my player wants an oriental monk

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

zombiegleemax

Oct 29, 2003 21:52:37
after the death of one of my players PC, he goes about telling me he wanted an oriental monk PC.

i looked around the net for a complete map of the whole planet of oerth. i found one that was originaly printed in dragon annual '96. there are two lands that are so obviously asian, the celestial imperium and nippon. anyway, i would like to know are there any "official" fluff written about these lands, if not, then fan-based.
#2

zombiegleemax

Oct 29, 2003 22:07:08
I know it's hard, but I've tried to cater to players wishes like this one before and it ultimately wrecks the game.

There are no oriental monks in Greyhawk unless you want them, period. You're the DM, occassionally you have to put your foot down. Players have gazillions of options as it is so denying them one isn't a big deal, IMO, especially since they CAN have monks, just not oriental ones. If they chuck a hissy fit, then they're just being childish twats and you should kick them out anyway.

Of course, if you're insistant on catering to every little whim your players have, then there's always the fan-based write-ups on those areas on CF and Kara-Tur was originally supposed to be on Oerik anyway, so all you really have to do is change maps.

You could also stick the Oriental Adventures world on Oerik (I forget what it's called) without too much difficulty.

You'd still have to explain how they travelled several thousand miles, in safety, without earning one iota of XP (if starting at 1st level) or how the hell they survived such a treacherous journey. Which leaves very little else but really cheesy options which of course dilutes the feel of your game and messes with suspension of disbelief however it's your game, so do what your players tell you to do.
#3

zombiegleemax

Oct 29, 2003 22:15:14
i know that. i did this before years ago in a FR campaign where everybody wanted samurais! the game quickly died after that.

he will start out as 2nd level and i was thinking of the PC being apart of a trade envoy. he get's seperated by whatever reason and he ends up with the party. (i'll have to flesh out a little more than that with my players input)

it could be done, there are "asian" lands in greyhawk. it is after all on the map, and that map is official. and i vaguely recall reading in one of those gord the rogue novels that there was an oriental character.
#4

solaris

Oct 30, 2003 1:06:23
Am I misunderstanding you guys, or aren't you aware that the D&D monk is based on the Shao-lin monk, and not the Christian monk?
#5

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 1:06:42
Hey, that short story is the canon, afaik. The Suhfang Empire is what Gygax named it. Its people are called Suhfeng. Erik Mona, aka Iquander, posted about several Suhfeng outposts back in the day on AOL. Recently, Scott Casper has referenced those posts in his overview of Oerik, hosted on Canonfire.com. Erik's original "Utter West" posts may also be available therein as a download.

Following Erik's stuff, the character could be from that outpost-land -- I've forgotten what it's called.

I suggest introducing the player to the Baklunish traditions of monk-hood, however. The LGG has fine information on Xan Yae and Zuoken. A 2d lvl Bakluni monk makes far better "sense" than one from the Suhfang Empire.
#6

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 1:46:20
Do you have Gygax's "Oriental Adventures" several monkish classes to choose from in there.
#7

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 6:03:05
The Oriental Adventures monk is a lot better than the AD&D one. Why not allow him to have the monk, with an oriental philosophy, but as a kind of westernised secret society - school.

After all there is the assumption that Grayhawk is just for white men and girls, surely there are other cultures and ethnicities out there....
#8

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 6:18:18
Originally posted by dogstar
After all there is the assumption that Grayhawk is just for white men and girls, surely there are other cultures and ethnicities out there....

Huh?

The only caucasian race is the Suel who are either barbaric or a part of a despised and evil empire at the bottom of the world.
#9

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 8:56:26
The Scarlet Brotherhood canon monk (if you have the resource) is very similiar to the OA version as easily adaptable into a campaign IMO.
#10

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 9:48:25
Originally posted by Delglath
Huh?

The only caucasian race is the Suel who are either barbaric or a part of a despised and evil empire at the bottom of the world.

no they're not. the suel are like the mythical aryans of history. explains why the scarlet brotherhood draws similarities to nazis. oeridians and bakluni are caucasoids as well. there are many cultures on our own planet that are scientifically classed as caucasian, same goes for oerth.
#11

Halberkill

Oct 30, 2003 12:19:43
Sufang

It would not be out of possibility that he came from Sufang, being there is a Magus Yeo in Greyhawk City who is from Sufang as related in the "City of Hawks" novel.

And there was also a "Fon-du-ling of Faraaz" in the novel "Quag Keep", which is set on Oerth. Of course it is a puerile pun, but maybe there is a Faraaz on Oerth and like various Earthen Chinese names, the cultural differences cause much humour to be had.

Halber
#12

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 17:57:45
Originally posted by SputnikCorp
no they're not. the suel are like the mythical aryans of history. explains why the scarlet brotherhood draws similarities to nazis. oeridians and bakluni are caucasoids as well. there are many cultures on our own planet that are scientifically classed as caucasian, same goes for oerth.

Sorry, caucasian was the incorrect word to use. I'll use the word that the original poster did... white people.

There is only one 'white' race on Oerth, and they're the Suel. All other races are olive-skinned, light brown, tan, golden to bronze. It's one of the things I like about Greyhawk; the fact that it AIN'T full-o a bunch of white people running around dominating everything
#13

zombiegleemax

Oct 30, 2003 18:28:01
uhm, delglath...nevermind.

Tizoc, thank you. i'm not going to be running a campaign in this country (way too much work) but the info you provided is more than fair.
#14

zombiegleemax

Nov 01, 2003 23:13:48
The shipwreck, the long walk or the teleport. How does a 1st level character travel a great distance and comes to a strange land?

The shipwreck. After leaving Nippon with a boat full of trade goods and a 5th level cleric, the ship encounters a severe storm. For several days the boat is tossed around and some of the crew is lost. When the storm is over, the ship is hopelessly off course far from it's native coast. Luckily the cleric can provide fresh water, the sea has fish and the weather is holding up. After several weeks they land somewhere in the Flanaess.

The long walk. PC is accompanied by his mentor, a cleric/monk of Farlanghn. The cleric decides to travel east to the Flanaess.

Teleport. I think this one is obvious. Anything can lead to this. Punishment for a crime is exile to someplace far! Teleport accident when a spell goes awry. Etc...
#15

zombiegleemax

Nov 02, 2003 6:47:01
Lame.

Lame.

Cheesy.
#16

zombiegleemax

Nov 02, 2003 9:48:47
Originally posted by Delglath
Lame.

Lame.

Cheesy.

thanks! i'm going to green light the idea with my player.

hmmm, lovely cheese....
#17

zombiegleemax

Nov 02, 2003 21:28:56
There is a time and place for lame and cheesy solutions. Besides, my proposed character history ideas are clearly under developed. They need much more refinement and details.

If you don't like the explanations I came up with, have the player do it. Let him/her explain how and why the character is in the East.