Non-Pandaren Monks & old Pandaren Brewmasters

[Grenzstein]

So, what is your guys take on non-pandaren Monks ?
Also, we had Brewmasters as mercs in Warcraft 3 and we know that some of them decided to explore the world on their own, so could one of them train someone before MoP ?

I'm working on a sketch of my current character (Orc Monk) and was thinking about that, could someone be trained by one of those Brewmasters before MoP and when Pandaria was discovered and the Pandaren joined the Horde / Alliance he looked for further training ?

And what about Scarled / Auchenai Monks ? :S

[Zawk0n]

Monk seems to be a class that has a lot of leeway in terms of it's ability and source of power. Lorewise, there is no reason to not be a monk pre-mists, as they have existed as you said within the Scarlet Monastery and Auchindoun.

[Nonfictionless]

Personally (and technically before they decided on the new class being the monk we know now) I see the "Monks" from the Scarlets and of the Auchenai as pre-warriors. Weilders of the Light making the transition from priest to paladin. Now this is just my opinion but just from how they act in game ((Again with the Scarlets they changed with MoP)) they weren't the monks we know now.

As far as training goes from one of the traveling Brewmasters....this is a little bit more difficult. You might be able to write it as trading of knowledge. IE: Your Orc shares his culture and it's history with the Pandaren and he gives him a few lessons. However I think him truly becoming a monk would be highly unlikely.

[Grubjuice]

A) it's not impossible for different cultures to come up with similar solutions to similar problems. For example, Tauren and Orcs and Trolls all developed Shamanism independently. And later other races learned shamanism with only partial or indirect reference to prexisting disciplines.

The most recent version of the Scarlet Monastary shows that the Scarlet Crusade has developed and is refining weaponless combat system, which we can assume is probably not directly derived from traditional Pandaren martial arts in any way.

Martial arts is something that all cultures have their own versions of (both boxing and wrestling are very old and traditional European martial arts, for example that have no relationship to, say, kung fu or judo) and we can assume that some of the basic principles already existed but had never been honed to a rigourous discipline in the manner of the Pandaren Monks, and or the Scarlet Crusade.

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B) On the other hand, martial arts are obviously teachable; it seems that there is no particular racial barrier to learning martial arts (e.g. there is no taboo such the one that prevents Draenei from becoming warlocks, and there is no general racial ineptitude such as the one that prevents gnomes or humand or orcs or undead from becoming druids). Basically, being a monk is like being a warrior, any one can do it.

in the Real world martial arts such as Karate and Yoga and Kung Fu have spread to every nation in the world within a couple generations, so there is no reason to assume that it would not also spread rapidly on azeroth. the presence of the Pandaren trainers in the starting zones of most playable races suggest that pandarans are directly teaching the members of the two core factions.

members of the horde and alliance are probably very eager to learn, and members of the pandarens race who have joined the factions are more than eager to teach. The only reason we can't play worgen or goblin monks at the moment is that their starting zones still count as taking place at the very moment of the return of deathwing several years ago.

[Deleted]

The Monks in Scarlet Monostery and Auchindoun are more faith-based, then combat based. If medieval history is anything to go by, these kind of western monks attend to relics, keep the sacred grounds clean, and are pretty much priests. However, Eastern monks (AKA Pandaren) focus on inner peace and strength of soul, believing in "Chi" (the essence of life). The kind of playable monk is trained in the ways of the latter - Pandaren. Thats why we've only seen non-pandaren "Chi Monk" NPC's now.

So, to answer your question, I don't think it would have been possible for an orc to find Pandaren and learn their ways pre-MoP. However, for my Blood elf monk, I'm RP'ing that he learnt the Arts from Pandaren after they joined the Horde so he could find inner peace. He still struggles with the loss from the scourge invasion of Quel'thalas, so this training has helped him cope and find peace in his soul.

Even so, you could always RP the alternate kind of Monk, if you don't mind all your abilities symbolizing the Pandaren Way of the Monk

[rhoark]

I think monks in other races were in a situation like Gilnean druids. They've always had a similar tradition, but contact with outsiders has helped them take it to a new level.

[Skabbo]

If you take a good look at all the different races, while they do indeed use the same abilities, the actual style of fighting in terms of their form and pose is vastly different. (Fun fact, the default pandaren kick is to fall flat on their ass, something I saw a lot of at the Tien Monastery).

As far as Monks go, I don't think they are solely a Pandaren development, the existence of the Peak of Serenity seems to suggest that the current monk class is the result of a collaborative effort of various races. Each Master brings some aspect of the monk class to the table, and each one is (usually) of a different race to the Pandaren.

Furthermore the whole "inner peace" aspect of the class isn't new to the WoW universe, generally any form of self spirit use requires a high degree of meditation, which is bypassed using potions and such which force the effect upon an individual.

Personally for my character I RP that (as a Night Elf) he achieved inner peace without the assistance of anyone else over several thousand years, and eventually channeled his power though fluid movements with his body rather than launching fireballs from his hands in a very stiff pose. (In other words, the Night Elf males crappy casting animations.)