D&D (2024) Asians Represent: "Has WotC Fixed the D&D Monk?"

[Azzy]

Third party publishers do not in any way factor all in my D&D games. I do not purchase those books nor do I allow players to use them at my table.

I would think that if you want to play in Rokugan, you'd buy the Rokugan books.

 

[Azzy]

Yeah. It is one big thing. Just sitting there. Above you. Watching...

 

[MGibster]

I would think that if you want to play in Rokugan, you'd buy the Rokugan books.

That's what I thought, but Rokugan was the default setting for the 3rd edition version of Oriental Adventures. Somebody out there wants or wanted to use it for D&D for God only knows what reason.

 

[Scribe]

The monk's martial arts DO need to represent real martial arts . . . through the lens of wuxia films. Bringing in martial arts and cultural experts to help "fix" the monk is very much what WotC should be doing.

If thats the only view of what a Monk practices. I guess, sure. I doubt they want to lean into such a narrow view, and at that point they dont need a 'martial arts' consultant. I've practiced martial arts much of my life, and none of it was kung fu.

 

[Vaalingrade]

There are no non-magical D&D worlds. Magic is a part of the very fabric of the D&D Multiverse. (I'm not talking about spells, but supernatural/mystical stuff in general).

So fantastic. Not magical, but fantastic. please stop avoiding the word because doing so is what his gotten us here in the first place.

 

[Azzy]

That's what I thought, but Rokugan was the default setting for the 3rd edition version of Oriental Adventures. Somebody out there wants or wanted to use it for D&D for God only knows what reason.

WotC had rights to it at the time, and well...

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

So fantastic. Not magical, but fantastic. please stop avoiding the word because doing so is what his gotten us here in the first place.

Magic does not only mean "spells". Magic includes the inherent magic of the fantasy universe. Gods, souls, spirits, breath weapons, auras, and psionics are all kinds of magic. The soul cycle and afterlife are magic. It's like the Force. It's inherent and pervasive. Even anti-magic is magic. One could argue that only old-school "dead magic" isn't magic.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think doubling-down on the Monk's half-arsed Asian-coded-ness (which is very much A Thing) is a bad idea when none of the other classes are particularly culturally coded and indeed have become steadily less so where they once were. The closest to being anything-coded is the Druid, but honestly, it's significantly less Celtic-coded at this point than the Monk is Asian-coded. The Cleric was once arguably pretty Christian-coded, but that's long since been washed and abraded down to nearly nothing, whereas the Monk is nearly identical, theme/vibe-wise to how it was in 1E, when it was directly inspired by the kung-fun movies of the era. All attempts at expansion have been sort of locked in a cage of "But it's basically a Shaolin Monk, right?!".

Which isn't to say that wouldn't be a good excuse to get some more diverse designers in (honestly any way to get younger + more diverse designers in is good), but I think going towards a more Martial Arts focus and away from a still heavily Shaolin Monk-inspired vibe would make a lot more sense. In fact I'd suggest a ground-up rebuild that just had the "classic" Monk as one subclass of many.

Won't happen because WotC are too concerned with making it compatible with old subclasses and so on, despite the fact that probably no-one really cares, but there we go.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

A fighting system is a martial art, and some would argue martial arts extends outside of that. What fighters generally do is martial arts. Same with various other classes like Rangers and Rogues.

 

[Dire Bare]

I think doubling-down on the Monk's half-arsed Asian-coded-ness (which is very much A Thing) is a bad idea when none of the other classes are particularly culturally coded and indeed have become steadily less so where they once were. The closest to being anything-coded is the Druid, but honestly, it's significantly less Celtic-coded at this point than the Monk is Asian-coded. The Cleric was once arguably pretty Christian-coded, but that's long since been washed and abraded down to nearly nothing, whereas the Monk is nearly identical, theme/vibe-wise to how it was in 1E, when it was directly inspired by the kung-fun movies of the era. All attempts at expansion have been sort of locked in a cage of "But it's basically a Shaolin Monk, right?!".

Which isn't to say that wouldn't be a good excuse to get some more diverse designers in (honestly any way to get younger + more diverse designers in is good), but I think going towards a more Martial Arts focus and away from a still heavily Shaolin Monk-inspired vibe would make a lot more sense. In fact I'd suggest a ground-up rebuild that just had the "classic" Monk as one subclass of many.

Won't happen because WotC are too concerned with making it compatible with old subclasses and so on, despite the fact that probably no-one really cares, but there we go.

D&D classes not culturally coded? Sure they are!

It's true that the class archetypes have broadened considerably over the past 50-ish years, but each class is VERY culturally coded . . . European culture as seen through an American lens.

We just see the monk as different because it's THE Asian class surrounded by European archetypes . . . and the game was created by Euro-Americans for a Euro-American audience.