Monk#

The best fight is the one you walk away from. The second best is over before they've finished drawing.

Abbess Teodra Vay, who trains monks

Peaceful warriors who fight without weapons and would rather not fight at all. Monks don't see magic, but they move it by mantra and stance, and their stances carry the old names of the seams.

LeadsWIS BacksDEX Health1d6+10 Willpower3 CastsYes ArmorMedium

How it plays#

A monk fights with fists and feet, learning a new battle method every two levels, from punch and kick at level 0 to the rebound kick at 48. Methods come in five forms, and each stance holds the monk to one: tiger to the first, dragon to the fifth. Hawk at level 50 holds them to nothing, and so does combat expertise. Wisdom leads and dexterity backs it.

Chained in the right order, methods become finishers. A monk knows ten, more than any other class, and the monastery won’t tell you the orders. Zen heals the monk in meditation and makes skills cost nothing for a while, and the elements of nature wrap them in auras of heat, cold, wind, pressure and sickness. Monks never learn extra attacks. They don’t need them.

Monks are one of the spirit and song classes. Every ability, level by level, is under Abilities.

The road to Morusai#

A monk takes a new title at levels 100, 200, 300 and 400. A title can be declined; Five titles says what that means.

Level1
Rank 1: Monk
Your class's own name. You earned it by doing the work, and nobody has to grant it.
Level100
Rank 2: Dosai
A dosai may teach the first form to anyone, and has the right to a bed and a meal at any of the three monasteries.
Level200
Rank 3: Medusai
Medusai may judge a dispute when both sides ask, and the feuding houses of Moria accept a medusai's judgment when they accept no one else's.
Level300
Rank 4: Mendusai
A mendusai may open a school of their own and give it a name.
Level400
Rank 5: Morusai
The last title. A morusai may enter the inner halls of any of the three monasteries, and the abbots stand when one does.

Where they train#

Teodra Vay was a Morian war captain before she was a monk, and she still runs the monastery’s mornings like a drill yard. The Red Dragon is the strictest of the three monasteries. The Blue Dragon in New Saellem and the Yellow Dragon in Dumasque send her the students they can’t manage.

Find Abbess Teodra Vay at the Monastery of the Red Dragon, high on the mountain above Moria. Any trainer can take your training points, but titles are bestowed here. Where the classes train maps all fourteen.

Abbess Teodra Vay teaches at the Monastery of the Red Dragon, high on the mountain above Moria.

How it shows#

None of this changes a roll. It’s how the people around you can tell what you are, if you let them.

You stand very still, and when you move, you’ve finished before anyone sees you start.
Your knuckles are callused flat, and your hands are always warm.

How monks see magic#

Monks do not see magic, but they conjure weaves from the seams by the will of mantra. When they touch magic they hold it from a strange, unnatural angle: they keep the balance and flow between the elements rather than the elements themselves, and it gives them odd abilities and powers. Their stances carry the seams’ old names: the tiger stance is the one the old monks call khai, the turtle han, the serpent nu, the crane cho and the dragon omn. Every tradition, and what the scholars say underneath them.

Races that start closest#

The races whose starting scores sit nearest a monk’s wisdom and dexterity. Any race can be a monk; the class finder and the race finder rank all of them.

Pixie Wisdom and dexterity, a monk's two stats, both start at 12. WIS 12 · DEX 12 · AC 5

Elf Wisdom 11 and dexterity 12 are a monk's two stats, and an elf has decades to perfect them. WIS 11 · DEX 12 · AC 8

Sprite Sprites are the pixies' other half: tiny, all men, made by Lythantos in the Age of Peace. WIS 11 · DEX 12 · AC 5

Half-Elf Half-elves are born to an elf and a human, or to two half-elves, and most would rather you didn't notice the elf part. WIS 10 · DEX 12 · AC 9

Rodes that suit#

A rode is the one path of trials a character walks from level 20. These are the ones that do the most for a monk; the rode finder ranks all fourteen.

Wisdom Wisdom is a monk's primary score, the one every skill it uses adds. The rode takes it past where training stops. Built for it · +1 to +5 WIS

Agility Dexterity backs a monk's wisdom. The rode takes it past where training stops. Helps · +1 to +5 DEX

Avoidance A monk fights unarmored, so the rode's armor class is armor they don't have to wear. Helps · +2 to +10 armor class

Destruction A monk's fists and feet are attacks like any weapon's, and they come quick. Helps · +2 to +10 damage

Faith A monk fights unarmored and close, and a steady heal keeps them there. Helps · 1d4 to 1d20+10 health

Endurance A monk's kicks and punches come one after another, and each one costs. Helps · 1d4 to 1d20+10 stamina

Tradesguilds that suit#

A character belongs to two tradesguilds at most. These are the ones whose work fits a monk; the guild finder ranks all eleven.

Animal Husbandry Monks would rather a fight never happened, and calm stops one before it starts. A natural fit · hall in Esthar

Carpentry Monks build their own monasteries, and they already have the patience a carpenter needs. Works well · hall in Crecia

What others say#

I hit him four times. He let me. Then I was on the ground, and I don't remember the part in between.

A war captain of Moria

Monks will tell you they don't fight. They'll tell you while you're picking yourself up.

A plainsman of Crecia

The fourth monastery
A dying monk reaches the Red Dragon with a scroll naming a fourth monastery, of a dragon color nobody has heard of. Teodra Vay burns the scroll in front of the party, then asks them quietly to find it.

Abilities#

A class teaches its abilities in disciplines, a handful of related abilities learned as you level. Most open at level 0 and add one every ten or twenty levels. The heroic disciplines open at level 50 and run to 100.

A cost in willpower or stamina is paid each time you use the ability. A passive works all the time, and a toggled ability stays on until you turn it off. Every ability starts at 0 efficacy and gets better with practice, as Levels explains.

Stances Techniques Zen Elements of nature Battle methods

Stances#

Tiger, turtle, serpent, crane and dragon, each holding the monk to one form of methods, and hawk at 50, which holds them to nothing. 6 abilities, levels 0 to 50

Tiger StanceLevel 0 · Toggled: Adds 1d8 damage to each attack, first form methods only until combat expertise.
Turtle StanceLevel 10 · Toggled: Takes 1d8 damage off incoming physical attacks, second form methods only until combat expertise.
Serpent StanceLevel 20 · Toggled: Immune to disease and poison effects, third form methods only until combat expertise.
Crane StanceLevel 30 · Toggled: Each damage dealt heals you for 1d8, fourth form methods only until combat expertise.
Dragon StanceLevel 40 · Toggled: Adds 1d8 to all elemental resistances, fifth form methods only until combat expertise.
Hawk StanceLevel 50 · Toggled: +10 to hit.

Techniques#

The old techniques: healing by spirit, purging venom, walking outside the body and stepping through shadows, then two that sharpen every blow. 6 abilities, levels 0 to 100

HandoLevel 0 · 50 willpower: Spirit healing, 2d20+WIS mod heal.
NachiLevel 20 · 25 willpower: Purge venom, poison and diseases that are level 5 and below, +3dc/lvl higher.
OedoLevel 40 · 60 willpower: Spirit walking, walking outside of body, may not pass through locked doors or walls.
OmnaeLevel 60 · 40 willpower: Shadow-stepping, appear within any location that has touching shadows with current location.
DosaiLevel 80 · 50 willpower: Increased elemental amplitude by 15 for personal attacks.
ChinjingLevel 100 · 20 willpower: Increased personal physical amplitude by 15 for personal attacks.

Zen#

Meditation that heals fully in five rounds, energy renewal, phasing that halves blows, skills at no cost for the monk and then the party, and ten more damage on every attack. 6 abilities, levels 0 to 100

MeditationLevel 0 · 100 stamina: 5 rounds to heal fully when sitting outside of battle.
Energy RenewalLevel 20 · 30 willpower: +5 health +5 willpower +5 stamina every round.
Spiritual PhasingLevel 40 · 20 stamina: 20% chance that blows taken will be of half effect.
Breathing MasteryLevel 60 · 40 willpower: Gives no cost for skills to self for 4 rounds.
Unbound FeedLevel 80 · 40 willpower: Gives no cost for skills for 2 rounds to party.
Mindful TechniquesLevel 100 · 50 willpower: Adds 10 damage to all attacks.

Elements of nature#

Auras of heat, cold, wind, pressure and sickness, and elemental shifting at 50. 6 abilities, levels 0 to 50

Aura Of HeatLevel 0 · 25 willpower: Causes WIS mod +1d6 fire damage to attacking target, and adds WIS mod elemental damage on attack.
Aura Of ColdLevel 10 · 25 willpower: Causes WIS mod +1d6 water damage to attacking target, and adds WIS mod elemental damage on attack.
Aura Of WindLevel 20 · 25 willpower: Causes WIS mod +1d6 air damage to attacking target, and adds WIS mod elemental damage on attack.
Aura Of PressureLevel 30 · 25 willpower: Causes WIS mod +1d6 earth damage to attacking target, and adds WIS mod elemental damage on attack.
Aura Of SicknessLevel 40 · 25 willpower: Causes WIS mod +1d6 spirit damage to attacking target, and adds WIS mod elemental damage on attack.
Elemental ShiftingLevel 50 · Passive: Allows two complimentary auras to be activated at one time.

Battle methods#

A new blow every two levels from 0 to 48, in five forms of ten levels each, and combat expertise at 50, which frees every method from every stance. 26 abilities, levels 0 to 50

PunchLevel 0 · 2 stamina: First form method, 1d6+WIS mod damage.
KickLevel 0 · 2 stamina: First form method, 1d6+DEX mod damage.
ElbowLevel 4 · 2 stamina: First form method, instant interrupt magic, 1d4 damage, lose turn if miss.
KneeLevel 6 · 2 stamina: First form method, instant interrupt skill, 1d4 damage, lose turn if miss.
RoundhouseLevel 8 · 5 stamina: First form method, 1d8+DEX mod damage.
Snap KickLevel 10 · 10 stamina: Second form method, 1d12+CON mod damage.
Crescent KickLevel 12 · 15 stamina: Second form method, 1d10+DEX mod damage, DC 18 to knockdown.
Jump KickLevel 14 · 10 stamina: Second form method, 1d8+WIS mod damage.
Flip KickLevel 16 · 20 stamina: Second form method, 1d12+CHA mod damage, target loses 1 turn.
ClawLevel 18 · 10 stamina: Second form method, 2d6+DEX mod damage, open wounds.
ChopLevel 20 · 20 stamina: Third form method, 3d8+DEX mod damage, target loses 1 turn.
Double PunchLevel 22 · 10 stamina: Third form method, 2d6+WIS mod damage.
JabLevel 24 · 10 stamina: Third form method, DC 18 instant interrupt, 1d6 damage, DC 18 lose turn.
SweepLevel 26 · 10 stamina: Third form method, 1d6 damage and knockdown.
Side KickLevel 28 · 5 stamina: Third form method, 1d4 damage and blind.
Double KickLevel 30 · 10 stamina: Fourth form method, 2d6+DEX mod damage.
Shadow PunchLevel 32 · 20 willpower: Fourth form method, stealthed 1d10+WIS mod damage, crit is 18-20.
Shadow KickLevel 34 · 20 willpower: Fourth form method, stealthed 1d10+DEX mod damage, crit is 18-20.
Swift KickLevel 36 · 30 stamina: Fourth form method, 3d6+20+DEX mod damage.
Stunning PunchLevel 38 · 25 stamina: Fourth form method, 1d12+WIS mod, knockdown, DC 18 to stun for 3 rounds.
Shattering BlowLevel 40 · 30 stamina: Fifth form method, 2d20+WIS mod, 1d4, 1 breaks arm, 2 breaks leg, 3 breaks hand, 4 fails.
ThunderstrikeLevel 42 · 30 willpower: Fifth form method, 3d20+DEX mod, open wounds.
Tiger GashLevel 44 · 30 stamina: Fifth form method, 3d20+WIS mod, open wounds.
Rebound PunchLevel 46 · 20 stamina: Fifth form method, 2d8+WIS mod damage.
Rebound KickLevel 48 · 20 stamina: Fifth form method, 2d8+DEX mod damage.
Combat ExpertiseLevel 50 · Passive: Allow methods under any stance.

Finishers#

Monks know twelve finishers, blows that land when the right moves are chained in the right order. Nobody writes the orders down. Your trainer shows you, or your storyteller lets you find them.

Rising Dragon: /#e0b040Your fists and foot rise through your foe like a dragon taking wing!
Iron Temple: /#b8a184Elbow, knee and heel: you ring your foe like a temple bell!
Wind Over Water: /#5fb0d0Your kicks skim over your foe like wind over water!
Falling Leaves: /#c87a30You tear at your foe and turn over them like falling leaves!
Thousand Hands: /#e6e6e6Your hands blur into a thousand as they find your foe!
Sweeping Lotus: /#e890b0You turn like an opening lotus and sweep your foe off their feet!
Silent Death: /#7a7a8cYou strike your foe from the shadows without a sound!
Thunder Palm: /#8fb8ffYour palm meets your foe with a crack of thunder!
Heaven Shatters: /#f0f0a0You bring the heavens down on your foe in shattered pieces!
Tiger's Fury: /#ff8c1aYou fall on your foe with all of a tiger's fury!
Five Forms: /#f5ecd0Tiger, turtle, serpent, crane and dragon: all five forms pour through you into your foe!
Dragon Ascending: /#e8432eKick upon kick, you climb your foe like a dragon ascending to the sky!

Proficiencies#

What the class can wield, wear and speak from the start, and the extra attacks it learns as it levels.

Weapons: Hand to hand
Armor: Light armor and medium armor
Languages: Common
Extra attacks: None. Monks never learn them.

Combat puts these to use: weapons and extra attacks under Attacking, armor and parry, shield and dodge under Defending.

Greater Dodging: Dodge blows that would otherwise land, more often the nimbler you are.
Swimming: Allows swimming through water too deep to wade.