Hello fellow monk players/rpers! One issue I ran into while developing this character (and his previous iterations) is how to reconcile him being a non-Pandaren monk. Others seem to skirt this issue by not being a monk IC. For those of you who are monks IC (and not Pandaren), how do you explain your character being this class?
For Tarquin, his ship was sent on a recon mission during the events of MoP to scout the newly revealed Pandaria and see what the Horde and Alliance were up to there. While on the mission, his ship was destroyed and all hands lost, except Tarquin who washed ashore on Pandaria unconscious. He was rescued by Pandaren monks. Since he had no way of contacting Kul Tiras or getting back home, he ultimately trained at the monastery because he found the fighting style to be intriguing. It took several years for him to secure transport back to Boralus, but heâs continued training in the art.
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Well, one thing you could do is be a Monk of another sort than the Pandaren variety. There are Monks of the holy light, both for Human and for Draenei. There are auchenai monks for example in Auchindoun in Outland, and the Scarlet monks at the Scarlet monastery are a famous example of such.
You could also be a Monk of the Tidemother! The Tidesages are very much a monastic order and have our own Stormsong Monastery. If that sounds neat to you, then I encourage it.
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I have a Blood Elf Monk who was sent as a part of the Sunreaver expedition.
She was a Blood Knight. Very angry.
The Monks in Pandaria taught her to be zen, and she has been zen ever since.
Thatâs the short version anyhow.
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As I stated in the OP, I already have my explanation sorted out. Iâm not looking for ideas, Iâm just curious what other people did.
The thought comes to me that flavor-wise, a Kul Tiran wouldnât necessarily be a traditional monk.
It stands to reason that a Kul Tiran could have been a bare knuckle boxer who simply got a bit too good at punching people and wanted to up his or her game.
Edit: I donât have a Kul Tiran monk; itâs just a thought that came to me. Iâve a monk who isnât a âtraditionalâ monk. Just a thug who has managed to pick up a few tricks in their life.
Again, Iâm not seeking advice. I already have my character fleshed out. Iâm simply curious what other people did.
Hey I got this!
Have a female gnome monk that is based on a medieval woman in the brewing trade: an alewife. Sheâs not the eldest of the very large family but sheâs the practical one. When their parents went missing in Northrend, she turned a part of the family home into a salon of sorts for her siblingsâ professional associates offering food and drink for âdonationsâ. The younger kids helped out and the money made went into supporting the household/entire family as well as ensuring that the youngest were able to start their careers and secure apprenticeships or educational opportunities.
To keep up the interest and tempt palates (to increase profits - no really sheâs not part goblin!) she chatted up dwarven masters to get tips for new brews then expanded that to other races and cultures. Eventually she left the kids (theyâre alright) in charge at home and signed up as a cook/chief steward on a vessel making it all the way to Pandaria to meet the Legends of the Game.
Sheâs not technically a monk but she picked up some moves from the locals and the brewmasters she met along the way - at least thatâs what she tells people.
Then she sneaks off to meditate.
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Disciple of Ordos, anyone?! Master the Burning Yak Fist Today!!
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For my sinâdorei. He was a former Sunreaver magister who was taught during the campaign in Pandaria by a pandaren master. Then over the years he has taken his instruction and twisted into his own style that blends fire magic and martial arts.
For Talanor here, I try to avoid the Pandaren trappings and RP him as a sort of melee-fighting druid/priest hybrid. It fits his persona as a loner who never quite fit anywhere but learned some tricks over the last ten thousand years.
ICly, my monk is a brawler. She doesnât wear shoes and runs around in a crop top and shorts. The monk fighting style in-game just fit better.
Wut? I canât RP as my monk learning the pandaren way of the monk?
Making a monk that isnât a pandaren/taught by pandaren
I never did like this reveal when I started playing MoP, it felt like such a shot to the gut when you saw other âmonksâ in the world . It would of been alot more interesting for monks to take a more âall walks of lifeâ kind of approach with all of them combining the styles theyâve learned and having two ways to go about it.
The pandaren way which is ofcorse the oldest kind of monk thing and more familiarized and put together and then thereâs the kind of off-brand monks that have it there own way.
I guess you can just have your own way of how your chariter came into doing monk shenanigans and to hell with what blizzard cooked up, if it works then it works.
I have been RPing Seasen for years. The back story is Seasen was sent to Tian Monastery for the mental discipline that comes with Monk training. She has studied under Grandmaster Geum Jadepaw for eleven years at this point. Six are back story and five are Rped out. Seasen has accepted guidance from other Master and Grandmaster Monks in Tian as well. She icly progressed in her training to be an acknowledged monk with all temples through this time Just last winter has finally earned her Master title acknowledgment. Although she does not carry the title in her TRP because I have not rped out her ceremony.
Seasen has developed her skills and uses them to entertain. She sees herself first and foremost as a dancer, but that does not detract from her forward progression in learning and adapting to her adoptive home of Pandaria. Her hairstyle is to reflects the Pandaren ears. This past year Seasen has started expanding on her understanding of the Lorewalkers. She is well versed in their stories and has taken to sharing the tales during performances.
Going out the gate with a lot of room for growth in this RP has allowed a lot of RP to happen naturally. It does get frustrating when a class is expected to fill a role, such as healing, right away. Seasen has healed, but she didnât start out good at it. Even now she is only good for minor and emergency situations. Leading to mass confusion and disappointment to some who have expected or flat out demanded she plays that role.
Striving to improve, Sease has developed her Chi to form visuals for her performances. Most notably, chi mist butterflies. Which she has to mentally track the path of each one. Adding more and moreover the years. This has caused her to be faster in thought and motion. The display being seen by another Grandmaster Monk, Mehong Stonefur who deemed her a Chi prodigy ic. He did more training with her on how to harness the skill. After which she was able to form a full reflection of herself capable of combat.
My suggestion to anyone seeking to RP anything is even though itâs fun to cannonball into a pool sometimes, wading in slowly and allowing the community to impact your character can be a fun experience as well. Itâs been a rewarding experience for me.
Sorry for the novel 
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Donât apologize for a good post!