Monk¶
A Monk turns movement, resolve, and the empty hand into a complete fighting style. The calling is not “a Warrior without a weapon”: it favors battlecraft and wayfaring, claims Lesser Coal as its signature foundation, and fights by avoiding the hit before answering it.
| Calling feature | Monk |
|---|---|
| Aptitudes | Grace, Resolve |
| Casting aptitude | Resolve |
| Magic | Lesser Coal favored; other foundations familiar |
| Guild | none currently |
| Natural strengths | brawling, dodging, fitness, maneuvers, willed defenses |
Building the character¶
Grace contributes to Guard, movement, and physical contests. Resolve supports Stamina and the Lesser Coal tradition. Might still matters because fists must land with force; Vigor makes close-range mistakes survivable.
Core directions are:
- Unarmed Combat as the primary attack discipline;
- Evasion and Conditioning for the body that must remain in reach;
- Martial Tactics for control and resistance;
- Awareness for situational awareness;
- Channeling and Lesser Coal only at the pace your chosen workings require.
Armor and shields are possible detours, but they compete with the identity's best movement advantages. Check the actual TRAIN price before assuming another calling's defensive plan transfers cleanly.
Fighting rhythm¶
READY is a strong default. Shift to PRESS once the target's timing is understood, BRACE while recovering stamina or posture, and SHELTER when the only sensible move is to survive. ASSAULT is a commitment, not a permanent personality.
Deep Unarmed Combat unlocks TECHNIQUE HAMMERFISTS, a two-handed impact that costs stamina and recovery. Martial Tactics provides other control options, while posture and encumbrance materially affect physical contests.
The Monk's defense comes from several smaller decisions—Grace, Evasion, stance, posture, load, and timing—rather than one immunity switch.
Lesser Coal¶
Lesser Coal is the Monk's exclusive circle. Its workings express intention as force: projected strikes, willed hide, anticipation, control, and dislocation. Lesser Breath adds a separate path to shared wards and road magic.
The calling can begin as an entirely physical fighter and add magic later, or budget Channeling from the start. Either way, SPELLS is authoritative for actual rank requirements and mana; catalogue suffixes are deliberately unrelated to both.
First outing¶
Fight unarmed, keep your carried load light, and watch the difference between READY, PRESS, and BRACE. Learn how much stamina Hammerfists leaves before using it as an opener. Add circle study only when you can name the working it is buying.
Common mistakes¶
- Neglecting Might because Grace and Resolve are the aptitudes.
- Wearing heavy equipment without paying for the training it demands.
- Emptying stamina before the dangerous part of a fight.
- Buying broad circle ranks without enough mana to use the result.
- Confusing high Guard with immunity to warding or magical maneuvers.