Monk Preview

[Nahat Anoj]

I could imagine a feat:

Living Weapon
Prerequisite: Monk
Benefit: You gain the ability to use the Enchant Item ritual, but only for the purposes of enchanting your monk unarmed strike. Your level is considered 4 higher for purposes of this ritual.

Actually, the article states that "monk unarmed strikes" (MUS) can be enchanted. It's kind of neat from a flavor perspective, in my opinion. The monk basically spends a lot of time and resources training his body to do these supernatual things.

Now, with your level limit, you bring up an interesting point - is there a level limit on your MUS? That is, ignoring money concerns, can a level 1 monk get a level 10 enchant on their MUS? I feel like it should be "no," but by RAW it's not impossible.

EDIT - Making my post a little more clear.

 

[Stalker0]

Actually, the article states that monks can enchant their "monk unarmed strikes" (MUS) automatically.

Where is that mentioned? I completely missed that if that's the case.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Where is that mentioned? I completely missed that if that's the case.

It's on page 67:

The Enchant Magic Item ritual ... can be used to turn your monk unarmed strike into a magic weapon. For example, through that ritual, you could have a +1 flaming monk unarmed strike.

I may have been unclear when I said "automatically." What I meant was, they didn't need to pick up a feat to enchant their fists, not that they automatically get a free enchant. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[jasin]

Many people thought incarnum could be translated into ki (since they are both based on the power of souls). That alone could allow for several classes and certainly was not Asian in flavor.

Incarnum had flavour?

In any case, it seems to me that the first thing to do if you want to show that the concept of ki isn't necessarily tied to Asian trappings is to stop using a real world Asian word for it.

 

[AllisterH]

I like how the "new" psionic definition fits perfectly though with past editions.

The perfect monk is the psionically powered Githzerai race....

 

[Mad Mac]

Incarnum had flavour?

It was very...blue. Does that count as flavor?

 

[Errantocracy]

Incarnum had flavour?

In any case, it seems to me that the first thing to do if you want to show that the concept of ki isn't necessarily tied to Asian trappings is to stop using a real world Asian word for it.

About what I was going to say, so I'm glad I waited to get to the end of the thread to say it.

Ki (Japanese, coming from chi in Chinese) means "power" more or less; it's the same character used to mean healthy or electricity, and has nothing to do with the soul. Saying that your power source is energy is about as bad as saying your power source is power. Of course, this is an "Asian" word for power, so perhaps this suggests that for ki users, their power source is Asian power?

If we take a step back and look, we can see that Martial power source comes from the body, and the Psionic power source comes from the mind. Ki could, arguable, come from either - since both are already taken, though, it doesn't leave much room for ki. Other than, of course, as the resting place of all classes Asian. Other than being a bit silly, this also means that many DMs might think that ki has no place in their campaign, and simply disallow all associated classes.

I appreciate the argument made in regard to a power source inspiring new classes, since the Warden is probably the result of this process and is awesome. However, I think that any non-Asian ki class you could think of could probably appear under Psionics instead. Ki would only inspire more Asian classes, like the samurai as a ki defender. And really, the samurai is nothing more than a fighter with a different set of clothes.

That said, I disagree completely with whoever claimed that a ninja is exactly a rogue. The ninja, especially in modern parlance, is strongly associated with supernatural powers (as in, does not belong in the martial classes), and a distinct fighting style and flavour. Though I tend to dislike the idea of including classes with "Asian" (generally Japanese) names (like the aforementioned samurai) I think the ninja is now common enough in western culture to appear beside wizards and clerics.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

With the correct amount and type of drugs, of course.

 

[Hellzon]

What would your preference be?

Humans, of course, and githzerai (which are still great.) I think elves and half-orcs are fine for monks. Ability score bonuses aside, I'm sort of at a lost for thematically better races.

Maybe dwarves, but yeah, I agree with you. I even recall seeing elven monks in 3.x illustrations, so that's nothing new. Eladrin is another possibility, but they're a decent fit. (Dex bonus, teleporty, not shabby.)

My iconic monk is a Gith(zerai)*, and that's a splendid fit, so all is well.

(BTW: Githzerai in the article cover, and they're good fits for the class, as well as iconic. Can we say the Githzerai is all but guaranteed as a PHB3 race?)

I don't miss the Ki power source. It was always a one-class pony.

But I wish they had made monks Martial instead of Psionic. Psionics developed a very distinct flavor over the course of 3e (it featured crystals and bending spoons and some pretty freaky stuff involving ectoplasm) and I don't think monks fit with that very well.

Well, the playtest has nothing about crystals and ectoplasm.

They mentioned in the development article that there are differences within sources. They mention how a Wizard studies all his life and totes a book around, while a Warlock makes a bad deal with Satan/Cthulhu/David Bowie. And let's not mention the Swordmage and Artificer (also Arcane).

I think the monk can get along with the Psion**, Psiwarrior** and whatever else WOTC adds to the PHB3 without being loaded with new age crystals.

*)Githyanki were sort of psionic before, weren't they? They turned into warrior-wizards in 4E, it seems.
**) Good guesses, I know nothing.

 

[Obryn]

(1) I think Psionic makes absolutely perfect sense instead of "ki." Just flavor-wise, I don't see a big distinction between D&D-style Ki and D&D-style psionics. Two thumbs up; it's one of those things I wish I would have thought of myself.

(2) Once again, the WotC devs show why they're actually paid for this kind of stuff. I think the Full Discipline idea is kind of brilliant; it gives the Monk a shtick that just hasn't been seen in 4e, as of yet. I'm impressed that they are able to still come up with new stuff, and am happy that the idea well hasn't run dry yet.

(3) Overall, I really like the class. I think it's a great concept, and I'm glad they've given us a good chance to playtest it before it's finalized. I hope WotC takes community feedback into account.

-O