Player Tips – Adding more Class to your Class – Monk

March 11, 2016

It is that time again to explore the depths of your class and Today we are going to explore the Monk. Last week we examined the fighter, if you missed that one you can check it out here.

So what does it mean to be a Monk. You are disciplined and studied. There are two sides to the Monk character in Dungeons and Dragons. You are usually in good physical condition, at least for your stats and to some extent you are spiritual. Let us look at each of those.

To be trained to the level that you can perform the feats a 1st level Monk can do you need to have spent years mastering this craft. You have the knowledge to be a weapon, You have hardened your body and mind in a way that few can posses. All of this by the time you are 1st level. The true masters have the ability to literally pull off what many would say is impossible. That is the realm we are talking about physically.

To be able to do these feats of physical perfection one needs to be centered and content with who they are. All Monks look within and without for balance and connectivity. Some might believe in the gods while others try to claim that they do not exist. But whatever direction you take it is usually with concrete and logical evidence. While Monks in 5th edition no longer need to be lawful there is a pattern to their thought and rarely is chaos helpful.

Adding More Class to Your Class – Monk

So how do we add more class to your class with Monk? How can we take something so structured and break it up and do something new with it? Monks are typically part of an order or group that have trained together but they do not need to be.

What if you were trained by an outcast. You are an individual student exploring the world with only the beginning of your training. Your master has either sent you off, is no where to find or has since passed. How do you learn what is next, what is required of you? You can be as unstructured and chaotic as you like.

What if a new order has risen from the shadows and darkness and it breaks the typical mold of what a monk means? You would need permission from the DM to add this type of element to the world you are playing in, but it could certainly be fun.

The next thing to look at is why are you an adventurer? Most Monks are temple bound exploring inner peace and physical perfection. They might spend years working on a new form or contemplating the mysteries of life. So if that is normal why are you, typically a low level adventurer, out in the world when the things you are doing could be done easier but members higher in the order than you.

Player Tips – Your Background Needs to Make Sense

You also have to look at the background choices.

Acolyte – Your spiritual connection is your possible connection to you being a monk or perhaps you thought that you were more spiritual but after you started you found a different calling and that being your martial prowess.

Charlatan – Your deceiving ways are left behind as you moved onto a different path. Or maybe you have found ways to combine the two are your deceits worked into your order?

Criminal – Perhaps your order is the way of the shadow and those that prove their worth are indoctrinated. How does the order benefit from the criminal side of this?

Entertainer – You are used to being in front of a crowd but you could also have been an acrobat preparing the way for your physical side of your training. Or is the entertaining part of something that this order does. Do they perform for those who come to the temple?

Folk Hero – You are a hero, it says so, is this a prediction of greater things to come or just events unfolding to guide you on a certain path. Was their mechanations set in place or orchestrate your life?

Guild Artisan – Artisans are normally used to structure and organization. So how do you go from working a trade to being trained as a martial weapon? Perhaps the guild was attacked and you were left with nothing. What if you were captured and brainwashed by this order and now you work for them?

Hermit – Could a Monk be self taught? Could you have trained out of manuals or through trial and error. Could you have found enlightenment on your own? What if you have not spoken or not heard another voice in 10 or 15 years? Have you taken a vow of silence?

Noble – Was it hard to give up your lavish lifestyle for that of the order? Is it something you still struggle with? Is the temptations for expensive jewelry in the treasure and loot a challenge for you? Did you find out you were adopted and run away and that is were you found the order? Was it a choice to a higher enlightenment or were you sent because you never obeyed?

Outlander – There is something about nature that has more call to you than that of a city. Perhaps these feelings are what lead you to the Monks temple. Here you can contemplate why you do not get along with people.

Sage – Your scholarly pursuits could have led to knowledge of an order of Monks that was so appealing that you gave up all you know to seek them out and join them. You ay have uncovered a dark secret that struck you with nightmares and only through Monk training have you learned the mental discipline to shut them away or maybe only begun to.

Sailor – As a sailor you have to be good on your feet or fear falling over board. Is there a monastery near a port city that called to you. Did the fishing dry up and you needed a place to go? Were you a pirate and were defeated by monk pirate hunters and were taken in rather than killed?

Soldier – Has the grind of war or the constant battle pushed you into a more contemplative life. Are the nations around you at war and after your first battle seeing the carnage and bloodshed you decided that there must be a better way.

Urchin – You came up as one of the dregs of society and yet you have managed to elevate yourself. Are you a hero of the people or have you come only to bring up those dregs to a better life even if it be at the sacrifice of the nobles who let them live n squalor.

Thanks for reading and remember Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!

1 Comment


Lisa Jeromy Dyer
March 12, 2016 at 2:16 pm

I like the idea of the Hermit. Not being self taught but living near and in harmony with some magical beast. When the Orks come he would use the hunting and attack skills learned by watching said beast to defend his life and exact his revenge.