Explain to me what a monk is

This is probably the most elegant answer in the thread.

Someone who lives by a code focused on humility and contemplation. Oftentimes they'll sequester themselves away from mainstream society so as to avoid distractions or temptations. What their humility and contemplation is focused on can vary. Classic western monks contemplate God and his wonders, eastern ones tend to go for philosophy, and of course there are the kung fu monks who contemplate how to punch things very hard.

They have to line up in a public place to have their photos taken when they could be using this time to meditate and pray. Of course they're annoyed.

A monk is one who seeks connection with the greater truths of the natural plane and the universe, through meditation or god, perhaps even both.
Such enlightenment and calmness-of-soul grants one great power, which is to be used in the defence of the truths one finds self-evident and noble to pursue.
Such acute awareness allows for increased reflexes as well, making them formidable in any martial skill, but first and foremost, in the most basic fighting- pugilism.
Masters of the art, monks make punches look like a dance, albeit one of death, and kicks look like a ballade, albeit one of righteousness.

I often use this idea in my low-fantasy close-to-no magic settings. The idea of spirit and spiritual energy lending one power and strength. There may not be magic in the traditional sense, but I always love to have those powers, because I know they exist and have felt them. Nothing better feeling than that, for me.

Bitch, He dictates what the alignment system means. If He says it's LG, it is LG.

well, the Templar Order WAS a military order. They had monks too and they were trained in martial arts (european martial arts) while also learning about God. They were like the Shaolin monks but with more money.

>Ok John, roll dice to feed the hobo

Rolled 1 (1d20)

How'd I do?

This is a monk.

Franciscans are the purest and holiest order in Catholicism. They were created in an age were the church was corrupted as fuck.

>suddenly you drop the food ON the hobo
>it was hot and burned his face and hair
>Roll dice to give heal the hobo

Uh... Seems you've started the black plague again.
Nice.

this is a monk too

EYYYY WHERE THE MONK FISHES AT?

A homeless man bit your finger off than ran away with it

it doesn't matter if your friends are cool, if you are an asshole that sets people on fire for not worshiping you then I don't want to know you.

What would it be like to feel/sense your own life force?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk

A monk can be anything as long as it does that stuff.

>Franciscans setting people on fire

It's like saying Lanthander priests sleep with demons

I think you misunderstood what they're saying. They're saying God sets people on fire, so it's more like saying Lathander's priests are great guys but Lathander himself is an archdevil and eats babies.

underrated post

A Paladin who can't use weapons or armor

A person wholly devoted a to a god/ideal that they forsake earthly pleasures to better undesrtand their object of devotion. Whether is being one with the universe or serving a god of murder, a monk places his belief above himself.
Monks fighting barehanded is the result of them forsaking material wealth (equipmemts expensive, yo) to better understand his object of devotion. In a sense, pic related is a monk whose object of devotion is power.

This actually appliesto Franciscan monks, who were using alchemy for the same purposes.

That didn't take long

>drowns children out of spite and has pregnant women ripped open for refusing to worship him
I don't doubt you, but citation needed.

I agree wholeheartedly. Monks are better suited to ideological devotion, in my opinion. If you want to burn people at the stake and kill innocents while believing yourself righteous for kowtowing to a tyrant, priests are where it's at.

a monk can be devoted to an evil ideology just as easily as a good one.

If you are a monk and see this moment a horde of Norse pillager approaching you also would look annoyed.

>YHWH is the same God as the Christian God

Every single time. Atheism is cool, I'm one myself, but at least act like an adult an learn about religion before you make a fool of yourself.

Wat?
No seriously, wat?

qt DEX bois

a paladin

why wouldn't they let their journey be cut short?

A monkey without a tail.

I've heard it explained to me that the difference between HaShem (Yahweh), God, and Allah is like the difference between ice, water, and steam: it's the same thing in essence, but very different in practice.

That's so islamaphobic I can't even

What about tomboys?

a bald ching chong that does boxing

Some bullshit stereotype LE UNARMED class invented by Kung-Fu Addled D&D gms when in reality those Asian monks they fapped to would pick a serviceable sword and shank you with it if you were being an asshole.

I mean, the usual "I dont use weapons!" Monk stereotype based off the Shaolin, when in Folk Chinese history they were best remembered as sword and shield fighters in Qi Jiguang's army during the Pirate Wars in China 16th Century China.

They worship the same God in the sense that they all claim the Old Testament as part of their history and share the same broad values of goodness, kindness, community, and obedience to God. That's about where the similarities end however, each religion has its own view on God and their history and each one has a different set of rules that it follows. Jewish Halacha, Sharia law, and Christian dogma are vastly different and the cultures that shaped them even more so. That being said they do have shared common ground to relate to each other on, which is rather unusual when it comes to religion.

Ok, that's understandable.
Thank you, anons

based answer

A workable placeholder, no more.

The asian guy realised he's joined the wrong order.