Why can Undead be Monks?

Taken from the WoW website: “Whatever their combat role, monks rely mainly on their hands and feet to do the talking, and on strong connection with their inner chi to power their abilities. Abilities such as Expel Harm and Chi Wave both heal their allies while at the same time damaging their enemies.”

Taken from Merriam-Webster: " Definition of chi (Entry 2 of 2)

: vital energy that is held to animate the body internally and is of central importance in some Eastern systems of medical treatment and of exercise or self-defense"

Taken from Merriam-Webster: “Definition of vital - fundamentally concerned with or affecting life or living beings”

So essentially Monks use the energy of life to heal, empower their attacks, and shrug off blows. Why can an Undead entity accomplish this?

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Because Blizz says they can.

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Then what rational reason is there to restrict any class/race combo?

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That is the golden question, I’m afraid. Undead Monks apparently make more sense than Zandalari Warlocks do.

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Actually undead make perfect monks

you see a number of them in the scarlet monastery

they are more like the monks in d3 in terms of theme, and less MoP, but…it can work.

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In WoW, ‘chi’ is the pandaren word for ‘spirit.’ Even rocks are said to have a spirit, so its not a stretch to believe undead would have a spirit as well.

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I feel like the undead would be masters in :

Lets not forget that vital also has multiple definitions

“of the utmost importance” is also listed by Merriam-Webster as a definition.

There is none.
And yet if you ask for Mag’har druids, which make absolute sense, can easily learn druidism, nah, people will go ape.

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I never understood undead Monks. They don’t have life energy, they’re held together and sustained by dark, necromantic magic. Monks basically deal with the flow of life energy. Forsaken don’t have life energy

I’ve always thought they should’ve gotten the Worgen treatment for monks. Can’t be one because of inner turmoil.

There’s a difference between energy that animates a body, and dark magic forcefully binding the soul to an already deceased body

Weren’t the Forsaken raised by necromantic means? I mean they were brought back by twisted magics and later re-gifted their free will. They certainly aren’t held together by zen meditation more than evil forces.

I honestly have no problem with classes being restricted and there really isn’t any unavailable class/race combo that I am interested in seeing.

I just find Undead Monks to be pretty unreasonable given some of the other restricted combos.

They still have souls though. I would assume anyone with a soul could learn to channel their inner spirit.

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The exact same reason why ZTrolls can’t be Warlocks, obviously.

how can an undead priest be a holy spec and heal other undead since after all lore wise healing magic doesn’t quite work the same way on them

I mean as a general rule going all the way back to the old D&D games and the more recent final fantasy series holy magic/healing spells were “toxic” to undead and resurrection magic could literally destroy them

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Blizz actually answered this a while back:

Without spoiling too much, we can tell you that wielding the Light is a matter of having willpower or faith in one’s own ability to do it. That’s why there are evil paladins (for example, the Scarlet Crusade and Arthas before he took up Frostmourne). For the undead (and Forsaken), this requires such a great deal of willpower that it is exceedingly rare, especially since it is self-destructive. When undead channel the Light, it feels (to them) as if their entire bodies are being consumed in righteous fire. Forsaken healed by the Light (whether the healer is Forsaken or not) are effectively cauterized by the effect: sure, the wound is healed, but the healing effect is cripplingly painful. Thus, Forsaken priests are beings of unwavering willpower; Forsaken (and death knight) tanks suffer nobly when they have priest and paladin healers in the group; and Sir Zeliek REALLY hates himself.

And when asked about long term effects of the Light on undead, they said:

It is difficult to say, as there are no known records of undead wielding the Holy Light before the Third War. There are reports, however, that some Forsaken have slowly experienced a sharpening of their dulled senses of touch, smell, etc., as well as an increase in the flashes of positive emotions that have otherwise become so rare since their fall into undeath. Unfortunately, this may be the cause of the Forsaken priesthood’s increased attempts at self-destruction; regaining these senses would force the priests to smell their own rotting flesh, taste the decay in their mouths and throats, and even feel the maggots burrowing within their bodies.

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And within the WoW universe, specifically what is the difference?

Why can’t energy be dark magic? Is there some qualifier I am not seeing?

Because chi is life energy that flows in a body. Undead are only controlled by a soul, bound in place by dark magic.

Like a puppet vs an animate being. The puppet doesn’t have life in it, it just moves like it does because there’s a force manipulating it.

Monks channel their inner life energy, undead do not possess this energy

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What definition of “chi” are we using? I was going by the OPs, which doesn’t say life energy. Only vital energy.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Spirit_(lore) is the only one that should be used. Chi’s real world definition isnt relevant at all.

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Well, going by the WoW-universe definition I don’t see a conflict at all.

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