Monk?

[MaelStorm]

Maybe there will be three way of developing your martial character (which you would choose at character creation)

-the unarmed fighter which his trained by a master and learns one martial style with maneuvers/feats/talents (which would be introduced summarily in the PHB and would be developed with greater depth in the Martial Power) [related to striker type class like the Rogue]

-and the other two types (weapon and shield, 2-handed weapon) trained by weapon masters (which would be covered at greater length in the PHB and developed further in the MP) [related to the defender, striker and leaders]

-there could be also mounted archer type combat (for Ranger) in the MP.

And then you would see other types of unarmed fighter a-la-monk and berzerker fighting style in the PHB2 which could touch the primal, shadow source and hypothetical ki/psi. As other posters suggested.

All that for saying that the idea of the "Monk" is not dead as R&C suggest, but the class concept will be radically transformed.

 

[BarkingDeathSquirrel]

I'm really hoping the Monk will be a Divine Striker. Through ascetism, mediation, prayer, and ritual exercise, they apprehend the mysteries of the divine and imbue their bodies with the substance of the gods. This allows them to perform amazing feats of mind and body (that is, run around fast and hit things hard ).

From what little we know, Ioun sounds like the "best" Monk god (he's into perfecting body and mind), but monastic orders dedicated to the Raven Queen, Zehir, Vecna, Pelor, Avandra, Gruumsh or Bane sound like all kinds of awesome to me.

Monks of the Raven Queen are inscrutable mystics, worshipping their perilous goddess by serving as assassins. Banite monks would advocate oppressive regimes as the only path to spiritual tranquility, making detailed studies of past wars (think of a fantasy version of Sun Tzu ). Monks of Avandra are happy-go-lucky, "drunken monkey" sorts, wandering the world and constantly weaving, turning and spinning into and out of danger. Pelorite monks are generous sorts, assiting peasants as they farm their crops and defending them from undead monstrosities. Monks of Gruumsh are savage and brutal, spending days and weeks in the wild, purifying their souls in the viciousness of their existence. Most of these monks would be adversaries in traditional games, but even as villains that all sounds cool to me.

Isn't this how Monks are in Forgotten Realms currently, more or less? Monastic Orders devoted to particular dieties, that is.

In any case, I like your portrayal of monks there. Would be a good way to mix the "Eastern" and "Western" ideals of monks into one, more-or-less coherent package. Also helps separate them from the Psionic-using classes, there was always way too much overlap between the Psychic Warrior/Soulblade and the Monk for my tastes... and, yes, it would be a rather good way of producing a "Divine Striker", even if I don't necessarily believe in having a Power Source/Role class for every possible combination.

 

[Jdvn1]

October, I think.

I'm hoping it'll be in there, and not in a OA book.

Brad

Well, they probably have to come out with that sort of book relatively sooner than later--one with Half-Orcs too. If people can't convert their characters from 3x to 4e, there'll be some problems.

 

[The Ubbergeek]

Isn't this how Monks are in Forgotten Realms currently, more or less? Monastic Orders devoted to particular dieties, that is.

In any case, I like your portrayal of monks there. Would be a good way to mix the "Eastern" and "Western" ideals of monks into one, more-or-less coherent package. Also helps separate them from the Psionic-using classes, there was always way too much overlap between the Psychic Warrior/Soulblade and the Monk for my tastes... and, yes, it would be a rather good way of producing a "Divine Striker", even if I don't necessarily believe in having a Power Source/Role class for every possible combination.

Nice ideas indeed, albeit not quite sure yet of which power source.... Martial, Divine or Psi...

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Isn't this how Monks are in Forgotten Realms currently, more or less? Monastic Orders devoted to particular dieties, that is.

Perhaps, I'm not familiar with FR. I know this is how monks work in the DCC World Aereth, put out by Goodman Games. Also, the Scarlet Brotherhood from Greyhawk was very much interwined with the Suel pantheon. What I like about the minimized role of alignment is that you can have "chaotic" monks - while you certainly could do this in 3e, it's nice to be able to do it "by the book."

In any case, I like your portrayal of monks there. Would be a good way to mix the "Eastern" and "Western" ideals of monks into one, more-or-less coherent package. Also helps separate them from the Psionic-using classes, there was always way too much overlap between the Psychic Warrior/Soulblade and the Monk for my tastes... and, yes, it would be a rather good way of producing a "Divine Striker", even if I don't necessarily believe in having a Power Source/Role class for every possible combination.

I, too, like how it combines Eastern and Western sources. Depending on how the Astral Sea is setup, it may even be possible to do monks dedicated to a philosophy, much like how clerics could be dedicated to a philosophy in 3e.

I chose Divine as a source because that made the most sense to me. However, I personally would like to see a Divine Striker and Divine Controller less for symmetry reasons than to creat an "all Divine" party for a theocracy. My idea for a Divine Controller would be an Oracle, a person whose divine investiture grants him divinatory abilities and foreknowledge that can be used to manipulate and hinder foes on a battlefield.

Some other ideas are monks of Bahamut, honorable and proud, roaming the kingdom to fighting evils by strength of body alone, and organizing various martial arts tournaments. A monk of Tharizdun would be cool scrumptious as well - a deranged mystic believing in the annihilation of the universe. Most gods could have cool monastic orders - we'd have to see all the gods' 4e porfolio's to fit them in well.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Well, they probably have to come out with that sort of book relatively sooner than later--one with Half-Orcs too. If people can't convert their characters from 3x to 4e, there'll be some problems.

Use the same general concept. Right now, the closest thing to a monk would be a rogue. Use brass/steel/adamantine knuckles and you're good.

Brad

 

[Jdvn1]

Use the same general concept. Right now, the closest thing to a monk would be a rogue. Use brass/steel/adamantine knuckles and you're good.

Brad

This depends on how the system works--if you tried doing this with 3.5, it wouldn't work so well. At lower levels, it's a major feat investment just to be able to viably fight with your hands or grapple as well as a Monk, and at higher levels the selection of abilities is completely different.

EDIT: Well, it also depends on how close you want to get to the concept.

 

[Herobizkit]

Optionally, you could alternate Fighter and Rogue at your leisure. IIRC, there are no RAW feats to increase your hand-to-hand damage, and I'm not sure what you'd need to take to duplicate the Monk's Flurry of Blows and apply it to Monk (or any) weapons. Still, two levels of Fighter to every level of Rogue looks like a sweet deal.

 

[glass]

Optionally, you could alternate Fighter and Rogue at your leisure. IIRC, there are no RAW feats to increase your hand-to-hand damage, and I'm not sure what you'd need to take to duplicate the Monk's Flurry of Blows and apply it to Monk (or any) weapons. Still, two levels of Fighter to every level of Rogue looks like a sweet deal.

In 3.5? Superior unarmed strike (and weapons spec, of course).

In 4e? We don't know yet, but probably nothing much in PHB1 because they have said detailed stuff for unarmed combat will come with the class(es) that focus on it.


glass.

 

[shawnsse]

I recall wotc saying DDI information can also be core. I fathom some of the classes that is popular will appear in DDI.