Fantasy Monk Styles

[Dykstrav]

Azer style, which teaches the warhammer. Students harden their bodies with grueling trials of endurance and develop a resistance to fire-based attacks. Possibly taught at a monastery on the slopes of a volcano. Some monasteries teach variations based on the weapons used ("salamander style" teaches the spear or scimitar, for example).

Balor style, which trains to fight two-handed with a sword and a whip or scourge and emphasizes demoralizing your foes through savage violence. Stylists seek swords with lightning powers and whips or scourges with flame-based powers.

Choker style, which teaches strangling attacks made from hiding. Possibly forms the basis of a thuggee-type organization.

Dancing Succubus Style, which teaches its practitioners to confuse their enemies. Succubus stylists will attempt to take on the appearance of their enemies and interpose a decieved enemy between themselves and an attacker.

Hill Giant Style, which teaches the greatclub and hurling stones. Techniques focus on pushing foes and knocking them prone.

Mind Flayer Style, which teaches various techniques designed to kill instantly by striking at the brain. These stylists are feared for the legends that they can crack skulls with their fingertips.

Owlbear Style, which teaches grappling and making savage bite attacks.

Spider Style, which teaches attacks from hiding using poisoned weapons. Practitioners are typically accomplished alchemists and are in demand as assassins.

Stirge Style, which teaches pracitioners to inflict bleeding wounds and pack tactics.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Troll Style: Only pick fights with smaller critters.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Night Hag Style! Teaching its students to attack in an unorthodox and unexpected fashion.

[sblock]Dream Haunting (Su)
Night hags can visit the dreams of chaotic or evil individuals by using a special periapt known as a heartstone to become ethereal, then hovering over the creature. Once a hag invades someone’s dreams, it rides on the victim’s back until dawn. The sleeper suffers from tormenting dreams and takes 1 point of Constitution drain upon awakening. Only another ethereal being can stop these nocturnal intrusions, by confronting and defeating the night hag
[/sblock]

Certainly creates new utility out of the Empty Body class feature.

....what?

 

[Oni]

Flumph Style.

'Nuff said, -- N

I certainly wouldn't want to get flumphed by a strange monk.

 

[El Mahdi]

Gelatinous Cube style - teaches one to "give" when attacked (minimizing damage), and be "big" and enveloping (grapple oriented) when attacking.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm going to say what everyone is thinking.

This is a fun thread.

Mind Flayer Style, which teaches various techniques designed to kill instantly by striking at the brain. These stylists are feared for the legends that they can crack skulls with their fingertips.

That was the best one in your post! Too cool!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Some of the humanoid races might develop styles that become identified with them as well...

Shire Style: this Halfling martial art famously centers around the use of improvised weapons (melee or ranged) from your surroundings- typically food and beverages. Certain foodstuffs are even considered to be monk weapons- if you've ever been laid low by a Hairfoot with a turkey leg, ham-hock or a mug of ale that spilled nary a drop, you may have been bested by a Shire Master.

Silent Rage style: a rarity- this Orcish style distills all of what you know about the chaotic fury of Orcs and paradoxically makes it into an orderly martial arts style. Practitioners have a nearly unique version of FoB that also boosts their strength (see Sohei's Ki Frenzy), and consider all axe or club-like weapons to be monk weapons.

The Green: this is the martial arts form of those Elves most closely linked to nature. Greens can bend like the grass before the wind, deliver the crushing blows of a falling oak, and, most terrifyingly, embrace the use of natural toxins- lethal or not- and integrate them into their combat style.

Deadfall style: this is the brutal style created by Dwarves who rarely left their subterranean dwellings. Masters of the style harden their bodies by striking stone pillars 1000s of times a day...and add to that by wearing metal greaves and bracers. They seek the high ground in any combat, from which to execute their signature move- the death from above. When high ground is absent, they create their own, leaping or even pole vaulting to unusual heights before crashing into their foes. Once down, the foes are grappled and pummeled to submission...or death.