Monk's Philosophy
-
Hello guys. I would be very interested to play a monk. Though there are a few problems due to my limited english.
1. What is a precice monk's philosophy?
2. How they view others or/and the rest of the world?
3. What do i have to know in order to play a successful monk character?
4. Why someone is becoming a monk in the first place?Can anyone explain me in a simple english as possible a few things i must know in order to play one?
I am asking because of this rule:
Monk players are required to send in a Plot Ticket with: Monk Philosophy: in the title, and explain in the ticket about your Monk Philosophy. Failure to do so would mean the DM Team will have to determine if your character is indeed following any Philosophy through observation.Thank you in advance.
-
1 - a monk's philosophy is the code that he follows and it is a fairly rigid code because monks 'have' to be lawful.
the precise philosophy is up to you, but i imagine most monks are devoutee's of a god so have a look at the gods dogma on the FR wiki.
For example Kuldar my dwarven monk has the code of the Sum Alaghor, the Clangeddin Silverbeard clergy and i imagine most dogmas will have a similar abilit y to be interpreted to such a code.Code of the Sum Alaghor:
• Honor the Lord of the Twin axes in word, deed and battle.
• Never waiver in the face of adversity and never surrender.
• Kill evil giants when possible and actively hunt Hill giants
• Master training and wisdom in war.
• Learn and teach methods of crafting arms and armor.
• Gather resources and prepare for the next conflict.
• Make the Dwarves ever stronger on the battlefield.2 - again that is up to you and your character's personality and their stats.
Again, my dwarf has very low charisma so doesnt interact with people very effectively but obviously lives his life through the code he has and tries to impress it upon others by example.3 - to play a succesful monk you need the same as any other character, you need to know your characters motivations, desires and so on. Mechanically you need to plan ahead i am afraid monks thend to require that you build them in certain ways because of the kits that COA uses.
4 - ooc they are challenging to play, ic they can be very polarising because of their lawful attitudes but would have a back story that explained why they are a monk. Eg. they were raised in a monastery after being orphaned and so knew no other life until they came of age and found that monastery life was too mundane for them so they set out to take their god's philosophy out into the world aka became an adventuriong monk living bny the code they were taught and seeing the world through this lense.
i hope that helps in some way.
-
While I don't have input of my own to add, I would like to endorse cadiz's response.
-
I would argue that not all monks are devotees of a god. Those who worship Shar don't necessarily worship Shar (the deity) but rather her aspect (shadows), and believe they can perfect themselves by devoting themselves to the abstract idea of 'darkness'. Our 'way of the animals' offer a path for monks to hone themselves and their beliefs.
-
A very useful player generated thread of 13 years ago
Monks
–--------
Monks seek to understand timeless and eternal principles, the abstract ideals behind everything.Deities are incarnations of those abstract ideals, and thus worthy of devotion and contemplation. But it is the ideals that matter, not their personifications. Justice matters, and Tyr matters only as an incarnation of that infinite, eternal principle. It's worth noting that while most monastic orders are nominally devoted to a deity, in some cases, it's not clear whether the identity of the deity really matters, as with the Order of the Long Death, or whether the deity actually exists at all, as with the Old Order.
It's also worth noting that the powers that monks obtain seem to come, not as gifts of the gods, but from within, from their own profound self-discipline and preternatural identification with their ideals.
Monks seek to overcome the limitations of their own identity, and become living incarnations of the eternal principles they believe in. In so doing, the mortal world of history and conflict trouble them less and less. They come to be in the world, but not of the world. They wander, seeking tests to refine and prove themselves. A monk fights a dragon, not because it's a test of his courage, but because it's a test of how his devotion to the principle of Courage. The dragon doesn't matter much, in itself.
The most wise and powerful of monks cease to be entirely mortal. They become "outsiders," literally dwelling in the world, but no longer part of the world.
Monks get along well with clerics who value the same ideals they do. But they find the absorption of clerics in worldly, temporal matters to be distracting. Druids, monks scarcely understand at all. Druids are entirely wrapped up in a chaotic, transient world, and ignore the abstract ideals that matter more than life. Druids and monks can pass each other by without even seeing each other, so to speak.
-
Thank you all for your help fellas! thumbs up
-
I think the important distinction as compared to the Paladin or the Cleric is that a monk looks inward, and tries to avoid material attachment. They have an interest in concepts, rather then diety. My Lawful Good Tyrran monk for example, argues that Tyr is the concept of Justice itself, and should he as a heavenly body change, so would the definition of the timeless concept of Justice.
A monk does not also have to follow a diety. A monk could simply pick a concept and follow that, such as 'Will' or 'Vengeance.' However, their codes tend to be quite rigid and unbending!
Consider taking a look at Taoist thought, or more Eastern Philosophy, then applying it to a pantheon of gods.
