What Role Would Monks Have In a Fantasy Society?

Question

Yep, I'm back with another Class-related society question! This definitely won't be the last, so you might want to buckle up. Oh, and I'll be copying and pasting parts of my last question on Classes in.

Recap-How Classes Work: In my book, a mysterious pulse of energy sent a young man named John into another world called Alendyias. This event resulted in John becoming Rorjon, a bluish ghost-like being (Kanyeri) that acts as a force of good, guiding, advising, and blessing the people of his new world (Alendyias). One of these blessings was based on John's love of RPGs like DnD, namely Classes. All Classes magically enhance one's potential (capacity), but only within the limits of their held Class. The level of this enhancement increases as the Class-holder grows and gains experience in their Class, and this increase is measured by Levels.

This question is about the Monk Class, which falls into the Speed and Combat categories. Like all Classes, this Class is almost invariably inherited or granted at birth, magically enhancing the holder's potential. However, the Monk Class's enhancements concern athleticism, zeal, piousness, speed, and agility.

The Monk's skills in hand-to-hand combat and focus on athleticism comes from the forever shifting, monster-filled world of Alendyias; in order to convert others to what they see as the truth, they realized a need to change from a peace-loving society to a fiercer society where every one of their order could defend themselves in this new, hostile world. Many Monks already had a wellness philosophy, and others had forms of martial arts, and all of this combined into Alendyias's Monk.

Here's my problem: Monks are fast, they are quick, they are skilled. However, they lack the sheer power and capacity for heavy armor of a Warrior. I already know Monks will have a place in religion, from teaching, preaching, organizing, and even leading (my Class system doesn't have Clerics, but it does have Priests and Priestesses), but I'm not sure if they'll have a place on the battlefield or anywhere else.

So, my question, what roles will a Monk have in a fantasy society that aren't necessarily religious?

Why It's Important: I'm trying to create the most detailed, realistic story possible here and that means understanding exactly how my Classes will fit into my fictional world. Yes, I'm applying logic to fiction. What good is a story that's complete nonsense?

Answer 1

Monks could provide wisdom not only in a religious setting but also on the battlefield.
In DnD, wisdom is just a point system for accessing clerical magic but in the real world, wisdom is much more. Wisdom balances out the other forms of cognitive power (knowledge, intelligence, experience and creativity), merging and focusing them into high effectiveness against any given problem. Given any challenge, wisdom can creatively apply knowledge, experience and raw intelligence to find a solution.

Freed from a spiritual requirement for passivity, Monks would become the great thinkers on the battlefield. At the command level, they could serve as strategic advisors (sun tzu) to the paladin generals while down in the mud and blood, they would be creative problem solvers (macgyver) for their squads.

Answer 2

Monks make stuff! Monks do stuff!

Here I am talking about western monks in Christian traditions.

In some places, monks run bakeries and turn out awesome bread. Monks make beer including one of my favorites, Chimay ale. Monks make liqueurs like Chartreuse, some previously valued for medicinal uses. Monks in some places make cheese and now I am so hungry I can barely type. Why are there no monks near me to provision me with beer, bread and cheese?

Monks can also do other things. Monks can copy documents by hand and have long been employed at this - not just religious tracts but other documents for which people are willing to pay for copies. Monks can teach - not just religious things, but teach children things like math and reading and history. Monks can farm and grow vegetables and tend animals. Monks can be nurses and take care of sick people.

If you want something specific for your class, I propose things from the first paragraph - monks make food that requires some skill to make, and on a day to day basis their societies value them for this.

Answer 3

They can parkour messages or goods from one place to another. Remember, messengers running on foot were the prefered means of communication for thousands of years. Take the story of the first marathon, for example. The story of the game Mirror's Edge can also serve as inspiration. Not to mention, if your monks do have a religious function, they may be considered more trustworthy than your traditional messenger.

They can also teach unarmed skills. Think of jiu-jitsu and its role in self defense against even armed and armored opponents when the samurai was caught unarmed. It would be good to have a couple of monks around to train your warriors in basic hand to hand combat. We still train soldiers that way to this day, and jiu-jitsu makes up a large part of it.

They can make excellent peacekeepers. Most police or watchmen were armed with clubs or even sabers in the early days. Now we teach police jiu-jitsu skills because it's far better to pin someone or even use a blood choke than to beat a suspect repeatedly over the head until they stop. Religious police may also be seen as more trustworthy and less corrupt than state-run or private police forces.