Masters of martial arts, Monks are a fun and versatile class in Dungeons & Dragons. They may not be the strongest of Marshalls, but they can easily dodge most things thrown at them. Sometimes we do.
Here are some backstory concepts to help get your ideas started. Use whichever you like and mix and match some of them to create your character the way you want.
Ten prodigal student
Good, easy start, you can be a good student from your temple who recently went on an adventure. There is a base that can
You just need a reason why the Master gives you a free pass to adventure. Someone’s death, stolen artifacts, complete destruction of the temple (bye, base). Whatever it is, it’s an effective backstory. Not all backstories need trauma – unless you’re going for destruction.
9 bad student
Conversely, you can actually be a bad student. A person who fails most of the assessments and fails to perform the technique correctly can become a laughing stock for other students. Good backstory for low level characters.
It’s time to go out there alone and prove your worth through pilgrimage. You can use the martial arts you’ve already learned for self-defense.
8 soldier
As you know, martial arts were originally created for warfare. It’s not difficult to use military training to justify a character’s fighting style. Maybe they’re sort of elite warriors or fighters who believe in more traditional types of combat, but still.
Ex-soldier turned adventurer explains how you learned to fight and even has a background to master in creating characters so it’s easy to go along with It’s a simple premise.
7 ex-criminal
Let’s add some more drama to these backstories. Would you like to become an ex-criminal accepted into a monastery? Maybe you feel sorry for you and are trying to take away the wrong person who has become your master.
Depending on the DM, either you’ll be tempted to use your new abilities for crime again, or past NPCs can come back and haunt you.
6 former snob
Another type of redeeming themselves is someone who was formerly superficial, perhaps a former aristocrat, who only cared about their own wealth. But by losing money, or not finding happiness through it, your character only felt empty.
The solution to their problem was to choose a humble life. They are letting go of the material and embracing the spiritual. And resisting temptation can be a dilemma the characters go through, providing fun role-playing opportunities.
Five Renegade
Going back to “using your new abilities for crime” doesn’t mean you get bad grades, you can be a bad student. You can turn your back on the principles taught by your master and use your martial arts abilities to do whatever you want.
It’s a fun concept for an evil character, and many monks can be made to act as antagonists, as there’s a good chance your former master will want to stop you.
Four Street Fighter
To be fair, if you use this backstory, you won’t be a monk in the title, but you don’t need weapons, so this class is a good fit here. Either lived or was an orphan and learned to fight on his own.
You can also skin Monk’s weapons with random objects to better suit your ideas, such as using a cane or a broken broom as a staff.It will give your character a fun Jackie Chan vibe. prize.
3 wrestler
Another concept that isn’t technically a monk, but a wrestler, though the class fits that concept well. They are not real wrestlers, as they do not exist in a medieval environment, but are a more professional type of fighter who choose to fight unarmed.
With feats like the Tavern Brawler and Grappler, you can take advantage of this idea quite a bit. Be careful as this feat combo requires a bit of strength. This is not used in most monk builds.
2 performer
Did you know that you can use different stats to roll certain skills, as long as it makes sense for a reason? In other words, you can use your class as a performer.
Those who use martial arts for presentation rather than constant fighting can be fun characters. Hence the adventures around.
1 old master
Monk cliché is a very fun character to roleplay, but he’s best if you start at a higher level, or perhaps for a campaign that starts at a higher level. You can become a wandering old Master who speaks in the Word of Wisdom.
It also helps build a somewhat pacifist personality – since you’ll probably beat the crap out of a lot of people.