Traveller: Character Challenge 2023: 26/31: OSE Monk

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Character Challenge 2023: 26/31: OSE Monk

Reading my friend's challenge character for a C&C monk reminded me that my first D&D character I made was a monk, Dilbert I think. This was way back in the early 80s, I had none of the books and we generated the character probably in a session 0. The only thing I can really remember is that even then, the dice gods hated me & he could never hit anything either. He had an intelligent scythe, and that thing hated that monk as all he did was dig into the ground, I think. We had a lot of fun playing that. I still have fun even when I roll crappy: I just picture Fugh the Goblin flaying away like a 5-year-old having a temper tantrum: full of sound and fury but not doing a lot other than making noise and swinging wildly (the GM even gave me a fighting boost from one side adventure, but I still have barely a 50/50 chance of hitting anything in a melee combat encounter.

Interestingly, there is no monk class in OSE. Found a few places and ideas, but I'll could just crib from this post or perhaps from here. Or, in reading over the acrobat, that looks an awfully lot like a monk in terms of skill sets, just no religious overtones. Though I can add them in. We'll stick with the official rules, hoping that a monk class will come about at some point.

Rolling our stats:

Strength: 11
Intelligence: 9, speaks & is literate in common, lawful
Wisdom: 11
Dexterity: 16 +2 AC, +2 missile, +1 initiative
Constitution: 12
Charisma: 12

I did swap one set of rolls as dexterity is the primary stat for this class. Rolling my d4 of levels, and my even/odd for gender, we have a male 3rd level acrobat. And now I realize I need to find a mini that could be this particular class, though any roguish character miniature would probably be just fine. He has some nice skills (which are percentage-based):

CS - Climb sheer surfaces: 89%
FA - Falling and removes or reduces damage: 25%
HS - Hide in shadows (no movement at all): 20%
MS - Move silently: 30%
TW - tightrope walking (and beams and ledges): 70%

They cannot wear much in the way of armor other than leathers, and while they can use all missile weapons, they are limited to light blades and staffs. When running from combat, enemies do not get the +2 to hit (which is good to know that that is a thing: I really need to read up on the combat rules before running a game!). Acrobats are apparently quite evasive. There are some nice jumping rules - with a 20' lead, they can leap a 10' pit or chasm - so that's how we can get that rope to the other side!

Where it is an awful lot like a monk, a tumbling attack in melee does double damage. Against an unaware opponent, they also get a +4 to hit. We can rework this thematically as a fighting technique, though it does not improve by level. 3d4 for HP gives us 10 (I will allow any 1s to be re-rolled).

Tuncer Mete, Monk of the Drunken Goblet

The Drunken Goblet is not really a monastery or sect, but rather a name from a troupe of acrobats that wander the world in a large circus. Tuncer has been with the troupe almost 20 years, prematurely bald yet quite happy with it, saying it saves him from having to get his hair cut. While the troupe does wear what one assumes are monk robes, they are in fact a light leather armor. Sometimes juggling with knives does not always work out well! A heavy drinker who seems to fight better the more drunk he is, Tuncer always makes sure to find the best tavern in any town they visit. He has been known to do jobs for various adventurers, but is strict about not breaking any laws, and he does not see morality as a grey area. While occasionally profound, he is usually blithely drinking beer and watching the world with a grin on his face.