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#1 talinthas Dec 01, 2003 4:20:39

So i was brainstorming cool monks for the contest, and came up with this quirky little concept that i thought was a bit too far out there to submit. So, in good fanboy fashion, i'm dumping it here for thoughts and comments =) THINKERS OF MAJERE- In the records of the great sage Astinus, it is recorded that the gnomes of krynn view the mantis lord as the greatest machinest in the cosmos. Majere, being responsible for the creation of insects, has long been revered by the gnomoi for his utterly elegant and efficient designs, with nary a wasted componant or motion. Tinker gnomes generally viewed Majere as uninteresting, as his insects hardly came with attachments or upgrades. With the coming of the Fifth age, and Reorx lifting his curse from a select few gnomes, the cult of the Machinist has staged a modest revival in the halls of Mt Nevermind, and in the thinker gnome colony near Tarsis. Here, gnomes dedicate themselves to the meditation and simple designs of Majere, and develop machines, body armors, and fighting styles based on the simple elegance of the insect world. It is not unusual to see a vehical with armor flaps and pincers in the style of a Mantis or stag beetle, and relatively common to see gnomes testing cocoon-like body armor. These cultists are generally viewed with frank curiosity by other thinkers, and disdainful pity from the tinker population at large, mainly for turning away from Reorx. Those gnomes who chose to become monks of the Machinist generally tend to invent aids for grappling and disabling their opponants. Never much for lethal violence, these gnomes prefer to follow the way of the spider, and develop alchemical webs to trap opponants, or the way of the beetle, and invent solid armors to shield their forces, and so on. Current research is aiming for grasshopper emulation to increase jumping ability for potential use in kick practice. Vehicularly, a caterpillar style gnome mover is currently in high fashion, though its counterpart butterfly is still in committee. In game rules, the Monks of the Machinist are standard monks, with a few levels of expert or rogue for tinkering skills. They may warrent a PrC, but i doubt that they need anything not already provided by a standard multiclass. Tinkering is a philosophy, not a class.