Monk

The Monk Common Roles Acolyte, adventurer, advisor, assassin, bodyguard, cenobite, city guard, cultist, hermit, high priest, officer, priest, trainer Common Races Humans, Arvek Nar, Egalrin, Halflings Influencial Faiths Daeus, Serriel, Navos, Vardama Common Organizations See Monastic Orders, below. Pathfinder Rules for Monk, Paizo's Updates

Monks are mostly a mixture of contemplative scholar and deadly martial artist, and come from diverse traditions around the world. Many originated east of Xiang Sei, across the Roof of the World and in the lands of Ten Thousand Gods and among the Islands of Jade. Others found root in philosophical definitions made manifest by the orders of some of the gods who proposed self perfection and the pursuit of enlightenment. The fighting styles are as varied as the ones who practice them. Dozens of Monastic orders exist on Gaea. Most are small circles of no more then a dozen or so members, living in isolated monasteries in the wilderness. A few orders include hundreds of members and influence events across entire nations.

A number of monastics find their homes among temples--particularly those of Vardama, Navos, and Serriel. Among Vardama's temples, the Chords serve often as honored guards and spiritualists, where many other faiths employ more traditional fighters or guards.

Monastic Orders

Common Monastic Sponsors

A number of deities sponsor monastic orders, though sponsors are not limited to the ones, below. In addition, not every monastery has a sponsor. It may, instead, focus around an ideal or other set of teachings.

Angoron: Angoronian monks tend to follow a more martial tradition, focused to an extent on heroism and good deeds. They're known for their feats of not just strength, but dexterity and any demonstration of bodily prowess. They tend to believe such acts are better attained through proper discipline and technique, rather than the more chaotic enthusiasm of other Angoronian followers.

Daeus: Daeus' monks walk the line of balance, devoted to goodness, and ideals of honesty, purity, and perseverence. Known for their kinder philsophy, they nonetheless have a strong martial tradition.

Eluna: Elunan monks tend to come from a tradition more in line with reflection and meditation. They're known for their almost otherworldly styles, and a number of them place emphasis on the interpretation and study of dreams.

Serriel: Serriel's monks are highly disciplined, known for their precision and expertise in the battlefield. Of all orders, they're explorative of new techniques, incorporating them and seeing them as part of the advancement of civilization and ideas.

Navos: Navos' monks are known for a solemn study of the perfection of the body and mind. Often historians, they're known for their production of illuminated manuscripts and wide berth of knowledge in addition to a philosophical martial tradition. Navosian monks are also some of the few monks with official titles: they are known as Focus, and often noted for their skills in concentration and meditation.

Kor: Korite monks are strictly martial in their outlook, though a number of them take joy in the study of battle formations, history, and techniques. They tend to be more martially focused than other disciplines.

Vardama: Vardama's monk orders are well-known, usually solemn individuals who contemplate life's natural cycles and the unknown of death. They are sometimes employed as assassins, and are frequently found as temple guards, serving as a kind of holy warrior. Vardaman (or Vardamite) monks are some of the few to hold divine titles akin to clerics and paladins--see Vardama's entry for details. Vardaman monks are also some of the few monks with official titles: they are called Chords, which refers to Vardama's role as the Harpist, an instrument she famously plays to sooth the souls of the dead.

Common Orders

The below orders are ones you may encounter through the course of RP, though they are by no means the only orders within the world of Ea. When creating your character, feel free to use your creativity.

Many monks are also, or are instead, members of a temple--particularly temples of Vardama, Serriel, and Navos, among others. For some deities, such as Vardama, they often take the place where more traditional warriors would be, and stand in places of honor at temple gates.

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Monastic Vows

Vows, and the interpretation thereof, are up to the player. We consider this a creative outlet rather than a requirement.

Starting Kits

Monks are a diverse class with a lot of quirks, and for this reason are not one we recommend for a first-time character. They act often as secondary, mobile fighters, moving in where they can do the most good and then moving away. Some of them focus on disabling enemy spellcasters, or combat maneuvers.

Many of their abilities focus on their mobility, though they gain a number of bonuses when standing still. Also, monks tend to require a high strength, though it may not seem so from their writeup.

Coming soon.

Concept

Attributes

Feats and Skills

Notes

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