Character niche for monks?

[Quickleaf]

I try to give spotlight time to all players, and in particular to give them moments where their class really shines in a unique way not encapsulated by the rules.

For example, from the current party I'm DMing for...

Fighters automatically identify arms & armor, know things about wars, military formations, etc.
Rangers automatically learn more from tracks than others.
Rogues automatically know underworld etiquette, thieves' guilds, and how keys/locks/traps are put together.
Clerics & Paladins can channel divinity for a whole host of effects, such as reconsecrating a shrine.
Sorcerers & Druids can tap into ambient magical energy and ley lines.

And then there's a classical wandering D&D monk in the party.

Is there some equivalent perk I could give the monk PC?

 

[Dioltach]

They know how to wax cars and paint fences. At higher levels they even know how to put up fences.

 

[Herobizkit]

It seems like most of your benefits are either Knowledge or raw-magic power-faith related.

The following will depend largely on how you view Monks in your campaign.

How about some kind of 'empathy'/Aura Reading? Monks who are in tune with Ki energy can 'read' the chakra of a person, sensing their base/current emotion.

Or, how about something like Reputation? The calm and wise demeanor of a Monk is well-known; if the Monk is dressed in his 'trademark' robes, the attitude of any non-hostile humanoid who recognizes his tradition moves one 'tier' in a more favorable demeanor.

 

[Vaslov]

How about making them masters of insight with an ability to assess abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Beyond combat this could be learning to understand someones true motives quicker than the average person.

On a bit of a tangent to your question when I first read this as a 5E player my first reaction is this would be better suited to a background than a class. An initiate wizard might know how to consecrate a shrine, an outlander cleric might be good at tracking, etc. My reasoning comes from a monk I once played who was based on the movie character Beck. More of a thug and criminal background than a mystical monk and that is how I played him. He just didn't like weapons. I like the extra flavor you are trying to bring, but tying it to class typecast them a bit.

 

[Redthistle]

Re-entering; the system removed all paragraph breaks when I tried to re-edit this.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Steal an idea from Fate. The "Martial Artist" stunt isn't about being better at fighting. (There's numerous stunts for that.) It instead gives you the ability to analyze a fighting style. Maybe not a mechanical bonus, but "this opponent is likely to try to trip you" or "he's got a sword and a dagger, but he's actually a dagger master" so you know to watch out for feints with that frost dagger rather than hewing from the flaming longsword.

 

[Redthistle]

When I think "monk", I think "monastery".

In terms of sustaining itself, a monastery will be able to provide some things by their own labor, but for other necessities will have to have some kind of economic relationship with the surrounding community, and will therefore need to provide something of value to that community. Individuals within the monastic collective will have some responsibilities in common, but will otherwise fill niches to provide the various and sundry essentials the residents need. The less interaction with non-monastics, the more self-sufficient the monastery must be. Different monasteries may have different specialties; craft work such as brewing, wine-making, making stained glass and/or glass-blowing, herbal remedies, baking bread, etc. More isolated monasteries will likely be more impoverished; the hard-scrabble life sometimes requiring a McGyver-esque level of making-do with very little.

A monastery will also have some relationship with the local political structure, whether supportive or conflicted, that can affect a monk PC's diplomatic/insightful social awareness and perspective.

Why did the PC become a monk? Was the monk abandoned at the door of the monastery as a infant? Was it a personal choice at some time in the character's life, whether as a youth caught up in an idealistic religious passion, or as a more mature individual, weary of war, such as Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael, who took monastic vows after a score of years fighting in the Crusades? Maybe it was coerced: think of "Get thee to a nunnery!" from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

As one of those RPGers that is almost obsessive-compulsive about creating new PCs, I've created a few monks where I've included backstory information about what that PC's role was within the monastery, using the PC's selected skills as a starting point.

To answer the OP question, what general knowledge niche might monks lay claim to?

I'd give monks a sense of at least one line of endeavor from the Guild Artisan list linkable to one of the monk's proficient skills; a practical understanding of mundane aspects of farming, cooking, food-preservation, and the like, and mending clothes, without necessarily being proficient in any of them. Also, because of the make-do existence of monastic life, anytime the adventuring party is confronted with a need to construct a simple item, i.e., something like a raft or rope-bridge, a monk will at the least be able to competently assist.

 

[Dandu]

I try to give spotlight time to all players, and in particular to give them moments where their class really shines in a unique way not encapsulated by the rules.

For example, from the current party I'm DMing for...

Fighters automatically identify arms & armor, know things about wars, military formations, etc.
Rangers automatically learn more from tracks than others.
Rogues automatically know underworld etiquette, thieves' guilds, and how keys/locks/traps are put together.
Clerics & Paladins can channel divinity for a whole host of effects, such as reconsecrating a shrine.
Sorcerers & Druids can tap into ambient magical energy and ley lines.

And then there's a classical wandering D&D monk in the party.

Is there some equivalent perk I could give the monk PC?

Flight.

 

[Voadam]

For mystical they can sense the chi of a being or area see what is out of whack.

For the wuxia concept of monks you could allow them to do all sorts of crazy running up walls, jumping, and parkour. Monks don't make acrobatics or balance checks, they just do it.

 

[Celebrim]

Monk = Jedi.

They can sense disturbances in the force.