Bacicaly play what is fun for you, and a monk is as reat class as any.
Monk Aassin is an awesome choice. It depends on what the adventure is and what you want to do in the adventure and what you want to play. If you think it would be fun to play a Monk Assassin then go ahead. :)
As for optimizing, I go for the rollplaying experience not the optimizing experience.
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Bacicaly play what is fun for you, and a monk is as reat class as any.
Monk Aassin is an awesome choice. It depends on what the adventure is and what you want to do in the adventure and what you want to play. If you think it would be fun to play a Monk Assassin then go ahead. :)As for optimizing, I go for the rollplaying experience not the optimizing experience.
Hear hear!
Mechanically, it's a poor combo tho.
A Rogue/Assassin at least has his/her sneak attack increase from the Assassin levels. The Monk has nothing increase. The more Assassin levels you get, the weaker your Monk abilities will be, and vice-versa.
Role-playing wise, you can do the same thing with Monk 1/Rogue 4/Assassin X.
*edit* or Rogue 5/Assassin X with Improved Unarmed Strike.
Or go Lawful Neutral and go Druid Monk and use your monk attacks in Bear form ;)
Or go Lawful Neutral and go Druid Monk and use your monk attacks in Bear form ;)
Just, , , awesome.
Just remember, some DMs will draw the line at Karate Bears. I don't know why that's weirder than talking bird people, but there you go.
Ya, but there is precident for Monk Assassins in Pathfinder... the Pathfinder Guide to Pathfinders ;) has an ex Red Mantice Assassin who is a Monk/Red Mantice Assassin who joined the Pathfinders Society... and there is in the very first Pathfinder a Villain who is a Monk/Rogue Lawful Evil who if survives the PC's would make a gread assassin in a comback... And I knew a few Ranger/Assassins in my time :)
Of course you will never be quite as powerful a monk as a straight monk because you are multi classing but... so what. Its a unique rollplaying experience and thats what the game is fore... Try it and have fun :)
Just remember, some DMs will draw the line at Karate Bears. I don't know why that's weirder than talking bird people, but there you go.
Why? All creatures have an unarmed strike (Pathfinder says this and says everyone is proficient).
So DM needs to explain why he doesn't allow it.
On the other hand go 7 levels of Monk, 2 levels of Rogue and then bonced back and forth between Assassin and Monk. That way you would get the Rogue abilities stack with Assassin and they grow :)
Just remember, some DMs will draw the line at Karate Bears. I don't know why that's weirder than talking bird people, but there you go.
Why? All creatures have an unarmed strike (Pathfinder says this and says everyone is proficient).
So DM needs to explain why he doesn't allow it.
Three words.
Kung Fu Panda.
Just remember, some DMs will draw the line at Karate Bears. I don't know why that's weirder than talking bird people, but there you go.
Why? All creatures have an unarmed strike (Pathfinder says this and says everyone is proficient).
So DM needs to explain why he doesn't allow it.
Three words.
Kung Fu Panda.
But Kung Fu Panda was a good movie. Heck, he should award player a 5% XP bonus for playing such an awesome idea. :)
Or go Lawful Neutral and go Druid Monk and use your monk attacks in Bear form ;)
Druid monk = beastlord from EQ.
With boon companion...ouchies.
Sorry to poop on your Karate Bear idea ... but Flurry of Blows does not allow it.
A monk with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of a flurry of blows, nor can he make natural attacks in addition to his flurry of blows attacks
No one animal got unarmed attack
Bestiary page 302, table of natural attacks - no unarmed there.As for monk/assassin, it can't really be optimized, but that shouldn't stop you, go ahead and grab monk's robe and improved natural attack (unarmed). Also best levels to break off from monk are either 6th or 8th (3rd and 4th attack attacks in flurry respectively).
If you want to do it for flavor, and if your GM will allow the feat "Ascetic Rogue" from complete adventurer. Consider Monk 1/Rogue 8 as your "assassin".
Basically it will let you build a rogue with the ability to fight unarmed. With a decent bluff you can sneak attack your victim (on the first round) since it is obvious you have no weapons.
Unfortunately, the table of that feat is wrong, by the text it doesn't add to the sneak attack damage, so you're losing a level of SA.
The problem is generally that monk as a class do not multiclass well. When you drop out of it flurry looses a lot of effectiveness. IIRC when you leave the monk class your flurry attack bonuses freeze. They do not add the BAB bonus from other classes. BUT, if you have a generous DM you may be able house rule that to make them mesh better. You might ask him/her to treat your level of flurry as TWF + Improved TWF, using your monk level as the classes BAB, which is what it already does.
Now for the good news. You start to get sneak attack. Sneak attack and monks go together very well because of stunning fist. If you ever find yourself unable to flank or if you are using it anyway, stunning an opponent denies their Dex Bonus. You will loose some to hit when moving out of monk, but attacking flanked opponents helps that a little. Every sneak attack die is like a +3.5 damage to all your strikes, of which you already have quite a lot. Especially since you can spend Ki to get an extra attack.
I think that you might do just fine, actually.