monks being zealots

[Khashishi]

Simple question: Why aren't monks categorized as zealots?

[Siegurt]

Simple question: Why aren't monks categorized as zealots?

Because in DCSS "Zealot" means "Starts the game while worshipping a god"

[Khashishi]

Well, they should be categorized as such.

[Siegurt]

Well, they should be categorized as such.

Well, Zealot, at least, is a pretty clear cut category, Monks don't start the game worshipping a god, so they aren't zealots.

What argument do you have that Monks do belong in the "Zealot" Category?

[runewalsh]

What argument do you have that Monks do belong in the "Zealot" Category?

They have class-specific, non-prohibiting relationship to religion. Take an early altar and instantly get ** is functionally close to starting with this god.

[Hellmonk]

It isn't though

[TheMeInTeam]

You could make a case either way. They do have some relationship to religion, but not as much as the backgrounds that start with actual gods. I don't think it's a big enough deal to merit moving them, but also don't think it would matter/be particularly out of place if they were moved to that category.

[Shard1697]

"Zealot" in crawl is not a flavor category, it's a gameplay category. It means "You will have a god from the start", which is a big deal. Not because you accumulate a bit more piety before finding altars, but because you can use god abilities to save yourself from dangerous things before finding altars.

[TheMeInTeam]

"Zealot" in crawl is not a flavor category, it's a gameplay category. It means "You will have a god from the start", which is a big deal. Not because you accumulate a bit more piety before finding altars, but because you can use god abilities to save yourself from dangerous things before finding altars.

That's only true for 2/3 of the zealot backgrounds right now. For the 3rd, a strong argument could be made that the monk piety boost is more consistently relevant to early survival than starting with the god in question.

Unless you consider the occasional D:1 guardian serpent or instant death explosion to improve your survival odds. Also not sure what "god abilities" one might use in this scenario.

And let's not pretend backgrounds are something they aren't. They are a starting set of tools, and the scope of categorization + some specific placements are arbitrary by necessity. That's not really a problem, but it also suggests no actual need to move monk.