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Warrior Monk: Difference between revisions
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The Warrior Monk is a fighter defined by his or her faith, which serves as a weapon and armor the equal of any mundane wargear. He focuses his mind with sacred chants before the battle, [[Survival Mantra|quotes scripture while he smashes aside infidels]], strikes with [[Mission
This character is often a member of a [[Church Militant]], be it a martial-minded sect within a larger religion or the divine army of a powerful theocracy. Other Warrior Monks have more diverse backgrounds, and could hail from actual monasteries, master-apprentice relationships, or could even be self-taught. Warrior Monks may be shining examples of a religion's ideals, or in some situations may end up ''fighting'' a [[Church Militant]] if the latter has become a [[Corrupt Church]]. Others may ignore religious politics altogether, doing more for their faith by acting as an example.
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This character type has two regional variants: The Western form of Warrior Monk often turns out as a particularly devout [[Knight in Shining Armor]], a heavily-armed and -armored crusader combining martial prowess with unmatched devotion to the ideals of the church (if not necessarily [[Corrupt Church|the church itself]]). Expect such warriors to be referred to as [[paladin]]s or [[The Knights Templar|templars]]. In a fantasy setting, these Warrior Monks frequently enjoy tangible signs of their deity's favor, [[Barrier Warrior|defensive]], [[Healing Hands|curative]], or [[Status Buff|augmentative]] powers overlapping with the [[Combat Medic]]'s repertoire...though they occasionally have more [[Holy Hand Grenade|offensive abilities]] along with [[Meditation Powerup|battle skills]]. Still, this fighter enjoys charging in and smiting enemies of the faith in close combat more than serving as a dedicated healer or spellcaster.
The Eastern variant is usually the stereotypical kung-fu Shaolin monk, because for some reason every Eastern religion includes [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting|martial arts]] as part of its teachings. This seemingly-harmless, lightly-armed traveler unexpectedly displays incredible ass-kicking abilities at the sign of trouble, then gives some [[Koan|words of wisdom]] to any survivors. Due to the differences between Western and Eastern religions, these Warrior Monks tend to be more contemplative mystics than dogmatic, crusading zealots, but are no less devout than their foreign counterparts. When it comes to an Eastern-style Warrior Monk's powers, all bets are off: they can be wielders of a [[Simple Staff]], melee masters of [[Ki Attacks]], or walking avatars of [[Elemental Powers|elemental destruction]].
If [[Saintly Church|their cause is worthy enough]], these characters can be [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|among the most noble heroes in the world]]. Other times, Warrior Monks can become [[Knight Templar|self-deluded extremists]] who let [[Utopia Justifies the Means|the end justify the means]]. It is also important to remember that [[Religion of Evil|evil churches]] can have (un)holy warriors, too.
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** The Monastics are warriors, diplomats and assassins with high-end [[Master of Your Domain|somatocommand skills]]. The 'religion' part seems almost tacked on.
** The Priests of Khryl (and Knights of Khryl) are the [[Knight in Shining Armor]] variant of this trope and devotion to their god [[Healing Factor|has]] [[Super Strength|its]] [[Healing Hands|benefits]]. Khryl is a god of war.
* The Abellican Church from R. A. Salvatore's ''[[Demon Wars]]'' saga has ''very'' strong martial traditions (the only warrior able to consistently best elf-trained swordsmen is an Abellican monk, [[Sinister Minister|albeit an evil one]]), though not all Abellican clergy follow that path.
* Archbishop Turpin in the medieval ''Chanson de Roland.''
* [[The Five Ancestors]]
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** Thoros of Myr is a red monk of the fire god R'hllor as well as a fearsome fighter. He has overthrown many a man in a melee with his flaming sword and was famously the first warrior over the wall during the seige of Pyke. He lapsed in his faith for some time until early in the series, when he experiences a re-awakening.
** The Drowned Men are holy men of the Drowned God who are expected to take up driftwood cudgels and kick ass for the faith when heathens are about.
* In ''[[Anathem]]'', the avout, who are monks of science, logic and philosophy, have an order of the Ringing Vale, who specialize in the science of combat.
* [[Thraxas]] runs into two groups of warrior monks, unsurprisingly in ''Thraxas and the Warrior Monks''.
* In ''[[Elantris]]'' all clergy of the [[Church Militant|Derethi]] religion are trained in monastaries where they learn combat skills, among other things. This is taken to its most extreme by [[Priest King|Wyrn's]] favorite enforcers, the Monks of Dakhor, who use a combination of [[Body Horror]] and [[Blood Magic]] in tandem with fighting skills to make them so dangerous that opponents of the Derethi sometimes call them ''demons''.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Series 5 of the new series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has a religious order of Clerics, who judging by the titles they hold appear to be members of a variant of Anglicanism. Refreshingly for a warrior monk order from the far future, they wear practical camouflage combat gear instead of anything overtly religious or ornate.
** It's an unusual version where [[The Reveal]] is that the soldiers are priests, rather than that the priests are soldiers.
* The Rangers in [[Babylon 5]] might almost count as warrior monks.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* [[Super Soldier|Space Marines]] and [[Amazon Brigade|Sisters of Battle]] in ''[[Warhammer
** Space Marine Chaplains and Dark Apostles fill these roles specifically within Space Marine Chapters and Traitor Legions.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' also gives us the Warrior-Priests of Sigmar who like to bash stuff with big hammers. Followers of Ulric are similar, but favor axes. There are also Bretonnian Questing and Grail Knights, and some Chaos warlords qualify as evil versions of this trope.
* Paladins and clerics in ''[[Dungeons
* [[Magic: The Gathering]] has Rhox War Monk, alias [[Fan Nickname|Pancake]] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=174957 Flipper].
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* Paladins in the ''[[Warcraft]]'' universe.
** In [[World of Warcraft]] some variations apply:
** Alliance paladins play it straight - they gain they powers (either defence, healing or ass-kicking) from their faith in Light. Draenei paladins actually have encountered the Naaru, who are [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Crystal Jigsaw Angels]].
** Blood elves put a twist: playable paladins were initially ''forcefully'' sapping their powers from the captured Naaru, resulting in their skills being a bit [[Darker and Edgier]]. Then the antagonistic blood elves stole their Naaru and continued to drain powers from him in their favour. Playable elves found that they still had their powers - it was a [[Xanatos Gambit]] on part of the Naaru to open them to a true Light. [[Gameplay and Story Integration|Their skills became more in-line with the Alliance versions]], though they still had their [[Darker and Edgier|specific mount]].
** [[Expansion Pack|Cataclysm]] adds [[A Load of Bull|tauren]] paladins into the mix, who, in line with their [[Nature Hero]] tendencies, get their powers from the Sun.
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''Bulletproof Monk'''s protagonist. Self-explanatory.
* ''[[Babylon A.D.]]'' A [[Gender
== [[Literature]] ==
* Yao Shu in ''[[Conqueror|Lords of the Bow]]''.
* The Fighting Monks of the Order of Wen the Eternally Surprised in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]''.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* The Monk class in ''[[Dungeons
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* The "Martial Artist" from ''[[GURPS]]: Dungeon Fantasy''.
* Sohei warrior monks are recruitable in both ''Shogun: [[Total War]]'' games. In the second game, they are the specialty of the Uesugi clan.
* [[Mortal Kombat]] gives us Liu Kang and Kung Lao. They even got a spinoff called ''[[Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks|Shaolin Monks]]''.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The ''[[Kids Next Door]]'' could fit this trope to a certain degree, though they're modeled mostly as a military organization, the kids that join them are generally taught and trained to fight to protect kids and their rights from evil, and do whatever is associated with achieveing that goal. And KND Operatives, for the most part, have an ingrained determination to fight for that cause while never giving it up. Those traits give the KND much in common with warrior monks. Essentially they're taught to fight for an ideal, though not political or religious, has been what kept the KND together and what might be the cause of how it's an organization that's been around since the 19th century.
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=== {{smallcaps|Real Life:}} ===
* Bishops and other clergy often fought in the Crusades. It's widely believed that clerical law against spilling blood forced them to use [[Carry a Big Stick|blunt weapons such as maces]], but this is a myth. There are a number of medieval illustrations of clerics using edged weapons, for instance, in the ''Rolandslied'' of Conrad the Priest, ''c''. 1170.
* The [[wikipedia:Sohei|Sohei]] of Japan and the original Shaolin monks are obvious historical Eastern variants. Famous warlord [[Uesugi Kenshin]] became a monk of the Buddhist god Bishamonten, and is depicted as His devout follower in both ''[[Samurai Warriors]]'' and ''[[Sengoku Basara]]''.
* As Western examples, crusading orders such as [[The Knights Hospitallers]] and [[The Knights Templar]], as well as organizations such as the [[The Teutonic Knights|Teutonic Knights]] or Norse War Clerics. How holy these warriors were depends on how favorably you view their actions and members..
* On the Islamic side, ghazis and some orders of dervishes would also qualify to varying degrees. Most of the key religious figures in Islam including their founding fathers were warriors or commanders because the political situation of the time demanded it. Followers of the religion also have difficulty practicing it properly without an Islamic government framework, which at that point took force to implement if it wasn't already in a city-state.
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[[Category:Religion Tropes]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
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