Monk

[KitsuneWarlock]

Monk:

Monks are the defenders of temples across the empire. They are almost all from the Brotherhood of the Shinsei, but they are also found in each of the major and minor clans.

Upon taking a level in monk, one chooses a style. When the mastery level for a style is reached, one can either move to begin to learn about another style, or try to surpass that style's normal boundaries. There are two basic types of styles: self made and premade. Premade styles can be found on this page. Self made styles require acceptance by the staff and generally represent rare styles that only that character has access too (or else common styles not mentioned here).

Each self made and unique style requires a sensei which must be found via good backstory. Others are easy to find. Either way, sometimes simply finding a master is not enough, and sometimes a favor or offering is required to prove oneself and/or one's dedication to wanting to learn that style.

All monks must take vows (see the vows/taboo page for more information). Some are vows that must be taken to begin a particular style. The most common vow is of poverty.

All monks (starting at level 1) gain enhanced ability scores as well as extremely powerful unarmed attacks. Characters may randomly achieve a connection with an elemental ring (well, not randomly, but by completing a certain requirement one way or another as determined secretly by the staff). These elemental atonements make character extremely powerful and grant them incredible powers. If you become attuned to all 5 rings, you are "enlightened" and gain incredible power.

Most styles monks can learn will be hard to find sensei for, but there are a handful that can be chosen at the outset due to the common nature of these styles (i.e. premade styles). The first premade styles are the 12 zodiac styles which, except for the Dragon style, can be mastered relatively quickly and easily. They can all be chosen at the outset and their Dojos are scattered about the empire.

Note: all abilities increase if the class decides to continue leveling in that style after it is "mastered". A style in mastered when no more abilities are listed.

-Rabbit: Specializes in speed and swift attacks. One day a monk was walking through a field, looking for herbs. He noticed an old man who was performing a similiar task who was being robbed by a large brute. The monk, who was not by any means a fighter, decided to hide among the reeds and watch. The large brute had a club and was obviously some kind of skilled bandit. He tried to bash the old man, but he continued to dodge the attacks of the brute. Three attacks later, the old man hit the brute in the stomach. Before the brute could reply, 5 more blows were dealt to the torso, and 3 to the face. Soon the monk was able to determine what the old man was doing. By keeping calm and running around the bandit, he was able to attack before the bandit could even comprehend where to aim a blow. After about 15 minutes the brute fell and the old man exhaustedly hobbled away. The young monk asked him how he did such a task with such small hits that obviously didn't pack very much punch. The old man simply smiled and told him to follow him. Soon the style of the rabbit was passed on to it's first true student, who became the next master who opened the first dojo of the rabbit, aptly placed near the territory of the rabbit clan.

Level: Ability - Description

1: Enhanced Speed - This style most commonly makes the monk who uses it very fast when it comes to short distance sprints.
2: Enhanced Jump - This style gives the monk using it the ability to make quick, high and swift jumps.
4: Thousand Hands - Twice per day, a monk may concentrate and increase it's speed to such a level that it appears to have literally 8 arms. It may strike 8 times faster than a normal monk of the same level for the next 10 seconds with a stunning fury of blows. Increase the number of times per day this can be used for each level taken beyond the 4th.

-Rooster: When a monk was in a market place deep in Ryoko Owari (a town of...lesser morals), he couldn't help but hear a cock fight take place. Always wanting to experience new things, the monk stood along side the end of the circle of spectators and saw the two roosters fighting. One rooster was much larger than the other, but the bets seem to go both ways. The larger rooster struck deep with it's beak for a quick first killing blow, yet the smaller rooster just ducked it's head--no, it's entire body, and came up for a quick strike to the other rooster's throat. Inspired by this sick sport, the monk focused on the way of the rooster and continued to improve his techniques, until the rooster style was complete.

1: Defensive Tuck - Monks of this style can gauge an opponent who is either in a familiar kata or using the same move over and over again, or simply using an obvious attack, and use it's entire body to veer away from the blow. This is dangerous for the monk, however, and requires a lot of agility, which this class offers when it is taken.
3: Cheap Shot - After a defensive tuck succeeds, a monk may make a quick attack to where the opponent is vulnerable, which can even down the toughest foes. Before getting this ability, it is far to difficult to time your body just right to be able to swing away from an attack, see an opening and swing towards the opponent.
5: Defensive Circles - A monk with this ability has mastered a pretty flashy attack. What occurs is the monk spins rapidly, kicking up as much dirt as possible. Within this small field, during the spin, the monk is able to use it's hands to slap away opponent's attacks from all sides. A monk can only "spin" for about 5 seconds per level before his body is worn out. Even after that, a monk is exhausted until it can rest for about 15 minutes and regain it's composure.
7: Whirlwind Attack - A monk with this ability can actually attack within the defensive circle by targeting vital points with it's hands and uses the momentum of the spin to increase the force behind each hand-jab.
8: Like a Chicken with it's Head Cut Off - A monk with this superior ability can focus it's ki once a week so for the next 10 minutes it's ignores any signs of fatigue, poison, paralysis, pain or even death. After the 10 minutes are over, the effects return, many times with stronger feeling due to the numbness previously felt (since blood is still drained, poison still flows, ect...).

-Ox: A monk once sat by a field, contemplating the mystery of life. He did this every day for 10 years. Each and every day, a farmer and his oxen tilled that field, until one day, the ox died. Feeling somewhat of a spiritual bond with the ox, the monk asked the farmer when it died, for he saw it working exactly a week ago. The farmer told him that the ox died exactly a week ago, immediately after finishing the final stretch of tilling the field. The ox showed no sign of fatigue or wanting to stop, and pulled strong until the end. With this philosophy in mind, the ox style was created...

1: Increased abilities - Strength and stamina are increased as agility is decreased. Monks in this class spend weeks just hauling boulders around their backs, usually as chores for nearby farmers in dedication to the animal whom name there style shares.
2: Endurance - Once a battle, a monk of this style may shrug off the pain caused by a non-lethal attack from an enemy.
4: Bull Rush - Running strait, this technique pushes anyone or anything in the path of these monks forward 10 feet per level taken in this style, as well as causing considerable damage to whatever part of the body is pushed.
6: Improved Endurance - Once a week, a member of this class can fight, work or do other normally exhausting actions for 15 minutes/level in this style without having to take any kind of break or feel any kind of exhaustion. They must rest for 20 minutes afterwards.

-Dog: A legend in a monastery told of an unbeatable bear who was cruel to all the animals in the woods. One day, a monk was traveling in those woods, aware of the legends, but thinking them only superstition. He then saw a great black bear, larger than 2 bears combined. He climbed a tree (rather foolishly) and was about to be knocked down when he heard something. A pack of wolves surrounded the bear, their teeth growling. One by one the wolves attacked the bear, while the others simply watched and barked. The bear took down 15 wolves, and turned again to the monk. Suddenly, a pack of 3 dogs attacked the bear. Even though there numbers were small when compared to that of the wolves, their loyalty to one another and team strategy allowed them to slaughter the bear. The carcass of the bear and several wolves even satisfied the wild dog's hungers enough so the monk could climb down, run back to the monastery and tell his master what he saw. That was the origin of the dog style.

1: No matter the confusion involved in the situation (except mind control), a dog monk can always pull back an attack and stop himself from hitting nearby teammates. For example, if two dog style monks from the same monastery attacked a ninja who dodged a monks attack, which would normally cause the staff of the dog monk to hit his ally who was behind the ninja, the dog monk would be able to avert his attack.
3: A dog style monk can boost the morale of those he commands or is partners with, allowing them to fight together more easily and giving them all the above ability. This ability is usually activated by a speech or cheer and calms the nerves of unsure alliances while also creating a burning desire to fight for what they believe in.
4: By taking subtle hints in teammates body languages, a dog style monk can eventually learn to sense the true motives of other people around him by subtle hints in their facial expressions, movements and posture.
6: Attack as One: Once per day, a group fighting with a Dog monk may transfer their class abilities temporarily among the group. For each person with that class ability and for each dog monk in the combined attack, an extra character can temporarily use a special attack (usually from a style or singular ability from a role) for a single attack. You may not emulate magical effects with this ability.

-Monkey: The ancient monk style of the monkey is one that is timeless, classic and needs no story. Even before the fall of the Kami such techniques were being made to imitate the man-like beasts.

1: These fighters get increased agility, but sacrifice a slight amount of stamina to attain the physical stature required to perform the acrobatic feats of this style.
3: Multi-Attack - These monks are able to utilize all aspects of their body in combat to attack from many angles. They can kick and punch with equal precision and are made very versatile in their attacks because of this. Also, the multi-attack ability causes monkey fighters to appear...unorthodox. Only one leg, hand or staff/pole (if held need be on the ground to be able to be considered "standing". With their increased agility, monkey style monks can even stand on one hand, kick two enemies, and swipe two more with a staff. The katas they can form due to this effect have almost limitless possibilities.
5: Multi-sense - At 5th level, the monkey style monk gains the uncanny ability to be able to sense the direction and attack type of enemies from all around it's body. This is partly due to the training of this style that requires the combatant to be rather spastic, looking around itself constantly to reassess where to attack next. This further enhances the abilities and possibilities of the multi-attack ability. This also makes it so that this class cannot be sensed by abilities such as the dog style monk's 4th level ability or rooster styles initial tuck. Monkey style users can still always sense the attacks of other monkey style masters.

-Snake: Once a badger attacked a snake. It was a foolish choice for the poor mammal, however a nearby peasant witnessed the combat. The badger clawed and struck towards the otherwise uncaring snake, until in the blink of an eye it ended. The snake had killed the badger in one hit. After this, the peasant was inspired to become a martial artist, creating the snake combat style.

Specialty: Anatomy and poisons.

Vow: Poverty and from drinking

1: A snake master will have lower stamina, but increased jumping capacity (in both distance and speed), agility (when applied to dodging and tumbling) and overall speed (when reacting to attacks).
3: Advanced Dodge - A snake master can weave in and out of attack ranges and make it look easy.
5: Single Strike - Once per enemy, as the first attack made, a snake master may attack a vital point on an attacking foe. This is usually done after the foe fights for several rounds so the snake master can view the fighting style and weaknesses of his foe. This will usually wind up stunning the opponent for about 10 minutes, but will alert other enemies of the monk's ability. At level 7, this will kill most weaker beings. This ability's effects changes against non-humans.

-Dragon: The dragon style is the oldest of the zodiac styles, taught centuries ago by some unknown monk. Some think that the monk was an emissary of Tengoku, the realm of the celestial heavens where the elemental dragons reside. This might be true, as it is true that all Tengoku acolyte have learned this style in their quest for perfect harmony with the dragons. To master the dragon style means for most to spend your entire life devoted to it. Since it has 20 levels of mastery, very rarely will it's students ever fully comprehend it's awesome power. Like a dragon though, one who devotes enough time to it will grow to be the strongest of the 12 zodiac masters.

Specialty: Ability to sense the kami to some extent, knowledge of the elements.

Vow: Poverty and chastity

1: Dragon's Strength: All statistics are raised for the acolyte at level 1, except they are raised at a rate of 1/5 the amount that most classes raise stats. At level 5, this becomes 2/5, at level 10, 3/5, and so on until level 20--the mastery level (round down).
3: Brush of Tengoku: The monk's skin can eminate a holy aura for 5 minutes a day, causing it to resist some damage from attacks.
5: Forceful Punch: A monk with this ability may blast away opponents with his aura a number of times per day equal to his level, a number of feet away equal to two times his level. He must hit his opponents with this and it makes a slightly translucent aura.
12: Armor of Tengoku: Brush of Tengoku may be used a number of times per day equal to the monk's level and is increased in defensive power.
15: Tengoku's Blessing: The monk may use forceful punch any number of times per day.
16: Dragon Breath: The monk gains the ability to literally shoot flames out of it's mouth via a tattoo that must be obtained with this class. Alternate tattoos that may be gained allow it to shoot lightning or even acid, but those are harder to find. The flames shoot in a concentrated cone and will shoot out for 10 feet. It can be used 7 times a day, but each use requires the monk to rest an additional hour that night to be fully active the next day.
20: Dragon's Perfection: All statistics are raised in the same manner as other classes, but two times more than normal. Combined with Dragon's Strength, this raises the monk's abilities by 3 points. The abilities raised by both abilities include Strength, Speed, Wisdom, Intellegence, Stamina, Speed and Charisma.

-Horse: Long before the mongols were discovered, messages were sent to and from the clans by the few horsed messengers and couriers found within the main clans. In an effort to promote peace, a group of monks formed a union which was to be used to transport messages. Under their oath, no messages promoting war or violence would be transported, and treaties and anything that can promote peace are ran with exceptional speed. These monks do not ride horses, but are faster than many horses themselves. To choose this style, one must swear off violence and choose to only fight in defense and use their abilities for the promotion of peace, justice and transporting information.

Specialty: Letter carrying, writing and reading especially well

Vow: Peace

1: Advanced Running: This style gains a speed bonus, usable mainly for runs over 20 yards, each odd level of advancement.
2: Quick Reflexes: This ability allows this style's users to react quickly to things around it, including obstacles the monk may have to overpass or attacking enemies.
4: In the Long Run: This ability allows these users to run for miles without need for rest.

-Rat: Thought by many to be rather "dirty" fighting style, the rat style involves attacking unweary opponents and sneaking around quite a bit.

-Sheep: Centuries ago the goat spirit, Yang Ching, was seen as some sort of deity before the kami fell. After the kami fell, almost all the disciples of Yang Ching were destroyed by the quasi-deity's refusal to accept the new celestial order. Despite the many unclean rituals of this religion that peasants hear rumors of today, the religion was very peaceful and clean. Of course there are no living monks of this order, but there are monks who learned from students of the great-grandson of Yang Ching's prize pupil - Yang Itemawa - the first recorded to man to have achieved enlightenment and use it for combative (but still only when defending his temple) purposes. Since then, the monk style of the sheep has been dedicated to monks trying to achieve enlightenment.

When you first take levels in this style, you must choose an element and your character must act properly as one would. Taking this class means the staff will make a special effort to ensure you are following your path correctly, and might send along NPCs during quests to remind you of your duty to this style. You may become enlightened to one of the 5 elements, receiving the powers of that elemental ring, if you follow the ways of that ring as noted in the enlightenment guide.

Vows: Character's choice. Will determine which ring the character attains.

15: The only level of progression in this class is level 15, in which one becomes enlightened and aligned to a ring of an element that character has been following. This ability is very powerful and should not be overlooked. If this style is taken multiple times, you must choose a new elemental path to follow. You may not achieve full enlightenment by doing this and may only get a maximum of 2 rings though this style (which requires 30 levels to do so--an almost impossible task).

Many times monks seeking enlightenment (but not desiring it for other purposes outside of enlightenment or self-less acts, like protection of their temple) will wait until they connect with 3 or 4 other rings before training in the way of the sheep style. This allows them to focus on the last ring they need to get(and usually hardest ring to attain for their personality and way of life) . Many times powerful members of other classes, including courtiers, alchemists, shugenja, berserkers and even ninja, have become monks after realizing the good they can do with the powers enlightenment can offer.

-Pig: The oldest school of the zodiac family. The monks of the pig or boar focus on the mystical art of kiho.

Each level they may learn 1 new kiho. Furthermore, at level 1 they begin the game with 2 known kiho. To cast these kiho, these monks are given 30 ki and 10 ki every level.

Kiho Channeling: At level 8, the kiho mastering monk can perform 1 kiho per combat without an incantation by channeling it through your body. Every 5 levels afterwards, in this style or another, the kiho monk can perform an additional Kiho Channeling per combat. The downside is you can only do targetting kiho and they must be transferred through your body, usually your fist or open palm.

Every level after 8, even in a different style, gives you 10 ki and another kiho.

-Tiger: The tiger style is one of agility and strength that encourages basic hand-to-hand fighting styles that are both brutally strong and yet quite agile and have advanced physical skills like climbing and swimming.

1: At level 1, the monk of the tiger style gets to enjoy a nice boost in strength AND agility.

2: At level 2, the tiger monk begins to learn an ancient style that involves curling your palms like claws to strike at your opponents. It appears at first to be harmless, but is truly a distraction for an ulterior motive. The tiger monk style is known for finding weak spots in armor and even some monster hide at level 7, and can locate these weak spots in a manner of 10 seconds while doing a little bit of damage with it's awkward palm strikes.

4: At level 4, the monk of the tiger style gets to enjoy a nice boost in his powers of movement in all aspects except flying and burrowing. So his running, jumping, swimming and climbing skills are increased.

6: At level 6, the palm strikes of the tiger made while looking for weak spots in armor is increased.

10: At level 10, the tiger style master may not only more quickly find weak spots in armor and hide, but destroy armor and disable many monsters with a single, exceedingly powerful and well placed palm strike.

Note: Due to the monk's training in palm strikes, without taking levels in other combative styles, monks may become reliant on the ability to palm strike and may actually lose power when doing regular punches until they finish the tiger style and move on to another style. This does not apply if these styles or classes were taken before levels in the tiger class were taken.


Clans:

The following are simply the most common types of monks in each clan. There are always exceptions, and remember PCs will only represent a tiny percentage of the entire population of this class, so feel free to make your own story.

Bear Clan: Most bear clan monks are retired samurai or peasants who wanted to fight for their clan but were unable to become Bushi for whatever reason. They have strong ties with their ancestors, usually being taught at a shrine or temple dedicated to a particular ancestor or group of ancestors.

Wolf Clan: Wolf clan monks range from retired warriors to pirates who have abandoned their 'unclean' ways. Others simply remain as pirates in an attempt to somewhat keep up the morality of their fellow crew, or to simply hone their martial prowess.

Rabbit Clan: Some monks unique to the Rabbit clan are trained in special temples dedicated to the moon and the shadows. They learn arts that almost seem like ninjutsu to outsiders.

Fox Clan: Fox clan monks are commonly found in natural or semi-natural shrines in the woodlands of the Fox, protecting the forest itself from intruders who would exploit its natural beauty.

Crane Clan: Crane clan monks seek perfection of their art at almost any cost. They are commonly the most dedicated to tradition and defense of their order.

Dragonfly Clan: Dragonfly monks are a very cloistered group with more secrets then most of the monasteries in the empire. They practice a unique advanced art only available to Shugenja/Monk that allows them to draw the elements into themselves to perform feats of great power that many time borders on the supernatural.

Sparrow Clan: Usually the most 'hardened' of the major clan monks, monasteries of the Sparrow are usually found in the harshest of climates in which the monks will undergo brutal training causing enormous physical damage to their own bodies in an attempt to reach and expand their own limits.