The Monk in Dungeons and Dragons is one of its first and most iconic classes. Featuring the ability to run up walls or across water, deflect arrows back at their foes, land from immense heights without taking damage, and stun enemies by striking pressure points, the class might as well have stepped straight out of a classic martial arts movie. With a strong East Asian theme, the Monk may have the strongest flavor of any Dungeons and Dragons class in history.
However, some of that rich flavor has been scrubbed away in the Dungeons and Dragons 2024 Player’s Handbook. Several core features were renamed to be more generic, weakening the unique identity that made the Monk class stand out among its peers. It was jarring to see this core aspect of the class removed after decades of history, and it has left the Monk in a tricky spot as far as theme is concerned.
The Monk Lost Most of Its Flavor in D&D 2024
The Fraught History of the Monk Class Through the Years
The Monk class traces its origins back to the Blackmoor supplement from 1st Edition D&D in 1975. During this time, it was essentially a subclass of the Cleric that eschewed weapons, armor, and spellcasting for some Thief abilities, mobility, martial arts, and self-healing. It became a core class in AD&D, and was later revised in Oriental Adventures, where the Monk started evolving into the East Asian martial artist fans are familiar with.
The Monk was actually tied with the Assassin as the sixth class ever added to Dungeons and Dragons, after the Fighting-Man, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief (from Supplement 1), and Paladin (from Greyhawk).
During Second Edition AD&D, the Monk was dropped as one of the core classes, though Clerics could take some Monk-like abilities through certain choices. In later supplements, it was reintroduced as a full class, albeit with many of the iconic abilities from the original AD&D removed in favor of some priestly spellcasting. 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons brought back the Monk as a core class, featuring all the familiar bells and whistles, with 4th Edition following suit, while also giving them some Psionic powers to boot.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
The original 5th Edition D&D version of the Monk placed the martial artists center stage once more, printing it as one of the 12 original classes. Featuring abilities like Ki, Stillness of Mind, and Purity of Body, it leaned heavily into the East Asian flavor from earlier editions. That said, the revised version of the Monk from the 2024 Player’s Handbook printed a decade later removed or renamed many of these features to be more generic:
- Ki Points renamed to Focus Points
- “Way of” subclass title is now “Warrior of” (Way of Shadow becomes Warrior of Shadow, etc.)
- Ki-Empowered Strikes reworked into Empowered Strikes
- Purity of Body partially reworked into Self-Restoration
- Stillness of Mind partially reworked into Self-Restoration
- Tongue of Sun and Moon removed
- Diamond Soul renamed to Disciplined Survivor
- Timeless Body removed, part of it folded into Self-Restoration
- Empty Body renamed and reworked into Superior Defense
- Perfect Self replaced by Body and Mind
After nearly 50 years, having one of the original D&D classes changed so drastically came as quite a shock. Fans who have been spending Ki Points for a decade or more suddenly have to change terminology, and the classic martial arts movie flavor has been diluted in favor of something far more generic. Though Wizards of the Coast has said the D&D 2024 rules were meant to be evergreen, there is always a chance there could be a new edition some day – and if there is, who is to say if the Monk might be changed even more in the future?
In almost every edition, the Monk has struggled to keep up with other classes, but it received some much-needed buffs in the 2024 Player’s Handbook that actually make the Monk one of the better classes in D&D.
The D&D 2024 Monk Is a Step (of the Wind) In the Right Direction
Flavor Doesn’t Need To Be Codified In the Dungeons and Dragons Books
The thing is, this change is actually for the best. The East Asian identity of the classic Monk did not come from a place of understanding; Oriental Adventures, which codified much of the modern Monk’s flavor, is notorious for having relied on stereotypes of East Asian cultures, and has been heavily criticized in the 40 years since it was printed. The 5th Edition D&D 2014 Monk still exhibited traits of these problematic origins, while the 2024 update removed many of them.
In truth, Wizards of the Coast should have taken these changes even further. While the names of many features and subclasses for the Monk in D&D had their names altered, the Monk class' actual name itself could have become something like “Martial Artist” as well. Monks are only stereotypically associated with martial arts in some East Asian cultures, making the name one of the last vestiges of its troubled history. While Wizards of the Coast likely didn’t want to change the name because it was so iconic, the 2024 rules would have been the ideal time to do so.
While many fans might be frustrated with the case of the Monk class’ stolen identity, it hasn’t gone anywhere. There is nothing stopping a table from referring to Focus Points as "Ki Points" again, or from making their Monks East Asian martial artists. However, removing this intrinsic theming opens the door for more creativity, especially for newer D&D Dungeon Masters and players who might not realize just how much they can change what is on the page.
“Flavor is free” is a popular saying among the Dungeons and Dragons community. In essence, it means one can customize how their characters’ spells and abilities manifest thematically, so long as it fits the campaign, is approved by the DM, and doesn’t affect the game’s mechanics or rules. Using this maxim, fans are free to build D&D Monks of any archetype – from Bruce Lee and Liu Kang to Chuck Norris and Tifa Lockhart – now that the East Asian stereotypes have mostly been filed off of the Monk.
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson