Thanks for the cool system, I've had a lot of fun reading the PDFs and my hardcover is in the mail. I am thinking of converting my 5E campaign to BBF and I have a few questions. First, is the CO skill "Martial Artist" usable in BBF? And second, since "Martial Artist" only covers part of what would make up a fantasy type monk, what do people here think would be good skills to fill it out? I was thinking cleric might work, with the favored weapon from Smite being some sort of monk specific weapon, and customizing the list of spells under miracles, maybe some other tweaks as well. I could also see Thief being appropriate.
I really like 5E, but I spend too much of the game sessions flipping through manuals.
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Don't over think it. 8^)
Start with the Cleric, limit the spell list as you suggest, replace Smite with Martial Arts and run with it.
If they want thief skills then they can take levels of Thief as needed.
I think you're confusing skills with classes.
A monk is a person with martial artist skills (perhaps as primary) with some levels in cleric (perhaps as secondary).
Think about the D&D class ranger ... how do you make one in BBF? You have a person with skills in warrior and scout. You don't have to have a ranger skill.
Thanks for the responses!
I do understand that the skills in this system are not the same thing as classes (I played a fair bit of Star Frontiers in the '80s), the problem is that I am trying to sell my players on BBF, and to do so I'm looking for how they can build characters they want in this system. I can see how it is actually easier to make a specific concept with BBF, but one of the things I want to do is show one player how he can make a monk using the available skills. I think I'll have more success if I can use the Martial Artist skill from Covert Ops(the combat maneuvers look very cool), and it seems like this is doable, I just want to be sure that it isn't too unbalanced. Not that I'm all that concerned with perfect balance, but I figure I should try.
My hard-cover BBF came in the mail today! It looks great.
To me, monk is Cleric/Scout, with primary in Warrior. And feel free to switch something out, like switching Navigation (Scout) for Stealth (Thief).
The Cleric spells (miracles) seem correct for the Monk but they should all be 'self only' in my vision of a monk.
Those are all excellent suggestions. I guess it depends on the "flavor" of the monk you're after. The system is flexible enough that you're not going to break it or unbalance it. Strap on what works and cut loose of that which doesn't. It's your game after all. Make sure your player has something he can sink his teeth into, but focus on the character and role-playing and the rest will take care of itself with any or all of the suggestions above. Good luck!