Well, maybe not a full-blown Monk. I was considering going Monk of Many Styles for two levels and then going Fighter (Brawler) the rest of the way - I thought it'd be a better idea to load up on Feats and specialize in just two styles. Is this a good idea? What two styles would be the most complimentary... after browsing them I find Boar Style, Crane Style and Snake Style as the most appealing, but then again what do I know?
I'd suggest sticking straight monk because if you don't you'll lose out on bab for flurry of blows. Also, you could look at the summoner, alchemist, and druid to make something like a monk that's more effective and has a different flavor to it.(protect my soul from "roleplayers" god.)
the search feature will net you many builds for what you are looking for.
Well, maybe not a full-blown Monk. I was considering going Monk of Many Styles for two levels and then going Fighter (Brawler) the rest of the way - I thought it'd be a better idea to load up on Feats and specialize in just two styles. Is this a good idea? What two styles would be the most complimentary... after browsing them I find Boar Style, Crane Style and Snake Style as the most appealing, but then again what do I know?
There are two ways of building a monk: speed and strength. Don't try and do both, it won't work.
Strength-build: Your prime attributes are strength and wisdom, dexterity and constitution are tertiary scores. You will need to invest a lot to keep your AC up as high as you can. Your best styles to follow are Dragon Style and Crane Style, the latter will offset your lower AC and the former will boost your damage very nicely, thank you. Tiger Style is a good one to add later.
Speed-build: Your prime attributes are dexterity and wisdom. Your AC will shine, but you will need Weapon Finesse as your first feat because you will hit nothing without it. Once you have it, you rock. Snake Style is perfect for this build, and Crane Style makes you untouchable (ideal if you had to skimp on Con). You will have a mass of attacks even without flurry of blows, as every target that misses you provokes AoOs. Get an agile amulet of mighty fists as soon as you can and your damage will get close to matching that of the strength-build monk.
I'd suggest sticking straight monk because if you don't you'll lose out on bab for flurry of blows. Also, you could look at the summoner, alchemist, and druid to make something like a monk that's more effective and has a different flavor to it.(protect my soul from "roleplayers" god.)Flurry = Monk Flurry Bonus + BAD from other sources. Its in a Errata.
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You will lose the additional attacks that you would gain if you stuck in Monk though...
Where is this errata and exactly why would you want to lose out on extra attacks, ac, saves, and mobility?
If you get epic rolls then you can try speed and strength. Personally, I am having a blast at 12th level as a straight monk being a grapple specialist. Dip into the Dimensional Agility tree to be able to act after using Abundant Step. Plus, you can use trip/disarm/sunder in your flurry.
Don't listen too closely to the min/max deficits the class suffers and just be creative.
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I just build a dorf sohei for PFS. It's not really optimized for damage purposes, but for endurance, but I do have some ideas you might be able to use.
I'm planning on going for Monk for the first level and then dipping into Brawler, a fighter archetype from Ultimate Combat, for most of the levels. Sohei gives me enough armor for the first level, gets grappling and fist-fighting up to speed and drops enough skill points so that I don't have to play the third fiddle with most of the other characters. Starting with fighter would have been a mechanically better alternative, but since I'm going to want to dip monk anyway and wish to grapple properly as soon as possible, sohei at first level works fine. I love how frontloaded the monk is as a class.
Snapping Turtle Style is a pretty nice feat tree if you want to grappling. Brawler gives you +1 to hit and +3 to damage with close weapons, which is pretty huge. I'll see how it goes.
I love monks, even though they can be a tough class to play. Some concerns to keep in mind.
Monks have a lot of attacks. High strength will greatly beneficial as it helps counter flurry modifiers, and grows your damage with every extra hit. Extra attacks are the monk's combat contribution. Its what they get instead of sneak attack, weapon specialization, etc.
Monks have fewer HP that frontline fighters. Make constitution a priority. Grab the Toughness feat. Use your favored class bonus for HP. Otherwise you could suffer being a glass cannon.
Don't forget maneuvers. by 3rd level, monks can perform maneuvers as effectively as a d10 class (at the same baseline anyway). Trip is a good one to spec into as it helps to stop enemies from playing a running fight where they are attempting to prevent you from flurrying.
Though high unarmed damage looks awesome, a weapon with a decent magic bonus helps your chance to hit, which increases your damage over time. A decent magic weapon will often be better in the long run. Brass knuckles will give you the best of both worlds.
You can buy a wand of mage armor for cheap and have someone cast it for you, OR take UMD ranks cast it yourself. instant +4 AC.