Looking for a good non-lethal build

[Quatar]

I have this idea of a bounty-hunter character who lives by the rule that he only kills when there is absolutely no other way. So usually he goes out of his way to take his prey alive and deliver them to the authorities and all that.

Which means during combat he's usually doing non-lethal damage.

The obvious idea is to make a rogue with the Sap Adept/Master featline, Enforcer and maybe knockout artist.

So here's my idea:
Monk 1 (Maneuver Master) - free IUS, 1d6 unarmed damage, pick Improved Dirty Trick as bonus feat
Rogue all the rest

As a full attack I can now do an additional Dirty Trick to blind the enemy, which causes them to lose Dex to AC, aka I make my own Sneak Attack conditions here. Sap Adept/Master and Knockout Artist increase my nonlethal damage by quite a bit, Enforcer gives him Shaken condition too.

Alternatively I can go all rogue and dual wield saps, or use Bludgener feat to use pretty much any weapon. Shillelagh'd quarterstaffs are pretty mean at early levels, but that takes another feat, and Knockout Artist doesn't work anymore then (which I think will overtake the aditional 1d6 quite quickly)

What I wonder is though, are there ways to either improve this build even more, or go a completely different route to make this concept work. Good (mostly melee) fighter with non-lethal damage build basicly.

[Callarek]

One option is to go for a whip build, using the Whip Mastery feat chain, which, for a full-BAB build, allows the whip wielder to do damage against targets, either lethal or non-lethal at will, no matter how much armor they have, starting at 2nd level.

At 5th level, BAB +5, with Improved Whip Mastery, the charcater gets to take AoOs with the whip with a reach of 10', given a normal size PC, and still be able to attack at 15'.

Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, can help you bounty hunt.

Lethal lets you deal with those (hopefully rare) targets that need to die, rather than be captured.

Going Lore Warden Fighter would reduce the skill point loss, add a bunch of free feats (Combat Expertise for free at 2nd level, in addition to the normal Fighter bonus feat? Sweet!) All knowledge skills being class skills would probably be useful for a bounty hunter type.

1st level (human): EWP: Whip, Weapon Focus: Whip and Combat Reflexes (whip in one hand, sap in the other to take AoOs with)
2nd level: Combat Expertise (Free LW), Whip Mastery (Lethal/non-lethal, does not provoke anymore, ignore the armor)
3rd level: Power Attack or Improved Trip or Improved Disarm
4th level: Weapon Spec: Whip
5th level: Improved Whip Mastery (take AoOs at 5' + normal reach, put the sap away and two-hand the whip for improved damage from both Strength and Power Attack)
6th level: Greater Trip or Greater Disarm, if you took the Improved one earlier; Cosmopolitan or Dilettante might also be useful

Needs enough Strength to have some damage potential, and enough Dexterity to get extra AoOs from Combat Reflexes, and at least a 13 in Intelligence for the Trip/Disarm chains.

Remember that Lore Wardens get a scaling bonus to CMD & CMB, and, with the right positioning and weapon, he can still do combat maneuvers from outside his opponent's reach, so provoking wouldn't matter...

[pobbes]

Don't waste a level on monk, just be a ninja. You can turn invisible instead of dirty trick or use smoke bombs while taking the feat to sneak attack while your opponent has concealment. You can also use the pressure point talent to reduce the dex of your foes making it easier to hit on subsequent attacks. Oh, and use ki for additional attacks on full attack actions. Also, you still have full sneak attack damage.

Edit: Other notes, it can get part of a monk's unarmed damage progression. It can get bonus style feats. You can still take evasion. Overall, ninja is just awesome for this.