Help optimize a paladin/monk character

[EroGaki]

I'm actually posting this for a friend of mine who I game with. He is interested in playing multiclassed monk/paladin. We are using the Pathfinder RPG, but our DM is open to 3.5 materials on a case by case basis (with the exception of Tome of Battle and Psionics).

Anywho, my friend would like some tips/advice on how to make this character effective (or at least not a burden to play). He rolled some pretty good stats: 18, 18, 14, 14, 13, 13. I should mention that the DM has already given the okay for him to take the Serenity feat out of the Dragon Compendium; the feat let's him use his wisdom score instead of his charisma for most of his paladin abilities. This should help him reduce the MAD slightly.

Thanks, all.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ascetic Knight is your starting point, letting you stack Paladin & Monk for certain purposes and freely multiclass between them.

It should be noted that the OA version of the Monk has a broader Monk's Weapon list. There are also many sources with equipment lists that expand the Monk Weapon list (caveat: most are Exotic), and several feats in DCv1, Eberron Campaign book and Secrets of Sarlonna let you add a particular kind of weapon to your list. IOW, you could opt to have your longsword or halberd be treated as a Monk weapon because of your training.

(Personally, I've found Monk builds with polearms and the Combat Reflexes feat tree to be rather effective.)

PrCls of note would be the Kensai (CW), Shiba Protector and the Shou Disciple (both OA).

Serenity could be effective- I can't say for sure because I've never used it- but something I've been trying out lately is the CompDiv version of Sacred Healing. For PCs with Turning but not many levels, this feat can turn them into incredibly efficient healing machines, especially coupled with Extra Turning.

Check out the database in my sig for more info.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Check out Illumian from Races of Destiny (racial traits on p. 53-55). It has a bunch of benefits for multiclassed characters (one of the options is +2 CL, but can't exceed character level, for example). It also allows you to leave Paladin and Monk and come back to them as you please, which will make the multiclass much easier to manage from the starting point (it's one thing to see what the build will look like at level 20, quite another to get there).

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Hmm...I forgot there was a Monk/Pal multiclass feat. That kinda puts a damper on the Illumian idea... (though it would have been tough anyway, being PF, you'd have to give the Illumian a +2 ability score bonus to compete with the core races). If it were 3E, I wouldn't even think losing Smite advancement was so bad, but smite evil is crazy powerful in PF, Ascetic Knight is a must.

Hmm...Wisdom is adding to a lot of stuff, you probably want to pimp that. How about these stats?
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 13

Would he rather be mainly Paladin or mainly Monk? Even split, roughly?

 

[Dandu]

I'm actually posting this for a friend of mine who I game with. He is interested in playing multiclassed monk/paladin. We are using the Pathfinder RPG, but our DM is open to 3.5 materials on a case by case basis (with the exception of Tome of Battle and Psionics).

The two most broken books in all of 3.5 edition!

Anywho, my friend would like some tips/advice on how to make this character effective (or at least not a burden to play). He rolled some pretty good stats: 18, 18, 14, 14, 13, 13. I should mention that the DM has already given the okay for him to take the Serenity feat out of the Dragon Compendium; the feat let's him use his wisdom score instead of his charisma for most of his paladin abilities. This should help him reduce the MAD slightly.

Thanks, all.

Paladins and monks fight differently, so he'll have to decide on a fighting style. If he decides to go unarmed, then perhaps he should look into Sacred Fist.

If the plan is to use a weapon, I would use a quarterstaff and grab Power Attack, Extra Turning, and some of the more interesting Divine feats.

Armored or Unarmored? You can get a decent AC with armor and allocate that 18 to Cha for the divine feats. This eliminates the need for Serenity and allows you to do things such as adding Cha to AC or damage.

 

[EroGaki]

Hmm...I forgot there was a Monk/Pal multiclass feat. That kinda puts a damper on the Illumian idea... (though it would have been tough anyway, being PF, you'd have to give the Illumian a +2 ability score bonus to compete with the core races). If it were 3E, I wouldn't even think losing Smite advancement was so bad, but smite evil is crazy powerful in PF, Ascetic Knight is a must.

Hmm...Wisdom is adding to a lot of stuff, you probably want to pimp that. How about these stats?
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 13

Would he rather be mainly Paladin or mainly Monk? Even split, roughly?

The stat distribution is pretty much what I suggested to him; he has yet to pick a race, so there could be some minor changes.

At this point, he isn't sure which class he will focus on; he wanted some different view points on the subject before deciding if the multiclass is even possible to be effective.

Paladins and monks fight differently, so he'll have to decide on a fighting style. If he decides to go unarmed, then perhaps he should look into Sacred Fist.

If the plan is to use a weapon, I would use a quarterstaff and grab Power Attack, Extra Turning, and some of the more interesting Divine feats.

Armored or Unarmored? You can get a decent AC with armor and allocate that 18 to Cha for the divine feats. This eliminates the need for Serenity and allows you to do things such as adding Cha to AC or damage.

I do know he intends to fight unarmed; how focused his character will be on it is still up in the air. I can't really see him going armored though; what would be the point of the monk portion of the build if he doesn't use any of it? Unless I'm mistaken, monks lose just about all of their abilities when they wear armor.

 

[Dandu]

I do know he intends to fight unarmed; how focused his character will be on it is still up in the air. I can't really see him going armored though; what would be the point of the monk portion of the build if he doesn't use any of it?

Bonus feats, save boosts.

If he plans to fight unarmed, he should probably get a Necklace of Natural Attacks so that his unarmed strikes can have enchantments on them.

I'd like to help you more, but Monk and Paladin tend to go in different directions when it comes to combat. Your friend would probably best be off taking a quick dip in one or the other.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The best dip of the bunch would be in Shiba Protector- at 1st level, the PrCl grants a Wis bonus to Att/Dmg rolls.

Dipping into Monk and taking the Shou Disciple PrCl lets you continue to FoB while wearing armor...and (eventually) with any weapon you choose.

 

[Cryohaggar]

Ask your DM to adapt an Argent Fist (Faiths of Eberron, p. 70) to your campaing. That way you'll be able to get many of both classes cool stuff.