Loopy's NPC Series:
The Monk
Good day to you all! Welcome to the next installment of the NPC series. The Monk, as you all know is a very fun, yet difficult archetype to rein in. You might be thinking, “Well what’s so tough? Watch a few episodes of Kung Fu and throw in a Jackie Chan movie or two and you have yourself a Monk. It’s really not that easy, especially for a Dungeon Master. Evil Monks are at best jerks, and at worst megalomaniacal warlords. They can be mean, playground bullies that are, to be perfectly honest very fun to play!
Student:
Lower-level antihero and villain Monks generally fall into two categories. The first of these two is the initiate. The initiate is the member of some antagonist martial arts school, a very low-echelon member. These schools can be very Chekovskian… and Darwinian to boot. Any mission that their betters send them on will very likely be seen by the Monk NPC as a way to show his worth to his teachers, other classmates and more importantly the Cleric or Warlord who funds the monastery. These characters should be played with a great deal of brash attitude which is being unsuccessfully repressed by the NPC. Their masters teach them control and excellence, but their own ambitions often get the better of them and they make mistakes. Fighting to the death for a Monk cannot be seen as a waste of an NPC like this… they simply cannot understand anything else.
These guys often end up attacking more powerful characters en masse and enjoy employing deadly monk weapons in combat. This really isn’t an appropriate encounter for an extremely low-level party. A memorable encounter might involve a level 2 parry of four being ambushed on the road by four level one evil Monks, each with a different array of feats and each with his own favorite weapon. “We have been sent here first of all to kill you…. and if for some reason that doesn’t work let us serve as a warning!” Some great source material for monks and other martial artists getting their asses handed to them is the Usagi Yojimbo comic book. Man, will those guys ever learn??
Another type of low-level Monk that your PCs might come into contact with is more of a loner. She has no trust in groups… she trusts herself alone. The loner is more sure of herself than the dojo flunkies I described earlier. She can live on the land as well as she can in a city. She does not cause trouble and she is careful to keep her cool around nosy PCs who use magic to find out her alignment and confront her. She will kill when her survival is on the line. She will get even in her own time and she will make sure the entirety of the underworld knows that she has gotten her revenge.
These NPCs might end up temporarily joining up with a crime cartel or serving as bodyguards for political officials. They are perfect for this job for the simple fact that they do not need weapons to be powerful warriors and they are fully armed in situations that would make the carrying of weapons a social faux – pas.
This extremely cool-headed and careful NPC might turn into a recurring character that the PCs (or a single besotted PC) might try again and again to turn to the good side of the alignment axis.
Tactics:
A group of low-level Monks might seem rather vulnerable to PC attack, especially if you give them “fair” ability scores (in my campaign this is 16, 15, 14, 12, 10, 8), which means they are going to be a bit weak in some areas. This can spell disaster for a character class that depends so much on having rather decent number in nearly all of his ability scores. What I might suggest, first off is to assign slightly different but equally fair ability scores for Monks: 14, 14, 14, 14, 10, 8 for example (not necessarily in that order). I would really not consider this metagaming at all as a Monk would actually be more likely to have ability scores like this rather than the latter.
As far as feats are concerned, it is very enticing to create multiple “versions” of the same Monk and send the lot of them after your PCs. This is (aside from lazy) very deadly for your poor NPCs. Remember, they deserve a fair chance!!! Give a few of them improved trip and all of those fancy maneuvers, and then why not make a brawler among the group with power attack and cleave? Give one of them the string of feats that make him an expert grappler, hell make him a Halfling for the fun of it if you want. There really is nothing quite like the sound of a two and a half foot-tall Halfling breaking the spine of the party’s Wizard.
Master:
Monk main antagonists make a great deal of sense. They are highly organized individuals and they are used to a communal structure. Evil dojos might have a great deal of difficulty surviving in a world of heroes. They are most likely to spring up in Lawful societies where Evil and Good have precious little meaning… where they are free to practice their beliefs just as long as they do not break the law. Or at least they do not get caught.
One Monk BBEG might be an aristocratic chucklehead of a warlord who has accumulated great wealth over the years. While other Monks thrive on wisdom and seeking truth in the fusion of mind and body, this type of person will draw her power from confidence and passion. She would also have a great deal of followers and a palatial dojo. It would not be uncouth of you to decide to base all of the special abilities she should be using Wisdom for, to be increased with Charisma instead. Remember, at your table they are not Wizards of the Coast’s rules, not Hasbro’s rules, not my rules and not your players’ rules… they are your rules. Bend them for the sake of the story whenever you feel like it.
Another fun BBEG can be played against at the lower levels. He’s merely an initiate of about third level or so who thinks he has what it takes to be a master. He’s gathered a bunch of flunkies around him and he has created a quaint little cartel that the PCs will have a great time bringing to its knees. Perhaps he has a magic item or a creature under his control that strengthens his position.
Another type of antagonist might be a stoic and powerful sensei that has been tempted by evil powers, and you might force the PCs to make the decision as to whether they should destroy him or they should try to convince him that he has followed the wrong path. This can be as difficult for the PCs as doing the same for a Cleric BBEG, especially if the NPC in question is the sensei of one of the player-characters. The Sky really is the limit with an NPC of this kind. He could be a solitary man roving the wilderness or the master of a powerful martial arts school. Without a doubt he is a powerful warrior and should not be a one-trick pony when it comes to feats and the like. He will likely have one or two students who are very close to him and he teaches them all of his styles while they each have a gaggle of their own students who are used by the master as bodyguards or to guard the dojo.
Do not allow the PCs to get the drop on a Monk BBEG ever. Even if your players get the drop on you, you need to make something up in order to insure that the same does not happen to your Monk. You may be thinking to yourself that this is a cop out and an unfair thing to do to your players, but you must understand that they (the players) live for stuff like that. For instance, if the party Rogue who was once a student of this BBEG decides that, after many failed attempts for the party to gain entrance to the place that it is his duty to sneak in and assassinate the evil BBEG. Allow him to fight his way though the place, of course. A level 1 or 2 Monk is absolutely no match for a Rogue of a higher level. When he finally reaches his former master’s chambers and is about to plunge his rapier into the form under the blankets, the master’s voice should come from the shadows, “I have taught you well, young one, but you have made a dire mistake this night.”
In conclusion:
I hope you enjoyed this installment of the series. If you have anything to refute, please do so.
Once again, I want everyone who reads this to post an example of a BBEG Monk that you have used in your campaign or that you have fought in your DM’s campaign. Share with us the feat combinations and other factors that made her deadly and the role playing factors that made her memorable.
Thank you so much for your input! See you next time when I try to sneak up on the Rogue.
=Adam=
P.S.
To all of you waiting, I will begin research on the Rogue article next week!
-A-
I just read through all your articles though, and they're fantastic. You've inspired me to create a druidic bad guy for my new campaign. Even though he's not the BBEG (at least, not intended to be anyway, who knows what could happen if he's left alone?), he'll still provide a tough fight with some good spells and his leopard form. :D
However, he'd make a fine opponent for many a party.
His goal, basically, is to constantly test and improve himself. If he sees an opportunity to do so, he will take it, though he does not usually kill his opponent, just beats them senseless (or gets beaten). This could be interesting in combination with a variety of PC types: almost any fighter, paladin, ranger, or monk who gets out and out defeated by some random monk will want a rematch. This would work well as a recurring encounter -- perhaps they meet him at level 5, and the party fighter (or loudmouthed rogue/bard) is bragging about his accomplishments. Thus, this monk decides to teach him a lesson in humility, bludgeoning him unconscious in a single round of nunchuku strikes, and then leaving (or taking all comers until he can do so without opposition). Later, by chance, they meet him again at level 10, and the fighter seeks revenge, losing again, though faring much better in the fight. Finally, at whatever level you choose to make this monk (in reality he's level 29, but... that might be high for some DMs) the fighter tracks him down and challenges him to a duel, finally defeating him.
I find that recurring foes, especially really tough ones, help to give the PCs perspective on their own power. At low levels, it can remind them that they ARE low level, even if they can splatter dozens of goblins. At high level, they can really feel like they're accomplishing something by taking out the opponent that gave them such trouble.
Anyone want my specific monk's stats, PM me.
In the end, the PC's exposed the monk's plot to take over the temple. The venerable master allowed the player's monk to challenge her brother but when he was defeated and about to be taken back to her temple for judgment, he stepped forward and used the quivering palm to end her brother's life. He told the group that "justice was theirs, but his life... is MINE!" No one dared challenge the venerable master.
Interesting article. Not quite as good as your previous ones (I particularly liked the older Warrior and Bard NPC Series entries), but still good, of course. Monks have a lot of variety in how they can be played-- a party of four Monks, one each built for melee power, grappling, tripping, and charging, for example; can deal with a variety of situations.
Anyway....
Once again, I want everyone who reads this to post an example of a BBEG Monk that you have used in your campaign or that you have fought in your DM’s campaign. Share with us the feat combinations and other factors that made her deadly and the role playing factors that made her memorable.
Can do. :]
The biggest Monk villain I've used so far was in the middle levels, an Ogre Mage Monk 7. Being a Large Monk he had the Large and In Charge feat (which worked nearly every time due to the size bonus and massive 26 Strength), and Knockdown (using his Monk 6 feat for Improved Trip), plus Dodge/Karmic Strike and Rapid Stunning plus Iron Fist.
So when he attacked the PCs (from surprise, as he was hiding in mist form in one of those large Chinese-style lanterns), he quickly floored two of them, and kept the greataxe-wielding barbarian at bay with his Large and in Charge AoO. He went to attack the wounded female Monk PC, and the group Cleric used Enlarge Person and attempted to block him-- he killed the Cleric in one round with a flurry of blows with Iron Fist attached to each (the Cleric was later raised, by the by). Eventually the PCs managed to wear him down (another two were KO'd during that time, but not killed), and once he failed a Knockdown attempt on the Dwarf Barbarian a full-attack greataxe barrage finished him off.
It was an interesting test in how Large-sized (or bigger) Monks can perform excellent crowd control-- if I'd wanted to guarantee a win I'd have given Tarega Combat Reflexes, but the lack of Monk feats (coupled with the PC ire I'd surely have gotten ;)) closed that option.
Another example isn't a "BBEG," but a LE Monk who was part of a team. Jin is a Yuan-Ti Pureblood/Human (converted to a template, no HD), designed primarily to be a Charge-based character. He has Mantis Leap, Powerful Charge, and Flying Kick (with Martial Throw as a nice way of making sure he's always on "his side" of the battlefield, or throwing a PC behind him, and hopefully into the whirling frenzy of axes from his Barbarian/Exotic Weapon Master partner)), and the Slippers of the Tiger's Leap (double damage on an unarmed charge). Jin's strategy was typically to Charge in (dealing (d10 + Strength x2 + d8+d12) x2), described as a massively powerful jumpkick, designed to stagger the target (he typically combined it with a Stunning Fist attempt). If the target was stunned, he'd do a brutal full attack-- and if not, he'd get one attack in, make a couple backflips (Tumbling) into Charge range, and repeat.
One of my players, who DMed for us over last summer, ran a battle with the "villain" (not really, but at least the antagonist, heh) being a high-level Monk with a Winged Mask (essentially a free-use flight item), Extra Stunning, and a variety of Stunning Fist-related feats (Chokehold, Freezing the Lifeblood, Rapid Stunning, and so on). I was a Kolyarut with an Amulet of Natural Weapons, and he copied the idea, giving that Monk an Amulet with Speed and Wounding fists, for a barrage of potent attacks that drained Con and assaulted the Fort saves. It wouldn't have been so bad except that I mentioned the idea to him a couple weeks before (when others were asking him why his enemies were always clerics and fighters)!
I enjoy running Monks; due to a combined interest in Oriental martial arts and probably a little too much anime and movies. :D They're certainly an interesting class, and only their relative vulnerability (they're not as resilient in melee as pure warriors, and have even worse ranged capability) keeps me from using them as main villains more often.
Our party encountered a rogue/assassin/monk (mostly assassin, I think...). In the original encounter with him, he shot at one of the NPC's with our party (Reggie) from some ungodly distance and nearly killed him. So we went after him, and after a difficult trackdown, involving the Scent ability, (without which we never would have found him), sewers, and a risky slow-chase underground, we cornered him in his lair.
After entering his lair, a basement FULL of racks of clothes for disguises, we fought him and had a lot of trouble because of his hidey-ness (he would pop in and out of the clothes racks and do sneak attacks!) Adding to our difficulties, he had used the Sparring Dummy of the Master (A&EG) - gave him a 10-foot step. That is one terrific ability.
My coup-de-grace on him, though: My character (a 2/6 fighter/wizard with a longspear) ran up and DISARMED his favorite bow... Then I took a 5-foot step and stepped into the square where the bow was. Then, next round, I reached down, grabbed the bow... and sucked it into my glove of storing. PING!
Me:
:bounce: 
-------------------------------
DM: :OMG!
:headexplo 
(Actually, he was very cool about it, and gave me bonus xp for being clever.)
Well, he decided to get out with his life, and he escaped down the loo (go figure!) and we lost him.
Well, we holed up in his lair. He, apparently, was watching us from nearby and saw some of our characters leave the lair to take care of some related business, leaving 2 characters behind to protect the assassin's target (Reggie), who we had with us.
The cleric from the group that had left returned to the lair, knocked the special knock to get in, and entered, walking up to Reggie and stood before him, staring at him. The guarding characters became suspicious, as the cleric was acting strangely, and before they could act, the assassin punched him to death. Ow. OWOWOWOW. NOT the cleric. Carp.
Gotta hate the assassin with Improved Unarmed Strike. Contract fulfilled.
The assassin then proceeded to try to recover his Banner of Nondetection (incorrect name, forget the book it's in - it's a 30' radius nondetection and false vision effect when unfurled, iirc), but could not recover it, so he ran and escaped (by the BAREST skin of his teeth - one more melee strike would have dropped him.)
Well, we now have the banner, kept some of his other stuff, sold the dummy (no monks or monk-wanna-be's in the group), sold the bow (used the money for other things) and donated all the clothes to charity. Sweet haul, and it was all from perseverance - there were lots of risks going after him in his lair.
Well, we're tracking him currently - he seems to have retreated to an underwater lair, in the presence of sahuagin, apparently trying to take them over to 'use' them, as when I scried on him, he had just won an apparent contest of strength or something, and was leading the underwater creatures in a chant of some sort. He's still masked, so we still don't know what he really looks like (if it is a he...)
I shall destroy him! (Unless he gets me first... gulp.)
As a result, he made it his life's mission to defeat his old master (Fat Dragon), found his own school (teaching his superior style, of course), and produce an heir to preserve his style for all time. Although he was a PC, he acted much like a BBEG should: he was determined to build up a following, he was extremely headstrong, and had plans to conquer and dominate an organization. He was ruthless and nasty, but cold and logical. I like the idea of evil monks a lot because they're so damn persistent and determined that you can't really rule out any precautions they might take or situations they'd plan appropriately for. One thing kung fu movies can teach you for this: look closely at the main villain's mannerisms and motivations, they're really amusing and scary.
That campaign ended up petering out and eventually dying because the group became impossible to get together anymore, but the DM went on to make Ezekiel an evil NCP with his own school and following in his world because he liked him so much.
His feats and skill emphasis is on stealth (He figures since he is forced by the fates to be silent, that he might as well enhance that). He loves to harass the fighters in any group he would happen to be fighting, via trips and disarms (as in " Hey that dwarf stole my+3 flaming sword and ran away with it!! Someone try and catch him!!") Even though that is what he prefers to do, he is wise enough to go after whoever he should to gain the best possible advantage
A gnome mage who is also working for the BBEG cleric created a couple items specifically for him. Steel Ki Bands (operating the same as the leather ones with extra damage to inanimate objects) and a "Shield" that, when carried and activated, can cast the illusion that he is your cliched fully armored dwarf. Oh did I mention he can throw it to the ground and doing so creates a burst of light that acts as a Blindness spell? Surprise!
Nothing is written in stone yet aka I haven't started this new campaign yet, so any feedback would be appreciated
Sincerely and hypnotically,
M
About my own BBEMonks... Well I usually use them as agents and/or errants. I have personally experienced that a strength/melee oriented monk usually has to give in too much on the dex/con/wis and skills (int) side to provide a 'tough' foe.
My favourite build is an elf for his proficiency with the longbow (or any other race, hobgoblin comes to mind (they make good monks), and then take the proficiency longbow feat).
I know, a monk with a bow sounds awkward, but I can imagine the 'traditional' oriental monk also in a more 'native american, but not the ranger type' way. Even with a bit of fantasy the oriental monk could use this build:
Abilities from high to low: Dex, Int, Wis, Con, Str, Cha
Feats (more than a char can take, but these qualify for the build):
(Weapon proficiency (longbow))
Weapon finesse (unarmed)
Improved initiative
Weapon focus (unarmed)
Blind fight
Blindsight (from the sword and fist)
Combat reflexes
Spring attack
The point blank shot/rapid shot/many shot tree
Track for flavor
And more along these lines....
Skills
Diplomacy
Hide/move silently/spot/listen
Escape artist
Jump/balance/tumble
Concentration
Wilderness lore if outdoors a lot
He is a lurker, a spy and out of range before you kill him. He knows his enemies and has his (honour-bound) 'friends'. Recurring is his middle name, vengeful his last and he-who-never-forgets his first...