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<blockquote data-quote="Lonely Tylenol" data-source="post: 1964848" data-attributes="member: 18549">Why would I care about whether or not I make reference to the class abilities?&nbsp; You could call it &quot;pizza delivery man&quot; and if it has ki powers, it's going to be making reference to something asian.&nbsp; Only, unlike &quot;pizza delivery man&quot;, the name for this class does have a relevent connection to its abilities.&nbsp; That its abilities do not involve praying and solitude speak volumes about what kind of monk they were thinking of when they wrote the class.Okay, let's try this again one last time, and then I'm out.&nbsp; Let's say there's a group of people in China known as hatmakers by people who aren't Chinese.&nbsp; They are known not for making hats (unlike their European namesakes), but for throwing steel nails at people.So Billy the roleplayer buys his D&amp;D book, and cracks it open.&nbsp; He sees in the table of contents an entry for &quot;hatmakers&quot;.&nbsp; He thinks to himself, &quot;hey, I bet that's supposed to be those Chinese hatmakers, because making hats isn't exactly a good way to kill monsters and take their stuff, but throwing steel nails will probably go a long way toward making dead monsters.&quot;&nbsp; Looking up the class he finds that, sure enough, they throw steel nails at people.&nbsp; No mention of China, but the class drips with reference to the Asian archetype, right down to the somewhat-cheesy-named &quot;feng shui&quot; strikes that hatmakers can make.&nbsp; Then little Billy thinks &quot;Hey, wait a minute.&nbsp; Isn't this supposed to be pseudo-European fantasy roleplaying, not pseudo-Asian fantasy roleplaying?&nbsp; What a gyp!&quot;Likewise, by calling the class &quot;monk,&quot; they give a nod to the martial-arts type monk, as soon as it becomes clear what the class is capable of.&nbsp; You check the class...no praying, no fasting, but plenty of butt kicking.&nbsp; Hmm...did they mean European monks or Asian monks?&nbsp; I wonder...Had they named the class something like &quot;unarmed fighter&quot; there would be no connection between the name and the Asian archetype.&nbsp; But since they called it &quot;monk,&quot; and it's a martial arts class, it becomes clear that they didn't mean Friar Tuck.&nbsp; That's why I say the name connects it to the Asian monk, because it's obviously not the European kind, or even the more realistic Buddhist monk who does not much besides meditate.&nbsp; It's the kind that you see in martial arts movies, jumping around and kicking people in the head.&nbsp; Which monk?&nbsp; That monk.And, dude, I don't see any reason why you have to be such a jerk about it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lonely Tylenol, post: 1964848, member: 18549"] Why would I care about whether or not I make reference to the class abilities? You could call it "pizza delivery man" and if it has ki powers, it's going to be making reference to something asian. Only, unlike "pizza delivery man", the name for this class does have a relevent connection to its abilities. That its abilities do not involve praying and solitude speak volumes about what kind of monk they were thinking of when they wrote the class. Okay, let's try this again one last time, and then I'm out. Let's say there's a group of people in China known as hatmakers by people who aren't Chinese. They are known not for making hats (unlike their European namesakes), but for throwing steel nails at people. So Billy the roleplayer buys his D&D book, and cracks it open. He sees in the table of contents an entry for "hatmakers". He thinks to himself, "hey, I bet that's supposed to be those Chinese hatmakers, because making hats isn't exactly a good way to kill monsters and take their stuff, but throwing steel nails will probably go a long way toward making dead monsters." Looking up the class he finds that, sure enough, they throw steel nails at people. No mention of China, but the class drips with reference to the Asian archetype, right down to the somewhat-cheesy-named "feng shui" strikes that hatmakers can make. Then little Billy thinks "Hey, wait a minute. Isn't this supposed to be pseudo-European fantasy roleplaying, not pseudo-Asian fantasy roleplaying? What a gyp!" Likewise, by calling the class "monk," they give a nod to the martial-arts type monk, as soon as it becomes clear what the class is capable of. You check the class...no praying, no fasting, but plenty of butt kicking. Hmm...did they mean European monks or Asian monks? I wonder... Had they named the class something like "unarmed fighter" there would be no connection between the name and the Asian archetype. But since they called it "monk," and it's a martial arts class, it becomes clear that they didn't mean Friar Tuck. That's why I say the name connects it to the Asian monk, because it's obviously not the European kind, or even the more realistic Buddhist monk who does not much besides meditate. It's the kind that you see in martial arts movies, jumping around and kicking people in the head. Which monk? That monk. And, dude, I don't see any reason why you have to be such a jerk about it. [/QUOTE]

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