A new member joined our group last weekend and tried to make multiclass Ranger and Monk character. He is an old school 2e D&D player so we told him that pathfinder heavily penalizes multiclassing so instead he wants to make a homebrew hybrid class like the Brawler or the Hunter but made up of the monk and ranger. I have honestly no idea why he wants this class, how he plans on optimizing this class, or what his end goal is. I just wanted to help him by getting a sort of think tank going where ideas could be bounced back and forth that way the other gm and myself(we take turns gming) can help him build what he wants. Any advice or input is welcome and appreciated feel free to be as broad or narrow as you wish, the only bad suggestions are the ones that say this is a stupid idea and offer no type of help.
Thank you in advance to all who offer useful input.
I'd talk to the player to understand better what he expects from the hybrid class. Does he want an unarmed hunter? A kind of zen archer with favourite enemies?
What does he want from each class? Of course he can't have everything.
The easiest thing I can think about is creating an "unarmed style" for the Ranger, and maybe and archetype that implements it while trading some Ranger abilites for similar-power Monk ones.
It may not be what the player is looking for, anyway.
Edit: for example, trade out armor proficiencies for Wis to AC and fast movement, and weapon proficiencies for unarmed strike and damage die progression; for the combat style, make a selection of feats that improve unarmed strikes (Stunning Fist, various styles...), or maneuvers (Improved Grapple, Improved Trip...), maybe movement (Nimble Moves, Spring Attack...).
No flurrying, but it gets the Ranger's full BaB. I'd keep the Ranger's Wis-based spellcasting instead of giving it a ki pool, and maybe switch some advancements in favored enemy and terrain for a few more selected Monk abilities (slow fall, immunities, etc.).
To give it some flavour, one could tie things like fast movement, slow fall, high jump, and/or even some ki-pool abilities (movement sprint, wholeness of body, abundant step...) to being in one of its favorite terrains. Instead of spending ki, he can use them 1/day for each stacking favored terrain bonus.
And why not? Allow it to flurry, only against favored enemies.
First, show him the jungle lord archetype that appears on Archives of Nethys.
Since it seems your willing to homebrew a bit you consider looking at some of the Multiclass Archetypes at the community prd site. None for monk ranger but are a few brawler hunter combos. Here is a link
EDIT fixed link
Impossible to homebrew anything if it's not clear what the player wants. And you would need to tread carefully considering the player wants to min-max the character.
Also, a ranger/monk multiclass is totally legit.
PF does not heavily penalize multiclassing. It encourages single class but otherwise makes it easy. What are the primary ability scores for the ranger and the monk? They are the same, so although this multiclass sounds weird, there is synergy.
You might be better off making an Archetype instead of a Hybrid class. As others have said the most important question to ask is what his end goal is. Is he wanting to make a Ranger that Punches people, or a Monk that has some outdoor skills (I would call this Monk Archetype the Hermit)?
A Ranger archetype could be simple, just make a ranger fighting style based on monk abilities. OR You could make a Hermit that drops a few Monk abilities to gain Ranger Favored Enemy/Terrain bonuses.
The first question is still what is his end goal?
Let's consider what areas the Monk and the Ranger are similar first. If we're considering Unchained Monk and Ranger as the two classes, then both have a full-BAB progression and good Fortitude and Reflex saves. Additionally, both classes use Wisdom as a secondary ability score for class features. Furthermore, these classes are focused on specific combat styles, with the Monk using Unarmed Strike and Monk weapons while the Ranger chooses one from a list. Ideally, this hybrid class will share these attributes.
Now for how they differ - Monks have 4 skills a level and Rangers have 6. Monks do not use armor while Rangers can use any non-Heavy without a feat. Monk class features revolve around mastery of their own bodies while Rangers take power from the wilderness and specialize in certain terrains and against certain enemies. Monks use Ki to replicate magical effects while Rangers prepare and cast spells from a limited list. A hybrid class should look for a way to balance these abilities and create new powers.
Other things to consider - Monks and Rangers both gain Evasion at different levels, have mobility-increasing features, and gain bonus feats that help define their style. However, Monks gain bonus move speed and have abilities which allow them to jump farther and higher or even to fly, while Rangers move unimpeded in natural terrain and gain Endurance as a bonus feat. Rangers gain Evasion a full 5 levels after a Monk. Ranger combat styles are widely varied while Monk bonus feats usually grant access to mobility-improving feats or special unarmed attacks.
I will continue in my next post with some ideas.
I'd say the jungle lord archetype is the closest thing that exists already, show it to him to see if it's pretty much what he's looking for.
As "Secret Wizard" said, you can find it on nethys :)
This hybrid class should have a d10 HD and Full BAB. Let's take skill to 6+INT. Proficient with simple and martial weapons plus light armor and shields (but not tower shields). This class does not gain access to spellcasting. Good Fortitude and Reflex saves, poor Will save.
HD, BAB, and Saves remain the same. We take the higher of the two skill ranks per level because I dropped spellcasting from the hybrid. Proficiencies pull from the Ranger but lose Medium armor to emphasize the mobility of this class.
Natural Legacy
At Level 1 this class chooses one of the following Natural Legacies which grant access to a number of class features throughout their 20 levels. These function similarly to Vigilante Specializations and interact with an ability gained later.
Wild Pool
At Level 3 this class gains access to a Wild Pool with a number of points equal to Level+WIS. Any Legacy may spend points from this pool to gain a scaling Natural Armor bonus, ignore difficult terrain, or treat their unarmed strikes/natural attacks as a special material to bypass DR for 1 minute.
Legacy of Balance
Requirement: Must have a Neutral component to your alignment.
This legacy functions as the typical Monk progression of unarmed and unarmored combat, adding WIS to AC while unarmored and making unarmed strikes as a Monk. Later gains the ability to spend a Wild Point to gain any Style feat based on an animal (Wolf Style, Panther Style, etc) for 1 minute, scaling to gain the second and third feats in the chain and bypasses prerequisites. Gains the ability to spend a Wild Pool point to roll twice on any saving throw.
Legacy of the Wild Heart
Prerequisite: Cannot use metal armor.
Gains a natural attack (Bite, 2 Claws, Gore, etc) which gain a special ability at Level 3 (Trip, Rend, etc) based on which natural attack was selected. Gains the ability to Wild Shape a number of times a day as a Druid. Gains the ability to spend a Wild Point to temporarily gain a monster special ability (Scent, Pounce, Fly/Climb/Swim speed, etc), with abilities gated by level for balance purposes. Increases the Natural Armor bonus gained by spending a Wild Point and allows you to dismiss it to negate a critical hit or sneak attack (like Ironskin).
Legacy of Nature's Soul
Prerequisite: Must act to protect and preserve nature.
Gains spellcasting as a Ranger. Gains the ability to spend Wild Pool points to cast thematic spells (Strong Jaw, Shillelaugh, Thunderstomp, etc) chosen from a list (like Quinggong powers) at Level=CL. Gains the ability to cast Summon Nature's Ally as an SLA a couple times a day (like a summoner but less absurdly broken). Gains Wild Empathy.
Legacy of the Hunter
Prerequisite: None
Gains a Favored Enemy progression. Gains the ability to spend a Wild Pool point to gain half their Favored Enemy bonus against a single creature. Gains Track, Swift Tracker, and Quarry.
Additionally, the class gains a number of talents (which I would call Wild Powers if somebody hadn't taken Wild Talents already!) that function similarly to the Unchained Monk's Ki Powers in that they provide the class new options for using their Wild Pool. Some options are Legacy-specific while others are universal abilities. For instance, Legacy of the Nature's Soul could choose a Skirmisher Trick and allow creatures summoned to use that trick, Legacy of the Hunter could gain a skill bonus against tracked creatures or access to traps, and any Legacy could take one that allows you to cause animals to treat you and your allies as Indifferent for a limited time.
Obviously this is a barebones concept, as it would need more unique abilities for the base class which any Legacy could use. But, maybe this will give you some ideas on how to go about making this hybrid class.