Welcome friend! We have been very busy here at The Dragon’s Beard. Ho! Owning such a popular establishment can be a blessing and a curse. But today, old Balbo wants to focus on the blessing side. Therefore, I decided to host an impromptu celebration for one of my favorite classes that has so many options. Which way will you choose? Once becoming a monk, will you take on the role of a fighter? Or perhaps a rogue? Do you wish to provide your team with healing, defense, or offensive support? No matter your choice, we are sure your decision will come from a place of deepest earnestness.

Weapons and Armor

Monks are always unarmored. The only other class you may find lacking armor, yet by choice, is the barbarian. Unarmored combatants are so adept at fighting without amor that they gain all sorts of advantageous bonuses when not armored in battle. This is one, if not the biggest, of the monk’s specialties. Think of it this way, with all the roundhouse kicks, pressure point strikes, and backflips that martial artists perform, a lack of armor makes them lighter, faster, and more deadly.

Weapons are another interesting point for monks. They are sometimes considered at their best unarmed. That said, they can use simple swords, maces, daggers, spears, clubs or a quarterstaff. Perhaps your DM will allow you to use a fancy spade too, like seen wielded by Shaolin Monks.

Magic

Monks are spiritual masters that harness the power of Ki. Ki flows through all living beings and monks know how to use it to enhance their speed and strength. Did you see that flurry of ten crescent kicks? No? Of course not, the monk delivering them to his opponent has utilized Ki to move at superhuman speeds! Ha! I wish my barmaids could access such power. I would be able to double business. Ha! Ha! But to become a skilled monk and learn how to use Ki, you must spend many years studying and hard training.

Races

Most races can become monks. And if you are following DnD 5e tabletop gaming rules, that gives you a very long and exciting list to pick from. The best races for monks are often listed as Wood Elf, Aarakocra, Ghostwise Halfling when playing DnD. For Baldur’s Gate 3, Half-Orc, Half-Wood Elves, Drow, and Githyanki are best.

So, be sure to do some research before creating your character but know that Woof Elf is likely a safe bet. Wait, do monks gamble? I bet they do! Ha!

Backgrounds

Gamers, you can have some fun creating your monk’s background. How about making them start off as a criminal? This gives some good stealth skills and prepares your monk to work as a rogue. Not interested in stealing or deception, how about faction agent? This way you will have some nice diverse bonuses to choose from and allow you to blur the lines of what subclass you want to focus on. Like supporting the team when they are hurt. The Hermit background will give you healing bonuses which are very nice. Far Traveler is an interesting choice too. With this background you gain helpful bonuses in insight and perception. Both are fantastic for monks.

Which tabletop gamers should play a Monk?

Those who are good-natured individuals who enjoy helping others and providing humanitarian aid when they can. All monks are lawful good and lawful neutral (we miss those fun old alignments). We also suggest players who are experienced and ready for a challenge. Remember this old Japanese Proverb: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

On the other hand, if you are Rex, from Preston, Idaho, teaching Rex Kwon Do, you cannot be a monk. Sorry. 

You May Not be Able to Wear Armor, But We Have Something to Protect Your Beard!

Tabletop Beard has the perfect items to help aid our unarmed and unarmored friends! Our premium beard care products are created with the finest (and most lawful) ingredients a monk could desire, if monks desired things. Wait, do monks desire? In Buddhism, they are taught to understand desire and control it. So, yes, monks can want things that are absent in their lives, like the tranquil scent of lemon and ginger, which is exactly what our monk beard oil and beard butter smells like!

Our celebration of monks got us all thinking about the adventures of the Crouching Tiger and the Hidden Dragon. Those monks could fly and walk on water. Their martial arts moves were so fast that they spun right out of their facial hair. Perhaps they were not enlightened. Because we all know the oldest, wisest monks have long white beards. One can surmise that those ancient beards were probably dry. So, it is with great respect that we honor all monks with beard oil that will help condition and soften their beards.