Monk is an unnamed monk of unknown origin. As a devout monk, he has taken a vow of poverty, and will immediately take his own life upon violating it.
Monk is unlocked by completing Zone 3.
Rules and Restrictions
Monk starts with a Blood Shovel, Dagger, and Bomb.
Monk's "Vow of Poverty" prevents him from taking any gold or the Crown of Greed. Breaking this vow causes him to instantly die. Nothing is capable of preventing this, including the potion. In addition, when Monk is in play, enemies that drop 0 gold drop 1 gold instead. This includes boss fights.
Since Monk is not allowed to pick up gold, all shopkeepers will instead give him one item for free. Items that would cause Monk to immediately gain gold cannot be found. This includes the Riches Scroll, Ring of Gold, and Ring of Courage. Ring of Shadows is also removed from his item pool, though still obtainable through the Shrine of Darkness. Monk does not have access to the Pawnbroker.
Upon completing a floor, all gold is auto-collected and added to Monk's score. Note that this only occurs when exiting through the stairs - trapdoors do not count.
Strategy
Items
Since Monk desperately needs ways to get around gold piles, a strong digging build is necessary. Ring of Regeneration and Heal Spell both make great complements for his starting Blood Shovel. Any other shovel will allow Monk to dig without self-damage. Miner's Cap is also a very strong option, but only if no longer carrying the Blood Shovel. Alternatively, Ring of Phasing cuts out the need to dig altogether and allows for a very easy way around almost any gold pile. Bombs (especially with the Blast Helm) also make for a good brute force method, allowing troublesome gold piles to be easily blown away.
Weapons with long forward reach (such as the Spear, Longsword, Bow, or Crossbow) allow Monk to pick off enemies from further back, allowing for better manipulation of gold pile placement and keeping dangerous gold piles far away. High damage weapons will allow for faster kills, also aiding in proper gold positioning. Guns, on the other hand, are very dangerous for Monk, as the recoil can unexpectedly push him onto gold. Levitating over gold piles will also kill Monk.
Combat
When dealing with large swarms of enemies, try to kill as many enemies on the same tile as possible. This will vastly reduce the amount of tiles Monk needs to avoid, making his life much easier. Make sure to never kill enemies on the exit stairs. If this happens and a bomb isn't available to destroy the gold, Monk will be forced to either find a trapdoor or wait for the song to complete.
Skeleton Mages, Liches, Warlocks, Green and Magic Monkeys, and Nightmares are easily among the most threatening enemies for Monk, as their effects can easily cause a careless Monk to stumble onto a gold pile. Similar caution should be used around patches of ice in zone 3.
As enemies that normally drop 0 gold drop 1 gold instead, and the music in a boss level loops indefinitely, it is possible to become trapped without bombs especially with Deep Blues.