September 1981 Dragon He’s got a lot to kick about!

by Philip Meyers Practical experience with monk char- level’s worth of experience points, just as acters reinforces the conclusion. In this if the monk had been energy-drained. A Of all the character classes in the author’s experience, there seem to be wealthy fighter who has been struck by a AD&D™ game, the class of monks is the two ways for a monk character to survive wight can pay a large sum for a Restora- most difficult to qualify for. A monk must to reach upper levels. The first is for the tion spell. The defeated monk has no have exceptional strength, wisdom, and monk to acquire a powerful magic item such option. In effect, this limits the dexterity, and — if he or she wishes to that offsets one or more of the monk’s monk to 7th level, or at best means that survive for very long — constitution. weaknesses, like a Ring of Regenera- the monk will ultimately need 2 or 3 times The odds of rolling up such a charac- tion, Bracers of Defense AC 2, or a Cloak as many experience points as listed, ter, even using the various “cheating me- of Displacement. The other way is for the since the luck of the die will invariably thods” listed in the Dungeon Masters monk to cower at the back of the party, cause the monk to be defeated a number Guide, are not favorable. Given this, one avoiding combat wherever possible. This of times. Worst of all, the monk may have would expect a monk to be a powerful means the monk is generally useless to stand off challenges by NPC monks, character indeed. At first glance this and, aside from opening a few locked and who can say how many Superior would appear to be true. The Grand Mas- doors now and then, does nothing be- Masters will be out looking for the char- ter of Flowers can reasonably claim to be sides siphon off experience points from acter who finally makes it to Master of the most powerful fighter around, able to more deserving characters. Neither of Dragons? inflict 128 points of damage in a single these situations is wholly satisfactory. In essence, then, the monk is a useless round. This superiority, however, is more Of course, one can always argue that, character at lower and middle levels, and theoretical than real. In actual practice, once the monk finally does make it to the is extremely difficult to maintain at upper the monk is the weakest of the character upper levels, the long wait was worth it. levels. The player with visions of Bruce classes, not the strongest. An 8th-level monk is just about competi- Lee or David Carradine dancing in his or The sources of a monk’s weakness are tive with 8th-level characters in the other her head is in for a big letdown when many. First, monks are severely handi- classes, and is clearly superior to an 8th- such a player tries to run a monk capped in armor class. The Novice starts level thief, or even a 9th-level thief. character. at AC 10, is denied the use of any armor, However, it is by no means certain that The idea of a character class of martial and receives no armor class adjustment the monk character will ever get to 8th artists is undeniably a good one, and for dexterity. This situation fails to im- level, even should he or she honestly monks deserve a place in the AD&D sys- prove for a long time — at 5th level the earn the 200,001 experience points re- tem. But how, then, can monks be made hapless monk is a mighty AC 7. quired. This is due to the requirement competitive and (if possible) more in- As for hit points, the average 1st-level that a monk of this level or higher must teresting? monk with a 16 constitution has 9 hit fight and defeat the present title holder It is possible to cure the defects in the points. The extra hit die at 1st level is not in order to advance in level. Thus, every present system without changing the na- enough to allow the monk to keep up time the player-character monk attempts ture of monks at all, as the following with clerics, fighters, or even thieves, for to advance in level beyond the 7th, the suggested system demonstrates. very long. At 5th level the monk with a 16 character must ran a basic 50% chance First, in place of Tables I and II on page constitution has an average 25 hit points, of losing and failing to achieve the level. 31 of the Players Handbook, use the re- where the cleric has 32½, the fighter 37½, Worse still, the price of defeat is a full vised tables given herein. and the thief 27½. (No one should play a monk with a constitution of less than 16; the figures will humiliate. the monk.) MONKS TABLE I: EXPERIENCE POINTS AND LEVELS The multiple attacks with open hands 6-sided dice for accu- that are supposed to be the monk’s forte Experience Points Level mulated hit points Level Title are still negligible at 5th level, becoming 0—1,500 1 2 Novice appreciable only at 6th level, where the 1,501—3,000 2 3 Initiate of the Rudiments monk receives 3 attacks every 2 rounds. 3,001—6,000 34initiate of the Elements Fighters are, however, quick to catch up; 6,001—12,000 45Initiate of the Principles at 7th level they also acquire this ability. 12,001—25,000 56Brother The spell-like powers of monks are 25,001—40,000 67Disciple laughable when compared to the spell 40,001—70,000 7 8 Disciple of Secrets abilities of clerics or magic-users. Just 70,001—110,000 89Disciple of Mysteries as the 6th-level magic-user is acquiring a 110,001—160,000 9 10 Immaculate second Fireball with which to destroy 160,001—220,000 10 11 Master the enemy, the 6th-level monk is learn- 220,001—400,000 11 12 Superior Master ing to feign death. 400,001—650,000 12 13 Master of Dragons The ability to stun or kill an opponent 650,001—900,000 13 14 Master of the North Wind is next to worthless at low and middle 900,001—1,150,000 14 15 Master of the West Wind levels because the monk’s chance of do- 1,150,001—1,400,000 15 16 Master of the South Wind ing it is so small, and because the monk’s 1,400,001—1,650,000 16 17 Master of the East Wind awful armor class and hit points prevent 1,650,001—1,900,000 17 18 Master of Winter the character from spending too much 1,900,001—2,200,000 18 19 Master of Autumn time in melee. Also, monks advance 2,200,001—2,500,000 19 20 Master of Summer more slowly in level than any other char- 2,500,001—2,800,000 20 21 Master of Spring acter class at middle and upper levels. 2,800,001+ 21 22 Grand Master of Flowers 7 Dragon Vol. VI, No. 3

MONKS TABLE II: MONKS ABILITY TABLE otherwise very large, and against crea- Effective Open hand Open hand Special tures with a natural armor class of 0 or Level Armor Class Move attacks/round damage abilities better. 1 6 15” 1 1-4 A 2: A monk’s thieving abilities are limit- 2 5 15” 1 1-6 B ed to Moving Silently, Finding (but not 3 4 16” 1 2-7 C removing) Traps, Hiding in Shadows, 4 3 16” 3/2 2-7 D Hearing Noises, and Climbing Walls. 5 3 17” 3/2 2-8 E 3: Single combat as a means of ad- 6 2 17” 3/2 3-9 F vancement is not required until the monk 7 2 18” 2 3-9 G reaches 12th level, and then only if the 8 1 18” 2 2-12 H title is occupied (see below). A monk 9 1 19” 2 3-12 I who loses a challenge loses 100,000 ex- 10 0 20” 5/2 3-12 J perience points and cannot challenge 11 0 20” 5/2 4-13 K again for 1 year. 12 -1 21” 5/2 4-16 L 4: At 10th level a monk’s hands and 13 -1 22” 3 4-16 M feet become the equivalent of +1 wea- 14 -2 23” 3 5-17 N pons for purposes of determining what 15 -2 24” 3 5-20 0 creatures they can do damage to. At 18th 16 -3 25” 3 4-24 P level they become the equivalent of +2 17 -3 26” 4 4-24 Q weapons. (Moral: You can’t karate-chop 18 -4 27” 4 6-24 R an iron golem.) 19 -4 28” 4 5-30 S 20 -5 29” 4 8-32 T Upper-level advancement options 21 -5 30” 4 6-36 U Monks can be either lawful good, law- ful neutral, or lawful evil. The Players Special abilities 100% chance of success, usable once a Handbook makes no mention of separ- A: The ability to feign death, as the week, maximum duration 1 hour per lev- ate monastic orders for these alignment present monk ability D: el of the monk. types; it follows that all monks are part of B: The mind-masking ability (resist- P: Object Reading, as the psionic abil- one big brotherhood, whether they be ance to ESP), as present monk ability B. ity, once a day. good or evil. In many respects, this does C: The Speak with Animals ability, Q: Dimension Walk, as the psionic not make a great deal of sense. For in- present monk ability A. ability, 1 hour per 2 levels the monk has stance (and this is a relatively minor D: The self-healing ability (present achieved, usable once a day. point), the title names for monks sound monk ability E); plus immunity to dis- R: Astral Projection, once a week, as like they were designed for lawful good, ease (present ability C), also including the cleric spell, but only the monk may or lawful neutral, monks only. An evil immunity to Haste and Slow spells. so travel. Grand Master of Flowers? Hmmmm. E: Body Equilibrium, as the psionic S: A premonition of death or serious Either we must do away with evil ability, except that it can be used but harm occurs to the monk 1-4 turns be- monks, which would be a loss, or the once per day, for 1 round per level of the fore the harmful event, 90% of the time. system can be altered to more approp- monk. Also, the monk acquires Mind T: The monk acquires the ability to riately account for them. Over Body, usable for up to 1 day per generate a Tower of Iron Will or an Intel- One solution to this problem is to al- level of the monk. lect Fortress about himself or herself, low the existence of separate, parallel F: Empathy, as the psionic ability, but duration 1 round per level of the monk, monastic orders, at least three of them usable only once a day. usable once a day. The monk must con- and perhaps more. There could then be G: Invisibility, as the psionic power, centrate to use this power, and cannot more than one of each of the upper-level but usable once a day for 1 turn per level do anything else besides walking slowly. monks, but only one per title per order. the monk has achieved beyond the 6th. If the monk’s concentration is broken, Each order would then decide how to H: Molecular Manipulation, as the the defenses disappear. solve the advancement problem. Lawful psionic power, usable against inanimate U: Planeshift, as the cleric spell, twice neutral orders might opt for the present objects only, once a day. Monks are Ii- a day. system, as modified by “3” above. mited to the 8th level of mastery in this Lawful evil orders might insist that power. Note on quasi-psionic monk abilities combat be to the death, thus solving the I: Resistance to charms, hypnosis, etc. The powers in the above list that refer problem of rematches constantly plagu- as present monk ability G, plus 18 intelli- to the psionics section of the Players ing upper-level figures. gence for purposes of Telepathic and Handbook should be played as though Lawful good orders might forbid ad- Mind Blast attacks, as present ability H. the monk were psionic with regard to vancement by combat, requiring candi- J: Retarded aging, as though the computing level of mastery, range, etc. dates to wait until vacancies occur. monk were using a Phylactery of Long Instead of expending psionic strength When, for instance, the reigning Master Years, plus immunity to poison (present points to use the abilities, the monk of Winter dies, all lower masters could ability I), and immunity to Geas and simply abides by the use restrictions advance upon obtaining sufficient expe- Quest (present ability J). given above. If the monk character is ac- rience points. A panel of masters would K: Body Control, as the psionic ability, tually psionic, attack/defense totals and decide whom to promote from among once a day for a maximum of 1 turn per modes may be used normally, but the the three Masters of Dragons and the level of the monk beyond the 10th. psionic monk never receives disciplines current Superior Masters. L: The “Quivering Palm,” present abil- other than those inherent in the class’s Advancement by default should indeed ity K. special abilities. occur on a fairly regular basis in any sort M: Dimension Door, once a day, as the of monastic order, if only because the magic-user spell. Other suggested changes reigning Grand Master of Flowers is N: Speak with Plants, as a druid, pres- 1: Open hand damage done is halved, probably close to death (being old), di- ent ability F. rounding up, when the monk is attacking vine ascension (being powerful), or both. O: Mind Bar, as the psionic ability, a creature 10 feet or more in height, or These odds are suggested for such events: 8 September 1981 Dragon

to come by would mean the monk char- acter would become extremely powerful too quickly and too easily. Also, monkish combat has become a traditional many players may be loath to give up.

Rationale for rule changes Certain salient points of this alterna- tive system need more explanation. It is suggested that monks receive six-sided dice for their hit dice instead of four- sided dice. This is to cure the monk’s hit-point disadvantage. Armor class, attacks per round, and damage per attack have been for low and middle-level monks. The new intermediate experience lev- els allow the monk to rise as high as 11th level before advancement by combat becomes necessary. This is an important change, for it allows the monk who has been unsuccessful in challenging his or her superiors to go on an upper-level adventure. Also, it makes the rank of Master a good deal more formidable, and puts it on a par with the “name” ranks of other classes, such as Master Thief, Lord, or Wizard. The new special abilities and powers presume that the inner strength of monks flows from the mind —that it is a sort of psionic power. After all, no degree of skill or knowledge will let a human being fall an unlimited distance when within 8’ of a wall and take no damage when hit- ting bottom at terminal velocity. Also, damage from open hand attacks of upper-level monks is hard to explain on the basis of physical skill alone. Can you imagine Bruce Lee killing a purple worm in,? melee round with four mighty karate chops? Present rules let high- level masters do just that. The half- damage rule proposed above is designed Chance of vacancy would be relatively fewer challenges in a to partially cure this situation; even so, Level Title (per Year) lawful evil order. some form of magical mind-power is the 12 Master of Dragons 3% In a lawful good order not advocating only way to account for the things monks 13 Master of the North Wind 1% advancement by combat, a DM might can do. Moreover, the present monk 14 Master of the West Wind 1% contrive to say the Grand Master of powers closely resemble the related psi- 15 Master of the South Wind 1% Flowers always rules for 1 year only, and onic disciplines. The new powers given 16 Master of the East Wind 1% at the end of that time becomes a divine above simply extend this principle, and 17 Master of Winter 2% being on one of the outer planes — insur- are designed to make the monk a rea- 18 Master of Autumn 2% ing a steady stream of vacancies. sonably powerful and versatile character 19 Master of Summer 4% A lawful good monk would never lose even at low and middle levels. 20 Master of Spring 6% experience points under this system. The thieving abilities of Removing 21 Grand Master of Flowers 10% Such a monk would either have his or her Traps and Opening Locks were deleted total “frozen” at some point (say, 1 point because it is not clear how or why monks Naturally, figures like these will vary short of the level occupied by another), should have such abilities. For what pur- from campaign to campaign. Numbers or the DM could allow the monk’s total to pose does a monastic aesthetic learn to are given here only as an example of how continue to increase but deny the monk pick locks? Surely not all monks are ad- such a system should be set up. Note the actual attainment of the new level venturers; why then do these monks that the chance given for each master until a vacancy occurred. The monk learn skills usable nowhere else but on level should be rolled for once per year, could then save up experience in ad- an adventure? 10 total rolls to be made. These chances vance, but would be limited in this en- In game terms, it is no longer neces- do not take into account possible deaths deavor to a total 1 point short of two sary to make the monk act as a second- resulting from challenge combats. The levels beyond the monk’s current level. rate thief so that the monk will have DM will have to establish how often each No matter how it is managed, there something to do on an adventure. The master will be challenged. The Masters must be some form of restriction on monk as redefined in this article is a first- of Dragons could each be challenged as monk advancement beyond the 11th lev- rate warrior and scout (if an Infravision often as 2-8 times per year in a lawful el. Unrestricted advancement in a cam- spell is used), and no longer needs such neutral order as described above. There paign where experience points are easy additional abilities. 9