Character concept help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Character concept help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Novacat
03-03-06, 02:29 AM So... I'm gonna be in a Greyhawk game soon, and a character concept I'm work on is as follows:

A young human monk trainee, who shows a great deal of potential and talent, but has a rebellious personality. His teachers are becoming distressed regarding his disrespect for authority and law, and forbid him to leave the monastery until such time as he can show himself an honorable member of the order. He rebels, and leaves, heading into the nearby mountains to camp out for the night; an act of outright rebellion.

When he returns, he finds the monastery in ruins, having been attacked by some unknown assailants. His heart is torn apart by the sight of the ruins, and he swears that he shall never again fail in his duties, or lose sight of the ultimate monk goal of physical, mental, and spiritual perfection through discipline. Such turmoil he was in, that to seal his oath, he calls out to his deity to blind him, and he takes an oath of blindness as penance, that he should not regain his sight until he has shown himself worthy of his former masters' respect.

What I'm having trouble with first, is what deity should he serve? I'm not terribly familiar with Greyhawk, so if someone could suggest a suitable deity, I would appreciate it. Secondly, how badly will being blind affect me? I'm going to assume that over years he would become accustom to it and be able to compensate sufficiently to be mobile. What sort of obstacles do y'all think he would overcome, being blind for so long, that most characters would find difficult when temporarily blinded?
Parker_W
03-03-06, 02:58 AM Have you looked at the Blind Master prestige class out of the Quintessential Monk book? A requirement of the class is that you have to be blind.
Novacat
03-03-06, 04:16 AM No I haven't... only ever saw that book in passing. I don't want a prestige class anyways. I want to be a monk who has taken a vow of blindness.
Tempest Stormwind
03-03-06, 04:45 AM Zuoken is probably a good bet. He's a Greyhawk demigod, admittedly, but very monk-like, as he was a monk while he was a mortal. He is detailed in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, but I can give you a few tips here.

He is based around perfection of the self, and (unlike much of greyhawk) favors psionics over other supernatural approaches (as they are extensions of one's mind and body), but still prefers above all else one's own power. This also opens up wonderful options mechanically -- psionic feats have a very wuxia feel to them if you decide to take that road, and the Fist of Zuoken PrC associated with him is actually available in the SRD under the name Psionic Fist (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/psionicFist.htm) -- as well as the usual approaches to dealing with blindness.

Eventually, his path to perfection may be so great that Zuoken grants him the ability to see without sight, at least briefly -- taking levels in Fist of Zuoken to open up powers like Synesthete (feel light or sound) or Touchsight (touch-based blindsight at a distance), for instance, or talking to your DM about loosening up on Wild Talent into Hidden Talent (Synesthete) at a level other than 1.

His prayers are also in a very distinctive form. The sample they give begins with "Zuoken, me to the pinnacle take..." (as if you're doing a direct translation of German to English without reordering words, IIRC). I can't break the OGL and list more, but I can take a small quote: "Zuoken encourages his followers to be disciplined, serene masters of their minds and bodies."

So, if you assume that your character is interested in improving his mind as well as his body, Zuoken is the perfect match. You'll have a lot of difficulty in the low levels (have a very high Wisdom and Listen a lot) but eventually, your own progress down Zuoken's philosophies may lead to your own awakening of senses you didn't know you had (the afforementioned powers) that allow you to overcome.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Novacat 03-03-06, 02:29 AM	So... I'm gonna be in a Greyhawk game soon, and a character concept I'm work on is as follows: A young human monk trainee, who shows a great deal of potential and talent, but has a rebellious personality. His teachers are becoming distressed regarding his disrespect for authority and law, and forbid him to leave the monastery until such time as he can show himself an honorable member of the order. He rebels, and leaves, heading into the nearby mountains to camp out for the night; an act of outright rebellion. When he returns, he finds the monastery in ruins, having been attacked by some unknown assailants. His heart is torn apart by the sight of the ruins, and he swears that he shall never again fail in his duties, or lose sight of the ultimate monk goal of physical, mental, and spiritual perfection through discipline. Such turmoil he was in, that to seal his oath, he calls out to his deity to blind him, and he takes an oath of blindness as penance, that he should not regain his sight until he has shown himself worthy of his former masters' respect. What I'm having trouble with first, is what deity should he serve? I'm not terribly familiar with Greyhawk, so if someone could suggest a suitable deity, I would appreciate it. Secondly, how badly will being blind affect me? I'm going to assume that over years he would become accustom to it and be able to compensate sufficiently to be mobile. What sort of obstacles do y'all think he would overcome, being blind for so long, that most characters would find difficult when temporarily blinded?
Parker_W 03-03-06, 02:58 AM	Have you looked at the Blind Master prestige class out of the Quintessential Monk book? A requirement of the class is that you have to be blind.
Novacat 03-03-06, 04:16 AM	No I haven't... only ever saw that book in passing. I don't want a prestige class anyways. I want to be a monk who has taken a vow of blindness.
Tempest Stormwind 03-03-06, 04:45 AM	Zuoken is probably a good bet. He's a Greyhawk demigod, admittedly, but very monk-like, as he was a monk while he was a mortal. He is detailed in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, but I can give you a few tips here. He is based around perfection of the self, and (unlike much of greyhawk) favors psionics over other supernatural approaches (as they are extensions of one's mind and body), but still prefers above all else one's own power. This also opens up wonderful options mechanically -- psionic feats have a very wuxia feel to them if you decide to take that road, and the Fist of Zuoken PrC associated with him is actually available in the SRD under the name Psionic Fist (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/psionicFist.htm) -- as well as the usual approaches to dealing with blindness. Eventually, his path to perfection may be so great that Zuoken grants him the ability to see without sight, at least briefly -- taking levels in Fist of Zuoken to open up powers like Synesthete (feel light or sound) or Touchsight (touch-based blindsight at a distance), for instance, or talking to your DM about loosening up on Wild Talent into Hidden Talent (Synesthete) at a level other than 1. His prayers are also in a very distinctive form. The sample they give begins with "Zuoken, me to the pinnacle take..." (as if you're doing a direct translation of German to English without reordering words, IIRC). I can't break the OGL and list more, but I can take a small quote: "Zuoken encourages his followers to be disciplined, serene masters of their minds and bodies." So, if you assume that your character is interested in improving his mind as well as his body, Zuoken is the perfect match. You'll have a lot of difficulty in the low levels (have a very high Wisdom and Listen a lot) but eventually, your own progress down Zuoken's philosophies may lead to your own awakening of senses you didn't know you had (the afforementioned powers) that allow you to overcome.