Monk

The qinggong monk is a master of her ki, using it to perform superhuman stunts or even blast opponents with supernatural energy. Some achieve their power over ki through extreme discipline, while others attain this power by intentionally or accidentally ingesting rare herbs or strange mystical fruits, and a few are gifted these abilities by a dying qinggong master.

Ki Power

A qinggong monk can select a ki power (see below) for which she qualifies in place of the following monk class abilities: slow fall (4th), high jump (5th), wholeness of body (7th), diamond body (11th), abundant step (12th), diamond soul (13th), quivering palm (15th), timeless body (17th), tongue of the sun and moon (17th), empty body (19th), and perfect self (20th). This replaces the monk class ability the qinggong monk gives up for this ki power.

Ki powers are abilities that draw on the power of a monk’s ki. The standard monk has several abilities that count as ki powers, such as wholeness of body, abundant step, and empty body. A qinggong monk can learn additional ki powers, which often replaces a non-ki monk ability such as purity of body. Ki powers are divided into three categories: feats, monk abilities, and spells.

Feats: These ki powers duplicate the effects of specific feats. A monk does not need to qualify for a feat to select it as a ki power. For example, a qinggong monk can select Spring Attack as a ki power even if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites for selecting Spring Attack as a feat. Activating one of these ki powers is a free action on the monk’s turn; until the start of her next turn, the monk is treated as if she had that feat. Some of these ki powers that duplicate feats may also be activated as an immediate action; these powers are noted in the ki powers list.

Monk Abilities: Some ki powers are standard monk abilities. Even if a qinggong monk selects a different ki power in place of a standard monk ability, she can select that monk ability later as one of her ki powers.

Spells: These ki powers duplicate the effects of a spell, and are spell-like abilities. A qinggong monk’s class level is the caster level for these spell-like abilities, and she uses Wisdom to determine her concentration check bonus.

Requirements: All ki powers have a minimum monk level requirement to select them. A monk who does not meet this requirement cannot select that ki power.

Activation: Most ki powers require the monk to spend ki points; the exact amount is listed after the ki power. Ki powers that cost 0 ki do not require the monk to have any ki points in her ki pool to use the ability.

The saving throw against a monk’s ki power, if any, is equal to 10 + 1/2 the monk’s level + the monk’s Wisdom bonus.

4th-Level Ki Powers

6th-Level Ki Powers

8th-Level Ki Powers

10th-Level Ki Powers

12th-Level Ki Powers

14th-Level Ki Powers

16th-Level Ki Powers

18th-Level Ki Powers

20th-Level Ki Powers

Feats marked with a dagger (†) are ki powers that can be activated as an immediate action.

Editor’s Note

Can a qinggong monk take a second archetype if the character doesn’t swap out abilities the second archetype requires?

Yes. However, the other archetype takes priority over the various abilities granted at each level, and the character can’t delay taking an ability that the other archetype replaces—he must allow the second archetype to replace the standard ability at the standard class level.

For example, the monk of the healing hand archetype replaces:

A qinggong monk who also wants to take the monk of the healing hand archetype has to let the healing hand archetype replace all four of those abilities at those specific class levels. The qinggong monk is still free to replace any standard monk abilities at the other class levels listed in the qinggong monk archetype (slow fall at 4th, high jump at 5th, and so on), so long as selecting those abilities doesn’t interfere with acquiring the healing hand abilities at the correct levels.

Note that if the second archetype replaces a standard monk ability, the character cannot select that replaced ability at a later monk level. For example, the qinggong/healing hand monk can never select wholeness of body, even at a level higher than 7th. In effect, the character has selected wholeness of body at 7th and immediately replaced it with a healing hand ability; as the qinggong archetype only lets you select an ability later if the character “selects a different ki power in place of a standard monk ability” (which didn’t occur), that option is not available for the character.

[Source]

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.

Pathfinder Player Companion: Martial Arts Handbook © 2018, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Thurston Hillman, Mikko Kallio, Jacob W. Michaels, Matt Morris, Daniel Reed, Mikhail Rekun, Mark Seifter, and Jeffrey Swank.

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