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<blockquote data-quote="Voranzovin" data-source="post: 9545930" data-attributes="member: 7020495">My problem with Monks is that they take concepts common to a lot fantasy contexts--the fighter who trains in seclusion to perform incredible physical feats, the &quot;martial artist&quot; who fights unarmed, the fighter who uses pure skill and speed for defense instead of armor or a shield--and bound them to an extremely specific fantasy. The Monk focus on evoking wuxia/cultivation fantasy is so specific that it doesn't even cover the already-pretty-specific category of &quot;70s Kung-fu movies.&quot; Bruce Lee isn't a Monk--none of the characters he plays are doing anything mystical. If you wanted to stat him, I'd think Fighter/Battle Master with the unarmed fighting style would be the way to do it.In other words, the Monk stole the Fighter's stuff, and won't give it back. But niche protection also hobbles Monks, who aren't allowed to be tough. As far as I'm concerned, Fighter should absorb the more grounded Monk abilities, and the ones that specifically evoke wuxia should be in a Fighter subclass.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Voranzovin, post: 9545930, member: 7020495"] My problem with Monks is that they take concepts common to a lot fantasy contexts--the fighter who trains in seclusion to perform incredible physical feats, the "martial artist" who fights unarmed, the fighter who uses pure skill and speed for defense instead of armor or a shield--and bound them to an extremely specific fantasy. The Monk focus on evoking wuxia/cultivation fantasy is so specific that it doesn't even cover the already-pretty-specific category of "70s Kung-fu movies." Bruce Lee isn't a Monk--none of the characters he plays are doing anything mystical. If you wanted to stat him, I'd think Fighter/Battle Master with the unarmed fighting style would be the way to do it. In other words, the Monk stole the Fighter's stuff, and won't give it back. But niche protection also hobbles Monks, who aren't allowed to be tough. As far as I'm concerned, Fighter should absorb the more grounded Monk abilities, and the ones that specifically evoke wuxia should be in a Fighter subclass. [/QUOTE]

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