Hello, I’m going to make a Zandalari Monk as my next RP character but I’ve never played a monk before and have a few questions. I really like the idea of him following the cloud serpent celestial, treating her like a super chilled loa. My problem is I really want to make him a capable fighter aswell using weapons and I hear she’s all about mistweaving and healing, which doesn’t sound so bad I’d like to incorporate it ino the character aswell, mistweaving plus regeneration sounds like some kind of wolverine level healing! But yeah do you think it would be possible to play him more as a sort of combat focused fistweaver? Also how do you guys think the loa back on Zandalar would view him learning from this cloud serpent from a far away land? Thanksfor taking the time to have a read.
Should work, and if you feel like following something else than the celestial Yu’lon (if you feel like it doesn’t work after all!), try Sethraliss. But yes, the Fistweaver thing should work.
And I’m not sure how the loas would react. They aren’t really in charge of the Zandalari in any way, as far as I know? So if you wish to devote yourself to Yu’lon (who is a loa, technically, as ‘‘Loa’’ is just the troll term for the Wild Gods, which Yu’lon is) you can definitely do so, and I doubt the other loa would care.
Loa generally do not care about who you worship so long as you only worship that one (Gonk being the exception).
I did not know this. I thought the Celestials were an entirely different entity from Wild Gods.
That’s good to know, thanks for sharing.
They are not, Loa is a catch phrase the trolls use to identify Wild Gods, ancients, wisps and other powerful beings and spirits. (Including the Old Gods and Elemental Lords, probably).
Ofcourse that is quite acceptable from a monk perspective, it might really be possible other Zandalari will consider yours a heretic, we see it too with the Zandalari that worship Elune, as they too are considered heretics.
Fistweaver is quite acceptable, and Yu’lon isn’t that unreasonable that she demands sole worship of her, so it might be possible your Zandalari could follow a second Loa (Wild God or otherwise) that is more combat orientated, but not as strict as some others and also allows you to worship multiple Loa.
Celestials are an entirely different thing, just as the Loa and Wild Gods are also different.
A being can be a wild god and not be a loa. Loa is a word for someone being worshipped. All the while, a spirit that once lived amongst mortals could be venerated and worshipped thus becoming a loa.
It’s known that besides the most popular loa, there are also smaller loa worshipped by villages or even one family alone. Spirits of the ancestors and such.
As for what to do regarding the Zandalari monk:
Yu’lon also has Pandaren mages studying in her temple. Because she embodies wiseness. The mists in mistweaving are a manifestation of Chi energy (and Chi energy is life essence). You can be a fighter even as a follower of Yu’lon’s teachings.
Again, loa and celestials are NOT the same thing. Loa gain power from being worshipped and can have agendas, Celestials don’t need worship for power and tend to be beacons of teachings.
Training to be a monk is done both in body and spirit. Yet training the body into martial arts and weapon usage is the same for every monk no matter which Celestial’s teachings they follow. It’s a matter of what they focus on. For example a follower of Xu’en will undergo further combat training than others, while a follower of Niuzao will undergo training to maximize their stamina. Not to mention they also learn how to infuse their brews with Chi, harden their bodies periodically through Chi manipulation to take on blows. Followers of the tiger will learn how to focus Chi into potent blows and so forth.
They are not, Mithralles said it best with;
Yes, trolls tend to refer to most powerful entities they come across as ‘loa’. Does not mean that they are by definition, a loa.
Keep in mind that Zandalari and pandaren have a LONG history of hostility, and it was not until BFA that we encountered Zandalari more reasonable than the forces of the omnicidal Zul (other than pre-cata, before the mists fell).
Pandaren are a forgiving people, but when your character goes to the temple to begin their monk training, keep in mind that many will be wary, and finding a teacher might not be as easy as one would expect.
I was thinking perhaps he could of been one of the soldiers of Zuls army back in mists, who could of been captured by one of the Pandaren cloud serpent riders, taken back to Yu’lon temple in the Jade forest, where for some reason or another (haven’t quite figured it all out yet) they decide to teach him the ways of the Monk. At first he would still hate the Pandaran, as it had been drilled into him to do, seeing his teachings as only a way to gain knowledge/intel on the Pandaran for Zuls army,but eventually he would warm up to them and especially Yu’lon. Him being from the casteless back home he never had much interaction with any loa other then Jani, seeing how accepting Yu’lon is really would change him. Hope that all makes sense, sounds all about last samurai-ish reading it back haha.
That sounds extremely dubious. Why would they teach their enemy?
You’d be better off starting fresh.
With any other race I would agree with you, but this is the Pandaran, they are all about forgiveness, I dont think it out of the realm of possibility that a Pandaran Monk would attempt to change the mind of there enemy. Which would evidently end up working.
They are kind but not fools. They would not teach an enemy monkhood, because that involves combat techniques that may be turned against them.
Trying to pacify a Zul-Zandalari I could see. Train them to fight, not so much.
But that is exactly what ends up happening to them, they end up teaching anyone and everyone bar a couple of races in both sides of a war they are fighting in. If they held the mindset that they were afraid that there teachings would be held against them they wouldn’t teach anyone.
Pandaria is neutral in the faction war.
They taught the Alliance and Horde. They wouldn’t teach a Kor’kron in 5.3, because they were enemies. Like the Zandalari.
What Chieun said is a strong point
I more suggest that your Monk’s power being associated with Loa and their ways rather than Pandaren ways of Monk which came from August Celestials, cause of the hostility between them, although that can work aswell… 
You can play as a Celestial monk, but I’d advise you to start your journey from the beginning, rather than be a day one master. It’s what I’d do. I think you’d find it more interesting to have most of the character growth ahead of you rather than behind you.
I wasn’t going to make him a day one master at all, just wanted a way my character could start off in a direction want to go. I would have made him apprentice level at best, just enough to know what he’s doing. Character development is fun and all when your starting from the bottom but sometimes it can be very hard to find that place you want to start from. Finding Pandaren RP I hear is very hard to come by nowadays, now add to that I’m playing Horde side with much fewer people playing on this side and that I want my character to be a fistweaver which isn’t mainstream Monk teachings, I doubt I’ll even be able to find someone who can spend the time to teach me it for a very long time if ever.
Should definitely do it then!
I like the idea of a Zul follower been captured and later ‘‘taught’’ slowly over time the ways of the Pandaren Monks fighting and philosophy.
The overall Pandaren in Pandaria is rather neutral, peaceful and forgiven except the Shado-Pan who understandable is the only military order actively fighting all the time.
Remember that when they allow the Zul follower to become a monk he would be introduced into their mindset as well which would lead him to either abandon the path or become a better person in the end.
I have little faith in a evil person will manage to maintain such a balance to control the Chi, which is why we don’t really see any Mogu or other evil people being a Monk.