A MONK KIT FOR USE WITH THE PLAYERS OPTION HANDBOOKS
Copyright Rick Cross, December 1999, August 2015
Some terms herein are trademarks of TSR/Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro

This custom character is designed as a kit, for use with Players Option: Skills and Powers, Players Option: Combat and Tactics, and psionic talents from the Complete Psionicist Handbook as modified in Table 84 of Skills and Powers.  In order to use this kit, both player and DM should possess Skills and Powers, Combat and Tactics, and the Complete Psionics Handbook.  The Benefits and Hindrances for this kit are unusually detailed for a Players Option kit, but they were chosen to provide a way to duplicate the original monk Class without forcing a new class on the AD&D system.  Four new psionic powers allow a player to approximate the combat abilities of the traditional AD&D Monk of days gone by.  Keeping with the spirit of the Players Option series, this kit permits players to create customized characters far beyond what was possible with the 1st edition Monk class.  Have fun exploring the new avenues opened up by these optional rules!

THE MONK KIT

MONK  The Monk is a disciplined ascetic, most often encountered within Oriental settings.  Such persons devote their lives to mystic contemplation and the mastery of mind and body.  Children join a monastic order before adolescence, sometimes involuntarily, sometimes to escape discrimination due to mixed race, social status, or blood curses.  Monasteries are typically segregated by gender, and are sponsored by a local lord or powerful religious institution.  Cloistered in a studious and ordered social environment, young apprentices receive an above-average education supplemented by specialized training in martial arts and mental discipline.  In return, they are expected to provide labor for the monastery and unquestioning loyalty to the sponsoring lord or faith.  Upon being granted full status as a Monk, individuals are sometimes permitted to adventure outside the confines of the monastery, or are assigned quests which lead them afar.

Social Ranks:  Use the table below to select the social class in which the Monk was born.  As member of a monastic order, the mature Monk's social class will depend on how monastic orders are viewed by the monastery's host culture within the campaign setting.

   2d6 roll     Rank
    2 - 5       Lower Class
    5 - 9       Lower Middle Class
   10 - 11      Middle Class
     12         Upper Middle Class

Requirements: Race: Human; Class: Psionicist (monks may not tailor the class using Skills and Powers); Ability Score Minimums: Strength 15, Dexterity 15; Alignments Allowed: any Lawful.

Weapon Proficiencies:  Selection and CP costs as Psionicist; the Monk may also acquire proficiency with weapons from the Martial Arts Weapons list, below.  Unarmed combat styles may be selected as a single class Fighter with the Multiple Specialization class option.

Recommended Nonweapon Proficiencies:  any art or craft from General category; blindfighting; jumping; tumbling; healing; herbalism; local history; meditative focus.

Equipment:  No armor or shields permitted.  Weapons as psionicist class, plus additional choices available from the Martial Arts Weapon List (see Benefits).  Magic item and wealth restrictions described under Hindrances.

Recommended Traits:  Alertness, Inherent Immunity (any); Keen Sense (any).

Benefits:

The Monk may spend character points to acquire unarmed combat skills and talents, from Chapter 5 of Players Option: Combat and Tactics, as a single-class Warrior with the Multiple Specialization class option.  The 1st level Monk may only specialize in one MA style.  (If the DM dislikes Combat and Tactics unarmed combat, the open hand damage and attacks/round progression from the 1st Edition Players Handbook can be substituted.  Advancement on this progression should cost the character 2CP per increment, and should only be allowed once per each experience level.)  Monks receive 8 Weapon Proficiency CPs during character creation but must spend at least 5 of these on unarmed combat skills and talents.

Monks may maintain previously activated powers while delivering their full number of unarmed attacks.  Initiating a devotion may be performed instead of one unarmed attack.  Initiating a science may be performed in place of two unarmed attacks.

Armed combat and weapon proficiencies are allowed as normal for the psionicist class, plus access to the Martial Arts weapon list given beloe.  At character creation, the Monk may become proficient with one weapon from the Martial Arts Weapons list.

Monks gain access to the Priest nonweapon proficiency group instead of the Wizard group.

Monks receive a +1 bonus to MTHAC0s for all sciences and devotions within the disciplines of Psychometabolism and Psychokinesis.

Monks receive the nonweapon proficiency Reading/Writing for their native tongue at no cost. 

Hindrances:

The Monk may never use armor.  This proscription includes shields, helms, bracers, and gauntlets, either mundane or magical.   While a Monk wears armor or wields a shield, he loses all unarmed combat and psionic skills except for psionic defense modes. 

A Monk must maintain an ascetic lifestyle.  He may possess 2 magic weapons and 3 other magic items, and eschew excess wealth beyond what is required to meet normal living expenses.  This wealth must be donated to the order, or if the Monk is isolated from the order, to another worthy charity.

Monks may use only the following types of magic items:  Weapons (if allowed), rings, cloaks, and any miscellaneous magic items useable by thieves.

Monks receive a -1 penalty to MTHAC0s of all sciences and devotions outside of the Psychometabolism and Psychokinetic disciplines.

Monks are barred from the Telepathic and Psychoportive sciences.  They retain full access to all devotions.  If a Telepathic or Psychoportive devotion requires a science as a prerequisite, the Monk may assign a science slot to that science in order to meet the prerequisite, but may not activate that science, ever.


SPECIAL NOTES FOR USING THE PSIONICIST CLASS WITH SKILLS AND POWERS

Since the Psionicist description in Player's Option: Skills and Powers does not include any of the Skills and Powers character development rules, assume the following rules apply:

- Race allowed: Any

- Class Development:  Treat as if all class CPs are spent on choosing the Psionicist class.  Other third-party articles describe optional rules for tailoring the psionicist class using Character Points, but this is not allowed for the Monk.

- Weapon Proficiencies and CP Costs: As per Wizard class. 

- Nonweapon Proficiencies and CP Costs: As per Priest class; access to the Priest NWP Group in addition to Psionicist NWPs listed.

- Kits: As this Monk is treated as a psionicist kit, the character may not choose any other kit.


PSIONIC TALENTS: NEW AND MODIFIED

In order to approximate the combat skills of the 1ed AD&D Monk, four new talents are introduced, and a modification is made to one existing talent.  These new talents should be available only to monks, except as approved by the DM.  

Power Strike (Psychokinetic Devotion)
 MAC:             8
 PSP Cost:        2/1
 Range:           0
 Area of Effect:  Personal
 Prerequisite:    None
While active, Power Strike allows the Monk to make unarmed attacks (as described in Chapter 5 of Players Option: Combat and Tactics) that deliver 3/4 normal damage and 1/4 temporary damage.  The Monk must be at least proficient in the unarmed attack used with this power.

Puissant Strike (Psychokinetic Science)
 MAC:             4
 PSP Cost:        8/2
 Range:           0
 Area of Effect:  Personal
 Prerequisite:    9th Level of Experience
While active, Puissant Strike allows the Monk to make unarmed attacks (as described in Chapter 5 of Players Option: Combat and Tactics) against creatures that may only be hit by +1 magic weapons or better.  The Monk must be at least proficient in the unarmed attack used with this power.

Flesh Armor (Psychometabolic Devotion)
 MAC:             6
 PSP Cost:        5/2
 Range:           0
 Area of Effect:  Personal
 Prerequisite:    none
The Monk transforms his own skin into nonmagical armor.  This change is not detectable, except as a change to the Monk's armor class.  This talent grants no penalties to Monk abilities, encumbrance, or overall weight of the character.  Its effects may be combined with rings of protection.  The specific armor type mimicked depends on the Monk's level, as shown on the following table

  Level   Protection Afforded
    1     Left hand functions as shield, AC9
    2     Leather Armor, AC8
   3-4    Ring Mail, AC7
   5-6    Scale Mail, AC6
   7-8    Chain Mail, AC5
   9-10   Banded Mail, AC4
   11+    Plate Mail, AC3

(Note: This is a modification to the Flesh Armor talent described in the Complete Psionics Handbook.)

Rapid Strike (Psychometabolic Devotion)
 MAC:             8
 PSP Cost:        2/1
 Range:           0
 Area of Effect:  Personal
 Prerequisite:    None
While active, Rapid Strike allows the Monk to make unarmed attacks (as described in Chapter 5 of Players Option: Combat and Tactics) without giving the target an attack of opportunity.  The Monk must be at least proficient in the unarmed attack used with this power.

Weapon Kata (Psychometabolic Science)
 MAC:             7
 PSP Cost:        8/2
 Range:           0
 Area of Effect:  Personal
 Prerequisite:    6th Level of Experience
When using a weapon with which the Monk is proficient, Weapon Kata grants the Monk a bonus to damage equal to half the Monk's experience level (or Hit Dice), rounding down.  This bonus is not combined with any strength bonus to damage the Monk may possess; use the larger bonus only.   Magical weapon bonuses, or other bonuses due to spells or psionic talents, are cumulative with Weapon Kata.


MARTIAL ARTS WEAPONS

Chapter 5 of Players Option: Combat and Tactics refers to "martial arts weapons" without defining which weapons fall into this category.  The list below is a suggestion for players who wish to use such weapons.  The DM may wish to alter this list based on his own opinion of what qualifies as a "martial arts weapon."  Descriptions of these weapons may be found in Chapter 7 of Combat and Tactics.

 Bagh Nakh
 Blowgun
 Bo Stick
 Composite Long Bow
 Chain
 Chijikiri
 Club
 Dart
 Gunsen
 Katana
 Kau Sin Ke
 Kawanaga
 Kusari-gama
 Lajatang
 Light Crossbow
 Naginata
 Ninja-to
 Nunchaku
 Quarterstaff
 Sai
 Sang Kauw
 Shuriken
 Three-piece Rod
 Wakizashi


EXAMPLE OF MONK CHARACTER CREATION USING SKILLS AND POWERS

I desire to make a combat-capable Monk.  Other types of Monk are possible using the above rules, but I want to make one that approximates my old Monk player character, Hawk, from a campaign of yore.  In fact, I'm even going to name him Hawk, in honor of the old hero.

Hawk starts out with the following ability scores, and subabilities:

 Str 15 (Sta 14, Mus 16)
 Dex 16 (Aim 16, Bal 16)
 Con 16 (Hea 16, Fit 16)
 Int 12 (Rea 10, Kno 14)
 Wis 17 (Int 16, Wil 18)
 Cha 12 (Lea 12, App 12)

These scores qualify Hawk for both the Psionicist class, and the Monk kit.

In order to be a Monk, I must choose Human for Hawk's race.  For racial options, Hawk will have Tough Hide, which costs all of his 10 racial CPs and grants him a base armor class of AC8.  He's going to need it!

For class, I must select Psionicist, using Chapter 9 of Skills and Powers, as tailored above.  Using these rules, his total 1st level PSPs equal 24.  I record them, and his +2 save vs. Enchantment and Charm, the MTHAC0 of 20 and the THACO of 20 on his character sheet, plus the listed saving throws.  For Hawk's starting talents, I must choose 1 Psionic discipline, and from within that discipline select 1 Science and 3 Devotions.  I must also select one Attack Mode and 1 Defense Mode.  My choices are listed below:

 Discipline:   Psychometabolism
 Science:      Animal Affinity
 Devotions:    Cell Adjustment, Flesh Armor, Rapid Strike
 Attack Mode:  Mind Thrust
 Defense Mode: Mind Blank

Since I selected Animal Affinity, I must roll on the talent description's table to determine which animal Hawk's affinity is attuned to.  (Technically, I'm supposed to wait until Hawk first uses the devotion.)  For convenience I rolled a 14, Peregrine Falcon.  A hawk.

At this point, I must select the Monk kit for Hawk.  For social rank, I roll an 8 on 2d6, making him Lower Middle Class.  I must also find places on the character sheet to record all of the other benefits and hindrances imposed by the Monk kit.

Advancing to Nonweapon Proficiencies, I find that I have 8 CPs to spend on starting proficiencies, plus 4 more resulting from Hawk's Knowledge score.  To pin down the CP budget, I first choose the following Disadvantages:

 Disadvantages
  +8 CP  Compulsive Honesty
  +4 CP  Phobia (Crowds)
 ------
 +12 CP  Total Gained

This provides Hawk with a pool of 24 CPs to spend on Nonweapon Proficiencies and Advantages.  I choose the following from the General and Priest groups, and from the additional proficiencies available from Chapter 9 of Skills and Powers:

 Advantages
  -4 CP  Fast Healer
  -4 CP  Artistic Ability
 Proficiencies
   Free  Read/Write Common  (from Monk kit)
   Free  Contact  (from Psionicist class)
   Free  Mental Armor  (from Psionicist class)
  -2 CP  Rejuvenation
  -2 CP  Leather Working
  -2 CP  Swimming
  -3 CP  Orienteering
 -------
 -17 CP  Total Spent
  24 CP  Total Available
 =======
   7 CP  Balance

I record these proficiencies (and their target scores) on my character sheet and proceed to Weapon Proficiencies.

According to the kit description, Hawk receives 8 CP to spend on weapon proficiencies, at least 5 of which must be spent on unarmed combat.  Combined with the balance above, he has a total of 15 CP available.  His cost for weapon proficiencies is 3 CP, and for unarmed combat 2 CP.  I make the choices listed below:

 Proficiencies
  -3 CP  Dagger
  -2 CP  Proficiency, Martial Arts style A
  -2 CP  Expertise, Martial Arts style A
  -2 CP  Specialization, Martial Arts style A
  -2 CP  Proficiency, Martial Arts style B
  -2 CP  Expertise, Martial Arts style B
  -2 CP  Proficiency, Martial Arts style D
 -------
 -15 CP  Total Spent
 +15 CP  Total Available
 =======
   0 CP  Balance

Thus, Hawk is specialized in open hand attacks, makes kick attacks with expertise, and has proficiency with grappling attacks.  In a pinch, he can also use a dagger.  I record these details on Hawk's character sheet.

To finish the character, I select his alignment to be lawful neutral, and determine his various numerical totals, such as hit points, weight allowance, height, weight, movement, and the rest.  And I record his name: Hawk.