Monks of the crushing momentum are most often previous students of the way of the kensei, but found their lack of heavy options limiting. These monks developed their own fighting style involving winding up for momentum based heavy strikes that don't need to rely on physical strength, rather the expertise on maneuvering around the heavy weapon.
Momentum Weapons
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, choose one type of melee weapon to be your momentum weapon from this list: Greatclub, glaive, maul, pike, warpick, or warhammer. You gain proficiency with this weapon if you don't already have it. Weapons of the chosen type are monk weapons for you. Many of this tradition's features work only with your momentum weapon. When you reach 6th, 11th, and 17th level in this class, you can choose another type of weapon to be a momentum weapon for you, following the criteria above.
Wind up
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to weave and flip your momentum weapon around your body, causing it to gain momentum for your next attack.
As a bonus action, you can expend 1 ki point and enter a stance for 1 minute that starts winding up your momentum weapon. During this stance, when you hit a melee weapon attack with your momentum weapon, you gain an additional damage die equal to your martial arts die for the strike. Every time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack with your momentum weapon, the additional damage die goes up by 1, to a maximum of 5 (which is called a maxed out wind up). For example, if you are a level 5 monk with a martial arts die of 1d6 and you have hit your last 3 melee momentum weapon attacks, you gain an additional 4d6 damage to your next attack. If you are disarmed of your momentum weapon, you stop winding up. Additionally, if you are paralyzed, petrified, prone, stunned, unconscious or are otherwise subjected to a condition that would stop you from winding up (DM's discretion), you stop winding up.
If you begin your turn winding up with at least 3 additional damage die stacked up, you must expend 1 ki point or immediately stop winding up. Additionally, when you conclude an attack that was a maxed out wind up, you stop winding up.
Overcoming Blows
At 6th level, you extend your ki into your momentum weapons, granting you the following benefits.
- Magic Momentum Weapons. Your attacks with your momentum weapon(s) count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
- Guard Break. When a creature misses an attack against you or an ally within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to expend 1 ki point and push them up to 10 feet away from you and give them disadvantage on their next attack roll until the end of your next turn.
Gruesome Display
At 11th level, when you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with an attack with a momentum weapon, you can completely and gruesomely annihilate their fragile body. If you do so, you gain advantage on your next attack and creatures of your choice within 60 feet that can see or hear the display must make a wisdom saving throw against your ki save DC. On a failed save, the creature is frightened of you for 1 minute. Effected creatures can repeat this saving throw at the end of their turns, ending the frightened condition on a success.
Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Pulverize
At 17th level, while your wind up stance is activated, you can expend 4 ki points and treat your next momentum weapon attack as a maxed out wind up. If you do this, you take the highest possible number on each of the additional dice, and you may choose it to be force damage instead of the original damage type. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.