Editing Monk (section)

===[[D&D 4e|Dungeons & Dragons 4e]]===
[[File:Mountain Devotee Monk.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Mountain Devotee proves that [[musclegirl|female monks don't have to be]] [[-4 Str|willowy]].]]
The first Monks were an errata from Wizards, suggesting you could have a Monk class if you used a dual-wield Ranger build with a few changes to use "fists" as the dual weapon. Monks were published in the PHB3, and they are a Psionic Striker that doesn't use the [[Psionics]] rules of the rest of their classes - which means they've picked up an even more fantastical feel, going from the wuxia movie refugees of editions past to escapees from a fighting game or anime like Street Fighter.

Monks are envisioned as a hyper-mobile striker, able to get around the battlefield and wreck whatever gets in their way like the humanoid equivalent of a full-auto barrage of rubber riot shotgun shells. This is aided by their unique mechanic; Full Disciplines. See, every Monk At-Will or Encounter Power allows the user to take both an Attack option and a Move option in the same round, which you use in whichever order you like. For example, the "Dragon Tail" at-will power lets you touch either an ally or a prone enemy and switch positions with them, as well as slapping somebody to the ground and knocking them prone, both in the same round. 

Uniquely amongst the classes, Monks use ki focuses to power their abilities, meaning they can get attack bonuses regardless of the weapon they are wielding at the time.

The Monk equivalent of subclasses is handled by its "disciplines" feature, which confer defense bonuses and determine the type of Flurry of Blows they have. Instead of Flurry of Blows being multiple attacks, it is a second attack as a free action after the first that doesn't require an attack roll and does set damage (so a melee magic missile without the 'force' keyword). As your level progresses, you can do more damage with the flurry and target more people. In the PHB3, the two Disciplines presented are the Centered Wind, a style focused on mental equilibrium and awareness, which grants a Flurry of Blows that can slide enemies, and the Stone Fist, a physical and mental powerhouse style whose Flurry of Blows does a lot more damage. Psionic Power adds the Iron Soul Discipline, which is a weapon-focused style that uses its Flurry of Blows to disorientate its victims.

Monks also have some abilities that should've been errata'd at some point, including one that when read as written results in one of your targets exploding into a pile of gibs, and the other possibly gibbing too, but at the least will be near-dead.

The Monk's [[Paragon Path]]s are all extremely fantastical. The Ghostwalker basically learns to punch peoples' souls out of their bodies. The Initiate of the Dragon uses dragon-inspired fighting techniques, including throwing fire blasts and turning into a [[Half-Dragon]] once per day. The Mountain Devotee is the ultimate champion of the Stone Fist style, making them super-tanky (for a monk). The Radiant Fist is a god-worshipping monk who can channel radiant energy through their fists, basically making them kung-fu-fighting holy men who kick [[zombie]] and [[vampire]] asses with their bare hands for the greater glory of their god. The Basilisk's Fury Adept can literally petrify others with their touch. The Four Winds Master is essentially an Airbender. The Soaring Blade is a wuxia swordmaster, an acrobatic unarmored weaponmaster who channels their ki through their trusty blade. The Tiger Claw Master is a savage warrior that specializes in ripping enemies apart with their bare hands. The Transcendant Perfection is an old-school mystical kung-fu sage. And the Unseen Hand is a [[ninja]]esque monk-assassin hybrid.