Monk

The Monk, abbreviated as Mon, is one of the roles available for a hero in NetHack. From the guidebook:

Monks are ascetics, who by rigorous practice of physical and mental disciplines have become capable of fighting as effectively without weapons as with. They wear no armor but make up for it with increased mobility.

Monks are always human, and can be lawful, neutral or chaotic.

Starting equipment

Each Monk starts with the following equipment:

• a +2 pair of leather gloves
• a +1 robe
• one of the following blessed spellbooks, with an equal probability of each:
  • spellbook of healing
  • spellbook of protection
  • spellbook of sleep
• a random scroll that is not the scroll of enchant weapon
• 3 potions of healing, any of which may be blessed
• 3-6 uncursed food rations
• 5-10 apples
• 5-10 oranges
• 3-6 fortune cookies
• one of the following:
  • an uncursed magic marker (¹⁄₄ chance or 20%), otherwise;
  • an uncursed oil lamp (²⁄₂₅ chance or 8%)

Monks start with knowledge of the shuriken and all non-magical armor.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Per commit d452242a, the spell of sleep is raised to level 3 and no longer eligible for Monks to start with - the spell of confuse monster is also lowered to level 1, and is made one of their possible starting spells.

Per commit 9d910773, Monks have a ¹⁄₄ chance (25%) of starting with a magic marker (19–23 charges), and otherwise have a ³⁄₄₀ chance (7.5%) chance of starting with an oil lamp.

Intrinsics

Monks gain the following intrinsic properties upon reaching the given experience levels:

• XL 1: see invisible
• XL 1: sleep resistance
• XL 1: speed
• XL 3: poison resistance
• XL 5: stealth
• XL 7: warning
• XL 9: automatic searching
• XL 11: fire resistance
• XL 13: cold resistance
• XL 15: shock resistance
• XL 17: teleport control

Attributes

The Monk's starting attributes are distributed as follows:

Attributes	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution	Intelligence	Wisdom	Charisma	Remaining
Minimum attributes	10	8	7	7	8	7	28
Distribution percentages	25%	20%	15%	10%	20%	10%
Mean w/ standard deviation	17.34±2.37	13.63±2.10	11.26±1.95	9.86±1.66	13.63±2.10	9.57±1.59

Skills

Monk have the following skills available to them:

Monk skills
Max	Skills
Basic	Weapons: quarterstaff, spear, crossbow, shuriken Spells: attack, divination, enchantment, matter
Skilled	Spells: clerical, escape
Expert	Spells: healing
Grand Master	Combat: martial arts

Monks start with Basic skill in martial arts and healing spells. They use the wisdom stat to cast spells, and their special spell is restore ability.

Special rules

Monks gain a +1 multishot bonus for throwing shuriken.

The Monk's default crowning gift is the spellbook of restore ability, and a Monk carrying the spellbook or wielding an artifact when they are crowned will receive the normal crowning gift for their alignment.

Monks have a code of conduct that changes how certain actions impact their abilities and attributes, in addition to alignment record:

• Monks are expected to maintain at least a vegetarian diet, and take a -1 penalty to alignment record every time they consume non-vegetarian food.
• A Monk exercises wisdom while they are weak from hunger, and abuses wisdom while they are satiated - this is applied in addition to the normal stat abuse for both conditions, and occurs on every game turn whose number is a multiple of 10.
• Monks wearing a suit of armor in their normal form incur a -20 to-hit penalty (equal to their spellcasting penalty for worn armor). Monks that are in normal form and not wearing a suit of armor, using a shield, or wielding a weapon can perform staggering blows when attacking in melee or kicking, and gain a to-hit bonus equal to ^XL⁄₃ + 2 for melee attacks.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Per commit c09733f2 and commit 7c44e06a, a Monk that reaches Minetown and does not load a bones level will have a health food shop in place of the standard delicatessen if possible. This is meant to be already present in the game, but only the shopkeeper's name was changed whenever this occurred, while the shop type and underlying room type were unchanged.

Per commit afbcf3f9, feedback the to-hit penalty for worn armor will appear when checking the hero's status via ctrl + X, and per commit 97cbbaa0 the feedback also accounts for bonuses to accuracy from other sources.

Rank titles

The status line displays one of the following ranks for the corresponding experience levels:

• XL 1-2: Candidate
• XL 3-5: Novice
• XL 6-9: Initiate
• XL 10-13: Student of Stones
• XL 14-17: Student of Waters
• XL 18-21: Student of Metals
• XL 22-25: Student of Winds
• XL 26-29: Student of Fire
• XL 30: Master

Gods

The Monk pantheon is based on Chinese mythology.

• Lawful: Shan Lai Ching
• Neutral: Chih Sung-tzu
• Chaotic: Huan Ti

Quest

The Monk's quest sees them fighting Master Kaen for The Eyes of the Overworld, an artifact pair of lenses. While worn, The Eyes of the Overworld suppress the effects of blindness and grant magic resistance and astral vision: astral vision allows the wearer to see through walls within a three-square radius, including any monsters within that range. NetHack assumes line-of-sight to be symmetrical, meaning that monsters will be able to see the wearer as well - be very careful not to wear them around Medusa!

Strategy

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"The strategy section is due for a major update to better reflect what is possible in NetHack 3.6.7, as well as what is changed in upcoming versions - as such, take the text below with a grain of salt."

Character creation

For Monks planning to switch from martial arts to a weapon at some point, your best option is a sacrifice gift. In this case, lawful monks are most likely to receive a viable artifact weapon sooner due to the lineup of artifact long swords, which unrestricts the skill and allows basic-skilled usage of Excalibur; there is also the option of shooting for Grayswandir. Neutral sacrifice gifts are less reliable, while chaotic gifts are mostly useless; additionally, monks receive a different crowning gift from most other roles in the spellbook of restore ability, and thus will have to either carry the book or wield an artifact in order to receive a more 'standard' crowning gift. A neutral Monk has the option of wishing for the Staff of Aesculapius, the only artifact weapon they can naturally reach Basic skill in, although the usual risks and perils of wishing for an artifact apply.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Demonbane is now a mace, so lawful Monks aren't guaranteed to get Grayswandir or unrestricted long sword skill as their first gift. They have an 89% chance of receiving one or the other in at most two gifts.

For those planning to maintain weaponless conduct, chaotic Monks will have an easier time dealing with the mysterious force, and chaotic gods also grant more prayer timeout reduction from sacrifice, making it easier to farm spellbooks from an altar.

Early game

Objectives

Monks are pretty capable fighters in the early game. Martial arts do good enough damage, and the Monk's starting inventory is just fine. Many of the weapons and armor lying around in the early game are of little use. It is probably best to focus on learning spells and gaining protection.

It is very likely that an amulet of reflection will be your source of reflection for the entire game, so heading to Sokoban early is a good idea.

Weapons

Monks can often get through the early game (or the entire game) with no weapons at all. If you really feel you need a ranged weapon, crossbows are plentiful in the Mines but wielding one is a hazard to any weaponless attempt. Shuriken are good if you can find some, but are subject to breakage. A small stack of spears, although heavy, is normally easily obtainable.

A Monk is probably the best role for attempting a weaponless conduct, since they can train up to Grand Master in martial arts. Indeed, at early stages of the games, hands are the best "weapon" for a Monk. There is no actual penalty for using weapons, but Monks can attain proficiency in very few weapon skills.

Armor

The 20 points to-hit penalty for wearing body armor is huge. This makes body armor entirely infeasible, except for pacifists. You should find a good helm and shoes, however, even if they are metallic. Keep your robe safe: it massively boosts your spellcasting and will be hard to replace early on.

At the early stages of the game, it is not recommended to use a shield, as you lose your hit bonus for not using a shield or weapon, and it will additionally harm your spellcasting.

Spellcasting

All of the three possible starting spells are useful if used in conjuction with martial arts. Healing lets you fight longer, sleep prevents your enemies from fighting back, and protection can make up for armor deficiencies (if you cast it before going into your fights).

Monk is the only role other than Wizard that can achieve at least a Basic proficiency in every magical school. This broad array of possible spells is useful for any Monk, but especially for one attempting a weaponless conduct.

The starting robe gives Monks a massive bonus to spellcasting as well, twice what any other role gets from wearing one. Even taking into account base spellcasting penalties, a Monk with a robe will still enjoy a better total bonus than even a Wizard.

Monks do not have the hungerless spellcasting available to Wizards, so wearing a ring of slow digestion is especially useful.

Mid game

Objectives

Maximize your Luck as soon as possible once you get a luckstone. Once you have maximized your luck and have a good experience level, start trying on body armor to see if you can hit consistently. If you can, a lot of the problems surrounding armor will be resolved.

Monks have one of the toughest quests in NetHack. Master Kaen is legendarily difficult, and because he is a spellcaster you will want magic resistance before you meet him. Be sure to read up on his weaknesses. The phasing monsters on the Quest can swarm around you no matter where you hide. Combining all that with your difficult armor choices makes it likely that you will need to wait until after completing the Castle to embark on the Quest. Kaen is vulnerable to the effects of a scroll of scare monster, making the fight with him much easier, so finishing the Castle shouldn't be as necessary if you have one.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

The scroll of scare monster no longer works on any @ or unique monster.

Assembling an ascension kit can be a bit of a puzzle, seeing as you will likely avoid body armor and shields. Your alignment becomes very important once you start wishing for artifacts.

If you decide to wish for artifacts, try to obtain magic resistance first (slotless if possible), and then half damage if you can get some. There are no lawful half physical damage artifacts, an important consideration given a Monk's AC challenges. Neutrals can get the weighty Orb of Fate for this, but for a spellcaster, the energy regeneration and branchporting of the Eye of the Aethiopica might be better. Neutrals can also sacrifice for Magicbane to get magic resistance and unrestrict dagger skill as a bonus. Chaotic Monks can get half physical damage via the Master Key of Thievery.

Weapon

Typically, the only weapon worth using is a good, well-enchanted artifact weapon. Otherwise, bare-handed attacks will be more effective due to being restricted in almost every weapon skill. To unlock a skill, you need to obtain a weapon of the same skill by sacrificing or by crowning.

Armor

You should always wear a shield if you are wielding a weapon, as there is no additional penalty for using both a weapon and a shield. Since shields harm spellcasting, wear either a small shield, which is not that bad, or a shield of reflection, whose benefit of reflection is worth the spellcasting penalty.

As for body armor, some players do not wear body armor at all. Most players do wear body armor during the middle or late game, as it solves a lot of problems.

Avoiding body armor

It is very important to lower your AC by all means. Another problem is obtaining magic resistance and magic cancellation. If you cannot hit anything while wearing body armor, and cannot get an artifact offering magic resistance, you might need to forego your robe in favor of a cloak of magic resistance.

If you have no magic resistance, polymorph traps will be a serious problem, as stepping on one can destroy your cloak and/or shirt. Wear a ring of polymorph control or amulet of unchanging (unless you have a better amulet) to prevent unwanted polymorphing. If you have neither, wear disposable junk armor below level 9. Automatic searching can also help you find and avoid polymorph traps, especially if you also have high Luck.

Wearing body armor

The only body armors which are worth the downsides are gray dragon scale mail and silver dragon scale mail. Picking one over the other depends on which extrinsics you already have from other sources.

If you can almost but not quite hit consistently while wearing body armor, try augmenting your to-hit bonus with gauntlets of dexterity or a ring of increase accuracy, or further increasing your experience level.

For Monks wearing body armor, it is a good idea to get rid of the penalty by self-polymorphing before the most demanding tasks, like killing Master Kaen; see the relevant section on polymorph control for a list of creatures who can wear all armor. Alternatively, you may simply remove your own body armor before the fight, provided your AC is good enough without it.

Spellcasting

Maxing out your healing and clerical spellcasting skills is probably not worth it if you can keep wearing your robe. Neutral Monks who cast lots of spells will likely want to wish for the Eye of the Aethiopica for energy regeneration.

Late game

Objectives

In addition to rounding out your ascension kit, you might also want a silver object for fighting undead and demons in Gehennom. Weaponless Monks can remove their gloves and wear a silver ring for attacking shades, or wield a silver non-weapon such as the Bell of Opening.

The crowning gift of a spellbook of restore ability is often considered worthless, as its primary function will have long been superseded by the unicorn horn, and a blessed potion of restore ability can also serve the same purpose while additionally restoring lost levels. Both this and the Monk's obtainable intrinsics from gaining experience levels suggest that a Monk player should probably avoid being crowned, so as to preserve a shorter prayer timeout.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Unicorn horns can no longer restore reduced attributes in vanilla NetHack, so the value of this spell has increased.

Weapons

A highly-enchanted double-damage weapon like one of Fire Brand or Frost Brand, even at Unskilled, will do significantly more damage than martial arts at Grand Master level. See The Monk FAQ for an in-depth comparison of average damage. Monks not attempting the weaponless conduct may want to switch to using an artifact weapon once they get something powerful enough (and once they are high enough level to hit monsters even with the Unskilled to-hit penalty). Alternatively, using their existing weapon skills, a fully enchanted silver spear can also be effective, especially in Gehennom against the numerous silver-hating foes there.

Obtaining weapons through sacrifice will unrestrict the relevant skills, which is especially important for Monks.

Shuriken are a good ranged option for late game Monks. If you want a large number of them, you will probably have to polypile for them.

Armor

At this point you should be able to overcome the body armor penalty entirely with high stats and luck, or possibly through self-polymorph. You should be wearing body armor unless you have some good reason not to, are trying for the Nudist conduct, or are roleplaying.

Once you start wearing body armor, you should also get a shield, which doesn't have any further adverse effects on melee combat if you already have body armor, and doesn't affect your martial arts. However, note that shields can impede spellcasting. A shield of reflection in particular can free up your amulet slot for something more useful.

Spellcasting

It is likely that extremely high level spells like finger of death will remain out of your reach, but don't underestimate the power of the middling spells. Magic missile in particular is probably your most powerful ranged attack.

History

The Monk first appears in NetHack Plus, a variant of the NetHack 3.1 series, as a neutral role. It is included among many other NetHack Plus features in SLASH 6, an ancestor of SLASH'EM, and makes its vanilla debut in NetHack 3.3.0.

Origin

The Monk is based off the archetype of the Shaolin kung fu practitioner, who is a member of the Shaolin Monastery (or Shaolin Temple) located at the foot of Wuru Peak within the Songshan mountain range in Dengfeng County, Henan province, China. The Shaolin Monastery dates back to 495 AD and is recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism, which is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism and a main pillar of Shaolin culture; the first Monk to preach Buddhism at the temple is simply known as "Batuo". The other main pillar and primary creation of its culture is Shaolin kung fu: the name 'Shaolin' is used as a brand for "external styles" of kung fu in southern and northern China, and it is debated whether or not there is any significant difference between "internal" and "external" kung fu styles.

Shaolin is said to be the largest and most famous kung fu style, and blends Zen philosophy with martial arts. Somewhat contrary to the style of monk featured in NetHack, Shaolin kung fu features several exercises and teaches a number of techniques and styles for both bare-handed combat and weapon combat, including situations that pit one against the other. Batuo's first Chinese disciples, Huiguang and Sengchou, are both attested by historical record to have possessed exceptional martial skills, to the point that Sengchou's skill with the tin staff and 'empty-hand' strikes is documented in the Chinese Buddhist canon, and is among the most recognizable characteristics of Shaolin styles in the modern eye.

The Sui dynasty of the 6th and 7th centuries AD saw the building blocks of Shaolin kung fu begin to form, and Shaolin monks began to create their fighting systems in earnest; their martial training was not as thoroughly detailed until the early 17th century, with late Ming dynasty literature containing various references to Shaolin martial arts and describing unarmed combat, spear combat, and staff combat alike. The earliest extant manual on Shaolin kung fu, Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method, was written in around 1610 and published in 1621 from what the author Chéng Zōngyóu learned during a more than ten-year stay at the monastery.

Chinese cinema has produced many films focused on Shaolin Kung Fu that have gained global popularity, particularly during the 1970s and early '80s with movies such as 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Shaolin Temple, and Shaolin Wooden Men. The ABC TV series Kung Fu (1972-1974), which stars David Carradine as a fugitive Shaolin monk traveling the Western United States in search of his brother, helped to further popularize Shaolin Kung Fu with the general American TV audience.

Variants

The Monk role is subject to more divergences within variants of NetHack than other roles by virtue of its origin in one such variant.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Monks also have the largest number of techniques of any role. Most of these are martial arts-themed offensive moves that make the Monk a more balanced role.

They don't suffer to-hit penalty for wearing body armor (unless fighting bare-handed).

Their first sacrifice gift are the Gauntlets of Defense.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, monks get a bonus point of AC while confused as a reference to the idea of drunken boxing.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, Monks have a variety of special maneuvers, including fighting-game-style attacks similar to SLASH'EM monk techniques. Monks also continue to gain intrinsics after level 17:

• Level 19: acid resistance
• Level 21: water walking
• Level 23: sickness resistance
• Level 25: disintegration resistance
• Level 27: stoning resistance
• Level 29: magic resistance
• Level 30: drain resistance

Their crowning gift is the Grandmaster's Robe, which improves their unarmed attacks while worn.

FIQHack

In FIQHack, monks can be human or elven. The monk crowning gift is a magic marker instead of a spellbook.

Encyclopedia entry

One day, an army general invited the Buddhist monk I-Hsiu (literally, "One Rest") to his military head office for a dinner. I-Hsiu was not accustomed to wearing luxurious clothings and so he just put on an old ordinary casual robe to go to the military base. To him, "form is void".

As he approached the base, two soldiers appeared before him and shouted, "Where does this beggar came from? Identify yourself! You do not have permission to be around here!"

"My name is I-Hsiu Dharma Master. I am invited by your general for a supper."

The two soldiers examined the monk closely and said, "You liar. How come my general invites such a shabby monk to dinner? He invites the very solemn venerable I-Hsiu to our base for a great ceremony today, not you. Now, get out!"

I-Hsiu was unable to convince the soldiers that he was indeed the invited guest, so he returned to the temple and changed to a very formal solemn ceremonial robe for the dinner. And as he returned to the military base, the soldiers observed that he was such a great Buddhist monk, let him in with honour.

At the dinner, I-Hsiu sat in front of the table full of food but, instead of putting the food into his mouth, he picked up the food with his chopsticks and put it into his sleeves. The general was curious, and whispered to him, "This is very embarrassing. Do you want to take some food back to the temple? I will order the cook to prepare some take out orders for you." "No" replied the monk. "When I came here, I was not allowed into the base by your soldiers until I wear this ceremonial robe. You do not invite me for a dinner. You invite my robe. Therefore, my robe is eating the food, not me."

[ Dining with a General - a Zen Buddhism Koan ]

References

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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.0. Information on this page may be out of date.

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