What would a non Asian monk look like mechanically?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

51 to 54 of 54 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>

Thank you. I agree, the confusion over FoB aside, what the monk absolutely needs is a better or improved weapon option. I just went further to address the other issues that make the monk such a kludge of features that almost-but-don't-quite-work.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I have a homebrew that's loosely based on germanic and hungarian culture along with a lot of other fantasy elements. One of my players decided to play a maneuver master monk. My decision was this: monks as written aren't "monks"; they're devotees to a "fighting school".

Remember your conan? The movie anyway? He is educated at one of the finest fighting schools, given access to knowledge and training in many martial disciplines? It's similar in my game.

My player still refers to his character as a "monk" since its an easy reference. However they are just about to enter a town which has as its only notable feature a priory just outside of town. It may get confusing but bear with me here.

In the lands of Karnoss (my homebrew) there are fighting schools; throwbacks to the ancient traditions of warmasters training only the most elite pupils in the arts of battle. Here all physical and mental training is focused solely on churning out a perfected warrior - the disciplined answer to the raging chaos of the common barbarian when the lands were uncivilized.

Then after a time a religious and philisophical culture began spreading across Karnoss, brought about by the crusades that eventually brought low the tyranical rule of noble lines infused with lycanthropy who'd gained power through pacts with evil fey.

Since the faiths of Abadar, Erastil and Sarenrae began spreading there have been those who pursued the nature of the deity, but not necessarily the tenets of the church. These divergent sects removed themselves from the material trappings of society; they became "monks".

I have described in the fluff for my game an abbey in the main city called the Order of the Dawn Spring; warrior nuns (clerics) devoted to caring for the poor and infirmed of Dunspar. There's also the Priory of St Erd that the party will be meeting in their next game.

St Erd was an Abadaran crusader who made the noble sacrifice of renouncing all worldly goods to the church and the people he helped liberate upon the end of the first crusade. He took as his only reward a farm outside the town and he began a tradition of charity. The town was renamed for him (Erdanstadt) and upon his death a group monks (cloistered clerics) cannonized him and had Sir Erd sainted, buidling a priory to protect and worship his sainted corpse in the traditions of nobility established by the faith of Abadar.

Make sense?


Yep.
Fighting schools were quite popular in old Germany. Your integration is excellent.

51 to 54 of 54 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / General Discussion / What would a non Asian monk look like mechanically? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in General Discussion