I've been dreading this one because I realized there were issues here and I just didn't want to deal with them. But it's time. Once again I am looking at my history with D&D classes and re-examining my playbooks for Heroes By Hearthlight.
Yeah, that about sums it up. As far as I can find Monks were definitely inspired by martial arts films from the 70s seeing as how even the first version of them had QUIVERING FIST.
And this is where dialectics are so useful where we can acknowledge that we are both engaging in orientalist tropes but also that those tropes fucking rule. Engaging with the media others put out and wanting to take part in it is totally cool, its just a matter of being cognizant of how you are doing it. And man, it is fucking weird to have wuxia style martial artists running alongside knights and wizards. But it is now just baked into the game in such a way where you just have to figure out how it works. And the bad part is that its usually just well, here is our european fantasy setting and then there's a bunch of monasteries hidden around where people train like they are Naruto.
One of the most interesting experiments that Paizo ever did with Pathfinder were their hybrid classes. The majority of their classes were adaptations of 3E ones and after making a few of their own they made these, rather than needing to multiclass you could take one of these fusions- the best of which elevated themselves above the sum of their parts. Brawler was hands-down my favorite.
Brawlers were hybrids of fighter-monks and make a whole lot more sense in the most settings. They are pugilists who get a monk's unarmed damage and whose main gimmick is the ability to swap out feats on the fly- switching up what they need in the moment like it's a stance. Definitely advanced because you'd need to know your feats beforehand but one of the most versatile martial classes I've seen in this type of game.
But it's not what the people want here. If you wanna be a brawler, nothing is stopping you from doing that with a fighter in HbH. But people want their wuxia- monk for all their weirdness are the only ones who provide a specific type of play and so they need to be presented. So what do I think of when I think about Monks?
I think about Ivelios Nailo, my buddy's elven monk whose speed was getting to Flash levels. Who once saw someone jump out a window to their death and in an eye blink he had dove after them with a rope trailing behind him- trusting the rest of us would grab it in time (we nearly didn't). I think of bringing a high level monk to a game and realizing that on a 10 I could jump high enough to be able to hit a dragon who was in mid-air, I stunned him and we both came crashing down but I landed without taking any damage while the dragon's wing was crushed by its own weight.
Monks do the impossible. Mages will find ways to bend or shatter the laws of reality to their own whims. Monks have seemingly unlocked something within themselves to do the same.
And now come to the playbook and I have to admit. I am not happy with it. This could potentially be the first one I just throw out and start over, but let's start from the top and see what can stay.
The monk's power is KI. I think that is still thematically correct but I'm still unsure about the execution. Spending Ki lets you push yourself- that's it. On it's own this is the weakest power in the game. The compromise I made is that the monk gains a charge of Ki every time they roll a 6 in their dice pool. This is again a positive feedback loop because the more dice you roll, the better odds you have of getting a 6. So as you improve your actions and are rolling more and more dice the more likely you are to regain Ki. This let's monks constantly push themselves- and I still really like the idea of a monk on a hot streak. But there's also the possibility that a Monk will spend their Ki charge early and not roll a 6 for the rest of the adventure. Every other power just works and affects the game while Ki just depends on luck in a way that doesn't feel right for the class.
My current thought for a fix? You can spend a charge of Ki to clear d6 stress. This gives you that immediate effect that can be really powerful, there's still a bit of randomness that I don't mind, and it mostly fills the same function- the monk can push themselves more than anyone else. There is still the possibility of rolling a 1 which isn't great but its at least something while not rolling any 6s will just make playing a monk boring. Yeah, I think this is worth playtesting!
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DEFLECT ARROWS is our alt-fire ability, letting you spend a charge of Ki to reduce harm from a ranged attack or spend 2 charge to effect magic attacks. And... no. This is just Prowess from the fighter but with narrower options. This is an iconic ability but I don't like how it's implemented.
FLURRY OF BLOWS let's you split ticks between different clocks when you attack someone. I do not know what I was even thinking here. Sure you can use this to like throw harm at a boss and his minions all at once but what's even the point? It's pretty much always best to focus on one thing and finish it. Beyond that, most of the time a group of enemies is just represented by a single, large clock so it won't even matter. Again, an iconic base for the move that won't work here. Needs to be redone.
MARTIAL HERO is based of off existing FitD moves but I do like this one. When you push you can either perform physical feats that border on superhuman or push against foes, knocking them down, back, or away. Superhuman feats is perfect for the Monk and I want to keep it, however I feel like pushing/knocking foes around is something that could just be included in superhuman feats. So I think I need to come up with something more unique for the second half. Note- Martial Hero is translation of Wuxia, the genre of fiction where many of these concepts originate.
THE NEEDS OF THE MANY is an ability I really liked. It lets you reduce stress by 1 for each coin spent. It really suited the way many monks live austere lives without need of material wealth- However by reworking Ki this ability will no longer work. I think I may use it again in an expansion, but for now we have a slot where a new move needs to go.
WHIRLWIND STANCE gives you potency on speed-related rolls. When you resist consequences of movement-based rolls you get +1d. This is doing everything I need it to and is covering a lot of the classic D&D bases. This can represent the monk's high speed, graceful nature, and well as the classic Slow Fall that allows monk's to take less damage from heights. This one does what it needs to and is the first Monk ability I think can stay untouched.
UNTO A THING OF IRON is an Iron Fist reference, and yes I will have comics for you to read today! This move gives your unarmed attacks the magic tag and let's you switch up their damage type. Now your monk can overcome a variety of different resistances/immunities. Coupled with your fine martial art style, this makes your fists one of the strongest weapons in the game.
I COME TO YOU UNARMED grants potency when negotiating or consorting with others without arms or armor. Further you get +1d to your first attack if violence does break out. I like this one a lot because it's both letting the Monk be a face by showing their open palm, while also aiding them if things break bad and they need to throw down. I could see this one perhaps needing some working tweaks but I'm fairly happy with it now.
PERFECTION OF BODY is weird. You are immune to poisons and immediately aware if one enters your body. That's fun and all but highly circumstantial. It also gives the allowance of needing minimal food or sleep which... is pretty much just fluff in a FitD game. This one needs a rework but could also be cut and replaced.
Welp, that was exhausting. 3/8 moves are still fine. But I did have an idea for the power's replacement so that gives me somewhere to start from. I think the main thing is I need to go bigger. I come to you Unarmed lets you be unassuming if that's what you need- but I think people play Monks because they want to do impossible shit.
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST - You remember that terrible Netflix show and wondering, why does anyone care about this character? This is why, this book right here. Beyond just starting the weird marvel trend of books with Immortal in the title being all-timers, it figured out how to make Iron Fist work in the modern age. And it did that by adding to the lore and putting a focus on the men and women who came before Danny and really feel the legacy of who he has become. Also there's a mortal kombat style tournament and he beats the shit out of nazis. Fuck yeah.
My alternate recommendation for this one is going to be Daredevil, specifically either Waid or Zdarsky's runs.
FIRE POWER - Is a book I feel really shouldn't even work. It's by Kirkman who did The Walking Dead and Invincible but instead of being dark and depressing its just this really cool action romp. A dad in the suburbs is dragged back into his old life as its revealed he was a chosen one who walked away, a martial artist with the power to channel flames. Huge shoutouts to Samnee, one of the underrated great artists, who sets the tone in a way that makes the book sing.
My alternate recommendation here is to read the Avatar the Last Airbender comics. If you are at all a fan of the show, they keep the stories going in really cool ways.
I suppose I could also point out Campbell's TMNT run again despite already doing so. So yeah, this is me doing that- go read her TMNT.
