tl;dr.
I claim dis: I'm referring here to 3.5 Monk mainly.
I've always been of the opinion that IN ACTUAL GAMEPLAY the monk can be just fine. But then, so is the fighter.
Monk is kinda like the bard, in that it requires a degree of optimization-savvy to be relevant in gameplay.
Also, when stats are rolled, not bought, if you happen to get a couple of eighteens and a sixteen or two,
a Monk can be quite fun, since high stats cover it's natural weaknesses quite well.
There are certain expectations in the genre, that are 'wrong' from a gamist perspective, but could make sense if
the classes were instead balanced in relation to gameplay skill required. Hm.
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