Swords of Cydonia Class: The Monk

One of the goals of the upcoming Swords of Cydonia campaign is to break with my usual conventions for playing D&D and explore some other sources of inspiration, like the Western, and game material I haven't made much use of before. While looking through my AD&D books for ideas I realized The Monk class was always something I disregarded as being "out of genre". I also realized that Muse's video for Knights of Cydonia not only has martial arts, but a few quick shots of a guy who looks like some kind of Monk!

Other films like Shanghai Noon (2000) and The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) also blend the Western with Martial Arts and Chinese Magic. While a Shaolin Monk might be out of place in Magical Medieval Europe, it actually seems like it would be a good fit for a Dark Fantasy Western!

Here's my first crack at a Monk character class.

Monk
Shaolin Monk, Martial Artist
Hit Dice: d6
Armor: No Armor or Shield while using Monk class abilities
Weapons: Roll up to d4 damage for weapons
Martial Arts Attack: Attack does d4 damage (+1 dice at Levels 3,5,7,9) counts as 2 "weapons"
Martial Arts Defence: Armor Class is 8 (+1 at Levels 2-8)
Mental Discipline: +2 on Saving Throws against Mind Attacks
Climb Walls: d12
Slow Fall: Avoid damage for each 10' fallen when near a wall by making a d4 save (+1 dice at Levels 3,5,7,9)
Meditation: Spend an hour each day meditating to regain d4 hit points (+1 dice at Levels 2,4,6,8)

Note: This class is using some new rules that I'll cover in future posts!

I'm not sure if any of the players will want to play a Monk, but I think they add a lot to the campaign setting and suggest other elements to add as well...