Will the real martial artist please stand up...

A really silly part of me is coming to the front right now, when I heard the martial artist was going to be psionic it annoyed me ok more than just a tiny bit. It is like the developers had forgotten the very definition of the Martial Power source and decided it meant mundane. So the monks vague mysticism and edgy abilities like quivering palm and mental fortitude had to be trapped in the science fiction land of psionics....

But as I am composing my own Martial Power III in which I plan to include developed Martial Practices(and new ones) and Grand Master Training's and hopefully nicely functioning Martial Controllers (Warlords and Rogues and Fighters) AND since some of the Grandmaster Trainings really feel like martial arts tricks, perhaps I thought hey why not give the Martial Artist back to the martial power source.

I guess I need to investigate the Monk in depth, the movement powers seem exciting.
Here was something I found out in the wild.

I found this https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Martial_Artist_(4e_Class)[13][/13]

Ofcourse I also think a great way to build a paladin might be a fighter with boons

Sent from my XT1585 using EN World mobile app

weird the image broke

Well, I’m all in favor of more classes, but…
Monks always were supernatural to some extent. And they usually are so outside D&D. The specific choice of psionic power was, initially, weird, but Psionic Power made things pretty cool.
In fact, one could very possibly say the opposite: in real life, only in specific orders monks are trained in martial arts, and their spiritual side is there too. The rest are just… monks.
Martial power… Let’s be honest, barring some few exceptional powers, they were nothing supernatural or even superhuman. Badass Normal, yes, but not Charles Atlas Superpower by a far margin.
Now, I do like what you’re proposing here. It’s similar to Pathfinder’s Brawler. Basically an unarmed-unarmored pure-martial melee fighter. That’s cool. It really is. In addition, you can choose between those two tropes I’ve mentioned.
I just don’t know why Monks need to be pure-martial; Supernatural Martial Arts seems to me a much better trope to follow when the subject is the Monk.

Just to start off, the Brawler fighter seems to fit the greco-roman idea of unarmed combat.

As for more "eastern" influences, I agree that there's actually a ton of supernatural elements to it in most media to the point that the psionic power source does make the most sense. If you want a pure kung-fu no psionic stuff I think the monk still fulfills that just with some reflavoring and specific power selection.

Just to start off, the Brawler fighter seems to fit the greco-roman idea of unarmed combat.

As for more "eastern" influences, I agree that there's actually a ton of supernatural elements to it in most media to the point that the psionic power source does make the most sense. If you want a pure kung-fu no psionic stuff I think the monk still fulfills that just with some reflavoring and specific power selection.

Igwilly said:

Well, I’m all in favor of more classes, but…
Monks always were supernatural to some extent. And they usually are so outside D&D. The specific choice of psionic power was, initially, weird, but Psionic Power made things pretty cool.
In fact, one could very possibly say the opposite: in real life, only in specific orders monks are trained in martial arts, and their spiritual side is there too. The rest are just… monks.

Click to expand...

D&D monk has never been anything but a martial artists expert though they arent Friar Tuck.

Igwilly said:

Martial power… Let’s be honest, barring some few exceptional powers, they were nothing supernatural or even superhuman.

Click to expand...

I actually think that is an error sure nothing supernatural that is correct but superhuman well they really should be allowed to be exactly CAS it/ought to be in there...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CharlesAtlasSuperpower

Batman is exactly in there and so should be the D&D martial classes.

The line at the end of the above page --> Note this doesn't count for characters with strength from Supernatural, technological or Alien origin, but for characters who obtain this strength naturally.

tvtropes does differentiate a difference between eastern and western flavors in that the eastern ones are allowed to go over the line... Based on the D&D monk of 1e it was a western interpretation of the eastern martial artist monastics.

I am looking at the original D&D monk below and wondering why it wouldn't be far more martial than anything else. Abilities were very subtle calling most of them supernatural would make every Martial class in 4e supernatural

Monk

The monk belongs to a religious order seeking for physical and mental perfection. The monk is a combat
expert, though he does not depend on weapons or armour. Instead, the light-footed monk uses only his fists in combat and prefers to evade enemy attacks instead of blocking them.

Special abilities
Unarmed Strike, Evasion, Danger Sense (alertness), Thief Skills, Weapon Expert
Speak with Animals (subtle almost magical but in Tolkein, dwarves and rangers did this too animal languages were something one could learn)
ESP Resistance ( strong will stuff), Slow Fall (or is it reduced damage from falling due to acrobatic ability)
Immunity to Diseases (tough guy trope not magic), Immunity to Haste and Slow(strong will)
Feign Death (ummm bluff and Feign Death practice)
Self-Healing (all over in the Martial Classes if this is supernatural they already are)
Speak with Plants (arguably the first truly supernatural thing on the list)
Charm Resistance (more strong will stuff)
Shielded Mind (more strong will stuff)
Poison Immunity (a bit of heroic mind over body you can call it supernatural if you want but... )
Immunity to Quest and Geas(more strong will stuff)
Quivering Palm (The highest level thing and still entirely explainable without magic)



LOOKS like a Martial class to me.

ChaosOS said:

. If you want a pure kung-fu no psionic stuff I think the monk still fulfills that just with some reflavoring and specific power selection.

Click to expand...

Yeah that right there I am the first to reflavor with abandon... I should agree I really should, but I seem philosophically averse to the Martial Artist not even being a martial class no abilities labelled martial at all.

The 4e monk cannot even take Martial Practices without multiclassing.... sheesh

Igwilly said:

Well, I’m all in favor of more classes, but…
Monks always were supernatural to some extent.

Click to expand...

The extent was reallly really low less so than you might now get via some some backgrounds and feats.

Qui Chang Kane




Not Dragonball Z

The example I linked to in the original post wasn't a PURELY MARTIAL interpretation but rather like the Berzerker and Skald. They mixed power sources.