I have a problem with monks and halflings
- Thread starter Bullgrit
- Start date
Its a fantasy game. There are all kinds of things that require the reality check portion of the brain to take a little time off.
--- SNIP ---
If you can accept the events of the example given then you can accept a kung-fu master hobbit punching an ogre in the nads and dropping him.
I have a feeling that most still won't though
It always seems that people will accept the superfantastic, like channeling divine energies, or using arcane formulas to alter reality, but when it comes to human(oid) physical abilities, we are always limited to what we know in real life because *it's not realistic otherwise*.
Nebulous
Legend
I don't like mixing monks up with my fantasy either. Halflings i do enjoy though, but prefer them fast with shoeless hairy feet. A mix of a halfing monk is an odd image, as you described, but i'd allow if it meant a lot to the player. It's just fantasy. As others have mentioned, you can describe it as pressure points, or if it helps, imagine him as Yoda from Attack of the Clones. Silly, yes, but that's the kind of fluff you'll need to explain the fist strike to the head of the 14 foot tall hill giant.
Otherwise it will always be Flurry of Blows against his...ankle.
Otherwise it will always be Flurry of Blows against his...ankle.
RangerWickett
Legend
I dunno. I'd kinda love a lunatic halfling who just grabs an ogre's foot and rips it off. None of this 'jumping around hitting vulnerable spots' or 'using leverage to make a larger foe stumble' stuff. I kinda want to see just insane brute force.
He's 3 feet tall, but he's f***ing crazy, and he just obliterates whatever's within reach. Like, he punches his hand into the bridge of the ogre's foot and tears out a metatarsal or two. He runs behind the guy's knee, tiger claw grabs the dude's hamstring, and rips it out. Grabs the monster's kneecap with both hand and torques counterclockwise, popping the thing off with a horrid spray of blood and cartilage, screaming all the while.
Man, I have to play that character.
He's 3 feet tall, but he's f***ing crazy, and he just obliterates whatever's within reach. Like, he punches his hand into the bridge of the ogre's foot and tears out a metatarsal or two. He runs behind the guy's knee, tiger claw grabs the dude's hamstring, and rips it out. Grabs the monster's kneecap with both hand and torques counterclockwise, popping the thing off with a horrid spray of blood and cartilage, screaming all the while.
Man, I have to play that character.
Nebulous
Legend
Celebrim
Legend
Yes. But that wasn't my point at all. I wasn't talking about human children. My point was that pound for pound, a good many animals were far stronger than humans. An average 90lb chimpanzee is as strong as a well conditioned NFL lineman. A gorilla the same size as that NFL lineman can kick and punch dents in 1/4" steel and flip cars. So, ones experience with human children - who pound for pound aren't as strong as even adult male humans - doesn't really reflect even the range of realistic possibilities for a 35lb animal even if we aren't speaking of magic.
When is the last time you had the oppurtunity to train a three year old that could bench press 210lbs? That is a realistic weight for a 35 lb animal with proportional musculature and skeleton to a great ape. Most of the children you train can probably deadlift about their own weight. What if they could deadlift 10 times their own weight? Would that make a difference?
When I was in 6th grade, I used to play tackle football (yard ball) with some other kids in the neighborhood (same group I generally played D&D with, actually). Most of us weighed under 100lbs wet. One day one of the parents decided he wanted to play with us. Now, one of the kids I played benched 180lbs in the 6th grade - which is practically unheard of. When he played with the rest of us, he knew that he didn't need to use a fraction of his strength to knock any of us down. When the adult came out, he decided not to hold back when he hit, and he broke three of the adults ribs.
If you can do reps with 180lbs, you can hurt someone when you hit them whether you've got alot of mass or not.
Bullgrit
Adventurer
You may be disappointed. The halfling monk in our group does so little damage that we other Players have nicknamed his fists "nickel" and "dime" (compared to the war cleric's "buck-fifty" hand-and-a-half warhammer).
Even so, somehow, the halfling always manages to do the last 4 or 5 hit points on our monster opponents (and then claims the kill -- all in fun).
But the halfling is nigh impossible to hit.
Bullgrit
RangerWickett
Legend
Ah, but I never said I'd be a monk. I'll be a barbarian, or maybe a ranger, and just reflavor my weapons as horrific unarmed attacks.
Pbartender
First Post
If you haven't, watch Kung Fu Panda. Pay particular attention to Master Shifu.
The halfling will make a lot more sense.
The halfling will make a lot more sense.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
Heh heh!
Believe it or not, I agree with you 100%. I was by no means trying to say that a kid trained in martial arts can be a lethal killing machine. I was simply saying that they do have the requisite strength to accomplish the listed actions. However, there is definitely more to being able to do those things than just the requisite strength (such as coordination, training and knowledge - not to mention the will to be able to do it). But, the point was that none of those things require a great amount of strength, in fact, no more strength than a child posesses.
