In the long run, the Monk is the best front-class in the game. With enough experience levels, the Monk's AC and attacking power will far exceed that of any other class, even with the best possible equipment in The Thief of Fate. It is highly reccomended that you start developing a Monk ASAP.
In Bard's Tale 1, the Monk does open-handed attacks that increase with every two levels of experience. Once your Monk reaches level 6, DO NOT equip any weapon. Maybe even level 4. He fights better without a weapon. The Monk also gets an additional attack for every four levels of experience, up to a maximum of 8 attacks. Here's the Monk Damage Table.
The Monk has three other major fighting advantages:
- He gains an innate armor class bonus for each experience level.
- He has the highest to-hit bonus of any class.
- He has the highest first strike bonus of any class.
You will notice that as your characters gain experience, your Monk will more often be the first to land a hit in each round, will never miss, and will do more damage than anyone else.
Note, however, that by the endgame of Thief of Fate, a monk is largely worthless. The monsters have so many hit points that a monk's attack sequence will not kill them. An endgame party in Thief of Fate is better served with a Hunter, whose critical hit ability will guarantee a kill every round.
Reference to other games[]
Characters of the Samurai class in the Wizardry series will be imported into Tales of the Unknown as Monks.
Characters of the Druid class in the Ultima series will be imported into Tales of the Unknown as Monks.
The Tales of the Unknown Monk can be exported directly to the Electronic Arts game Deathlord as a Monk.