Thinking about starting a journal blog for Rasmus.
Also thought about changing his race to Imperial! "No snakes aLive" made a good point on his master monk guide that nothing seems to be more "monk'ish" than the Voice of the Emperor racial ability. But at the same time I was also thinking about altering that class slightly for a more Redguard-approach, perhaps taking notes from Shehai Shen She Ru's Spirit swords (from Yokuda.) (http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/group/lore/forum/topics/the-redguard-part-2)
Decisions, decisions... your thoughts?
I'd try the Redguard just because it's something that hasn't been done often, leaving a lot to explore. I'm also slightly biased in favor of Redguards. If this is a combative monk, then I think the Redguard racial is perfectly fitting. They have such extreme control of their bodies that they never fail. I can certainly see how Voice of the Emperor would fit, though.
I can't see it as so black and white. Sure, glitching into the back of a dungeon to get an artifact without doing any of the quest work is cheating the system. But the things people have done for unarmed I wouldn't call anything less than fixing the system (temporarily, because I, too, hope a fully developed Unarmed skill is in the next game). And you still have to suffer with the detriment of not being able to use that combat skill to level up. There's plenty of ways to become unreasonably powerful within the game's own mechanics. All it ever boils down to is choosing to play a balanced game.
It is really strange because I don't use the vanilla talent tree, but SkyRe's talent tree:
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9286
But I think I remember hearing somewhere that one-handed training CAN effect your bounded sword attack skill. Nevertheless, bounded swords should be a last resort for my Monk.
I understand your perspective. I also think the Khajiit may be another good race to fulfil that witch doctor role. Maybe even the Argonian! Nevertheless, when viewing the subject of Redguard Monks, it tends to be mixed into the mysticism, such as the witch doctors, but also connected to the culture of the Redguards and the nature of the desert. It may seem like a simple view, but I feel there are many forces in play. Wind, such as those that conjure sandstorms. Flame, represented by the blistering sun. Maybe even Earth, represented by the canyons and mesas that may litter the Alik'r desert.
You may even go as far to state that he's an elementalist, though he does not dabble in destruction art. He is careful, like those that must travel out into the blistering sands. Swift, like the winds that caress said sands. But also deadly to those who do not plan ahead. Yet merciful, like an oasis in the desert.
As you see, my view of this "monk'ish" character takes much inspiration from the desert lands of Alik'r itself. I am interested in seeing it can be developed.
But if you're interested in how the look specifically, I was thinking about a male version of this photo. :P
I'm going through the same right now. I've been wanting to do a martial monk build and I've yet to play a Redguard. The only thing I seem to trip over with them is the dislike of magic in their culture. My ideal martial monk would be (in addition to a fighter) a healer and mystic that uses Restoration and Alteration to be kinda like the mystical "chi" life-force of East Asian monks.
The article you link to talks about their "universal disdain for eastern forms of magic which they call Nudri-hi." so maybe its just eastern magic they don't like? Maybe his use of Alteration & Restoration is a different form of magic? I was also thinking it could be rationalized as him/her having been a warrior that turned to the ways of Mara and now wanders Skyrim protecting the weak, banishing undead, etc. Or maybe this is why he's in Skyrim altogether.
I think that would honestly be an appropriate form of rationalization. Additionally, when discussing the disdain of magic in Redguard culture, I think individuals misplace that information as, "Darn, well I can't play any sort of magic with my Reguard character." Heck, look at Skyrim and the Nord Culture itself? "Damn magic users!" Doesn't mean there aren't magic characters though, hell, you even got the College of Winterhold.
So when I hear Redguards' have a disdain towards magic, I think, "Great, so does everyone else that isn't Mer." So keep it kinda hidden. Perhaps don't wear mage robes, don't go lobbing around a staff, don't have your spells always visible. Magic discrimination is alive and real in Skyrim, I'm sure we can utilize that to our advantage for roleplaying purposes. :)
btw! Keep me up-to-date with your character development. Our ambitions seem to be closely tied (I, too, want that Eastern Monk-feel with focuses on Restoration and Alteration, but along-side Archery and maybe even conjuration [spirit animals].)
Sadly familiars are pretty weak in the vanilla game so I started looking for mods that lets you conjur animals or has better familiars.
This one lets you summon a bunch of animals and seems to have good reviews:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=9078&sear...
Hey, that doesn't look that bad at all! For all my magic needs (including conjuration), I go to Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim. A lot of interesting material, again, some unnecessary, some just perfect. Pick and choose what to study!
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225/?
And concerning Conjuration Madness, I noticed you can summon a "Greybeard" and I chuckled thinking how outrageous that would be.
-Dragonborn falls to one, Draugr surround him. He lifts his right hand and a powerful purple aura develops, exploding to a single silhouette. Out from the purple haze, Einarth stands with his towel and rubber ducky.- "By the nine!"