Monk (Hellfire)

See also: Monk (Diablo III) and Monk (The Hell)

The monk is a powerful unarmed combatant. They are strong and dextrous. Monks have some skill with fighting with staves, but eventually they will do significantly more damage bare handed. Likewise, heavy armor actually gives them less defense than lighter armor. Since they possess great natural damage already, they search out staves which will give them faster attack. Dexterity adds to their damage more than strength does so these characters look for magical modifications that give bonuses to dexterity. Their high natural defense makes searching for high defense armor less of a necessity. They try to find armor that gives them effects instead. In unarmed combat they prefer to use their feet as weapons rather than their hands. Their kicks are very fast and do a lot of damage at high levels.

The Monk search skill is very useful. In Diablo I, items could not be highlighted on the ground with the magical spell search. This caused problems when trying to find rings, amulets or elixers on the ground, especially if they fell behind an object. This necessitated a tiring search by the player to find the tiny item on the ground. The search spell highlighted not only the item on the ground, but also all items that had fallen on the map. Other classes could learn Search as a spell.

History

Monks of the Brotherhood of the Bough are a rare sight. It is said that they come from a desolate wilderness, where their people were forced to flee after being conquered by an invading horde. Because of their great defeat, these people vowed to master the arts of combat. Lacking resources such as iron, they learned to use their bare hands and simple wooden staves as deadly weapons, and do not depend on metal armor to provide protection in battle. Instead, they rely upon speed and concentration. In their harsh native clime, they have been forced to find food and other essentials in the most unlikely of places. Over time, this careful searching has honed their visual perception to an almost supernatural level.

It is rumored that a dark sickness has fallen upon the homeland of the Monks, and many of their people have died. The Brotherhood of the Bough has sought to unearth the foulness, to no avail. Desperate for answers, lone Monks have ventured to distant lands, searching for regions suffering a similar affliction. Tales of the evils besetting Tristram will have already attracted the attention of the Brotherhood.