Hey its a new poll! Do you allow monks in your campaign?

uv23 · Feb 9, 2002

I'm very curious about this. Although the monk is an allowable class by default, I'm wondering how many DMs who run standard-style fantasy campaigns allow them?

Edited for clarity.

BronzeDragon · Feb 9, 2002

Dragonlance campaign. No monks in it.

And, thnking a little better, no way I would let my players play monks. I'll never DM an oriental campaign, and I feel they are out of place anywhere else.

Dr. Zoom · Feb 9, 2002

I run a Greyhawk campaign and monks have been a part of it since 1e AD&D. Consider the Scarlet Brotherhood, for instance.

My current game has one monk character. I designed a monastery for him called "The Order of the Crescent Moon." For my game, this is the order from which the ninjas of the crescent moon separated years ago. Hence, the two are bitter enemies. My player's monk is, of course, a member of The Order of the Crescent Moon. This builds some interesting adventure possibilities into the game.

At any rate, I am slowly working on my own campaign world, and I have not really thought too much about whether it will have monks or not. I will probably work them in some how, even if they are extremely rare or only come from an exotic location. Perhaps the elves or some sect of elves have the secret of the martial arts and will not teach it to others. PC monks would have to be elves.

Axiomatic Unicorn · Feb 9, 2002

Middle Ages Europe had more monks than it did wizards.

BronzeDragon · Feb 9, 2002

Axiomatic Unicorn said:
Middle Ages Europe had more monks than it did wizards.

Agreed.

And did you notice they did not go out slamming people with their hands?

Axiomatic Unicorn · Feb 9, 2002

Oh certainly.

But if you assume a fantasy setting where divine magic is, more or less, common. Then it is fair to assume that monks would be more supernatural in nature. Eastern monks have much more of a supernatural perception to them. So it follows that western monks plus divine magic can be reasonably modeled by eastern monks.

I am not saying that you could not come up with an alternate. But I am saying that any claim that 3E monks don't fit into a European style campaign is very narrow minded.

Nik_the_Pig · Feb 9, 2002

BronzeDragon said:
Agreed.

And did you notice they did not go out slamming people with their hands?

100% with you on this Bronze. I play a Euro centric campaign and, you guessed it, no Monks. There are monks but no Monk PC class. Monks IMC are generally experts in religion/scribes/brewers with the odd cleric thrown in. Monks as a class are from some oriental barbarian land, only known of in sailors rumours and never seen in the civilized lands.

BronzeDragon · Feb 9, 2002

Axiomatic Unicorn said:
Oh certainly.

But if you assume a fantasy setting where divine magic is, more or less, common. Then it is fair to assume that monks would be more supernatural in nature. Eastern monks have much more of a supernatural perception to them. So it follows that western monks plus divine magic can be reasonably modeled by eastern monks.

I am not saying that you could not come up with an alternate. But I am saying that any claim that 3E monks don't fit into a European style campaign is very narrow minded.

Sorry, have to disagree.

In the european Middle-ages, monks were studious people, not warriors (unlike, for example, the late middle-ages Knights Templar or Hospitalers). If they had divine magic at their disposition it was likely they would turn it to study and practical day-to-day affairs, not to bashing people around with "martial' arts.

The job of bashing people around in the european middle-ages was reserved for the Bellatores (those who make war), while the Oratores (those who pray) stayed within their social function of spiritual guidance.

Further, the warrior monk is a characteristic of societies where the amount of weapons of quality available was low. In the highly armed and armored european middle-ages, fighting with your bare hands would be viewed as something akin to stupidity.

And guess what, fighting bare-handed against a sword-wielding, shield-toting, fully-armored target is, at the very best situation, EXTREMELY difficult.

Cullain · Feb 9, 2002

I allow monks, but I've tried to make them less 'oriental' in nature than is standard for the PHB. Ki is a supernatural force, much like psionics and magic. Monks are, in a way, martial spellcasters - they channel their supernatural power much like psions and spellcaster due, but with different effects.

Just a question: if you don't allow monks because you run a Eurocentric fantasy campaign, do you have pantheistic religions? A lot of standard middle age elements are due to having only one monotheistic religion. Having multiple gods really muddies those waters. (not that you can't have standard Eurocentric fantasy with multiple gods, but just curious)

Cullain

Breakstone · Feb 9, 2002

BronzeDragon: Sure, there are the quiet, guidance monks who spend most of their day meditating. But those aren't the adventuring monks. Adventuring monks are the monks you see in play- the ones who spent time practicing Junnipo along with meditation.

It's kind of like clerics. Your average cleric isn't going to know how to use a mace, or how to force skeletons to flee in fear of their god. But adventuring clerics do.

Simply put, I allow Adventuring Monks in my campaign.

And, hey, if the player wishes to bring a pacifist, meditating half the day monk, I'd allow him. He just wouldn't last long.