Monk
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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.
Monk
Role: Monks excel at overcoming even the most daunting perils, striking where it's least expected, and taking advantage of enemy vulnerabilities. Fleet of foot and skilled in combat, monks can navigate any battlefield with ease, aiding allies wherever they are needed most.
Alignment: Any lawful.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
| The Monk | |||||||||
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus | Unarmed Damage | AC Bonus | Fast Movement |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Bonus feat, flurry of blows, stunning fist, unarmed strike | –1/–1 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Bonus feat, evasion | +0/+0 | 1d6 | +0 | +0 ft. |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Fast movement, maneuver training, still mind | +1/+1 | 1d6 | +0 | +10 ft. |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Ki pool (magic), slow fall 20 ft. | +2/+2 | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | High jump, purity of body | +3/+3 | 1d8 | +1 | +10 ft. |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Bonus feat, slow fall 30 ft. | +4/+4/–1 | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Ki pool (cold iron/silver), wholeness of body | +5/+5/+0 | 1d8 | +1 | +20 ft. |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Slow fall 40 ft. | +6/+6/+1/+1 | 1d10 | +2 | +20 ft. |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Improved evasion | +7/+7/+2/+2 | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Bonus feat, ki pool (lawful), slow fall 50 ft. | +8/+8/+3/+3 | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Diamond body | +9/+9/+4/+4/–1 | 1d10 | +2 | +30 ft. |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Abundant step, slow fall 60 ft. | +10/+10/+5/+5/+0 | 2d6 | +3 | +40 ft. |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Diamond soul | +11/+11/+6/+6/+1 | 2d6 | +3 | +40 ft. |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +9 | +9 | Bonus feat, slow fall 70 ft. | +12/+12/+7/+7/+2 | 2d6 | +3 | +40 ft. |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +9 | +9 | Quivering palm | +13/+13/+8/+8/+3/+3 | 2d6 | +3 | +50 ft. |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Ki pool (adamantine), slow fall 80 ft. | +14/+14/+9/+9/+4/+4/–1 | 2d8 | +4 | +50 ft. |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +10 | Timeless body, tongue of the sun and moon | +15/+15/+10/+10/+5/+5/+0 | 2d8 | +4 | +50 ft. |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +11 | +11 | Bonus feat, slow fall 90 ft. | +16/+16/+11/+11/+6/+6/+1 | 2d8 | +4 | +60 ft. |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +11 | +11 | Empty body | +17/+17/+12/+12/+7/+7/+2 | 2d8 | +4 | +60 ft. |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +12 | +12 | Perfect self, slow fall any distance | +18/+18/+13/+13/+8/+8/+3 | 2d10 | +5 | +60 ft. |
Monk Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks are proficient with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shortspear, short sword, shuriken, siangham, sling, and spear.
Monks are not proficient with any armor or shields.
When wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a monk loses his AC bonus, as well as his fast movement and flurry of blows abilities.
AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Flurry of Blows (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When doing so, he may make on additional attack, taking a -2 penalty on all of his attack rolls, as if using the Two-Weapon Fighting feat. These attacks can be any combination of unarmed strikes and attacks with a monk special weapon (he does not need to use two weapons to use this ability). For the purpose of these attacks, the monk's base attack bonus from his monk class levels is equal to his monk level. For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus.
At 8th level, the monk can make two additional attacks when he uses flurry of blows, as if using Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).
At 15th level, the monk can make three additional attacks using flurry of blows, as if using Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).
A monk applies his full Strength bonus to his damage rolls for all successful attacks made with flurry of blows, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands. A monk may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of a flurry of blows. A monk cannot use any weapon other than an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. A monk with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of a flurry of blows, nor can he make natural attacks in addition to his flurry of blows attacks.
Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk's attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.
Usually a monk's unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but he can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on his attack roll. He has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.
A monk's unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
A monk also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown above on Table: Monk. The unarmed damage values listed on Table: Monk is for Medium monks. A Small monk deals less damage than the amount given there with his unarmed attacks, while a Large monk deals more damage; see Small or Large Monk Unarmed Damage on the table given below.
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.
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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