Quote from: Dinopaw on March 08, 2023, 02:48:16 PM

Quote from: Lunamancer on March 08, 2023, 01:23:28 PM
The initial inspiration seems to be drawn from Shaolin monks.

But it's not that hard to fit it into more of a western/occidental setting. In fact, we have such a figure. William of Gellone was a monk that in legends could smite foes with his bare hands. And this is a totally canon figure. He was literally canonized by a Pope.

I think it is reasonable to represent warriors who fight without weapons, there are many mythological figures who are dangerous without weapons or using only improvised weapons. Herakles, Samson, Beowulf, etc. I am not sure the Monk class does this well, since the Monk's ability set rarely maps well to the legendary feats attributed to these characters.

I am also not sure if it would be a bad thing mechanically to give more powers to warrior-type characters. Is there a mechanical reason why it would be objectionable to give a Fighter a Stunning Strike, for example? It doesn't seem like this is altogether unbalancing considering the wide array of spells that are accepted for spellcasters to know & use.

If you'd stop using systems that assume an arbitrary divide between spellcasters and warriors, you might actually have fun.

Personally I never had trouble with how Monks fit into my Majestic Wilderlands. Sometimes it just takes a different point of view.

The Halfling Shadow
https://www.batintheattic.com/downloads/MW%205e%20Halfling%20Shadow.pdf

The Halfling race lack of physical strength and magical gifts often means that their only recourse to deal with threats is manipulation and guile. They will plant rumors, lie, and steal to nullify any threat to their race. Their ideal is to transform a potential conflict into one of mutual cooperation. But they will do what it takes to nullify the threat if that can't be achieved.

Centuries of survival have given rise to a group of Halflings known as the Shadow. Their deep love of family and home has inspired them to tap into their innermost selves to do what is needed. Techniques, honed over generations, have let these select individuals develop almost magical powers. In times of peace, they serve as the eyes and ears of the Halfling realms. In times of crisis, they are called on to act when all other measures fail.

Many of their techniques rely on the almost magical power of Halfling luck. Through training and discipline, they are able to channel their luck into tricks that produce magical effects and allows them to exceed their physical capabilities. Interestingly it seems this is not innate to the Halfling race. Humans who dwell among Halflings are able to master their luck as well as allied members of other races.

Finally as arms and armor draw unnecessary attention, the Shadows have honed pugilism to a fine art. A combination of offensive and defensive techniques gives the Shadows options if matters turn violent.

Mystics
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H0dOuPwBcaaMaOE3Af7Au7Rxh61e-GVS/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116753362008267799901&rtpof=true&sd=true

Mystics in the Majestic Fantasy Realms have been trained to tap into their inner soul known as vim. It was found that wearing armor and having too much gear especially if it was made of a forged metal interfered with one's ability to tap into their vim.

Mana, Vim, and Viz
Magic is possible through the flow of mana throughout the Majestic Realms. Mana is harnessed by spell casters and used by others to fuel various supernatural abilities.

Viz is a magical substance that takes many forms.  It could be a flask of pure spring water, a newly bloomed flower, or an iridescent rock.  What all these items have in common is they are infused with pure mana.  Viz has many uses like the casting of spells or the creation of magic items.

Vim is the internal manifestation of viz in beings with a soul which include all sentient races. Mana is intertwined with material objects to form viz. Mana also intertwines with one's soul to form vim. While spell casters had training or divine guidance to channel mana, vim, and viz into spells. Mystics have learned to tap their Vim directly.

Rob's Notes: In these rules mystics are monks with a slightly different set of details to reflect the setting of the Majestic Fantasy Realms. Unless stated otherwise any ruling or detail relevant to monks are also relevant to Mystics.

Quote from: Wtrmute on March 13, 2023, 02:24:54 PM
You see, the early pioneers of the hobby were a good deal more cavalier in their influences than we would be nowadays. The first settings (Blackmoor, Greyhawk, the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Tékumel, etc.) were a lot more eclectic than we would use today: one of the first modules for D&D (S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks), the PCs come upon... well, I don't know if I should spoil an adventure from 1980, but it's easy enough to find out what is there. At any rate, in the late '70s there was a surge in popularity for kung fu movies — mostly due to Bruce Lee — and from there, some schlock novels were created and eventually Gygax decided to include some kung fu-fighting characters into the game.

So no, the monk is not based on anything that would show up in Lord of the Rings or a Song of Ice and Fire, but would show up in a lot of the '70s fantasy pulp that influenced Gygax, Arneson and the rest of the founders of the hobby.

I'm a bit late to the party, but Wtrmute is on the right track. My understanding is that the original monk class traces back to Blackmoor and the original inspiration was a series of pulp adventure books called The Destroyer written by  Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. First book came out in 1971, I think. I remember reading those books back in the early days when the Blackmoor supplement came out for OD&D and they are certainly what inspired our group to play monks. I quit reading the series around #50 and a friend of mine stayed with it through #100 or more and I think the series totals over 150 books now. I still have the first twenty or so on my bookshelf.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Destroyer_(novel_series)

As Wtrmute noted, other martial arts stuff was pretty popular back then, too. The Kung Fu TV show started in '72, I think, and Bruce Lee had done a few martial arts movies prior to Enter The Dragon in '73. I'm sure those were big influences as well, but I have always heard that it was The Destroyer that started the monk class off.