Customer Reviews

The Quintessential Monk (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying)

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I freely admit, that I'm a bit of a sucker for the underdog classes in 3.x D&D. My enjoyment of Mongoose Publishing's Quintessential series stems partially from the fact that when they get something right, they really hit it out of the park, and when they get something wrong, there's usually enough to keep a work from being completely useless. The Quintessential Monk is one of the ones they hit out of the park.

The introduction is well written and the enthusiasm the author has for the subject of martial arts and its relevance to Dungeons and Dragons is somewhat infectious - and his promise that the Quintessential Monk is the "last word on d20 martial arts) has so far rung true for me and the absolute dearth of martial arts oriented d20 products (despite there being an overwhelming amount of d20 products out there) is somewhat disheartening.

The first chapter of the book is the Character Concepts chapter, which is generally my favorite chapter in the Quintessential line. For those unfamiliar with the Quintessential line, the Character Concepts chapter focuses on presenting character archetypes that can be used as roleplaying aids. They're also nice in that they can give you a general idea of where your character came from, and then you can build on that foundation. Each of the concepts grants a small mechanical bonus and penalty to further differentiate characters from one another (usually without making a character overpowered in any way), as a Temple Orphan would have some differences compared to say, a Sumotori, pirate, or an acupuncturist (all possible character types).

The next chapter, the Prestige Monk, presents a number of prestige classes specifically for the Monk class, of which there were very few in the official products, and only some fit certain character archetypes. Either you followed the prestige class of your limited choice, or you had to remain a single classed Monk. This chapter alleviates such claustrophobic feelings, by adding the likes of the Blind Master, Deadly Venoms Boxer (a Monk who, obviously, uses poisons), Iron Legs Kickboxer, and the Street Acrobat. All of the prestige classes are five levels, and are thus less of a sacrifice for those in the Monk class. Having the classes be five levels also allows for the Monk to specialize in several ways of fighting or gain extra abilities that would normally be denied to them by the strict multiclassing rules that the Monk class is bound to.

Immediately following the prestige class chapter is Alternative Fighting Schools, which is probably the best addition to the Monk class ever presented. While the Unearthed Arcana (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) book would, two years later, have several alternate fighting schools for the Monk class, the Quintessential Monk did it first and did it better. There are six alternate fighting schools presented, including my personal favorite: the Smoke Sword fighting style. Whereas before the "Monk" weapons seemed a sort of sub-par afterthought, the Smoke Sword style focuses exclusively on armed combat.

Tricks of the Trade really expands the options for the Monk class. It includes rules on such diverse topics as pressure points, dirty tricks, and extra grappling options (aside from grappled or not grappled, pinned or not pinned...), as well as an extension of skill uses related to the Monk class. An example of this would be using Concentration to focus for the purpose of breaking objects, and the Heal skill to perform acupuncture.

The chapter dealing with Monk Feats is particularly good, as all of the feats reinforce the nearly superhuman nature of the Monk archetype. They aren't overpowered, they simply continue the theme of allowing the Monk to actually be the martial arts master that it claims to be.

Tools of the Trade is an exhaustive chapter that presents many historical weapons that would be appropriate for the Monk class. A noteworthy inclusion are the emei piercer and flying guillotine. Weapons are not the only items on display in this chapter, and tear-away robes are present, as well as several magical items.

The next two chapters are Tournaments, and Reknown, closely tied subjects. Tournaments deals with the rules of such things, and how to go about setting them up in game. Reknown is a simple method for keeping track of (what else) fame and infamy and what sorts of effects this might have (such as attracting students who wish to learn from the character).

Martial Arts Traditions is a discussion of things like entrance challenges, colored belts and rank, and how Ki is seen by the tradition. It's a good start for brainstorming about martial arts traditions in whatever fantasy world you might have set your game.

Legendary Forms provides a necessary "treasure" for members of the Monk class, who tend to be unable to use many of the more common magical items that other player characters might make use of. This chapter discusses the inclusion of special fighting forms that require time, energy, and usually experience points to learn - but once learned, are known to the martial artist forever. This helps keep the Monk class competitive with Paladins, Rangers, and even Fighters who will be getting access to spells, higher tiered feats, and weapons with magical enhancement bonuses. None of the forms are especially powerful, though with certain fighting styles and feat selections, the Monk could become formidable indeed - and why not, when the Paladin is Smiting Evil with a Holy Avenger, and the Wizard has Polar Ray?

The next chapter is called Building Monasteries and Schools, and details some basic construction rules and things a player or DM should consider when building a school for the martial arts. The rules are simple and easy to understand, and the descriptions are well written. The usefulness of this chapter will most likely vary from campaign to campaign and group to group, but it is well worth taking a look at.

As always, the last true page of the book is occupied by the designer's notes. Again, the author's clear enthusiasm for martial arts is infectious, and I wholeheartedly admit that the author knows a great deal more about the subject than I do. This book made me want to try out the Monk class again, and actually have fun with it this time. That isn't to bash those who enjoy the Monk class as it was before this book was printed - this book makes the Monk more exciting for me, and anyone who's looked at the Monk class and rolled a Fighter instead... I enthusiastically recommend this to you. Monk veterans? You should give this a look too. You might see more to like.

The Quintessential Monk was printed originally for 3rd Edition, so you will have to do some tweaking to make it work for 3.5. If that isn't a problem for you and you like that sort of thing, this book is well worth your time and effort. Those who don't like the hassle of conversion have been warned, so you go into this knowing what you're in for. It still might be worth your effort.