Quote Originally Posted by HolyDraconus View Post
I just got to ask: what role is the monk filling? Scout? I got rangers, bards and rogues for that. Damage? Rogues, Paladins, Fighters and Sorcerers. Control? Wizards, Bards and Clerics. Every time I see a monk at the table they do the same thing. Run in. Hit. Run away. Stay away till the Fighter or Paladin takes the attention of the big guy, or Wizard/Cleric/Sorcerer/Bard/Warlock/Druid take them out of the equation, then move back in to hit, then run away again. Atleast I can count on the rogue to down people, or the bard to be able to bail his own ass out when he F's up. The monk though.. ugh. When he F's up, the party has to go in and get him, and because they ALWAYS play monks the same, he will ALWAYS f up behind enemy lines. And ever since Volo's.... WAAAAAAAAAAYYY behind enemy lines. Like seriously. You are a melee char that, in order for you to do melee anywhere near as good as the Barbarian, Paladin, or Fighter, you must spend a resource... and hope they miss/fail.
I'm playing a Drunken Monk and while it is not required, I do carry around a small keg of beer with me. In our recent gathering, I RP'd with my not-too-bad CHA and my beer and got a guard drunk, then our bard grappled him and tied him up. Turned out he was the front guard for the caravan we were supposed to hit, so I managed to take him out of the game for I think 5 rounds till he managed to get out of his bindings. That gave us some time to whack on his colleagues.

DM later told us he had the highest HP of the group we attacked.

Now, while that doesn't exactly answer your question on the monk's role, it is a reminder that this game is not just combat.