D&D 5E Help me make the (first part of) Way of Mercy more phoenix-ish

[Panda-s1]

So we're about to hit level 3 in my current campaign, and my warforged monk has this phoenix motif going on. my DM is down for homebrew stuff, so I'm here to ask for help with ideas. I want the healy part of this subclass 'cause we really need healing in this party. Hands of Healing doesn't need to change, but Implements of Mercy and Hands of Harm don't make much sense thematically (also the mask bit is fluff I honestly don't care for, so we'll just ignore that). also just want to focus on the level 3 stuff for now.

Implements of Mercy: You gain proficiency in the Insight or Medicine skill (your choice), and you gain proficiency with the herbalism kit and the poisoner’s kit.

Insight would be neat, but medicine is weird, and either kit doesn't make much sense. Control Flame or Produce Flame would be neat cantrips in its place, but would a cantrip just replace the entire feature? is there some other skill or kit that I'm forgetting?

Hands of Harm: You use your ki to inflict wounds. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 ki point to deal extra necrotic damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die. If the creature is incapacitated or poisoned, the creature instead takes necrotic damage equal to three rolls of your Martial Arts die instead. You can use this feature only once on each of your turns.

I want this to be as simple as replacing necrotic damage with fire damage, but the second bit doesn't make as much sense if I did, and there isn't like a burning condition either. honestly not sure what to do with this one.

 

[NotAYakk]

There is almost nothing to salvsge for a way of the phoenix there that I can see.

That way's mechanics are about the interplay of the poisoned aura, curing and causing disease.

Phoenix should be about (self-consuming) fire, rebirth, flight.

---

A fire aura that grows. Creatures reduced to 0 HP in aura can consume the aura for a firey rebirth (using monk's reaction?).

Once per turn when you hit you can expend a MA die to create a 5' fire aura, or increase the aura by 5'. Creatures other than you must make a dex save or take (MA die) damage when it is created or it grows.

The area of the aura is lit with bright light, and dim light extends by an equal amount further away.

If a creature is reduced to 0 HP in the aura, as a reaction you can end the aura and heal them by your MA die plus your wis bonus. All creatures within 5' of them, except you and them, then take an ewual amount of fire damage.

The fire aura decreases by 5' at the end of your turn if it has not grown on your turn.

Something like that.

 

[Panda-s1]

There is almost nothing to salvsge for a way of the phoenix there that I can see.

That way's mechanics are about the interplay of the poisoned aura, curing and causing disease.

Phoenix should be about (self-consuming) fire, rebirth, flight.

---

A fire aura that grows. Creatures reduced to 0 HP in aura can consume the aura for a firey rebirth (using monk's reaction?).

Once per turn when you hit you can expend a MA die to create a 5' fire aura, or increase the aura by 5'. Creatures other than you must make a dex save or take (MA die) damage when it is created or it grows.

The area of the aura is lit with bright light, and dim light extends by an equal amount further away.

If a creature is reduced to 0 HP in the aura, as a reaction you can end the aura and heal them by your MA die plus your wis bonus. All creatures within 5' of them, except you and them, then take an ewual amount of fire damage.

The fire aura decreases by 5' at the end of your turn if it has not grown on your turn.

Something like that.

not sure why healing can't be related to the rebirth thing. that and I am focused very much on 3rd level stuff, getting more phoenix-like can wait til higher levels.