Originally Posted by
GoldyGopher
I spent some time last week playing two attempts at a Sacred Fist Archetype and would like to share my thoughts.
As a long time player I played a TWF Paladin Build since before the batman build was popular and long before TRs, so starting over meant deleting the character and trying again. About two years ago that character, not quite a racial completionist switched from 12/6/2 (Paladin/Rogue/Monk) to a pure Monk loosely based on Strimtom's Falconry Striker build and I have really enjoyed playing it, but a part of me really wants to take this character back to its roots and Sacred Fist has the potential to do just that; a TWF Paladin.
This archetype is neither a monk nor a paladin, rather it is stuck in the middle and has the failings of both classes.
Monk has 4+ intelligence modifier on skills. All joking aside if you use intelligence as a dump stat and have a 6 to 8 skill points to spend each level, including a tome. Paladin only has 2+ Intelligence modifier giving (gulp) only 2 to 4 with the same tome, and starting with only 12 to begin with. So you are either short skills or you pull points from another ability during build.
Monk meshes well with Falconry getting you Wis to hit and damage and a Combat Trance all built off Wisdom. Sacred Fist is built off Charisma and it lacks a meshing with either a universal or class tree. You might build a dex build, but no dex trance, easily available (looking at you Horizon Walker). You don't have divine might out of Knight of the Chalice either. Basically instead of spreading out your ability points over four abilities (Dex, Con, Wis, and slightly into Int) you need Str, Dex, Con, Chr and Int if you want any skills.
With as many Racial Enhancement Points as this character has I tried dumping Str, and using Int and Harper Agent. Unlike Wis and Falconry this puts two abilities as needing to be maxed out. And if you go Feydark Illusionist, for the Charisma to Hit and Damage and Trance, what else do you spend your points on as you are neither a caster nor using illusionary weapons.
If you want to be a bit tanky, you don't have a shield nor the monk stances to help you out, your AC and PRR is not up to snuff.
In the end it was you give up a lot to make up for the easy to get dps of Falconry Striker or you strive to be a tank short AC and PRR and not get the damage of a paladin tank (and that is saying something).
Next Lamannia I want to take a look at the original Valkyrie Build (14 Paladin, 6 Rogue) or something along those lines and see if I can get a Dex/Chr build to work. While it has potential I still think it is going to be a tad short.
I am not saying this should be all monk or all paladin, but it needs something. If you want tanky, than you need more ACC and PRR, if you want DPS it needs a better mate than Feydark Illusionist.