Mythological Figures: Sun Wukong (5E)

Mythological Figures: Sun Wukong (5E) | EN World | Dungeons & Dragons | Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Here I was thinking King Arthur was going to be hard! For every bit of popularity the lord of Camelot has in the west, the Handsome Monkey King/Great Sage, Equal of Heaven/Victorious Fighting Buddha matches him in the east. You may know him through Goku but to most of the world he’s Sun Wukong!

Let’s start at the beginning. A magic stone on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit bursts open with a stone egg that, when touched by wind, cracks open to reveal a stone monkey beaming golden light out of its orifices (a sweet start). As it eats and drinks it becomes more like the other monkeys, and then on a sort of bet dives through a stream to find a waterfall and mountain where all the monkeys end up living. Since he won the bet he’s also Handsome Monkey King, and with his new title he wants a potent weapon so he travels across oceans to acquire his signature staff (Ruyi Jingu Bang) from Ao Kuang, the dragon-king of the Eastern Seas.

Also while he’s there—and a lot of his stories go this way—he battles and defeats all the dragons of the four seas, taking away more loot. Afterward he comes home and makes alliances with seven other demon kings, and when Hell comes for him he resists and wipes his name from the Book of Life and Death (along with the names of every monkey he knows). Then somebody snitches to the Jade Emperor.

The masters of Heaven think, “well we’ll give him a little respect and it should be alright” so they make Wukong the Protector of Horses—the lowliest job they have. He’s not having any of that so he unleashes the Cloud Horses in response, declaring himself the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. Nobody’s ready to face off against him however so they’re like “alright, how about guarding the Heavenly Peach Garden?” That lasts until they exclude him from a royal banquet. Wukong steals a bunch of immortal goodies (peaches of immortality, pills of longevity, and the Jade Emperor’s royal wine) and absconds back to his home to make ready for war.

Wukong whomps 10,000 celestial warriors, all of the constellations, a quartet of heavenly kings, and the greatest of Heaven’s generals (Erlang Shen). Finally with the help of the Bodhisattva of mercy he is captured however, and then they try to kill him a few times but can’t, so decide to boil him down into an elixir so Laozi can get back those pills of longevity. Wukong hides in the crucible’s only spot where the fire does not reach and survives the 49 days, leaping out afterward with the ability to spot evil and a weakness for smoke. He’s not having it and wrecks the crucible along with the forces of Heaven he hadn’t already defeated.

I know what you’re thinking and it gets better. Buddha intervenes, making a bet that Wukong that can’t escape from his palm. The monkey king takes him up on it and makes a flying leap to the end of the world, marking his way by urinating on five pillars that turn out to be the Buddha’s fingers. Obviously this doesn’t go over well and Wukong gets sealed away beneath a mountain for 500 years, trapped there by a paper talisman that says Om Mani Padme Hum.

This is where Journey to the West begins and Wukong becomes the bodyguard of Tang Sanzang—but this article has already gone on long enough. Suffice to say that even if you’re familiar with Wukong here, you should definitely give his wiki a read and dig into the 81 tribulations they face off on their journey to India.

Sun Wukong
Small beast, neutral good rogue (thief) 12/monk (open hand) 8

Armor Class 19 (golden chain shirt)
Hit Points 110 (20d8+20)
Speed 45 ft., climb 45 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	20 (+5)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	7 (-2)

Saving Throws Dex +11, Int +6
Skills Acrobatics +17, Athletics +9, Deception +10, Perception +14, Stealth +17, Survival +8
Tools thieves’ tools +6
Senses passive Perception 24
Languages Common (Chinese), Hindi
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)

Background: Wildborn. Wukong never forgets the geographic arrangement of terrain, settlements, and areas of wilderness. In addition, he can forage fresh water and food each day for as many as 6 people as long as the environment nearby can support it.

Cunning Action (1/turn). Wukong can take a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, Hide, Use Object action, Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, or to use thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or open a lock.

Cursed Circlet. This indestructible magical circlet is firmly attached to Wukong’s head and cannot be removed. When a specific sutra is spoken within 1,000 feet, the band tightens and gives Wukong unbearable headaches, causing him to have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks for 1d4 rounds.

Evasion. When Wukong is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails.

Feat: Mobile. Wukong can Dash through difficult terrain without requiring additional movement. Whenever he makes an attack against a creature, he doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of his turn.

Golden Chain Shirt. Wukong’s AC while wearing this armor equals 14 + Dexterity modifier. In addition, his Strength increases to 17, he has advantage on Strength saving throws and ability checks, his Carrying Capacity is determined as if he were Gargantuan, and he can benefit from Unarmored Movement.

Huǒyǎn-Jīnjīng. Wukong can use his bonus action on his turn to light his eyes with golden fire and cast detect evil and good (evil only) without the need for components. In addition, he has disadvantage on saving throws the blinded condition because of smoke.

Ki (8 points/short rest). Wukong can spend ki points to fuel various ki features.

• Flurry of Blows. Immediately after Wukong takes the Attack action on his turn, he can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
• Patient Defense. Wukong can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on his turn.
• Step of the Wind. Wukong can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on his turn, his jump distance is doubled for the turn.
• Stunning Attack. Wukong can spend 1 ki point to attempt to stun a creature he hits with a melee weapon attack. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of his next turn.

Martial Arts.Wukong can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of his unarmed strikes and monk weapons. In addition, when Wukong uses the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on his turn, he can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.

Open Hand Technique. Whenever Wukong hits a creature with one of the attacks granted by his Flurry of Blows, he can impose one of the following effects on that target:

• It must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• It must make a Strength saving throw. If it fails, Wukong can push it up to 15 feet away from him.
• It can’t take reactions until the end of Wukong’s next turn.

Pack Tactics. Wukong has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of his allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Phoenix-Feather Cap. Wukong can cast fly on himself at will without the need for components and is able to Wild Shape as though he were a druid of 10th level. While using Wild Shape, Wukong retains his monkey tail no matter what beast he is transformed into. Wukong can use Wild Shape twice. He regains expended uses when he finishes a short or long rest.

Reliable Talent. Whenever Wukong makes an ability check that lets him add his proficiency bonus, he can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

Ruyi Jingu Bang. As an action Wukong can command either or both ends of the staff to lengthen or shorten up to a total of 10 feet without increasing its weight. This expansion is quick but not fast enough to use as part of an attack. If the staff is longer than twice his height, weapon attacks with it have disadvantage. There is no limit to the length the staff can reach. The shortest it can shrink is 5 inches, at which point it has retracted entirely into its handle and appears to be a heavy sewing needle.
In addition, as an action Wukong can command the staff to increase or decrease in weight and density by up to 1 pound per round. If the staff’s weight exceeds 10 lbs., any attacks made with it have disadvantage, and if its weight increases to 17 lbs. or more it cannot be effectively used as a weapon. Like its length, there is no apparent limit to its maximum weight, but it cannot be reduced to less than 1 pound.
Finally, Wukong can use a bonus action to toss this magic staff into the air and speak a command word. When he does so, the staff begins to hover, flies up to 30 feet, and attacks one creature of his choice within 5 feet of it (+11 to hit, 1d8+5 magical bludgeoning). While the sword hovers, he can use a bonus action to cause it to fly up to 30 feet to another spot within 30 feet of him. As part of the same bonus action, he can cause the staff to attack one creature within 5 feet of it. After the hovering staff attacks for the fourth time, it flies up to 30 feet and tries to return to Wukong’s hand. If he has no hand free, it falls to the ground at his feet. If the staff has no unobstructed path to Wukong, it moves as close to him as it can and then falls to the ground. It also ceases to hover if he grasps it or moves more than 30 feet away from it.

Second-Story Work. When Wukong makes a running jump, the distance he covers increases by 5 feet.

Sneak Attack (1/turn). Wukong deals an extra 21 (6d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Wukong that isn’t incapacitated and Wukong doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Stillness of Mind. Wukong can use his action to end one effect on himself that is causing him to be charmed or frightened.

Supreme Sneak. Wukong has advantage on a Dexterity (Stealth) check if he moves no more than 20 feet on the same turn.

Wholeness of Body (1/long rest). As an action, Wukong regains 24 hit points.

ACTIONS

Extra Attack. Wukong attacks twice when he takes the attack action (using a bonus action he can attack a third time with Martial Arts, or a third and fourth time with 1 ki to use Flurry of Blows).

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage.

Unarmed. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) magical bludgeoning damage.

Ruyi Jingu Bang (quarterstaff). Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft.*, one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) magical bludgeoning damage.

REACTIONS

Deflect Missiles. Wukong can use his reaction to deflect or catch the missile when he is hit by a ranged weapon attack. When he does so, the damage he takes from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + 13. When the damage is reduced to 0, he can catch the missile if it is small enough for him to hold in one hand and he has at least one hand free. If he catch a missile in this way, Wukong can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with the weapon or piece of ammunition he just caught, as part of the same reaction (+11 to hit, range 20/60 ft., 1d6+5 damage).

Slow Fall. Wukong can use his reaction when he falls to reduce any falling damage he takes by 40.

Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker Wukong can see hits him with an attack, he can can use his reaction to halve the attack’s damage against him.

Sun Wukong (Monkey King)

Originally Posted by Shade of the En World forums.

On this Thread

• Monkey was originally an official of the Celestial Bureaucracy, but he was banished to the Material Plane for his relentless mischief and tricks. Ever the trickster, Monkey has no remorse for his actions, and would willingly commit them again if given the opportunity.
• Monkey views his new home as a tiny island in the greater sea of the Multiverse. He treats the other inhabitants of the Material Plane as his children, taking a fatherly interest in their affairs. He has become a folk hero of many societies, standing up for peasants and other “little folk” against corrupt governments and tyrannical leaders.
• Although powerful and extremely knowledgeable, Monkey lacks common sense, and can be boastful and taunting. He is also an outrageous liar.
• Monkey carries little treasure, but his near-omniscient knowledge of the Multiverse is his greatest gift. For those who aid him, Monkey may answer one to three questions on any subject other than the activities of deific beings.
• Although Monkey has no need to eat or drink, he enjoys fine food and wine in large quantities.
• Monkey stands 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds.

Monkey (Greater Spirit)
Medium outsider (Chaotic, Good, Native)
Hit Dice	20d8+100 (190 hp)
Initiative	+13
Speed	40 ft. (8 squares), Fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Armor Class	42 (+9 Dexterity, +9 Intelligence, +7 deflection,+7 natural), touch 35, flat-footed 28
Base Attack/Grapple	+20/+25
Attack	+3 keen merciful katana +29 melee (1d10+10/17-20)
Full Attack	+3 keen merciful katana +29/+29/+29/+24/+19/+14 melee (1d10+10/17-20)
Space/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Change shape, flurry of blades, master of magic
Special Qualities	Damage reduction 20/epic, Darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 5, intellectual defense, omniscient, Spell Resistance 28
Saves	Fort +19, Ref +21, Will +18
Abilities	Strength 20, Dexterity 28, Constitution 20, Intelligence 29, Wisdom 19, Charisma 25
Skills	Appraise +26, Balance +32, Bluff +30, Climb +28, Concentration +28, Diplomacy +34, Disguise +30 (+32 acting)*, Gather Information +30, Intimidate +32, Jump +34, Knowledge (religion) +32, Listen +19, Perform (dance, song, wind instruments) +30, Sense Motive +27, Spellcraft +32, Spot +22, Tumble +22
Feats	Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (shadow conjuration), Spring Attack
Environment	Any
Organization	Solitary
Challenge Rating	21
Treasure	Triple standard
Alignment	Chaotic good
Advancement	–
Level Adjustment	–

COMBAT

Monkey cannot be forced into battle–his mastery of magic allows him to always find an escape. However, he often accepts or initiates combat with evil opponents, using his flurry of blades and mastery of magic to slay them. Against nonevil opponents, he fights only to embarrass or humiliate.

Change Shape (Su): Monkey can assume the shape of any Small or Medium humanoid. In humanoid form, Monkey loses his natural attacks. Monkey can remain in his humanoid form until he chooses to assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but Monkey reverts to his natural form when killed. A true seeing spell or ability reveals its natural form.

Flurry of Blades (Ex): Monkey has mastered a fighting style combining various martial arts. Monkey may make a greater flurry of blows as an 11th-level monk, granting him two extra attacks at his full base attack bonus when making a full attack. He may treat a katana or wakizashi as a special monk weapon, allowing him to Perform a flurry of blows with it. When using weapons as part of a flurry of blades, Monkey applies his Strength bonus (not Strength bonus x 1-1/2 or x 1/2) to his damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether he wields a weapon in one or both hands.

Holy Grace (Ex): Due to his celestial origins, Monkey gains a deflection bonus to his Armor Class equal to his Charisma modifier.

Intellectual Defense (Ex): Due to his incredible knowledge of fighting styles, Monkey applies his Intelligence modifier as an additional bonus to his Armor Class. He loses the benefits of this ability when flat-footed.

Master of Magic (Sp): At will, Monkey may use any arcane or divine spell from any spell list as a spell-like ability, with the following exceptions: limited wish, miracle, wish, spells that allow planar travel, and conjuration spells with the calling or summoning descriptors. The saving throw DC for such abilities is 17 + spell level (10 + spell level + Monkey’s Charisma bonus).

Omniscient (Su): Monkey automatically succeeds on any Knowledge check except those involving the direct intervention of beings of divine rank 0 or higher.

Rejuvenation (Su): Monkey cannot truly be killed. If his physical form is destroyed (for example, he is reduced to 0 hp or less), he reforms with maximum hp at the following dawn.

Skills: *When using his change shape ability, Monkey gains a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks.

Originally found in The Horde Campaign Setting (1990).