[Dungeon Fantasy] Non-East Asian inspirations for Martial Artists (and Ninja)

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by tbone

I think I've related this before, but: When I started gaming with D&D, my local gaming group simply wasn't familiar with "monk" in the sense of Shaolin Temple monk.

This led to the trope of characters who looked like Friar Tuck laying the smack-down on.

Historical Euro-Style martial monks were closer to "Holy Warriors" in DF, and correspond to knightly orders such as the Teutonic Knights, Hospitallers, and Templars.

Originally Posted by tbone

(Question for all: In historical belief systems outside of Asia, what might might be the closest equivalents to the "chi" of the Far East or the "prana" of Hinduism?)

The Ancient Greek or medieval European equivalent might be "Pneuma". Early 20th century sociologists used the term "Numen" to describe the concept of magical power inherent to an object, similar to GURPS Mana. The original Roman term seems to describe something different, however, defining it as a sort of divine power or divine will. Modern Christian writers sometimes reference the Quaker term, "Inner Light."