5 Backstory Ideas for Your Monk in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)

Monks are masters of unarmed combat, often trained in mountaintop monasteries or alongside masters of martial arts. Monks are a versatile combat class with a number of abilities that grow stronger as they become more self attuned. The power of the monk resides in their abilities to channel their Ki, the power of their own life force. Monks are good in a fight, but are a more mobile class than Fighters or Paladins. Now it’s time to come up with a few quick backstory ideas to help bring your character to life. Here are five intriguing ideas to use in your game, or to build off of to create a unique character you’ll love to play.

#1: The Martial Artist

You are a master of your craft, trained to be a master in various forms of unarmed combat. The Martial Artist is the classic idea for a monk, learning ancient traditions and channeling their life force to become their perfect self. Your Martial Artist could range from a kung-fu fighter to a ninja like master of karate. Maybe you seek out a life of enlightenment, or maybe you were inducted to fight in service of your country. Maybe you seek to be the best fighter in the land, seeking out a powerful mentor to teach you. If you are going to play a Martial Artist consider what kind of fighting style you are pursuing. How long has your character trained? What kind of institution trained you, was it a mountaintop monastery or coastal enclave? Consider how you arrived at the place you are training at?

For many Martial Artists, significant mentors have led them upon their path, for others, enlightenment called to them from an early age. Consider whether your monastery or other training ground is close to a local village, or if it is isolated. Does your character have any experiences in the world outside, or have they spent most of their life inside the walls. Did your character leave to put their powers up against more powerful foes, or to seek a greater understanding of the world. Work with your DM to determine where the organization that trained you might be located, and how it ties into the world.

#2: The Dancer

Not all monks started out as powerful warriors, some inspired self actualization through the arts. Whether you are a warrior who uses grace to fight, or whether dancing inspired your combat style like Capoeira, a dancer fits the archetype for a monk. This monk could like a ballet dancer, always trying to push their craft to new limits, or they could simply be a whirling dervish, combining martial capabilities with their weapons. Do you treat your fighting style like an art, or is your art also useful for fighting? How did you learn this style of fighting? Were you trained from an early age to pursue your craft? Did you attend a school, or take lessons from a mentor?

As a Dancer, you are constantly honing your abilities, always trying to pursue the highest level echelons of grace. Perhaps you look up to a mythical figure or a deity as the epitome of grace. Why is your character driven to succeed? Were they pushed by a mentor, or are they highly competitive? Work with your DM to determine what style might work best for you.

#3: The Ninja

The Ninja can be any monk that is a master of intelligence, stealth and subtlety. You could be a master of blackmail, an assassin, or an intelligence operative. You could serve a local lord, or you could work freelance as a mercenary. The Ninja uses their unique skills to get into places others wouldn’t be able to. They are particularly suited to this job as they don’t need weapons to be lethal in combat. Consider putting skills in stealth or a disguise kit. Was your Ninja selected from amongst the people of their village to train, or did they teach themselves the necessary skills? Does your Ninja have loyalty to any particular faction?

How did your Ninja learn the unique skills that a monk brings to the table? Does your Ninja have a specific mission that they’ve been tasked with, or are they seeking a new goal or even a new master as they set out on their adventure? Does your Ninja have any superstitions or traditions that they follow like most monks, or are they more pragmatic, their powers coming less from innate Ki, and more from an almost unearthly grace achieved through years of study.

#4: The Monastic

Another classic backstory idea for monks, the Monastic is less of a Kung-fu master and more of a Western monk. Studying ancient scrolls and copying manuscripts, the Monastic attempts to achieve enlightenment through study and faith. You could be a travelling sage, or a preacher or friar for your faith. The Monastic achieves their unique abilities through their faith, pursuing the divinity of their deity that they hope to one day meet. The Monastic is well suited to Matthew Mercer’s Cobalt Soul Monk or the Tranquility Monk. Consider if your Monastic is trying to achieve their perfect self through faith or if they study deities in order to replicate them.

Consider how your Monastic learned how to fight, less traditionally taught than other monks, perhaps they learned through study, practicing the styles of far off places in old texts. Does your Monastic seek out specific knowledge, or study a particular culture over others? Does your Monastic consider their deity above others, or are they polytheistic? Or maybe your Monastic is agnostic, instead representing the church of self.

#5: The Awakened

The Awakened is either reborn from a past life, following a path of reincarnation for generations, or they have been touched by prophecy. The Awakened could be the Chosen One, destined to save the land through their strange powers, or they could be on a journey to master the elements of the natural world. This idea could work well for the archetypes such as the Kensei or Way of the Four Elements. You might be blessed by some higher power, or your training simply allows you to access the cosmic power of the universe.

Consider how your Awakened trained to achieve their new powers, were they innate or did they have to find a mentor able to train them? Does your Awakened have memories that aren’t their own, or do they have a prophecy that they must follow? Do they follow any kind of deity, or is their power simply from within? Work with your DM to create a prophecy or past memories. Maybe ask your DM if they will create a past NPC that you might have once been. Have fun with it!

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• Best Feats for Monks
• Best Magic Items for Monks

This is part of a series of backstory ideas for each class. To check out the other articles in this series, follow the links below!

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Wizard