Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was created by the same executive producer as EverQuest, and so Vanguard Monks share many of the qualities as the EverQuest Monk.
The primary difference in Vanguard is that the monk's "signature" area of expertise is delivering area of effect (AOE) damage via melee, a role not present in most games except, sometimes in some limited way due to a particular special ability or talent.