Monks vs *big beasties*

[Soel]

I have always found the image of a monk fighting large and 4 legged beasts funny in a not so good way. But I don't often see monk pcs so I get over it.

I think its more unrealistic that anyone, I mean anyone, could survive a dragon encounter. It could just fall prone and kill 3-5 pcs!

 

[cmanos]

Do any of you find it strange for a monk with his bare hand/foot to strike a dragon or like big beastie and cause damage? You would think the dragon gets splinters bigger than the monks arm/leg! If you house rule this you would severely handicap the class.

Ahh yes, applying real world logic to an illogical magical game setting.

If you find this odd...perhaps you should rethink throwing balls of fire about.

 

[Sir ThornCrest]

This wasn’t a rant vs. monks, I like them -now. How many of you remember the 2nd edit d4/level hit point monk of old...10 or so years ago there was even a dragon magazine "why the monk is crying" “why the monk cries” (or something very similar to that). It basically was saying why the monk was a red shirt. We tried playing monks starting at 1st level and we couldn’t make it to 2nd level....they became the red shirts. It was a on going joke/competition who could live the longest. Basically during character creation the other players would be whistling taps!

Secondly this thread was just the picture of such a huge beast combating pc’s....it would be the equivalent of a human fighting a 14th level stirge...so yes I can see the party saying “Ouch! Get that vicious little bastard” I know its very rare if not a unique experience for a party to see such a beastie as a Dragon and the odds are really with big guy to win...its such a rare occurrence that it leaves me in awe at just the mental picture of it.

Thorncrest

 

[Chaldfont]

Maybe there is a Five Point Exploding Heart Palm technique suitable for dragons.

Monk stands before dragon

* Flashback *

OLD MASTER: (smacking young monk with his stick) You are weak! You know nothing of kung-fu! How do you expect to fight with lousy 1d6 damage!
YOUNG MONK: But, Master...
OLD MASTER: (smacks monk again, harder) Only "butt" around here is on your face! Quickly! After you finish carrying 1000 gallons of water up these steps, you must punch hot coals for 12 hours with no bathroom breaks! Only then will you learn the 12 Draconic Pressure Points!
YOUNG MONK: When am I ever going to fight a dragon?
OLD MASTER: (smacks monk with stick).

* Flashback Ends*

Monk greets dragon with the Bruce Lee/Neo "bring it" hand gesture.

 

[Miyazawa Mizaki]

I know its very rare if not a unique experience for a party to see such a beastie as a Dragon and the odds are really with big guy to win...its such a rare occurrence that it leaves me in awe at just the mental picture of it.

Thorncrest

The way they suggest DMing on the offical D&D WotC message boards by a certian level if the PC arn't fighting dragons once a week they say your doing it wrong.

 

[Voadam]

Do any of you find it strange for a monk with his bare hand/foot to strike a dragon or like big beastie and cause damage? You would think the dragon gets splinters bigger than the monks arm/leg! If you house rule this you would severely handicap the class.

I am currently playing a monk and the above happened, I struck and hurt a dragon. Even from a players perspective it was strange and I was admittedly taken back for a moment to 2nd edit when a monks attacks were not effective vs. creatures over 9 or so feet tall...the higher level the monk the bigger the creature could be.

Just a thought...


Thorncrest

For 2e/1e I think you are thinking of the stunning blow type of thing that could not affect big things, as far as I remember their actual damage was just as good against any foe.

 

[VirgilCaine]

The way they suggest DMing on the offical D&D WotC message boards by a certian level if the PC arn't fighting dragons once a week they say your doing it wrong.

Riiiiiight. How many people said that now? And in what threads?

 

[Plane Sailing]

For 2e/1e I think you are thinking of the stunning blow type of thing that could not affect big things, as far as I remember their actual damage was just as good against any foe.

Voadam speaks truth. In 1e the monks stunning fist was limited in terms of the size of creature it could effect.

nb monks were removed from the 2e PHB... I don't know whether they were added back in, in a supplement?

 

[Mad Mac]

Monks were semi-revived in 2ed, first as a Priest Kit in the Complete Priests Handbook. (No armor, more possessions than you can carry, gains tumble and ride as NWP's, gains stacking specialization in either unarmed combat or wrestling. (Still had to use those awful charts) Limited in spellcasting ability.

In the Players Options books, Monks were brought back again as a new priest class. This new version was closer to the 1sed incarnation (Took advantage of both Martial Arts and Weapon Mastery rules, gained a smattering of funky monk abilities) Still essentially a quirky Cleric who fought hand to hand.

I understand there was a 2nd edition version of the Monk in a Greyhawk Scarlet Brotherhood book as well, but I've never seen it.

All in all, you could say that yes, the monk was around in 2nd edition, but was a very different animal from either the 1st or 3rd edition incarnations. The Sacred Fist Prc is probably the closest you can get now to the 2nd edition monk.