PATH OF THE WANDERING MONK discussion

[Kurgan]

Can't believe I missed this... sorry (turns back the pages):

Can anyone guess what the obscured cards say?

So for what I can make out from all available pictures on Facebook, here are all 8 elemental abilites that you can tap.

WATER:
TWISTING TORRENT - Activate this technique when you take damage to cancel that damage.
TIDAL SURGE - Activate this technique on your turn to split your total movement roll before and after your action.

WIND:
EYE OF THE STORM - As an action, make one unarmed attack against all adjacent enemies. This technique enables you to attack diagonally.
SOARING DRAGON - Automatically succeed when jumping over a trap.

EARTH:
STRENGTH OF MOUNTAIN - Roll 2 additional Attack dice on an unarmed attack.
SPEAK WITH STONE - Search for secret doors and traps as one action.

FIRE:
BURNING SPIRIT - As an action, expel a beam of brillant energy from your soul's core. This beam may be straight or diagonal and continues until it meets a wall or closed door. Each enemy in the beam takes 2 Body Points of damage.
TOUCH OF ENDLESS INFERNO - As an action, inflict 1 Body Point of damage to any one adjacent enemy. The target takes an additional 2 Body Points of damage at the end of its next turn.

All said, these abilities are significantly impressive. And the notion that you can reactivate them once you're clear of view of monsters makes the monk really B.A. Yes, he won't advance naturally beyond 3 defense dice (which I thought was due to Bracers but it says he shuns armor, anyone have an explanation for that?), but with these abilities, he may not need more than that.

Thank you! Now I can proxy & play-test till Jan 15th! The cards don't say metal but the web pages (including HasbroPulse's own) say "metal" armor. So bracers are still in for him... as would anything that grants defend dice that doesn't label itself "armor."

Next GenCon I'll have the internet AND my eyes and ears at the same time.

[LucaRocks]

I like the monks (although I still don't understand why a Shaolin Monk would be female) and have no problem with their abilities. However, I would have liked a new weapon for the monks that were unique to them. Give them nunchucks, sais, tri corner staff... Anything from old Shaw Brothers films (flying guillotine anyone lol?)! I can see what they were going for, and I like it, but I think it's just a missed opportunity. My players are also excited to try them out, which is nice.

[Kurgan]

Inspired by earth, not necessarily earth. There are female monastics in the Buddhist orders and while the term often refers to male ("monk") rather than female ("nun") it can also be a generic term. They can certainly be a tribute to the various kung fu movies, comics and shows of the past, which is part of HeroQuest's appeal, drawing in the action/adventure fiction we grew up with (or that makes you think of Dragonball or Avatar).

[LucaRocks]

Yes, exactly. Which leads me to the question of why make a monk when they said in the Gen Con Tapes that they don't want to get religious. Doesn't the title of monk imply a religious order? But then too, Shaolin monks are Buddhist which doesn't generally have Gods (I'm no expert of course). So from the Gen Con Tapes, it seems they are going more to the "force" style of a higher power idea. So are the monks devotees of Hope or Anti-Dread or something?

[Bareheaded Warrior]

(although I still don't understand why a Shaolin Monk would be female)

I typed a longer response to this but decided against posting it (self-censorship works), so just drink the retcon and enjoy your female Shaolin Monk hero and I'll enjoy my male Amazon hero...

[gaeryth]

I feel that there is a bit of bleed over from DnD, where 'monk' is a playable class, useable by any gender, and is religious agnostic unless dictated by the setting. DnD monks draw a lot of inspiration from Chinese Wuxia films and the like, and the class 'monk' is like a shorthand name for mystically powered martial artist. It is an interpretation filtered through too many lenses over time.

I do know that I played monks in DnD inspired by kung fu movies before I ever played a Barbarian inspired by Conan, and I've done both of those things before I knew HQ even existed.

Being exposed to DnD as a child is what inspired me to delve into real world history and such. My impression of a 'monk' came first from DnD, then medieval history, and then Buddhist history.
This character fits into my idea of dungeon crawling fantasy perfectly.

[gootchute]

(although I still don't understand why a Shaolin Monk would be female)

I typed a longer response to this but decided against posting it (self-censorship works), so just drink the retcon and enjoy your female Shaolin Monk hero and I'll enjoy my male Amazon hero...

Good call. It's a non-issue anyways as there aren't Shaolin monk in HeroQuest, because it is a Fantasy world. I like Avatar the Last Airbender. That's all this is, a touchstone to inspire tone and aesthetics, that's all.

IS anyone interesting testing this out via Tabletop SIm?

[Kurgan]

A monk is a monastic. What does his order do besides fight and train to fight? That's up to your imagination!

Encarmine basically was implying HeroQuest is ruled by naturalistic elemental magic (his theory isn't perfect because there are counter examples in HeroQuest lore that is either out there or coming out soon). There are plenty of hints of religion and supernatural deity in HeroQuest such that a person could run with it if they wanted or leave it alone easily enough. So atheists and religious people of all stripes can enjoy their game without awkwardness...

[LucaRocks]

I just realized something ... there was zero official word that the monk pack was going to be revealed at Gen Con. I find that pretty strange that they wouldn't at least give a tease of 'come see a new reveal at the AH booth ' or something. Again with the weird marketing campaign (or lack thereof).

[Nlinindoll]

I just realized something ... there was zero official word that the monk pack was going to be revealed at Gen Con. I find that pretty strange that they wouldn't at least give a tease of 'come see a new reveal at the AH booth ' or something. Again with the weird marketing campaign (or lack thereof).

There was the tiniest tease on the GenCon blog from Avalon Hill at https://gencon.blog/2023/06/30/avalon-h ... n-con/amp/

Most everyone missed it until after the fact, but they said towards the end if the paragraph about HeroQuest, “… who knows what other HeroQuest news will be wandering around our booth…”

Now we might ask, why there? Well, it was targeted at GenCon attendees. No point in making that tease to a different audience. And when it comes down to it, the appearance and announcement of the Monk at GenCon IS marketing the Monk to the wider audience. GenCon IS Marketing it for them.