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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fusangite" data-source="post: 2107382" data-attributes="member: 7240">I agree that Friar Tuck is the closest thing we have to the monk archetype -- unarmoured, staff-wielding and quite an ass-kicker. He would be my starting point too if I tried to harmonize western-style setting with the monk class. That stated, if I were told to just build Friar Tuck using D&D rules, I would probably start with a fighter and not a monk.But you see, it's not just the flavour language -- it's the abilities of the class and the basic premise. There are no popular stories in the West about people being more lethal without weapons than with them, and certainly no idea that through study and discipline, one can better develop this capacity. Even in the case of Friar Tuck, nobody would assume he could kill people better with his bare hands than with his staff. This stems from the fact the the West has a different theory of the body than the East -- that the relationship between the body and metaphyisics changes when you cross the Adriatic Sea. And certainly nobody would buy the idea that as Friar Tuck became more powerful, he would eventually become lighter and lighter, allowing him to control his falls or run faster than any non-magical person.I think your approach is a good one -- and one that I've seen work. Personally, I do the same, although I supplement it by also harmonizing class names with the terminology of my world.I'm with you on the solution to this particular problem 100%, whatever differences of opinion we might have about the genre compatibility of the class itself. This does seem to be the most efficient solution to the particular problem with which we've been presented. Aren't the Knights Templar far closer to Paladins than to monks? Who ever heard of a Templar who eschewed armour and didn't use a sword? And who ever heard of a mendicant friar being known for his incredible speed?Guys, I just have to say: why is it so important to everyone that European tradition already contain every heroic archetype we think is cool? I personally find it refreshing that our culture has taken to Asian heroic archetypes so readily that they have eclipsed many of our own. Hopefully, we'll eventually warm to the rest of Asian fantasy just as much so that we can actually start building settings in which these guys belong.</blockquote>

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