Ki is dead! Can we make martial more magical now?

[fanboy2000]

As stated in the Design and Development article on the monk:
Since the ki power source is dead, in my games, the martial power source will officially take its non-flashy stuff. The flashy stuff can go to the psionic power source along with the monk. When a fighter uses come and get it, he's actually using a silk scarf, a rope, a chain, a whip, or some other long, flexible object to pull his opponents to him.

I keep suggesting that the fighter actually runs around and grabs the bad guys, pulling them to adjacent squares, but that hasn't gained any traction.

 

[Tuft]

I keep suggesting that the fighter actually runs around and grabs the bad guys, pulling them to adjacent squares, but that hasn't gained any traction.

Well, call that a different kind of Feng Shui influence; rearranging the monsters to form a more harmonious surrounding.

"Now, take that orc and put it over there, so that his green complexion complements the fuchsia backdrop! And that goblin, he definitely won't go with that sharp light - put him over there, away from the window!"


Well, if Ranma 1/2 could have "Martial Arts Flower Arranging", then we can have "Martial Monster Arranging"...

 

[gizmo33]

Does anyone know the reason why "ki" wasn't just considered a culture-specific term for the martial power source to begin with?

 

[Nymrohd]

No clue. I think that that power source sidebar on PHB1 was poorly thought and self-restraining to begin with.

 

[pawsplay]

Does anyone know the reason why "ki" wasn't just considered a culture-specific term for the martial power source to begin with?

Well, for one thing, it's a culturally-specific term for magic. It has an essentially identical meaning to mana, and the Rolemaster game explicitly equated it with Essence. Much as their Western counterparts, magicians in Asian mythology have powers based on religious concepts. Just as Western magic has angelic alchemy, seals of Solomon, and Gnosticism, Asian magic has Taoist alchemy, Buddhist incantations, and esoteric mystical traditions. Ki/Chi, although often equated in the Western mind with martial arts techniques and wondrous feats, in Asia is a general term for life force that is used in acupuncture, medicine, martial arts, and philosophy. And whereas in the Western mind, ninja techniques are often equated with ki, in Japan, the ninja are popularly associated with sorcery.