Hiya. I was looking at the wiki, and noticed y’all’s answer to the whole ‘intigrating the monk’ problem. Is it such a good idea to completly ban a core class like that?
I mean, there’s always the, ‘Don’t allow it in your game via house rules’ option if you really just absolutely hate the idea, but ‘Unarmed fighter who uses martial techniques and philosophical training to compensate for lack of weapon.’ isn’t something that’s strictly limited to east Asian culture. Their “monks” are the most famous, to be sure, but the whole idea of trained martial discipline has been part of a ton of cultures worldwide; the Egyptians, the Greek wrestlers and atheletes, Roman gladiators, west African warrior socities, and so on. I’d rather there be rules for me to ignore, than no rules at all.
Martial monasticism also fits pretty well into Cerilia’s temple system: any church that studies the body, or has a monastic tradition could be spun into having Monk class characters, and the whole idea of a powerful abbot, religious leader who lives outside of the community, philosopher-king who comments on the secular leaders or even sets up seperate communities themselves is a fairly signifigant part of the fantasy picture of rulership. While Clerics and druids represent the “town priest”, who bless the harvest, and run the hospice, and dabble in local politics, and generally try to take care of their communities, monks, along with paladins, represent the part of a religious community that seperates itself from the community, so as to be in a position of neutrality when critiquing the community, and to provide a place of isolation and contemplation for members of said community. The whole concept of blending the physical and spiritual until you ascend human limitations fits the doctrines of several of Cerilia’s dieties as well; off the top of my head, I could see Kriesha, Haelyn, Avani, and Sera being open to followers expressing these ideas.
You could even have a holding that builds off of these traditions; the Monestary, which works for Temple holdings much like a Castle does for Law holdings, maybe providing protection against outside agitation, giving a loyalty bonus that can be taken away by a canny regent, military support, and other benefits of a fortified spiritual center. This not only gives monks and paladins a type of holding to be “good” at, but also gives you room to develop unique spins on other fortifications; say, maybe a Library or College for Sources(Wizards, Sorcorers, Bards), and a Bank or a Trust for Guilds(Rogues, Nobles).
Anyway, just seemed like something to think about.
