Well, since monks are my second favorite class, I do lean towards them, but a Battlemind is also so cool.
I am working on eastern type 4e monk then. As my knowledge of eastern monks is not so good, I am updating real life lore to mix in with that.
I started with silat(because it uses the peasant weapon kama) but ended up reading a lot. I have just completed reading about Wushu, Karmic cycle, Chakra and especially the chinese-tibetian-indian monks(the himalyan ones). I think those harmonise more with psion source.
Also monks using
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iamtruthseekerMember, Moonstars, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
I am working on eastern type 4e monk then. As my knowledge of eastern monks is not so good, I am updating real life lore to mix in with that.
I started with silat(because it uses the peasant weapon kama) but ended up reading a lot. I have just completed reading about Wushu, Karmic cycle, Chakra and especially the chinese-tibetian-indian monks(the himalyan ones). I think those harmonise more with psion source.
Also monks using
Being a Buddhist multi-faith person, I biased-ly agree with you, and lean towards Tibetan monks peronally.
ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited August 2012
And this is how you can tell I am an old school D&D player: I didn't even think about psionic as an ability haha.
The only experience I have with any psionic is Kimmeriel Oblodra (sp?) so I would really enjoy reading something on them and their actual abilities because for all I know he exists for no other purpose than causing Bwhahahaha dwarves to not die and reading people's minds haha.
As for monks I am not sure what your definitions of "eastern monks" are but when I think monks in D&D I tend to lean towards "master your mind, master your body."
As odd as it sounds to me I relate D&D monks more towards the people who bend the rules of the Matrix than the hyming, solitary, give up speech or other stereotypical monks you see in modern movies.
I don't see them as spiritual although they often can be. I view them as people who master their minds in order to master their body and surroundings. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't understand the old "neutral alignment" rules and for whatever reason I view a monk as a fighter who uses mind over matter.
Each person is free to do their own thing and for all I care they could be clerics who punch but it's not how I prefer to view monks.
And this is how you can tell I am an old school D&D player: I didn't even think about psionic as an ability haha.
The only experience I have with any psionic is Kimmeriel Oblodra (sp?) so I would really enjoy reading something on them and their actual abilities because for all I know he exists for no other purpose than causing Bwhahahaha dwarves to not die and reading people's minds haha.
As for monks I am not sure what your definitions of "eastern monks" are but when I think monks in D&D I tend to lean towards "master your mind, master your body."
As odd as it sounds to me I relate D&D monks more towards the people who bend the rules of the Matrix than the hyming, solitary, give up speech or other stereotypical monks you see in modern movies.
I don't see them as spiritual although they often can be. I view them as people who master their minds in order to master their body and surroundings. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't understand the old "neutral alignment" rules and for whatever reason I view a monk as a fighter who uses mind over matter.
Each person is free to do their own thing and for all I care they could be clerics who punch but it's not how I prefer to view monks.
And this is how you can tell I am an old school D&D player: I didn't even think about psionic as an ability haha.
The only experience I have with any psionic is Kimmeriel Oblodra (sp?) so I would really enjoy reading something on them and their actual abilities because for all I know he exists for no other purpose than causing Bwhahahaha dwarves to not die and reading people's minds haha.
As for monks I am not sure what your definitions of "eastern monks" are but when I think monks in D&D I tend to lean towards "master your mind, master your body."
As odd as it sounds to me I relate D&D monks more towards the people who bend the rules of the Matrix than the hyming, solitary, give up speech or other stereotypical monks you see in modern movies.
I don't see them as spiritual although they often can be. I view them as people who master their minds in order to master their body and surroundings. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't understand the old "neutral alignment" rules and for whatever reason I view a monk as a fighter who uses mind over matter.
Each person is free to do their own thing and for all I care they could be clerics who punch but it's not how I prefer to view monks.
Yeah, I tend to view it more like that myself. I view Monks as masters of mind and body, able to do things that many would deem . . . unnatural. Monks can be spiritual (Ala traditional monks, or more like Billy Jack, etc.) or they can just be a fighter with a very dedicated system of fighting (like a super Bruce Lee in the Big Boss, Chinese Connection, etc.) or Jet Li in "The One".
I miss my old Scarlet Brotherhood renegade Monk. (I found out what they really were and ran away, only to be hunted for the entire campaign.)
And this is how you can tell I am an old school D&D player: I didn't even think about psionic as an ability haha.
The only experience I have with any psionic is Kimmeriel Oblodra (sp?) so I would really enjoy reading something on them and their actual abilities because for all I know he exists for no other purpose than causing Bwhahahaha dwarves to not die and reading people's minds haha.
As for monks I am not sure what your definitions of "eastern monks" are but when I think monks in D&D I tend to lean towards "master your mind, master your body."
As odd as it sounds to me I relate D&D monks more towards the people who bend the rules of the Matrix than the hyming, solitary, give up speech or other stereotypical monks you see in modern movies.
I don't see them as spiritual although they often can be. I view them as people who master their minds in order to master their body and surroundings. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't understand the old "neutral alignment" rules and for whatever reason I view a monk as a fighter who uses mind over matter.
Each person is free to do their own thing and for all I care they could be clerics who punch but it's not how I prefer to view monks.
I view the monks in movies as utter dropping of a muscular bovine male. What I need is a reason for monk to live away from ordinary family and mastering mind and body. My favorite usually was western monk who takes oaths. By taking oaths a monk becomes strong. This has now become the forte of Avenger. An example will be C?chulainn. So a monk can take an oath that he will sleep four hour a day and thus be granted strength from his conviction. etc.
Now the way I used to think of monks to give them power has been taken over by other class(Avenger), I have to find something else. I need a theory to make them stronger than ordinary without admitting anything related to deity/gods. As now that they are psionic, they should have power source independent of any deity.
Buddhist monks I found have a good synchro with psionic. It has indic roots but unlike others, does not explicitly speak of any deity at all. It talks about a 'super spirit' to which a person can join by devoting his/her life to discipline. Now my interpretation may be very wrong as I am not actually interested in all that but just burrowing elements I want to be true(may actually not be true). But it serves my purpose and gives me a base(doesn't matter if it is false or true) to add to my monk.
Actually they don't. They are forbidden to have any 'company' with them and suffer everyday of self-inflicted slavery. Many a times it happens that the people are criminals who are there to get rid of the guilt, their past and many times are just there to evade the authorities. The one like jet-li etc. you see on movies are sportsmen dedicated to martial arts who just like any other sportsperson are able to live normal life in the company of other people.
So in truth, being a monk is like air gushing in through vacuum induced in mouth.
Being a Buddhist multi-faith person, I biased-ly agree with you, and lean towards Tibetan monks peronally.
Being an atheist, I am quite indifferent to all faiths and pantheons. (Quite contrary to the fact that I like to play divine classes). So that would make me unbiased perhaps? b:chuckle
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iamtruthseekerMember, Moonstars, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
Actually they don't. They are forbidden to have any 'company' with them and suffer everyday of self-inflicted slavery. Many a times it happens that the people are criminals who are there to get rid of the guilt, their past and many times are just there to evade the authorities. The one like jet-li etc. you see on movies are sportsmen dedicated to martial arts who just like any other sportsperson are able to live normal life in the company of other people.
So in truth, being a monk is like air gushing in through vacuum induced in mouth.
Being an atheist, I am quite indifferent to all faiths and pantheons. (Quite contrary to the fact that I like to play divine classes). So that would make me unbiased perhaps? b:chuckle
Ah, an athiest, this explains the misinterpretation.
Not all monks are asethics and have vows of...solitude.
Some do, but now you're mixing your western and eastern monks there.
Anyway, it's better being an agnostic over atheist and stating "I don't know" until you see something that makes you concrete in your decision one way or another. And if you've had that, good for you and your choice.
Actually they don't. They are forbidden to have any 'company' with them and suffer everyday of self-inflicted slavery. Many a times it happens that the people are criminals who are there to get rid of the guilt, their past and many times are just there to evade the authorities. The one like jet-li etc. you see on movies are sportsmen dedicated to martial arts who just like any other sportsperson are able to live normal life in the company of other people.
So in truth, being a monk is like air gushing in through vacuum induced in mouth.
Are we talking about a fantasy version of Monk or real life monks? There is a great difference between the two.
Shaolin had unshaven 'monks'. These were actually rebels who used the temple to hide from the Ching Government. These 'monks' were taught kung fu, and they then went out and spread the knowledge to seed rebel cells. The movie "36th Chamber of Shaolin" aka "Master Killer" touches on that by being the story of one of the Shaolin Monks who actually taught the rebels.
During the burning of the (perhaps fictional) southern Shaolin temple the government used the excuse that they were training rebels for the entire attack. The monks who escaped with their lives founded the 5 basic families of Southern Kung fu. These 'monks' taugh the fighting system to the masses in order to over throw what was viewed as a corrupt government. Note that the new students followed the actual training the monks underwent, but without the vows, etc. Thus you have the Hung Family (or Hung Gar) system, Chow Gar, Choi Li Fut, Wing Chun, etc. (Although it is thought that Wing Chun may have acutally been created on the Red Junk Boats by members of many systems since at the burning of the Temple, they fought traitors who also had Shaolin Training).
It has always been my understanding that it was legends such as those that inspired the D&D Monk. Not the guy sitting in a cave staring at a wall for 7 years to gain enlightenment, but the warrior 'monks' who actually fought oppression.
A fantasy Monk rocks, they can punch through plate armor, deflect arrows, bat aside sword strikes, kill with a touch, etc. Quivering Palm is based on the legend of the Dim Mak death touch. Which probably was actually a strike that ruptured some lymph nodes, they grew infected and caused death. Or a strike to the carotid artery that broke loose plaque and caused a massive stroke. Not always repeatable, not a 'death touch'. In Arduin they had an ability called "Dance of the Death Angel" that was like a final strike. When the Monk knew s/he was going to die they could summon up all their life energy and for X number of rounds become death, striking all opponents in a large area, doing massive damage, etc. At the end, they died.
A fantasy campaign can easily have a group who master the mind and body, fighting with bare hands, or crude weapons vs the militaristic training most do. It does not break anything to think that maybe Ioun could have a group that came from that.
Years back there was a book called "Witch Blood" by William Shetterly I think. It had a very nice Westernized Monk in it. (my copy was destroyed in a flood sadly, and amazon does not have it in kindle format yet).
I view the monks in movies as utter dropping of a muscular bovine male. What I need is a reason for monk to live away from ordinary family and mastering mind and body. My favorite usually was western monk who takes oaths. By taking oaths a monk becomes strong. This has now become the forte of Avenger. An example will be C?chulainn. So a monk can take an oath that he will sleep four hour a day and thus be granted strength from his conviction. etc.
Now the way I used to think of monks to give them power has been taken over by other class(Avenger), I have to find something else. I need a theory to make them stronger than ordinary without admitting anything related to deity/gods. As now that they are psionic, they should have power source independent of any deity.
Buddhist monks I found have a good synchro with psionic. It has indic roots but unlike others, does not explicitly speak of any deity at all. It talks about a 'super spirit' to which a person can join by devoting his/her life to discipline. Now my interpretation may be very wrong as I am not actually interested in all that but just burrowing elements I want to be true(may actually not be true). But it serves my purpose and gives me a base(doesn't matter if it is false or true) to add to my monk.
Hmmmm . . . Why would monks exist? Here is a version that IMO works (I apologize as I am not a writer)
In the days of Nethril, mages ruled over the rest of the world with an iron fist. No one could stand up to them, and they indulged in any whim they wished. ****, murder, ritual sacrifice, etc. were commonplace to the masses. Those who rose up were destroyed by fire, lightning, etc. It was a horrible empire, and dark times for the world.
Into this world came Garett Thorn. Once a warrior vassal of a Magister Lord of Nethril, Garett had witnessed too many horrors. The anger he felt over the atrocities he was forced to witness built to the point he was determined to end his life. As he prepared slit his own throat he heard a voice in his head. "Stop." There was a bright light, or was he imagining it? A glowing being came to him and touching his forehead passed to him knowledge of a very different sort. Garett went into seclusion for the next 5 years, hiding in a long forgotten ruin near the edge of the Nethril Empire. There he mastered the things in his head, the glowing runes that as he gained understanding in one another began to clear.
So immersed was he in self discovery, that he had forgotten what brought him to that place long ago. Then one day he once again heard the voice "Go, teach them to fight."
First on his list was the 'correction' of a past wrong. Lord Athandar was a fiend. He had to die. Garett waited until he heard of the next Solstice sacrifice. There he showed up, clad only in a peasants loose cloth. When the guards went out to the crowd to choose the sacrifices for the night, Garett was there to stop them. People were in awe as he seemed to dance around them, unarmed and unarmored. No blow did they land, no wound did he receive, yet the guards were not so lucky. Everywhere he touched something broke. An arm here, a leg there. In a matter of moments all that was left was Athandar and his 4 most loyal bodyguards.
"Enough!" yelled Athandar. "You dare oppose me?!!" Throwing his hands up he summoned his mystic might and hurled a bolt of black lightning toward Garett. Only, Garett was not harmed. Seeming to twist at the last moment, he pushed a wounded guard into the path of the bolt instead. Garett was now moving forward at amazing speed. A lance of fire flew toward him from Athandar, only to find the body of one of the last guards somehow in its path instead. (( using the shifting of opponents ability for this)) Magic Missiles seemed to hit him, but he kept coming, relentless, and another guard fell. The last two jumped forward to stop him and he simply danced between them, tripping one into the other and knocking both off the dais.
Now man met mage. Athandar called upon his magic, hardening his skin, cloaking himself in a obscuring mist, and launched a ball of fire at Garett. Everyone says that day that the top of the dais was engulfed in Green fire the heat burning the stone and marking it ever since. When the fire cleared Athandar was shocked to see Garett Thorn standing unharmed, his eyes almost glowing from within. Garett lashed out, hitting the mage over and over, his hands a blur. For a second, maybe two, it seemed as if Athandar?s magic was protecting him, but then it all seemed to fail. Everywhere Garett hit, something broke. The jaw to prevent any more casting, the forearm to prevent mystic gestures, a leg as the mage tried to run, and finally the mage was dead.
Turning to the crowd Garett Thorn addressed them. "5 years ago I was given knowledge. A way to fight the Witch Kings of Nethril. It takes dedication, discipline and hard work, but as you have seen, we CAN fight and we CAN Win!" The crowd roared its support! "We will begin here, and from here we will spread across the face of the world!"
And thus was born the Burnt Stone Temple, home of the first Fighting Monks.
Everything in this world is over-glorified. I you think ah! scientist, they must be doing many exciting science stuff but most of the time it is very banal and routine. Similarly the monks whether eastern or western or oriental have been over-glorified or overrated. So what you are saying "real monks" are actually "fictional monks".
I wouldn't like to go in politics or religion as I tend to skip it, but monk basically means one who devotes to a life of asceticism. He leaves the society and goes to contemplate. For example, buddha became a monk to find a higher purpose in life - an answer to the question of why is there suffering in life. In that there is no difference between eastern or western monk at all. However, western monks were better organized in a sense, they had independent finances (e.g. Trappist beer) and had independent development from eastern monks. They also had somewhat organized groups whereas in east every monastery/temple had its own code of conduct and history.
Coming specifically to buddhist monks, they are ascetics who live on alms of people who have households. They do not have households because they practice detachment from material world. In return, they impart wisdom and knowledge of good conduct to normal households.
In order to detach themselves from material world, monks usually lived in inhospitable places like rock mountains, ice-caps - where population is very less. These places were not easily accessible. So rebels, criminals etc. also used to come to monasteries to escape persecution. Monastery does not harp on past, and takes in anyone and lets them go anytime.
Apart from the fact that monasteries and their way of life can gain influence and can cause immediate threat to kingdoms (e.g. if a kingdom had a bad king who didn't live with moral code of conduct, according to monasteries the king is an 'enemy' and 'evil'). Because of this, there were sprang attention of armies towards monasteries. But the monasteries are usually in unreachable place where taking an army would be killing them (army needs rations, moves slow etc etc).
The martial arts which are practiced in monasteries are not fit for fighting in an army. They are taught to fight bandits. Because that is what a threat to them would be.
~~~~
In order not to digress and go into debates which I would rather avoid, I just took elements from real monks to D&D monks in order to make them more colorful. Besides who cares about real life anyways, real life has no dragons.
So now my D&D monk would be those who practice detachment from material world to come into contact with psion world. They live life with discipline as each day brings them closer to the "one true question" which they search for. By searching for this question they find the truth in power of mind over matter. (with buddha' story as inspiration)
They take different stages in which their material body comes into contact with psion source. (This part from chakra)
Soon they found gods, the law governing the world and everything just a pointless thing.(developing psion power)
They take up cause for the local people who ask them for help, using the power of mind in order to help them. This helps them find their own true purpose in life. (weapon using monks - peasant weapon only and they try to detach from material world. So they usually only come into contact with villagers.)
In final stages of life, they become detached from death itself and become outsiders. Hence death itself becomes meaningless for them.
As I didn't want any shallow work on monk, I am almost done with story. I wanted monk to have very strong belief as a background psion source drives the energy from mind. But I will post it tomorrow together with avenger.
Avenger would be a nice mix of western and eastern monks, along with tinge of reaper.
Monk would be based on oriental monks.
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iamtruthseekerMember, Moonstars, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
Everything in this world is over-glorified. I you think ah! scientist, they must be doing many exciting science stuff but most of the time it is very banal and routine. Similarly the monks whether eastern or western or oriental have been over-glorified or overrated. So what you are saying "real monks" are actually "fictional monks".
I wouldn't like to go in politics or religion as I tend to skip it, but monk basically means one who devotes to a life of asceticism. He leaves the society and goes to contemplate. For example, buddha became a monk to find a higher purpose in life - an answer to the question of why is there suffering in life. In that there is no difference between eastern or western monk at all. However, western monks were better organized in a sense, they had independent finances (e.g. Trappist beer) and had independent development from eastern monks. They also had somewhat organized groups whereas in east every monastery/temple had its own code of conduct and history.
Coming specifically to buddhist monks, they are ascetics who live on alms of people who have households. They do not have households because they practice detachment from material world. In return, they impart wisdom and knowledge of good conduct to normal households.
In order to detach themselves from material world, monks usually lived in inhospitable places like rock mountains, ice-caps - where population is very less. These places were not easily accessible. So rebels, criminals etc. also used to come to monasteries to escape persecution. Monastery does not harp on past, and takes in anyone and lets them go anytime.
Apart from the fact that monasteries and their way of life can gain influence and can cause immediate threat to kingdoms (e.g. if a kingdom had a bad king who didn't live with moral code of conduct, according to monasteries the king is an 'enemy' and 'evil'). Because of this, there were sprang attention of armies towards monasteries. But the monasteries are usually in unreachable place where taking an army would be killing them (army needs rations, moves slow etc etc).
The martial arts which are practiced in monasteries are not fit for fighting in an army. They are taught to fight bandits. Because that is what a threat to them would be.
~~~~
In order not to digress and go into debates which I would rather avoid, I just took elements from real monks to D&D monks in order to make them more colorful. Besides who cares about real life anyways, real life has no dragons.
So now my D&D monk would be those who practice detachment from material world to come into contact with psion world. They live life with discipline as each day brings them closer to the "one true question" which they search for. By searching for this question they find the truth in power of mind over matter. (with buddha' story as inspiration)
They take different stages in which their material body comes into contact with psion source. (This part from chakra)
Soon they found gods, the law governing the world and everything just a pointless thing.(developing psion power)
They take up cause for the local people who ask them for help, using the power of mind in order to help them. This helps them find their own true purpose in life. (weapon using monks - peasant weapon only and they try to detach from material world. So they usually only come into contact with villagers.)
In final stages of life, they become detached from death itself and become outsiders. Hence death itself becomes meaningless for them.
Actually, for monks yes, but for Buddhism, no. As a matter of fact, Siddhartha Gautama had many positions in life before obtaining the Buddha, or "enlightened one" state. One of those paths was an "aesthetic monk." He abandoned the path of the aesthetic because they went too extreme, or
After six years, around 528 BC, he found that the severe practices did not lead to greater understanding, abandoned them and concentrated on meditation and the "middle way" (a practise of non-extremism),
Detaching themselves from all life and causing pain and suffering to themselves (eg flagellation) sometimes to show they were not "dependent" on life was ironically their failing to prove this in life itself.
Buddhism 101 is that we suffer because we desire and to achieve our path in life outside suffering, we must release these desires (the last one being to release the desire to release the desire but kudos to any person who gets that far.)
As to what we should "observe" if we're not to indulge or abandon is simply he moderation of a "holy life" itself. this article does a great job of showing the actual "aesthetics" of living a Buddhist life. Ironically, by shunning the world's beauty, you risk destroying it and secretly try to control it, thus become enslaved to the desire you claim to detach yourself from.
Not preaching anything, just clarifying.
But absolutely correct, about what monks both eastern and western did to "detach" themselves. Such an "absence from the world" would be an excellent hook explaining how they finally were able to "listen" and "hear" the flow of the psionic they now master in their physical/mental practices.
As for how Battleminds differ, they are a fighting defender augmented with psionic powers. In some ways they resemble a hybrid of fighter, and psion using physical attacks which can be augmented with psionic power points instead of encounter powers. (Instead of the controller role of psion or striker role of monk.)
ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited August 2012
But absolutely correct, about what monks both eastern and western did to "detach" themselves. Such an "absence from the world" would be an excellent hook explaining how they finally were able to "listen" and "hear" the flow of the psionic they now master in their physical/mental practices.
As for how Battleminds differ, they are a fighting defender augmented with psionic powers. In some ways they resemble a hybrid of fighter, and psion using physical attacks which can be augmented with psionic power points instead of encounter powers. (Instead of the controller role of psion or striker role of monk.)
I agree with that completely. Detaching themselves doesn't mean being spiritual.
As another less than god loving person I can say with first person experience spirituality doesn't go hand in hand with moralities, beliefs or meditation/detaching yourself. *vows to never mention religion again on the forums*
I can't recommend meditation enough to anybody. Even if you don't get to truly meditate those who put an honest effort into the attempt should still feel better after 5 minutes or so even if they weren't stressed beforehand.
The historical western monk was a man who sacrificed himself for the name of god and while in some cases it is true of eastern monks there are many who focus solely on inner peace. Actually in Buddhism, correct me if I am wrong Truthseeker, there is no true focus on any creator. The only thing which matters is yourself and those who you effect.
In any case I'll be happy with whatever you put forth though. I think it's truly odd to see such a controversy on the matter but it shows how great D&D is because it does allow for interpretation in that sense. Danica Bonaduce wasn't a solitary character who sacrificed anything for a god. In fact she was just as agnostic as Cadderly himself but I know of many others who choose to design monks basically as martyrs to the gods.
There's no wrong way to do it. A good story never goes unrewarded whether it fits our personal preference of the view point or an equally acceptable interpretation.
...There's no wrong way to do it. A good story never goes unrewarded whether it fits our personal preference of the view point or an equally acceptable interpretation.
That's the point we should focus on. The rest is just reference material.
That's the point we should focus on. The rest is just reference material.
yes, thanks for discussion - it was very insightful. Finished my first 4e monk story. Going to post it after checking grammer. Isn't very detailed and maybe just 3% of all the elements I wanted in, but it drives a point well. In my opinion, the strongest character yet, in more ways than one
Paragon Path of the Day: Mountain Devotee
Path of the Class: Monk
Any Prerequisites: Stone fist only, Flurry of blows
Lore: Chesa had just defeated a few bandits. But her mind was elsewhere. She was young when she joined the monastery. The days seemed distant and the person different.
"Deep roots, endurance and stable mind of the mountain" was the motto of her monastery. Her family was too poor to feed her so she had to go live in the monastery. She was hateful, for the discipline of monastery was engraved in her. Her endurance of body and mind tested each day. Hateful, just like the bandit here. But she was no longer the person. Mountain does not bear hate for the load it bears. It provides. She was counting the beads in her hand to have a perception of time - like sun counts days for a mountain.
There was some commotion. A few villagers were coming her way. They were shouting. "Run! Run! Dragon!" Chesa stood there. She looked at villagers with dispassionate concern. Then she looked at the bird... the reptile who was following them.
She immediately sensed how the dragonslayer paladins who had moved the dragon. When a hatch-ling, the dragon had always been hunted by humans. And it was now striking with fear mixed with vengeance. Chesa herself didn't know how she knew the history of that dragon, but it didn't matter. She had to know that she know and she knew.
"The villagers came towards her. When they saw the bandits defeated, they assumed that she was a fighter. "Help us! Buy us some time!" they pleaded selfishly.
For Chesa flow of world had come to a halt with that request. The cycle of hatred had to be broken. It was not the fault of dragon or dragonslayers. Neither the villagers that the murders were occurring. And at the same time it was everyone's fault. However, a request had been made. And this bloodshed had to stop.
Chesa hit an unconscious bandit and the bandit crashed with the dragon flying to her. The young dragon stopped, amused. The dragon then hit his tail in the ground, and pebbles shot at Chesa with lethal velocity. Chesa thought about the mountain, how the metal in the stones protects them and gives them strength. The pebble bullets bounced off her skin. Some villagers stopped and turned back to see a lone warrior confidently taking on the dragon.
The dragon swapped its tail. For years over and over, Chesa had beaten the thought of the depth of mountain roots in her feet. She took the stance to remember that feeling from her discipline and practice. The tail didn't knock Chesa off. "Leave." Cheasa calmly told the dragon. The dragon was confused as to what to do. It tried to fly past her.
"You shall not pass" Chesa held the tail of dragon. Her feet still rooted like the mountain. 'The mountain protects' thought Chesa, 'and so shall I'. The dragon then used its most devastating attack on Chesa.
The dragon opened its mouth and breathed fire. All villagers took cover. The trees around Chesa and bodies of bandits were burned to crisp. So was Chesa.
Chesa tried to breath. Her lungs were black, rather -ash. They were visible and as she breathed, they turned red from black. It seemed like charcoal when fanned. Chesa realized that there was no need to breath. For simply there was no blood left in her. All her blood had been burnt. Soon the dragon will swing its tail and break away from her ashen hold.
That cannot be allowed. Chesa quietened her mind as the stones, sand and pebbles around her started filling her artery and veins instead of blood. "I am the mountain" thought Chesa. Soon the burnt body was no more but a statue can be seen instead of her. Dragon tried and tried but couldn't let his tail go from stony hold. It breathed fire again but her body became harder like a diamond. Later a few paladin dragonslayers were dispatched but just as they visited the dragon, the hold was loosened and dragon flew away - terrified and tired.
And that is why it is said that no dragons would come near Mt. Chesa. And the statue of Chesa is worshiped by the villagers as mountain protector.
Paragon Path of the Day: Dark Watcher
Path of the Class: Wizard
Any Prerequisites: Wizard, Shadow source, good alignment
Lore: Erevan arrived at Andraste's call. Andraste was agasht. Her daughter had disappeared suddenly from her bed. She called the only adventurer she knew of. Erevan remembered how he had courted Andraste and how he was spurred, for instead of going after flowers like normal eladrin, he went after the darkness which threatens it.
"Please you must help me. She should have been in her room but she suddenly disappeared" Andraste requested, half doubting if his help would be honest. The wizard was using his orb to check traces of any arcane magic.
"May I inquire, about the aesthetics of your offspring?" Erevan asked a question.
"What an irrelevant question now. If you are trying to start small talk, please put your effort in finding my child. I know we had history but..." she was interrupted by hollow pair of eyes and face which showed no emotion at all.
"Fascinating concern of a mother for her offspring. But I ask again, was your offspring of any aesthetic value?"
"Yes, she was very beautiful." Andraste was intimidated. Did she even know this person? Was he Erevan?
"I see". Erevan got up. "I promise you Andraste, I will bring your daughter unharmed to you by dawn."
~~~~
Erevan arrived at a dungeon. His friends, the dark watchers had helped him trace the arcane magic which took Andraste's daughter. The pale court, the Eladrin vampires, were known to kidnap good looking eladrin citizens and convert them into monstrosities just as them. Erevan remembered his days with Andraste. If he hadn't cut out his emotions when seeing her today, he would have made her worry.
Erevan summoned a dark creature, a serpent. His eyes turned all white and the serpent of darkness slithered in the darkness with amazing agility. With his perception and serpent's eyes, Erevan had no trouble finding the daughter of Andraste. Erevan cast a purple light of darkness on himself and was able to reach Andraste's daughter undetected. He then summoned skeleton to carry her. He will later remove the taints of darkness, but for now it was good that she was unconscious and thus spared the ugly visions of the darkness. The skeleton it seemed was unhappy at thrall like work it had to do instead of its usual warrior-like work of stabbing and killing. But a thrall does not bite its own tunnel.
The undead guards were able to see them this time. But Erevan was not intimidated. He twisted his fingers and the limbs of undead puppets fell down at his command. He then took out part of souls from undead to feed his power by twisting his finger and prodding out the soul apart from rest. He held the undead at bay using screams of spirits and ghosts which no undead dared to cross. In midst of all the horrors, Erevan, his summoned skeleton and the daughter of Andraste were leaving calmly without any hurry. The daughter of Andraste was covered in protection, as if even if lost in some attack, she will be protected and marked to be found and protected by Erevan.
"I should ask Andraste out for a coffee. Don't you think skelly? Her husband doesn't seems around anymore. Is he dead?" Erevan was talking to skeleton as he was stealing the souls of undead.
Ok. Reaper for tomorrow.
- Uses two handed blade (scythe) as a weapon/implement.
- Uses wisdom to cause damage (attack rolls and damage rolls).
- Worships raven queen, the aspect of death.
- Wears only cloth, just the black robes with a hood.
- Hates immortals and undead.
- Is very jovial to enjoy life to its fullest, before he dies himself.
- Has a notebook of black covers with names, which the raven queen wants dead. Every time he kills a target, strikes out the name with blood of the target.
- You cannot escape him!!!
Ok. Reaper for tomorrow. - Uses two handed blade (scythe) as a weapon/implement. - Uses wisdom to cause damage (attack rolls and damage rolls). - Worships raven queen, the aspect of death. - Wears only cloth, just the black robes with a hood. - Hates immortals and undead. - Is very jovial to enjoy life to its fullest, before he dies himself. - Has a notebook of black covers with names, which the raven queen wants dead. Every time he kills a target, strikes out the name with blood of the target. - You cannot escape him!!!
Thank you. And I agree that it turned out very honorable. Can't think of anything more honorable than a selfless sacrifice.
Oh, those who worship the raven queen are not jovial, and are acceptedly morbid of their life's (and Shadowfell's life) of worship to the Raven Queen.
However, those still living who reside in the Shadowfell to fight the entropy of the plane (sapping creativity and life until the body fades from existence itself) often fight it by "...embracing strong emotions and peak experiences." (See the Shadir-Kai race for example.) So a fanatical devotion or hyper-violent view may be more appropriate or lust for life over "joviality."
p.s. Please don't steal it as it is my current build
Paragon Path of the Day: Soul Reaper
Path of the Class: Avenger
Any Prerequisites: Divine, Worshiper of Raven Queen
Lore: Raeuz was enjoying his beer competition with a dwarf. "So you say that dwarves are taking up arcane magics too? Cheers!"
"No no! We were always into arcane too. You see exceptions are always present without exception. Its just that a dwarven master getting a dwarven student is quite rare. Cheers!"
"Well, rarities of life are what makes it... down? You lost the bet you stubby chap! Hey bartender, he will pay. It seems it is time for me to go." Raeuz got up and went to the door. Suddenly, happy atmosphere quietened down when he wore his robes. Nobody had seen him in his outer robes as he had already removed them and carried them inside.
Some people felt uncomfortable as a six feet long human, in a tavern mainly filled with dwarves, was wearing his black robes with black hood. He then proceeded to carry his Scythe. "So long everyone! Live long and prosper!" His cheerful greetings were not returned. "Seems like everybody is drunk now huh?" And he started walking into darkness.
~~~~
There was a lot to do. There was a dwarf wizard whose time had already passed but his soul had not been collected by Raven Queen. He needs to find out where that soul was so that the soul can be reincarnated to this world and is not used by power hungry wizards of dark magics. He took out his notebook named "Death List" and opened the to-do tab. From the cover of that book, a raven took form from the blackness and sat on Raeuz shoulder. "Hey! Find this name for your master now, would you?" The raven took flight.
~~~~
Raeuz entered the laboratory. The dwarf he had once had drinking competition received him.
"You?" the dwarf gasped. He had been hearing rumors about him.
"Your house is marked. Let me be frank with you, are you dead?" Raeuz asked the dwarven wizard with a smile. "Or is your name Gronth?"
"If it is a question, can you not see me breathing the air. If it is a threat, then we fight. Gronth is my apprentice. What business do you have with him?"
"Ah! The dwarven student. A rare case when a dwarf mage gets a dwarf apprentice. That day itself, it did strike me as extraordinary. It seems your apprentice is an undead dear sir..."
"What trickery is this. Ah! Here Gronth comes from market. As you can see he is pretty much alive. You cannot intimidate us! You will have to face us both if you wish to harm... Gronth why are you running?"
"He is running because his time had already passed two years ago. I have to collect his soul as it is now the property of Raven Queen. I am sorry!"
"But..." Before the dwarf could say anymore, Raeuz jumped from roof to roof showing great athleticism and agility.
~~~~
Raeuz was now following Gronth in some abandoned ruins. There were traps but trapfinding ability of Raeuz was extraordinary. Suddenly blades came flying towards Raeuz. A trap he missed. Raeuz closed his eyes in meditation.
"There!" Raeuz threw a pebble from his sling and destroyed a panel. The blades stopped. He saw Gronth running when he called the bonds of censure with the aid of raven queen. Gronth had no choice but come and face him.
"You have been summoned Mr. Gronth, as my book here says." Raeuz explained with an honest smile. Gronth conjured up a fireball and threw it at Raeuz.
"Mr. Gronth, followers of queen are always ready, to die and to kill" Gronth realized too late that Raeuz had spoiled his spell because of his initiative. "Whether now or later, your blood will lie on my scythe you know..."
Raeuz maneuvered to Gronth and struck him. He missed but Gronth was driven back, unable to act. Taking this opportunity, Raeuz conjured up lightning which can strike the soul. Gronth, having knowledge of dark arts himself, disturbed the spell so it would strike Raeuz instead.
"Hmm... this does not feel right." Raeuz corrected the malformed glyph at last moment and cast the spell. Gronth was paralyzed.
Raeuz opened the book. "Hmm, this soul has been collected too. Now Mr. Gronth. You have the right to remain silent. Eternally." And with these words, cold frigid wind sweeped through Gronth's body. There were only peices of cold crytals of ice left behind, shining like a ruby. There was no body. Mr. Gronth had indeed been silenced.
"And now, lets go to inn and listen to that bard. I have a feeling that this is the last time I can enjoy his song. Well, Raven Queen herself likes the bards a lot." He started dragging his scythe. The scythe which he weilds in a complex and complicated way using his insight into the fate of trajectories of blades itself. He doesn't needs muscles to wield it. He only needs wisdom. But to carry it requires strength which he did not have. So he revitalized his body with death, for it was a completion of Raven Queen's task. Then he started dragging the heavy scythe behind him as he made his way to the inn.
However, those still living who reside in the Shadowfell to fight the entropy of the plane (sapping creativity and life until the body fades from existence itself) often fight it by "...embracing strong emotions and peak experiences." (See the Shadir-Kai race for example.) So a fanatical devotion or hyper-violent view may be more appropriate or lust for life over "joviality."
Yes, but my character Raeuz is just a simple human who knows he will die and considers it natural part of life. He is not netheril or influenced by dark magic. Because of his acceptance of his and others death, he has become close to Raven queen. The raven of raven queen shows that he is the chosen of raven queen. He tracks down and hunts "those who are dead" and "those whose time has passed".
He believes he had visions in which Raven queen offered him immortality but he refused (Though nobody knows if his visions were real or his hallucinations).
He hates undead and pities those with long life.
Life, he believes, should be short. And death should be grand.
Next should be primal I guess.
Please let me know if anyone wants a primal specific paragon tomorrow.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited August 2012
Finally got to read the new ones. Been a busy couple of days...
The monk was a truly great story. Sad but great.
As for requests...is there anywhere online I could look up a list of paragon paths or does Wizards try to hide them thoroughly so you have to pay for them?
And if Wizards is hiding them behind locked doors any suggestions on which handbook has the most or do all of the handbooks supply a few? Sadly I won't be playing any PnP any time soon so I don't exactly want to invest a lot in books I'll never be able to use.
Finally got to read the new ones. Been a busy couple of days...
The monk was a truly great story. Sad but great.
As for requests...is there anywhere online I could look up a list of paragon paths or does Wizards try to hide them thoroughly so you have to pay for them?
And if Wizards is hiding them behind locked doors any suggestions on which handbook has the most or do all of the handbooks supply a few? Sadly I won't be playing any PnP any time soon so I don't exactly want to invest a lot in books I'll never be able to use.
After four plus years, there are too many spread out over many physical books to list, but the classic are always available in the player's handbook of course (as are the epic destinies.)
Of course there's a compendium of them, but that is for subscription members of D&D Insider. Same could be said looking them up on the character builder being sub only.
But these paths/destinies are for the Pen and Paper game and do not work once ported into an MMO context. If there's a Neverwinter Cryptic list of current Paragon Paths, we don't know its location and/or it's a secret.
Comments
Well, since monks are my second favorite class, I do lean towards them, but a Battlemind is also so cool.
I am working on eastern type 4e monk then. As my knowledge of eastern monks is not so good, I am updating real life lore to mix in with that.
I started with silat(because it uses the peasant weapon kama) but ended up reading a lot. I have just completed reading about Wushu, Karmic cycle, Chakra and especially the chinese-tibetian-indian monks(the himalyan ones). I think those harmonise more with psion source.
Also monks using
The only experience I have with any psionic is Kimmeriel Oblodra (sp?) so I would really enjoy reading something on them and their actual abilities because for all I know he exists for no other purpose than causing Bwhahahaha dwarves to not die and reading people's minds haha.
As for monks I am not sure what your definitions of "eastern monks" are but when I think monks in D&D I tend to lean towards "master your mind, master your body."
As odd as it sounds to me I relate D&D monks more towards the people who bend the rules of the Matrix than the hyming, solitary, give up speech or other stereotypical monks you see in modern movies.
I don't see them as spiritual although they often can be. I view them as people who master their minds in order to master their body and surroundings. I'm not sure why but I just couldn't understand the old "neutral alignment" rules and for whatever reason I view a monk as a fighter who uses mind over matter.
Each person is free to do their own thing and for all I care they could be clerics who punch but it's not how I prefer to view monks.
Meh there is no spoon
Yeah, I tend to view it more like that myself. I view Monks as masters of mind and body, able to do things that many would deem . . . unnatural. Monks can be spiritual (Ala traditional monks, or more like Billy Jack, etc.) or they can just be a fighter with a very dedicated system of fighting (like a super Bruce Lee in the Big Boss, Chinese Connection, etc.) or Jet Li in "The One".
I miss my old Scarlet Brotherhood renegade Monk. (I found out what they really were and ran away, only to be hunted for the entire campaign.)
But Yeah Monks Rock.
I view the monks in movies as utter dropping of a muscular bovine male. What I need is a reason for monk to live away from ordinary family and mastering mind and body. My favorite usually was western monk who takes oaths. By taking oaths a monk becomes strong. This has now become the forte of Avenger. An example will be C?chulainn. So a monk can take an oath that he will sleep four hour a day and thus be granted strength from his conviction. etc.
Now the way I used to think of monks to give them power has been taken over by other class(Avenger), I have to find something else. I need a theory to make them stronger than ordinary without admitting anything related to deity/gods. As now that they are psionic, they should have power source independent of any deity.
Buddhist monks I found have a good synchro with psionic. It has indic roots but unlike others, does not explicitly speak of any deity at all. It talks about a 'super spirit' to which a person can join by devoting his/her life to discipline. Now my interpretation may be very wrong as I am not actually interested in all that but just burrowing elements I want to be true(may actually not be true). But it serves my purpose and gives me a base(doesn't matter if it is false or true) to add to my monk.
Actually they don't. They are forbidden to have any 'company' with them and suffer everyday of self-inflicted slavery. Many a times it happens that the people are criminals who are there to get rid of the guilt, their past and many times are just there to evade the authorities. The one like jet-li etc. you see on movies are sportsmen dedicated to martial arts who just like any other sportsperson are able to live normal life in the company of other people.
So in truth, being a monk is like air gushing in through vacuum induced in mouth.
Being an atheist, I am quite indifferent to all faiths and pantheons. (Quite contrary to the fact that I like to play divine classes). So that would make me unbiased perhaps? b:chuckle
Ah, an athiest, this explains the misinterpretation.
Not all monks are asethics and have vows of...solitude.
Some do, but now you're mixing your western and eastern monks there.
Anyway, it's better being an agnostic over atheist and stating "I don't know" until you see something that makes you concrete in your decision one way or another. And if you've had that, good for you and your choice.
Are we talking about a fantasy version of Monk or real life monks? There is a great difference between the two.
Shaolin had unshaven 'monks'. These were actually rebels who used the temple to hide from the Ching Government. These 'monks' were taught kung fu, and they then went out and spread the knowledge to seed rebel cells. The movie "36th Chamber of Shaolin" aka "Master Killer" touches on that by being the story of one of the Shaolin Monks who actually taught the rebels.
During the burning of the (perhaps fictional) southern Shaolin temple the government used the excuse that they were training rebels for the entire attack. The monks who escaped with their lives founded the 5 basic families of Southern Kung fu. These 'monks' taugh the fighting system to the masses in order to over throw what was viewed as a corrupt government. Note that the new students followed the actual training the monks underwent, but without the vows, etc. Thus you have the Hung Family (or Hung Gar) system, Chow Gar, Choi Li Fut, Wing Chun, etc. (Although it is thought that Wing Chun may have acutally been created on the Red Junk Boats by members of many systems since at the burning of the Temple, they fought traitors who also had Shaolin Training).
It has always been my understanding that it was legends such as those that inspired the D&D Monk. Not the guy sitting in a cave staring at a wall for 7 years to gain enlightenment, but the warrior 'monks' who actually fought oppression.
A fantasy Monk rocks, they can punch through plate armor, deflect arrows, bat aside sword strikes, kill with a touch, etc. Quivering Palm is based on the legend of the Dim Mak death touch. Which probably was actually a strike that ruptured some lymph nodes, they grew infected and caused death. Or a strike to the carotid artery that broke loose plaque and caused a massive stroke. Not always repeatable, not a 'death touch'. In Arduin they had an ability called "Dance of the Death Angel" that was like a final strike. When the Monk knew s/he was going to die they could summon up all their life energy and for X number of rounds become death, striking all opponents in a large area, doing massive damage, etc. At the end, they died.
A fantasy campaign can easily have a group who master the mind and body, fighting with bare hands, or crude weapons vs the militaristic training most do. It does not break anything to think that maybe Ioun could have a group that came from that.
Years back there was a book called "Witch Blood" by William Shetterly I think. It had a very nice Westernized Monk in it. (my copy was destroyed in a flood sadly, and amazon does not have it in kindle format yet).
But yes, yes indeed. Monks Rock.
Oh, and D&D 4e dwarven women do not have beards.
Hmmmm . . . Why would monks exist? Here is a version that IMO works (I apologize as I am not a writer)
In the days of Nethril, mages ruled over the rest of the world with an iron fist. No one could stand up to them, and they indulged in any whim they wished. ****, murder, ritual sacrifice, etc. were commonplace to the masses. Those who rose up were destroyed by fire, lightning, etc. It was a horrible empire, and dark times for the world.
Into this world came Garett Thorn. Once a warrior vassal of a Magister Lord of Nethril, Garett had witnessed too many horrors. The anger he felt over the atrocities he was forced to witness built to the point he was determined to end his life. As he prepared slit his own throat he heard a voice in his head. "Stop." There was a bright light, or was he imagining it? A glowing being came to him and touching his forehead passed to him knowledge of a very different sort. Garett went into seclusion for the next 5 years, hiding in a long forgotten ruin near the edge of the Nethril Empire. There he mastered the things in his head, the glowing runes that as he gained understanding in one another began to clear.
So immersed was he in self discovery, that he had forgotten what brought him to that place long ago. Then one day he once again heard the voice "Go, teach them to fight."
First on his list was the 'correction' of a past wrong. Lord Athandar was a fiend. He had to die. Garett waited until he heard of the next Solstice sacrifice. There he showed up, clad only in a peasants loose cloth. When the guards went out to the crowd to choose the sacrifices for the night, Garett was there to stop them. People were in awe as he seemed to dance around them, unarmed and unarmored. No blow did they land, no wound did he receive, yet the guards were not so lucky. Everywhere he touched something broke. An arm here, a leg there. In a matter of moments all that was left was Athandar and his 4 most loyal bodyguards.
"Enough!" yelled Athandar. "You dare oppose me?!!" Throwing his hands up he summoned his mystic might and hurled a bolt of black lightning toward Garett. Only, Garett was not harmed. Seeming to twist at the last moment, he pushed a wounded guard into the path of the bolt instead. Garett was now moving forward at amazing speed. A lance of fire flew toward him from Athandar, only to find the body of one of the last guards somehow in its path instead. (( using the shifting of opponents ability for this)) Magic Missiles seemed to hit him, but he kept coming, relentless, and another guard fell. The last two jumped forward to stop him and he simply danced between them, tripping one into the other and knocking both off the dais.
Now man met mage. Athandar called upon his magic, hardening his skin, cloaking himself in a obscuring mist, and launched a ball of fire at Garett. Everyone says that day that the top of the dais was engulfed in Green fire the heat burning the stone and marking it ever since. When the fire cleared Athandar was shocked to see Garett Thorn standing unharmed, his eyes almost glowing from within. Garett lashed out, hitting the mage over and over, his hands a blur. For a second, maybe two, it seemed as if Athandar?s magic was protecting him, but then it all seemed to fail. Everywhere Garett hit, something broke. The jaw to prevent any more casting, the forearm to prevent mystic gestures, a leg as the mage tried to run, and finally the mage was dead.
Turning to the crowd Garett Thorn addressed them. "5 years ago I was given knowledge. A way to fight the Witch Kings of Nethril. It takes dedication, discipline and hard work, but as you have seen, we CAN fight and we CAN Win!" The crowd roared its support! "We will begin here, and from here we will spread across the face of the world!"
And thus was born the Burnt Stone Temple, home of the first Fighting Monks.
I wouldn't like to go in politics or religion as I tend to skip it, but monk basically means one who devotes to a life of asceticism. He leaves the society and goes to contemplate. For example, buddha became a monk to find a higher purpose in life - an answer to the question of why is there suffering in life. In that there is no difference between eastern or western monk at all. However, western monks were better organized in a sense, they had independent finances (e.g. Trappist beer) and had independent development from eastern monks. They also had somewhat organized groups whereas in east every monastery/temple had its own code of conduct and history.
Coming specifically to buddhist monks, they are ascetics who live on alms of people who have households. They do not have households because they practice detachment from material world. In return, they impart wisdom and knowledge of good conduct to normal households.
In order to detach themselves from material world, monks usually lived in inhospitable places like rock mountains, ice-caps - where population is very less. These places were not easily accessible. So rebels, criminals etc. also used to come to monasteries to escape persecution. Monastery does not harp on past, and takes in anyone and lets them go anytime.
Apart from the fact that monasteries and their way of life can gain influence and can cause immediate threat to kingdoms (e.g. if a kingdom had a bad king who didn't live with moral code of conduct, according to monasteries the king is an 'enemy' and 'evil'). Because of this, there were sprang attention of armies towards monasteries. But the monasteries are usually in unreachable place where taking an army would be killing them (army needs rations, moves slow etc etc).
The martial arts which are practiced in monasteries are not fit for fighting in an army. They are taught to fight bandits. Because that is what a threat to them would be.
~~~~
In order not to digress and go into debates which I would rather avoid, I just took elements from real monks to D&D monks in order to make them more colorful. Besides who cares about real life anyways, real life has no dragons.
Avenger would be a nice mix of western and eastern monks, along with tinge of reaper.
Monk would be based on oriental monks.
Actually, for monks yes, but for Buddhism, no. As a matter of fact, Siddhartha Gautama had many positions in life before obtaining the Buddha, or "enlightened one" state. One of those paths was an "aesthetic monk." He abandoned the path of the aesthetic because they went too extreme, or Detaching themselves from all life and causing pain and suffering to themselves (eg flagellation) sometimes to show they were not "dependent" on life was ironically their failing to prove this in life itself.
Buddhism 101 is that we suffer because we desire and to achieve our path in life outside suffering, we must release these desires (the last one being to release the desire to release the desire but kudos to any person who gets that far.)
As to what we should "observe" if we're not to indulge or abandon is simply he moderation of a "holy life" itself. this article does a great job of showing the actual "aesthetics" of living a Buddhist life. Ironically, by shunning the world's beauty, you risk destroying it and secretly try to control it, thus become enslaved to the desire you claim to detach yourself from.
Not preaching anything, just clarifying.
But absolutely correct, about what monks both eastern and western did to "detach" themselves. Such an "absence from the world" would be an excellent hook explaining how they finally were able to "listen" and "hear" the flow of the psionic they now master in their physical/mental practices.
As for how Battleminds differ, they are a fighting defender augmented with psionic powers. In some ways they resemble a hybrid of fighter, and psion using physical attacks which can be augmented with psionic power points instead of encounter powers. (Instead of the controller role of psion or striker role of monk.)
I agree with that completely. Detaching themselves doesn't mean being spiritual.
As another less than god loving person I can say with first person experience spirituality doesn't go hand in hand with moralities, beliefs or meditation/detaching yourself. *vows to never mention religion again on the forums*
I can't recommend meditation enough to anybody. Even if you don't get to truly meditate those who put an honest effort into the attempt should still feel better after 5 minutes or so even if they weren't stressed beforehand.
The historical western monk was a man who sacrificed himself for the name of god and while in some cases it is true of eastern monks there are many who focus solely on inner peace. Actually in Buddhism, correct me if I am wrong Truthseeker, there is no true focus on any creator. The only thing which matters is yourself and those who you effect.
In any case I'll be happy with whatever you put forth though. I think it's truly odd to see such a controversy on the matter but it shows how great D&D is because it does allow for interpretation in that sense. Danica Bonaduce wasn't a solitary character who sacrificed anything for a god. In fact she was just as agnostic as Cadderly himself but I know of many others who choose to design monks basically as martyrs to the gods.
There's no wrong way to do it. A good story never goes unrewarded whether it fits our personal preference of the view point or an equally acceptable interpretation.
That's the point we should focus on. The rest is just reference material.
yes, thanks for discussion - it was very insightful. Finished my first 4e monk story. Going to post it after checking grammer. Isn't very detailed and maybe just 3% of all the elements I wanted in, but it drives a point well. In my opinion, the strongest character yet, in more ways than one
Path of the Class: Monk
Any Prerequisites: Stone fist only, Flurry of blows
Lore: Chesa had just defeated a few bandits. But her mind was elsewhere. She was young when she joined the monastery. The days seemed distant and the person different.
"Deep roots, endurance and stable mind of the mountain" was the motto of her monastery. Her family was too poor to feed her so she had to go live in the monastery. She was hateful, for the discipline of monastery was engraved in her. Her endurance of body and mind tested each day. Hateful, just like the bandit here. But she was no longer the person. Mountain does not bear hate for the load it bears. It provides. She was counting the beads in her hand to have a perception of time - like sun counts days for a mountain.
There was some commotion. A few villagers were coming her way. They were shouting. "Run! Run! Dragon!" Chesa stood there. She looked at villagers with dispassionate concern. Then she looked at the bird... the reptile who was following them.
She immediately sensed how the dragonslayer paladins who had moved the dragon. When a hatch-ling, the dragon had always been hunted by humans. And it was now striking with fear mixed with vengeance. Chesa herself didn't know how she knew the history of that dragon, but it didn't matter. She had to know that she know and she knew.
"The villagers came towards her. When they saw the bandits defeated, they assumed that she was a fighter. "Help us! Buy us some time!" they pleaded selfishly.
For Chesa flow of world had come to a halt with that request. The cycle of hatred had to be broken. It was not the fault of dragon or dragonslayers. Neither the villagers that the murders were occurring. And at the same time it was everyone's fault. However, a request had been made. And this bloodshed had to stop.
Chesa hit an unconscious bandit and the bandit crashed with the dragon flying to her. The young dragon stopped, amused. The dragon then hit his tail in the ground, and pebbles shot at Chesa with lethal velocity. Chesa thought about the mountain, how the metal in the stones protects them and gives them strength. The pebble bullets bounced off her skin. Some villagers stopped and turned back to see a lone warrior confidently taking on the dragon.
The dragon swapped its tail. For years over and over, Chesa had beaten the thought of the depth of mountain roots in her feet. She took the stance to remember that feeling from her discipline and practice. The tail didn't knock Chesa off. "Leave." Cheasa calmly told the dragon. The dragon was confused as to what to do. It tried to fly past her.
"You shall not pass" Chesa held the tail of dragon. Her feet still rooted like the mountain. 'The mountain protects' thought Chesa, 'and so shall I'. The dragon then used its most devastating attack on Chesa.
The dragon opened its mouth and breathed fire. All villagers took cover. The trees around Chesa and bodies of bandits were burned to crisp. So was Chesa.
Chesa tried to breath. Her lungs were black, rather -ash. They were visible and as she breathed, they turned red from black. It seemed like charcoal when fanned. Chesa realized that there was no need to breath. For simply there was no blood left in her. All her blood had been burnt. Soon the dragon will swing its tail and break away from her ashen hold.
That cannot be allowed. Chesa quietened her mind as the stones, sand and pebbles around her started filling her artery and veins instead of blood. "I am the mountain" thought Chesa. Soon the burnt body was no more but a statue can be seen instead of her. Dragon tried and tried but couldn't let his tail go from stony hold. It breathed fire again but her body became harder like a diamond. Later a few paladin dragonslayers were dispatched but just as they visited the dragon, the hold was loosened and dragon flew away - terrified and tired.
And that is why it is said that no dragons would come near Mt. Chesa. And the statue of Chesa is worshiped by the villagers as mountain protector.
Any more demands after these two?
Also, you get +9 enhancement bonus on any unarmed attack against dragon/dragonborn on Mt. Chesa (lol, jk)
Path of the Class: Wizard
Any Prerequisites: Wizard, Shadow source, good alignment
Lore: Erevan arrived at Andraste's call. Andraste was agasht. Her daughter had disappeared suddenly from her bed. She called the only adventurer she knew of. Erevan remembered how he had courted Andraste and how he was spurred, for instead of going after flowers like normal eladrin, he went after the darkness which threatens it.
"Please you must help me. She should have been in her room but she suddenly disappeared" Andraste requested, half doubting if his help would be honest. The wizard was using his orb to check traces of any arcane magic.
"May I inquire, about the aesthetics of your offspring?" Erevan asked a question.
"What an irrelevant question now. If you are trying to start small talk, please put your effort in finding my child. I know we had history but..." she was interrupted by hollow pair of eyes and face which showed no emotion at all.
"Fascinating concern of a mother for her offspring. But I ask again, was your offspring of any aesthetic value?"
"Yes, she was very beautiful." Andraste was intimidated. Did she even know this person? Was he Erevan?
"I see". Erevan got up. "I promise you Andraste, I will bring your daughter unharmed to you by dawn."
~~~~
Erevan arrived at a dungeon. His friends, the dark watchers had helped him trace the arcane magic which took Andraste's daughter. The pale court, the Eladrin vampires, were known to kidnap good looking eladrin citizens and convert them into monstrosities just as them. Erevan remembered his days with Andraste. If he hadn't cut out his emotions when seeing her today, he would have made her worry.
Erevan summoned a dark creature, a serpent. His eyes turned all white and the serpent of darkness slithered in the darkness with amazing agility. With his perception and serpent's eyes, Erevan had no trouble finding the daughter of Andraste. Erevan cast a purple light of darkness on himself and was able to reach Andraste's daughter undetected. He then summoned skeleton to carry her. He will later remove the taints of darkness, but for now it was good that she was unconscious and thus spared the ugly visions of the darkness. The skeleton it seemed was unhappy at thrall like work it had to do instead of its usual warrior-like work of stabbing and killing. But a thrall does not bite its own tunnel.
The undead guards were able to see them this time. But Erevan was not intimidated. He twisted his fingers and the limbs of undead puppets fell down at his command. He then took out part of souls from undead to feed his power by twisting his finger and prodding out the soul apart from rest. He held the undead at bay using screams of spirits and ghosts which no undead dared to cross. In midst of all the horrors, Erevan, his summoned skeleton and the daughter of Andraste were leaving calmly without any hurry. The daughter of Andraste was covered in protection, as if even if lost in some attack, she will be protected and marked to be found and protected by Erevan.
"I should ask Andraste out for a coffee. Don't you think skelly? Her husband doesn't seems around anymore. Is he dead?" Erevan was talking to skeleton as he was stealing the souls of undead.
The skeleton clittered in reply...
- Uses two handed blade (scythe) as a weapon/implement.
- Uses wisdom to cause damage (attack rolls and damage rolls).
- Worships raven queen, the aspect of death.
- Wears only cloth, just the black robes with a hood.
- Hates immortals and undead.
- Is very jovial to enjoy life to its fullest, before he dies himself.
- Has a notebook of black covers with names, which the raven queen wants dead. Every time he kills a target, strikes out the name with blood of the target.
- You cannot escape him!!!
Thank you. And I agree that it turned out very honorable. Can't think of anything more honorable than a selfless sacrifice.
Oh, those who worship the raven queen are not jovial, and are acceptedly morbid of their life's (and Shadowfell's life) of worship to the Raven Queen.
However, those still living who reside in the Shadowfell to fight the entropy of the plane (sapping creativity and life until the body fades from existence itself) often fight it by "...embracing strong emotions and peak experiences." (See the Shadir-Kai race for example.) So a fanatical devotion or hyper-violent view may be more appropriate or lust for life over "joviality."
Paragon Path of the Day: Soul Reaper
Path of the Class: Avenger
Any Prerequisites: Divine, Worshiper of Raven Queen
Lore: Raeuz was enjoying his beer competition with a dwarf. "So you say that dwarves are taking up arcane magics too? Cheers!"
"No no! We were always into arcane too. You see exceptions are always present without exception. Its just that a dwarven master getting a dwarven student is quite rare. Cheers!"
"Well, rarities of life are what makes it... down? You lost the bet you stubby chap! Hey bartender, he will pay. It seems it is time for me to go." Raeuz got up and went to the door. Suddenly, happy atmosphere quietened down when he wore his robes. Nobody had seen him in his outer robes as he had already removed them and carried them inside.
Some people felt uncomfortable as a six feet long human, in a tavern mainly filled with dwarves, was wearing his black robes with black hood. He then proceeded to carry his Scythe. "So long everyone! Live long and prosper!" His cheerful greetings were not returned. "Seems like everybody is drunk now huh?" And he started walking into darkness.
~~~~
There was a lot to do. There was a dwarf wizard whose time had already passed but his soul had not been collected by Raven Queen. He needs to find out where that soul was so that the soul can be reincarnated to this world and is not used by power hungry wizards of dark magics. He took out his notebook named "Death List" and opened the to-do tab. From the cover of that book, a raven took form from the blackness and sat on Raeuz shoulder. "Hey! Find this name for your master now, would you?" The raven took flight.
~~~~
Raeuz entered the laboratory. The dwarf he had once had drinking competition received him.
"You?" the dwarf gasped. He had been hearing rumors about him.
"Your house is marked. Let me be frank with you, are you dead?" Raeuz asked the dwarven wizard with a smile. "Or is your name Gronth?"
"If it is a question, can you not see me breathing the air. If it is a threat, then we fight. Gronth is my apprentice. What business do you have with him?"
"Ah! The dwarven student. A rare case when a dwarf mage gets a dwarf apprentice. That day itself, it did strike me as extraordinary. It seems your apprentice is an undead dear sir..."
"What trickery is this. Ah! Here Gronth comes from market. As you can see he is pretty much alive. You cannot intimidate us! You will have to face us both if you wish to harm... Gronth why are you running?"
"He is running because his time had already passed two years ago. I have to collect his soul as it is now the property of Raven Queen. I am sorry!"
"But..." Before the dwarf could say anymore, Raeuz jumped from roof to roof showing great athleticism and agility.
~~~~
Raeuz was now following Gronth in some abandoned ruins. There were traps but trapfinding ability of Raeuz was extraordinary. Suddenly blades came flying towards Raeuz. A trap he missed. Raeuz closed his eyes in meditation.
"There!" Raeuz threw a pebble from his sling and destroyed a panel. The blades stopped. He saw Gronth running when he called the bonds of censure with the aid of raven queen. Gronth had no choice but come and face him.
"You have been summoned Mr. Gronth, as my book here says." Raeuz explained with an honest smile. Gronth conjured up a fireball and threw it at Raeuz.
"Mr. Gronth, followers of queen are always ready, to die and to kill" Gronth realized too late that Raeuz had spoiled his spell because of his initiative. "Whether now or later, your blood will lie on my scythe you know..."
Raeuz maneuvered to Gronth and struck him. He missed but Gronth was driven back, unable to act. Taking this opportunity, Raeuz conjured up lightning which can strike the soul. Gronth, having knowledge of dark arts himself, disturbed the spell so it would strike Raeuz instead.
"Hmm... this does not feel right." Raeuz corrected the malformed glyph at last moment and cast the spell. Gronth was paralyzed.
Raeuz opened the book. "Hmm, this soul has been collected too. Now Mr. Gronth. You have the right to remain silent. Eternally." And with these words, cold frigid wind sweeped through Gronth's body. There were only peices of cold crytals of ice left behind, shining like a ruby. There was no body. Mr. Gronth had indeed been silenced.
"And now, lets go to inn and listen to that bard. I have a feeling that this is the last time I can enjoy his song. Well, Raven Queen herself likes the bards a lot." He started dragging his scythe. The scythe which he weilds in a complex and complicated way using his insight into the fate of trajectories of blades itself. He doesn't needs muscles to wield it. He only needs wisdom. But to carry it requires strength which he did not have. So he revitalized his body with death, for it was a completion of Raven Queen's task. Then he started dragging the heavy scythe behind him as he made his way to the inn.
Yes, but my character Raeuz is just a simple human who knows he will die and considers it natural part of life. He is not netheril or influenced by dark magic. Because of his acceptance of his and others death, he has become close to Raven queen. The raven of raven queen shows that he is the chosen of raven queen. He tracks down and hunts "those who are dead" and "those whose time has passed".
He believes he had visions in which Raven queen offered him immortality but he refused (Though nobody knows if his visions were real or his hallucinations).
He hates undead and pities those with long life.
Life, he believes, should be short. And death should be grand.
Arcane---[4]==6,5,4,2
Primal----[1]==3
Psionic---[1]==8
Martial---[1]==7
Shadow--[1]==9
Next should be primal I guess.
Please let me know if anyone wants a primal specific paragon tomorrow.
The monk was a truly great story. Sad but great.
As for requests...is there anywhere online I could look up a list of paragon paths or does Wizards try to hide them thoroughly so you have to pay for them?
And if Wizards is hiding them behind locked doors any suggestions on which handbook has the most or do all of the handbooks supply a few? Sadly I won't be playing any PnP any time soon so I don't exactly want to invest a lot in books I'll never be able to use.
After four plus years, there are too many spread out over many physical books to list, but the classic are always available in the player's handbook of course (as are the epic destinies.)
Of course there's a compendium of them, but that is for subscription members of D&D Insider. Same could be said looking them up on the character builder being sub only.
But these paths/destinies are for the Pen and Paper game and do not work once ported into an MMO context. If there's a Neverwinter Cryptic list of current Paragon Paths, we don't know its location and/or it's a secret.