way of the astral self monk 5E D&D tasha's cauldron of everything

Embody the Horror of Ravenloft Through the Way of the Astral Self from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

May 21, 2021

The Way of the Astral Self for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons monks allows your character to manifest ghostly appendages, gain newfound sight and so much more. With all of its heavy spirit themes this Monastic Tradition is the perfect fit for the Domains of Dread and Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. The latest 5E D&D book embraces the trappings and genres of horror in truly terrifying ways. While it comes as a surprise to many who know me I am an avid fan of horror spliced into other genres and while reading through this monk subclass I was so impressed by how easily this type of character would slot into a horror game. The subclass hails from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and Tasha embodies so much of an archetypal witch that this only further leaned into the Ravenloft flavor. Let’s break down some ideas for the Way of the Astral Self and talk about its features.

Inspiration for flavor from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

While the most obvious option for flavoring this character would be to have a wise and mystical character in tune with the universe, their past lives or some other cosmological ideal I like the idea of opting for a more horror themed manifestation. This goes doubly so for playing in the new 5E D&D setting presented in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. The Domains of Dread are all about atmospheric horror in your games and I got so much inspiration for flavorful ways to describe any number of characters in Ravenloft.

Maybe your character is haunted by a ghostly suit of spectral armor. Through their training and discipline they learn to master the cursed armor, claiming it as their destiny dictates. They could slowly steal pieces away from the ghost as they gain levels in their class. Maybe the armor itself is a living spirit with which they make a pact.

Alternatively you could flavor your Astral Self features as a gradual mutation into some sort of abomination, monster or fiend. Spider monsters and insectoids come immediately to mind here. Maybe this is your character’s true nature and only through their intense monk training and rigorous discipline regimen can they master and control these aspects as they grow into their new form.

I could also see a character with an undead twist manifest these features as incorporating and employing sewn on or mechanical attachments to their body, things that normally remain limp or unanimated. Or maybe your character makes some sort of dark deal with an otherworldly entity who superimposes or lends aspects of itself to your character as they grow in power and can physically handle more dark spiritual gifts.

One of my favorite ideas I came up with while reading this Monastic Tradition is the notion of a psion in Ravenloft as a sort of fortune teller or soothsayer whose powers are all the more enigmatic and creepy because none of their power is magical. The unknown allows this character to really lean into a flavor of seeming quite frail, harmless or otherwise physically unimposing while being secretly and enigmatically capable.

So much flavor potential exists within the Way of the Astral Self and the flavor is only reinforced by the crazy mechanics for this Monastic Traditino.

Way of the Astral Self features

Arms of the Astral Self. Right out of the gate this Monastic Tradition comes swinging with spooky and potent features. As mentioned the Way of the Astral Self could be reskinned with a few key descriptions. This feature lets you use Wisdom instead of Dexterity, which is extremely useful especially in early tiers of 5E D&D as you are not forced to choose as much between Wisdom and Dexterity and it allows you to plow all the way to 20 with a single ability score instead of splitting it up. Furthermore this feature lets you substitute Wisdom for Strength in many aspects, allowing your character to truly embody the concept of mind over matter. This Monastic Tradition really feels like a psionic subclass for the monk, which proves interesting and could make for a misleading or monstrous character as mentioned above.
Visage of the Astral Self. Continuing with the psychic theme this feature grants sight through all darkness, which oozes with eerie potential. You also get advantage on Insight and Intimidation checks, probably a manifestation of being able to peer into another’s soul. As if those weren’t enough you can also communicate telepathically with others. The idea of whispering into other’s minds is yet another reinforcement of how cool and creepy this character can get.
Body of the Astral Self. While this feature initially takes a bit of time to set up the payoff is pretty potent. You get to magically (or mystically) deflect incoming elemental damage much like you already can with incoming projectiles. This is stupid good and can be downright alarming for sinister spellcasters or unsuspecting monsters you’re sure to encounter. To add even more punch to this already powerful feature you can also deal extra damage using your martial arts die once per turn! If you weren’t already scary enough with the other features in this subclass this proves to be the black licorice flavored icing on the ghostly cake of your enemies’ collective demise. [NERDITOR’S NOTES: Two things. One: black licorice is nasty. Two: lots of players have been using their Hit Dice to Deflect Spells for years now!]
Awakened Astral Self. To round out the features for this subclass you gain the ability to summon all aspects of your Astral Self at once. But wait — there’s more! When you do this you gain a bonus to AC and an extra attack. If you’re going for a dark god-possessed flavor for your character then consider this your avatar mode. The amount of ki is increased compared to using the other two features but your benefit is efficiency and an immediate power boost.

What do you think of the Way of the Astral Self from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything? If you’ve got your own flavor ideas let us know because we’d love to see what you come up with. Have you already checked out Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft? What do you think? Let us know in the comments, connecting with us on Facebook or tweeting us @Nerdarchy.

*Featured image — A dragonborn Way of the Astral Self monk as seen in the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]