Monk? Anyone Made One?

Player character options and their spells

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Post by discuit » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:20 am

Monk? Anyone Made One?

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has made a Monk for DD?

Cheers!

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Post by waysoftheearth » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:12 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

I haven't written one up in detail but a while back I was thinking that a monk-type might perhaps look something like an unarmed Master combined with some thief-acrobat-style abilities like jumps, tumbles, falls, run over water, etc.

It shouldn't be too hard to put a monk together, but what do we reckon would be the "iconic" monk abilities?
[f=32]Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak, lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges; torch[/f]

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Post by ehiker133 » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:20 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

- Lawful (whether the person portrays a good monk or a bad monk, they should follow a code)
- wealth limited to what they can carry
- no armour allowed, progressive AC with levels
- maybe limited to one discipline of weapons? Only swords, quarterstaff/spear, throwing weapons, etc.
- self-healing via meditation
- Quivering Palm
- increasingly damaging unarmed attacks
- higher than average movement rate

Ummm... That's all I got off the top of my head.
[f=47]Dougal Blackfoot (MV 9", AC 6, Lvl 4, HP 10/10) [/f]
[f=59]Goldwen (Sagacious* Abbess, MV 9′′, AC 6, HD 2+1, HP 9, FC 2 men, SV C3, L][/f]

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Post by waysoftheearth » Mon Sep 01, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

I also like the notion of parrying missiles, disarming, and faster unarmed-attacks (perhaps instead of more damaging attacks).

And another feature I recall from the AD&D monk was having to challenge the present title holder to advance to the upper levels.

Plenty to think about...
[f=32]Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak, lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges; torch[/f]

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Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Post by discuit » Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

ehiker133 wrote:- Lawful (whether the person portrays a good monk or a bad monk, they should follow a code)
- wealth limited to what they can carry
- no armour allowed, progressive AC with levels
- self-healing via meditation
- Quivering Palm
- higher than average movement rate
Pretty much this, but with Simon's additions for more attacks instead of more damage, and a simple x in 6 chance to do monk like stuff. Basically like the Thief but maybe more acrobatic things with the odd thief thing thrown in.

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Post by discuit » Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:39 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

Oh and definitely parrying missiles, though maybe the increased AC kind of represents this to some extent too.

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Post by Number6 » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:01 am

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

Monks are covered in Blackmoor:
CLERICS: Characters with a wisdom score of not less than 15. who also have a strength score of not less than 12 and a dexterity score of not less than 15 may elect to become monks. Only humans may become monks. Members of the Order seek both physical and mental superiority in a religious atmosphere. Members of the Order may be of any alignment, although they are usually lawful (75%, 20% being neutral and 5% chaotic). Monks must treat treasure as do paladins. Although they may use absolutely no armor, they may use weapons of any sort whatsoever, and when using weapons they add a damage bonus of one-half point for each level they have attained up to a maximum of eight additional damage points, i.e. an 8th level monk adds 4 damage points when he hits with a weapon, a 10th level adds 5 points, etc. When fighting without any weapons monks gain two great bonuses:
1. any score 25% (5 or better) above the minimum required for a hit has a 75% chance of stunning the opponent for from 3-12 turns and a 25% chance of killing the opponent.
2. damage otherwise done is determined on a special table (see STATISTICS REGARDING CLASSES), and monks of higher levels may make multiple attacks during a melee round (see STATISTICS REGARDING CLASSES) - for example if a Grand Master (6th level) is fighting without weapon against an opponent whose dexterity is not of the highest or who is not magically aided the monk will attack twice for each attack his opponent is allowed.
Monks also have other abilities of specialized nature:

Surprise: At 3rd level monks are surprised only on a roll of 1 in 6, at the 5th level only 1 in 8, and at 7th level and above only 1 in 10. Note, however, that extremely silent creatures will double surprise possibilities, i.e. halflings, thieves, bugbears, and undead double possibilities.

Opening Locks: Same as a halfling thief.

Remove Traps: Same as a dwarven thief.

Listening: Monks have the same listening ability as thieves.

Climbing: Monks have the same climbing ability as thieves of the corresponding level with the
following important difference:
At 5th level monks may fall up to 20' without sustaining any damage if there is a wall or similar surface within 2' which they can use for friction to break the fall. At 8th level monks may fall up to 40' if the wall is within 4'. At 11th level they may fall any distance if the wall is within 6'.

Move Silently/Hide in Shadows: Monks have the same ability as halfling thieves.

Moving Silently: Monks have the same ability as thieves.

Other Abilities:

At the 4th level monks may speak with animals, and at the 8th level they may speak with plants.

At the 5th level monks may perfectly simulate death — to the stopping of the heart and lowering of body temperature. To be controlled for a duration of time = .o a six sided die x level for the number of full turns.

At the 6th level monks can control their minds to such an extent that ESP has only a 10% chance of success, and for each level above the 6th gained by the monk the chance for success drops 1%.

At 7th level monks are able to heal once per day 2-7 points of damage sustained upon their body, and for each level above 7th monks add another point to possible damage healing, so that at 8th level a monk heals 3-8 points, at 9th 4-9, at 10th 5-10, at 11th 6-11, and so on.

At the 8th level suggestion and hypnosis have no effect upon monks.

At 10th level monks have the equivalent of an 18 intelligence with regard to the effects of telepathy against them. They are also no longer subject to normal Quests and Geases.

At 13th level monks gain the terrible "Quivering Palm" usable once per week. This is the ability to attune bodily vibrations to those of any creature, and upon laying his palm upon the creature the monk can cause it to die upon command. This ability is limited as follows: The creature affected must have no more hit dice than the monk (treat +1's on monks' hit dice as no addition to hit dice, but they may be used to equalize similar +1's which are possessed by the victims); the command may be withheld up to one day for each level the monk using the Quivering Palm has attained, and beyond the specified time the command will have no effect.

Saving Throws: Monks are treated as clerics with regard to saving throws with the following important exceptions:

Missile hits may be dodged if the monk makes his saving throw against Death Ray or Poison, and magic missiles of any sort may be dodged if the saving throw versus Staves & Spells is made.

All other attacks which involve saving throws have no effect upon the monk if he makes the saving throw, and at the 8th level even failure to make a saving throw results in the monk sustaining one-half the possible damage.

Magic: Monks have no magical abilities per se. Besides magical weaponry, monks may only use rings and those miscellaneous magic items usable by thieves. Potions and scrolls may not be used.

Armor: Although monks wear no armor, their physical training enables them to ward off and otherwise avoid many attacks, thus effectively gaining protection similar to armor. This ability grows as the monk progresses as indicated on the table shown hereafter (see STATISTICS REGARDING CLASSES).

Followers: Monks may never have any followers or hirelings until they attain 6th level. Thereafter they may have the number of followers indicated by their charisma score plus 1 additional follower for each level the monk has attained; however, all followers must be either monks or ordinary fighting men (no Paladins, Rangers, elves, dwarves, etc.). They can have no followers of higher level than one beneath their own. They cannot have followers who are monks of some different Order. They may have no hirelings on a permanent basis, although hirelings for single missions or for very short durations are allowed.
(Blackmoor p1-3)

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Post by waysoftheearth » Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:02 am

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

There are also additional details of the monk on pages 4-5 and 6 of Supplement II.

While Blackmoor's monk certainly is the original I find it a bit complicated compared to the core classes. I'm pretty sure it could be simplified a bit without losing much.
[f=32]Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak, lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges; torch[/f]

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Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 1:15 am

Post by hogscape » Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:43 am

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

My monk would be more Cadfael than Kung Fu.

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Post by ehiker133 » Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:08 pm

Re: Monk? Anyone Made One?

hogscape wrote:My monk would be more Cadfael than Kung Fu.
Mike, you should post your Cadfael Monk idea here. I think it has merit.
[f=47]Dougal Blackfoot (MV 9", AC 6, Lvl 4, HP 10/10) [/f]
[f=59]Goldwen (Sagacious* Abbess, MV 9′′, AC 6, HD 2+1, HP 9, FC 2 men, SV C3, L][/f]

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