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The "Flurry with a Reach Weapon" idea has been kicking around in my head for some time now.
Some guidelines...
PFS ruleset...20 point buy and Paizo only, etc...
Shelyn for the deity. I know there's others out there.
Optimize the use of Flurry of Blows and also Combat Reflexes with a glaive.
I can see this going 3 ways...
Sohei Monk. No magic and waiting til level 6 kinda stinks.
Crusader Cleric 1/ Monk for the rest.
Multiclass Frenzy. A mix of Cleric and Monk, maybe Fighter, Divine Scion, or something from the Inner Sea Gods book. Go crazy!!
Discuss. Theorycraft. Post builds. Enjoy. And thanks!!
Eh, the delay for the sohei monk is not exactly terrible though. I mean, you are using a 2 handed weapon during the early part of the game. That is always nice.
Plus....is flurry of blows really that great early on? This is more of a TWF problem in general- is that -2 to attack worth it in the early levels? If you are a rogue, you might say 'well, I am skipping power attack/piranha strike for this'. A ranger can say 'I have favored enemy for more damage and an attack bonus that makes up for it'. But monks? They mostly just have 'I do not have offhand attacks; full strength/power attack on all attacks'. Flurry's advantages only shine when you have enough bonus on your attack rolls to make reliable enough to overcome the TWF penalties.
So waiting until level 6, where you are working with +6 flurry BAB and the +1 from weapon training is not that bad. And you also would have had a chance to get a +1 weapon and maybe a +2 str belt. Until then...well, you are only slightly different from a fighter attack wise, and you have perfect saves and 4+int skill points. Not to mention you get free improved unarmed strikes and can kick fools that try to get cute and come up close to you.
i'm with lemeres- waiting till 6th to flurry with reach is not only 'not a bad' idea, it has some practical benefits...
except i'd actually wait till 7th- go monk 5 then pick up the evangelist PrC. as far as I can tell flurry should progress with attuned class (you'll just be one level behind standard monk).
edit: i just looked up the specific ritual and bonuses for deific obedience to Shelyn... the ritual isn't difficult (dance or make some art, give it away if possible), but the bonuses aren't anything you'll be super excited about but they're not bad (the image spells could have some fun/interesting applications and monks get perform as a class skill so you could actually take advantage of versatile performance).
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Half Elf Martial Artist Monk 4 Fighter 2
Take Glaive w/ Ancestral Arms
Str 15 (16 at 8th)
Dex 15 (16 at 12th)
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 18 (15+2+1 at 4th)
Cha 7
Feats: martial weapon Glaive (Ancestral Arms, Combat reflexes (monk 1st)Dodge (monk 2nd), Power attack (3rd), weapon specialization (fighter 1), Spear Dancer (5th), cleave (fighter 2)
How does that look?
One suggestion for a reach build like this is to take the feat Lunge at level 9 (or whatever level you get a feat after getting +6 BAB with your multiclassing stuff).
The main advantage of this is that you can attack enemies from 15 feet away rather than 10 feet during your turn.
That is important because the normally, an enemy would merely have to use a 5' step to get next to you, and then they could full attack. But if they are 15' away, they have to move 10' AND cross over your threatened area to get next to you (which might cause them to lose the opportunity to full attack).
It won't always work out (lots of monsters have at least some reach due to size), but it has enough potential to be useful. It at least insures that you can engage pretty much any enemy without drawing AoO's yourself (because it would either something Gargantuan or a reach user itself, both of which are a bit rare in enemies)
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Half Elf Martial Artist Monk 4 Fighter 2
Take Glaive w/ Ancestral ArmsStr 15 (16 at 8th)
Dex 15 (16 at 12th)
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 18 (15+2+1 at 4th)
Cha 7Feats: martial weapon Glaive (Ancestral Arms, Combat reflexes (monk 1st)Dodge (monk 2nd), Power attack (3rd), weapon specialization (fighter 1), Spear Dancer (5th), cleave (fighter 2)
How does that look?
That build can't flurry with the glaive as it is; which is something the OP is looking for I believe.
I'm glad to see this thread. I was working on a similar concept. I would go for the crusader 1/, the free weapon focus with your deity weapon is just the best overal choice. What domain are you taking? I was thinking defense to add shield to my spell list. Another option was the conversion inquisition because I usually end up being the face in my group. Adds some out of combat versatility if you can use diplomacy with your wis score and still keep char as a dump stat.
As for the monk, I think martial artist is a solid choice. I wouldn't go Weapon Adept since it's focus lies on monk weapons, and even though you'll be able to flurry with the glaive, it won't become a monk weapon. Personally, I love the hungry ghost, although I know not many agree on this. But from lvl 6 (5th monk) on you get to spend a ki point for an extra attack and get it back when you are the one defeating an opponent. Good for fighting hordes since you'll reach a large area and can hit multiple enemies in that area scoring ki for each kill. And I like the punishing kick.
As for flurry at lower lvls, it is only a -1 penalty to gain an extra attack, since the BAB of the monk is lower but becomes full BAB with flurry. I would still let it depend on the moment. If I can use the glaive at lower lvls, that is the better choice because of weapon damage and 1,5 str. If I'm pinned, I'll flurry.
i like soheifor the light armors...
And technically, I think you could use mithral medium armor for a sohei as well. At least, if I am interpreting the 'treat as one category lighter for most purposes' bit.
And it would be fairly easy to snag. It only requires a single trait. This is because the penalty for nonproficient armor use is applying the armor check penalty to attack rolls. So if ACP is 0...the penalty is too, which pretty much makes proficiency moot.
Mithral reduces ACP by 3, and you could grab the armor expert trait for another 1. That is enough to cover a breastplate.
Admittedly, a well built and equipped unarmored monk might get a few more AC in the end. But the difference is fairly low (+4 AC more than a breastplate user, and that is when using both bracers of armor and VERY high level monk AC bonuses). Still I like using armor because it is just plain easier to use, and it comes online fairly early in comparison. Plus, it gets you more item slots (freed up arms slot, and the magic armor is a slot in its own, able to grab some nice things like the shadow property).