I was planning a lion shaman monk and either 1st or 2nd level taking martial artist monk. I had originally planned taking 1st level druid and 2nd level monk but when I wrote up the pc, I started at 1st lvl monk. What are the benefits of either.
I would prefer 1st lvl to be druid due to the Legacy of Fire campaign trait I was going to take but what am I losing out on from monk if I do this?
I was not thinking long term, just how the earlier levels would pan out.
1st level monks get hit with horrific starting wealth, so I usually don't suggest starting as them if you're doing some sort of multiclass. Main reason to take monk at 1st is for feat requirements if needed. IUS opens a lot of doors, depending on what you want to do. If you planned to take a style feat, all of which require IUS and thus monk (cause spending a feat only to gain it later is wasteful), you likely need to time that monk level in order to get it as soon as you could.
Druid's much better at everything at level 1, though. More money (barely), hide armor and maybe a shield beats out monk AC bonus possibly, and you have choice of scythe or scimitar for good weapons to use.
Also, as I tell all druid players: make it a Menhir Savant. That archetype seriously is awesome.