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Taking a look at the various options of the Stunning Fist (haha, very funny), I was considering the Crushing Blow Feat, which, when an opponent fail the Fort DC, reduces the AC of the opponent by your Wisdom Modifier for 1 minute. This replaces the Stun effect of the Stunning Fist.
I understand that this build does not have much on damage output, this is emphisized during levels 1-5, but after that, it creates a support class that helps everyone that targets AC.
Plumekith Monk 5
STR - 7
DEX - 16+2
CON - 14
INT - 7
WIS - 18+2
Level 1 - Martial Artist Monk
Base Feat - Weapon Finesse
Monk Feat - Dodge
Level 2 - Martial Artist Monk
Monk Feat - Deflect Arrows
Level 3 - Martial Artist Monk
Archetype - Pain Points - Increase Stunning Fist DC by 1
Base Feat - Mantis Style - Increase Stunning Fist DC by 2, +1 Stunning Fist/day
Level 4 - Martial Artist Monk
Archetype - Martial Arts Master - Treat Monk Level for Fighter Feats
Archetype - Exploit Weakness - Swift Action - Wisdom Check to ignore DR/Hardness
Level 5 - Martial Artist Monk
Archetype - Extreme Endurance - Immune to Fatigue
Base Feat - Crushing Blow
By Level 5, I would aquire a DEX Belt, a WIS Headband, and an Agile AoMF.
With that, at Level 5, the Crushing Blow would be Fort DC 20 at 6/day for a -6 AC to the enemy's. My AC would be 22, and saves would be 6/9/10. This does not include any other equipment other than the belt, headband, and amulet.
I was planning to expand into a Freebooter Skirmisher Ranger, giving bonuses to my allies with the bane, as well as branching out into the Rattling Strike Hunter Trick to force the shaken on top of the AC Penalty.
What are your thoughts on this idea?
Thumbs up. Interesting character concept. Is there any way to get more than 6 per day? In most campaigns you'd probably burn through them pretty quickly.
If I was an ally that you are trying to support, I would prefer that you just keep the enemy Stunned, and build for STR not DEX.
That also helps everybody that targets AC, AND everybody who doesn't target AC by negating the target's turn.
If you want more AC, just wearing Heavy Armor is probably the best bet, take an Archetype that replaces WIS->AC and/or Evasion and/or Fast Movement if you want to, but that latter don't matter that much and the first is replaced by Armor. You could do it via a 3 level Weapon Master Fighter dip, and pick up Weapon Training for UAS to qualify for Duelist Gloves. Or via Feat with what you are spending on Weapon Finesse. If you go Fighter, with 2 Fighter Bonus Feats you can take 2xFleet and boost your Speed back up by 10' if that's so important to you. Qi-Gong can give you other Feats/Spells to enable mobility as well.
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Well, there is the issue of the Stun. Some creatures are immune to stun, not to the Crushing Blow. I know that the best effect is to have the enemy do nothing at all, but there are times that constructs happens, or oozes happen, and I would like to have the effect of the "Stunning Fist" to do something. I already have a monk, and I never seem to use Stunning Fist, since I see that a DC 15 save at level 7 seems not that high. With Weapon Finesse, I was aiming to purchace the Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists, so that my Dexterity goes to my damage output. Weapon Master with the Duelist Gloves seems a nice bet though.
If you are considering dipping into another class, 3 levels of Brawler would give you a boost on to-hit as well as a damage boost. For my monk, I am considering taking a 4th level in Brawler, but since you are a Martial Artist, you don't need it to qualify for Weapon Spec.
Edit to add: And yes, constructs, oozes, undead, plants, etc. all make for a very unhappy monk when it comes to Stunning Fist. :(
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I have forgotten all about the Enforcer Feat and Cruel weapon, thank you for reminding me about those. The Brawler seems like a nice idea. I usually head towards Weapon Master for the weapon training bonus. I did not know that Brawler progresses as fast as the Weapon Master, as well as helps harass casters at level 7, so that helps me out much more.