I feel that a monk who has reached level 17 has more than earned this feat. It is no small feat to reach level 17 on a monk on frc.
Mechanics aside, monks are some of the most complete beings in the forgotten realms.
They spend. Their entire lives seeking perfection and a higher wisdom.
Monks contrary to popular belief focus Ki energy to gain near supernatural abilities and in later levels they can use this energy to communicate with other beings.
We are talking about someone who can shrug off magic, who can steel their mind against all fear spells and effects.
Someone who can use their Ki to reject disease and who can transfer this energy to another being causing immediate death.
I think the feat in question should be easily attainable and I would like to to see it added not only for monks, but for other classes who apply.
It isn't something that reads minds. It is simply a tool to understand those around you. There is nothing wrong with that.
I agree with your sentiment, however I do not agree regarding this applying to *all* monks - mainly because "linguist monk" isn't some sort of sub-class, as of yet. I agree that Monks do spend, and here we have to interpret monks a little to move on.
If you take the base meaning of monk as some happy-assed Disney bro who through his polyphony of dude-skills can just start conversations with like *anybody bro*, then perhaps.
But I don't see it. Truly.
To me a "monk" is perhaps Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee, circa 1971. But not just a martial artist, monks could also be like Franciscan monks who hang out in Abbeys and brew beer and scribe really cool texts into the dead of night.
The point is you can describe monks many ways. In most campaigns, monks need some guidelines, so here we are. When Monks were originally written into the rules I think you might find some sort of accord or compromise. 40 or so years later, here we go again.
I do not think monks are all-doing super-beings that just get rules-passes for no good reason. I see them as martial artists, as well as naturalists (not druids) and holy warriors (not paladins) that are distinctly unlike clerics (or any other class). Wholly secular, martial-arts-oriented-non-clerics, might be a good way to look at these guys. Maybe not. It is open to discussion.
Point is, I don't think they can just commune with nature/humans on reaching some arbitrary enlightenment. Some will, some won't.
This is open to discussion, I think we need to draw a solid line between what monks are, and what they are not.
Otherwise, at some point, unguarded, monks just kind of become -everything- you always want them to be without any sort of repercussion.
Think on this one community.
