Class Theory: Monk Concepts
Choosing a class typically is more about its capabilities: what will it allow the character to do? What role can it help you fill such as damage dealer, healer, controller, protector, etc. Is it martial or spell-based? And so on. But when building your character, theorycrafting on why the character, versus the player, followed that path can play a large role in creating an interesting back story. Their Background and Species selections can help towards this, and having an idea of the subclass path they will follow can give you the most clarity, but there still can be different reasons for different characters. Some classes are more straightforward, like a Fighter or Cleric, while some are more open-ended like a Paladin or Warlock. In these Class Theory features we will explore and present concepts to help illustrate the reason a character follows a class path.
In this feature we will explore what separates a heroic Monk character from your average unarmed combatant or even trained martial artist.
We have finished all the martial classes, and now move onto monks. Wait, why isn’t Monk a martial class? Yes, they fight in melee, and are similar to Fighters, Rogues, and Barbarians, and with their mystical powers even closer to Paladins, and Rangers. However, there are two main features that they lack—with the addition of other features—that I think excludes them: Weapon Masteries and Fighting Styles. They also only have proficiency with simple weapons and a few Martial Weapons (those with the Light property). Instead of melee fighting features, they gain the Focus ability (formerly Ki).
According to the PHB, Monks “focus their internal reservoirs of power to create extraordinary, even supernatural, effects.” Depending on the monk their species, culture, tradition or personal philosophy may call and consider this reservoir something different.
Focus, Focus, Focus
When creating a Monk character, their Focus is what really separates them from other unarmed fighters, so its a good place to start to detail how they gained their power.
Tradition
A monk’s philosophy on what their reservoir of power is, where it comes from, is often tired to tradition:
Species - different species may have different views on the source of a Monk’s power. In the land of Taluma, for example an elf may view it as the undulations of the wind and wave, a dwarf as the pulse of the land, and humans as the aether—the fifth, unseen essence.
Culture - especially among humans, their culture may have different ways of describing and attributing the focus. Some may call it Ki, Chi, or Qi; others breath, or some other vital force.
Philosophy - even within a culture, it is often a philosophy: a monastic tradition, or even a religious one, that assigns a specific source of the focus. The philosophy may even be that it comes directly from the Monk and not any external source.
Training
It is extremely rare for a Monk to gain their ability to Focus their mystical reserves on their own. Their tradition usually can only be learned in training.
Monastic - perhaps the most common source of training for Monks is in a monastic tradition where many Monks-in-training live together in a monastery or other group setting with many teachers to learn how to use their Focus.
Military - some cultures may have a special unit within their military that specially trains unique warriors to be able to access and manifest their Focus.
Personal - some traditions have a “rule of two” where there is a pairing of one teacher and one student and the teacher’s knowledge is only passed onto one.
