Hi, I am about to begin an SC campaign (just bought the book look pretty good!) One of my players wants to be a monk but he is also born in SC. So I am trying to figure out how was exposed to the monk way of life. I thought up some ideas and the one I like the most is what if he found a book describing a spiritual way of living and it simply hit him to live that way. So I started reading some books on Tao (always thought monks were like this).. and I came on an awesome quote.
<i>"The contented man can be happy with what appears to be useless. He can find worthwhile occupation in forests and mountains. He stays in a small cottage and associates with the simple. He would not exchange his worn clothes for the imperial robes, nor the load on his back for a four-horse carriage. He leaves the jade in the mountain, and the pearls in the sea. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he can be happy – he knows when to stop. He does not pick the brief-blossoming flower; he does not travel the dangerous road. To him the ten thousand possessions are dust in the wind. He sings as he travels among the green mountains.
He finds sheltering branches more comfortable than red-gated mansions, the plough in his hand more rewarding than the prestige of titles and banners, fresh mountain water more satisfying than the feasts of the wealthy. He acts in true freedom. What can competition for honours mean to him? What attraction can anxiety and greed possibly hold? Through simplicity he has fount the way, and from the way, he has found everything. He sees the light in the “darkness”, the clear in the “cloudy”, the speed in the “slowness”, the full in the “empty”. The cook creating a meal with his own hands has as much honour in his eyes as a famous singer or high official. He has no profits to gain, no salary to lose; no applause, no criticism. When he looks up it is not in envy. When he looks down it is not with arrogance. Many look at him, but nobody sees him. Calm and detached, he is free from all danger, a dragon hidden amongst men."</i>
That totally describes a monk for me... so what i am trying to do is make a compilation of ancient chinese writings about how his character should act. Sort of like when the wizard is studying his spells and the warrior is drinking he might be reading this book to find a deeper understanding.
So what do you think? Is this kind of stuff worth it? Sometimes I think I put too much time in a backstory before a campaign.
I think a little flavor like thrown in here and there can add a lot of depth to the game. As to how much such work is worth it, it depends on your players. In this case, it depends particularly on the monk player. Will that player get a big enjoyment out of such detail? Will that player actually use the material in game to make occasional quotes from such proverbs and wisdom? Will that player play his character according to these ideals or at least play as if trying to get himself to live up to these ideas? If your players are not going to get much out of it, then you are wasting your time. If they are, then it may well be worth it. If you are not sure, then try doing a little work on it and try it on your player and see if he seems interested and starts putting it to use. If so, you can do a bit more. No sense writing a book on it before you know if the player is going to pursue it.
yeah, I dont think I am going to pursue that. I will just make it seem like that is what happened to make him follow the life of a monk.
yeah, I dont think I am going to pursue that. I will just make it seem like that is what happened to make him follow the life of a monk.
Maybe consider some backstory involving Shensen Tesseril as his mentor. That would make it more personal and important that he rescue her.
I suggest using Dungeon #117, "The Winding Way" as a final test for your monk player. It's for 14th lvl or so, so by that point they'll be becoming a master in their own right.
My party has a (Thri-kreen) monk as well. I introduced a the Bones of Lo-Ping from Weapons of Legacy and so I added a small monastery outside the city for his character to train/study at.
Great quote.