D&D (2024) (+) Hopes for The Monk

[mellored]

I definitely want to see a boxer monk.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

They're definitely keeping the name Monk, I don't even think they're considering anything else. Because if they did something like that, they'd have to look into changing the name of Bard, Druid, Paladin and Barbarian.

 

[Clint_L]

Reflecting more on some of the ideas here and in other 5e-style games, I want to see fighting styles implemented in a way that lets monks do cool monk stuff without ki/spirit points/whatever. I really like the idea of letting their attacks chain, so that a basic attack - a jab - can lead to something heavier if it lands, which can then lead into something amazing. Basically, I want them to fight like Street Fighter characters.

Ki should be for the quasi-mystical abilities.

 

[Vaalingrade]

They're definitely keeping the name Monk, I don't even think they're considering anything else. Because if they did something like that, they'd have to look into changing the name of Bard, Druid, Paladin and Barbarian.

Knowing them, they'd accidentally themselves into calling them the Minstrel, Shaman, Crusader and Savage.

 

[Corinnguard]

Reflecting more on some of the ideas here and in other 5e-style games, I want to see fighting styles implemented in a way that lets monks do cool monk stuff without ki/spirit points/whatever. I really like the idea of letting their attacks chain, so that a basic attack - a jab - can lead to something heavier if it lands, which can then lead into something amazing. Basically, I want them to fight like Street Fighter characters.

Ki should be for the quasi-mystical abilities.

Well there is the Adept class in Level Up that might fit this bill. Adept | Level Up

 

[Gorck]

The Western or European version of the Monk was basically a cloistered cleric who didn't get out much. If WoTC had this version by the time 5e debuted, it would have been a Cleric subclass or maybe even a background, and not it's own class.

Sort of like Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood universe. A bit of a non-magical cleric.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

That "mystical monk" is actually a cleric. Or a sorcerer. Or a wizard. Or hell just a plain fighter with a cool fighting style. It only looks "mystical" ("exotic") from an outsider perspective. And that is when we face-plant into Orientalism elephant in the room.

This is wholly false. Nearly every region has some history of esoteric/mystical traditions of martial arts, usually very much armed which is why I hate that the monk is so tied to unarmed fighting.

Any group or tradition that combines mystical symbolism and ritual with martial training and practice is fit for representation in the mystic master-of-arms. The only naming issue is calling it a “monk”, which is simply a product of treating the concept as if it only exists in the Shaolin monk.

 

[mellored]

Boxer monk FTW

 

[Lojaan]

This is wholly false. Nearly every region has some history of esoteric/mystical traditions of martial arts, usually very much armed which is why I hate that the monk is so tied to unarmed fighting.

Any group or tradition that combines mystical symbolism and ritual with martial training and practice is fit for representation in the mystic master-of-arms. The only naming issue is calling it a “monk”, which is simply a product of treating the concept as if it only exists in the Shaolin monk.

You just described the paladin.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

They're definitely keeping the name Monk, I don't even think they're considering anything else. Because if they did something like that, they'd have to look into changing the name of Bard, Druid, Paladin and Barbarian.

Not really. Maybe Barbarian, but certainly not the others.

Historical in accuracy is not why people want the names changed.