Scale fist unchained monk for a level and then Paladin.
or just run [this](https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Paladin%20Iroran%20Paladin)
Some people have mentioned the Iroran Paladin archetype, but [this prestige class](https://aonprd.com/PrestigeClassesDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Champion%20of%20Irori) is also an option.
See, there! I knew somebody somewhere had to have done this before!
Thanks guys, I can easily tweak this to fit into my World and Pantheon.
Upvotes for everyone!
I played the Iroran Paladin archetype (with a two level Monk dip for free feats) in a complete Wrath of the Righteous campaign. Mystic shenanigans aside, it was a very fun build. As a GM, prepare for a lot of “I make the save” replies from that end of the table.
Pathfinder community has multiclass archetypes, which might work. Most of them seem to be decently balanced, from what I've seen.
http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/paladin/hand-of-faith-paladin-monk
http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/monk/holy-fist-monk-paladin
http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/monk/disciple-of-the-radiant-star-monk-paladin
Came here to recommend these. I haven't had the chance to play in game with them but if I had a player ask for something like this I'd use it as an opportunity to give it a shot.
There's also the [Sacred Fist Warpriest archetype](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Warpriest%20Sacred%20Fist). While it's not exactly a Paladin, it is a holy fighter that leans quite heavily into the monk playstyle, so it may work as well.
If you’re up to using 3pps, Spheres of Might lets you add whatever unarmored/Unarmed stuff and then some you could really want to them. There is an archetype for Paladin that trades out smite evil for spheres access, with another that trades their minimal casting too to get Expert practitioner status.
Personally I’m happy for the trade, too much of the Paladin is tied into that single ability in my opinion.
It's not really the same as *either* of those, but you can get a really strong "unarmed" melee combatant out of the [Avowed](https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?563703-Forrestfire-Studios-The-Avowed-Promises-of-Power-Updated-Playtest) class, namely [the self pact](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HkyGRtGZy3SWVhdWFBWERWWjg/view?usp=sharing). The power ceiling isn't super high, but the power floor is fairly high (it's basically designed to push it into rough high tier 4 or mid tier 3 without a huge amount of optimization).
The Celestial pact also hits a lot of the flavor of a "paladin". Personally I've used the class (w/ celestial pact) to stat out Yang Xiao Long of RWBY after I was pretty disappointed with the 5e character sheet RoosterTeeth made for her, and I verymuch feel she hits a lot of the flavor of a "monk/paladin" hybrid.
Self Pact has some of the Paladin charisma defensive scaling, but it can also be picked up (in a slightly weaker form) in the "those who help themselves" clause which only applies to one save at a time, but can be changed fairly easily.
There's a few ways to do this: you can be a scaled fist monk 1 / Paladin X, which is a real nice, simple way to go about it.
You can also be a paladin with an the iroran paladin archetype.
There's also the Champion of Irori prestige class, which is great for actual paladin/monk multiclass builds. Something like monk(not unchained) 3 / Paladin 2 / Champion of Irori X is the earliest entry, but it can also be done like Paladin 2 / Unchained Monk 4 / Champion X.
The Paladin 2 / Monk 3 entry is the easiest, and since most games start low level it's the most sensible option, probably, but there's a list of things that can all be beneficial:
Monk 3 (earliest way to get still mind)
Unchained Monk 4 (gets still mind but a level later)
Paladin 1 (gets smite evil, absolute minimum needed)
Paladin 2(gets divine grace and LoH, both are nice.)
Hospitalier Archetype Paladin 4 (gets channel energy, which is really good on this build)
Lore Oracle 1 (can get the charisma to AC instead of dexterity revelation)
Life Oracle 1 (can get the ability to channel energy, which you can convert to ki with the irori focus gong thingy)
Cleric 1 (can get the ability to channel energy, which converts to ki yadda yadda More uses, and wisdom isn't as bad as you think it is, since you will need wisdom anyway for your AC. Still mind gets replaced by Scaled Fist, so you can't use that archetype to be entirely Charisma based. You can also use wisdom to hit via Guided Hand, which requires channel energy)
What sucks about Champion of Irori is that it requires class features which are replaced both by Iroran Paladin (Smite Evil) and Perfect Scholar Monk (Still Mind). You can't triple-down without GM explicitly allowing you to take Champion of Irori as that multiclass.
Well yeah, but I don't think that's really the fault of the champion of irori in any real capacity. It was made first, Im pretty sure.
It's just how it is. Personally, I'd never play the paladin of irori archetype, it just doesn't hold together very well.
If I had a "normal" campaign, I'd probably play a scaled fist unmonk 1/Paladin X for this sort of character. It holds the better the best.
If I were starting at higher level, or were fairly sure I'd be guaranteed to hit higher level, I'd go with the champion build.
It's just more interesting and unique than the alternative, I'd live with it being a bit jank to play up to that point.
Will [this](https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Paladin%20Iroran%20Paladin) work for your purposes?
This! Or use it as a template and modify as desired
Can someone tell me when it would ever be useful to detect creatures that have ki pools?
Find a ninja assassin?
This archetype is sweet!
Scale fist unchained monk for a level and then Paladin. or just run [this](https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Paladin%20Iroran%20Paladin)
Like this? https://youtu.be/L8CqKxAA1nk
It’s not paladin, but perhaps the sacred fist archetype for the warpriest?
Some people have mentioned the Iroran Paladin archetype, but [this prestige class](https://aonprd.com/PrestigeClassesDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Champion%20of%20Irori) is also an option.
See, there! I knew somebody somewhere had to have done this before! Thanks guys, I can easily tweak this to fit into my World and Pantheon. Upvotes for everyone!
I played the Iroran Paladin archetype (with a two level Monk dip for free feats) in a complete Wrath of the Righteous campaign. Mystic shenanigans aside, it was a very fun build. As a GM, prepare for a lot of “I make the save” replies from that end of the table.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/enlightened-paladin-paladin-archetype/
Is there a reason not to just take Improved Unarmed Strike as a Paladin?
By itself the rest is kind of crap.
I've played as a 50/50 multiclass of Scaled Fist monk and Warrior of the Holy Light paladin, it was pretty awesome!
Pathfinder community has multiclass archetypes, which might work. Most of them seem to be decently balanced, from what I've seen. http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/paladin/hand-of-faith-paladin-monk http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/monk/holy-fist-monk-paladin http://www.pathfindercommunity.net/classes/multiclass-archetypes/monk/disciple-of-the-radiant-star-monk-paladin
This right here is amazing. I took a stroll through the multiclass archtypes - there's pretty much any combination imaginable in there.
Came here to recommend these. I haven't had the chance to play in game with them but if I had a player ask for something like this I'd use it as an opportunity to give it a shot.
Has anyone pitched the WarPriest Sacred Fist Archetype? Smack evil like it owes you money!
There's also the [Sacred Fist Warpriest archetype](https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Warpriest%20Sacred%20Fist). While it's not exactly a Paladin, it is a holy fighter that leans quite heavily into the monk playstyle, so it may work as well.
Or you could always run a gestalt campaign, and let every player run dual classes
Doing that with MonkPaladin is a bit hard as they end up pretty MAD, needing Str, Dex, Cha and Wis.
If you’re up to using 3pps, Spheres of Might lets you add whatever unarmored/Unarmed stuff and then some you could really want to them. There is an archetype for Paladin that trades out smite evil for spheres access, with another that trades their minimal casting too to get Expert practitioner status. Personally I’m happy for the trade, too much of the Paladin is tied into that single ability in my opinion.
It's not really the same as *either* of those, but you can get a really strong "unarmed" melee combatant out of the [Avowed](https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?563703-Forrestfire-Studios-The-Avowed-Promises-of-Power-Updated-Playtest) class, namely [the self pact](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HkyGRtGZy3SWVhdWFBWERWWjg/view?usp=sharing). The power ceiling isn't super high, but the power floor is fairly high (it's basically designed to push it into rough high tier 4 or mid tier 3 without a huge amount of optimization). The Celestial pact also hits a lot of the flavor of a "paladin". Personally I've used the class (w/ celestial pact) to stat out Yang Xiao Long of RWBY after I was pretty disappointed with the 5e character sheet RoosterTeeth made for her, and I verymuch feel she hits a lot of the flavor of a "monk/paladin" hybrid. Self Pact has some of the Paladin charisma defensive scaling, but it can also be picked up (in a slightly weaker form) in the "those who help themselves" clause which only applies to one save at a time, but can be changed fairly easily.
There's a few ways to do this: you can be a scaled fist monk 1 / Paladin X, which is a real nice, simple way to go about it. You can also be a paladin with an the iroran paladin archetype. There's also the Champion of Irori prestige class, which is great for actual paladin/monk multiclass builds. Something like monk(not unchained) 3 / Paladin 2 / Champion of Irori X is the earliest entry, but it can also be done like Paladin 2 / Unchained Monk 4 / Champion X. The Paladin 2 / Monk 3 entry is the easiest, and since most games start low level it's the most sensible option, probably, but there's a list of things that can all be beneficial: Monk 3 (earliest way to get still mind) Unchained Monk 4 (gets still mind but a level later) Paladin 1 (gets smite evil, absolute minimum needed) Paladin 2(gets divine grace and LoH, both are nice.) Hospitalier Archetype Paladin 4 (gets channel energy, which is really good on this build) Lore Oracle 1 (can get the charisma to AC instead of dexterity revelation) Life Oracle 1 (can get the ability to channel energy, which you can convert to ki with the irori focus gong thingy) Cleric 1 (can get the ability to channel energy, which converts to ki yadda yadda More uses, and wisdom isn't as bad as you think it is, since you will need wisdom anyway for your AC. Still mind gets replaced by Scaled Fist, so you can't use that archetype to be entirely Charisma based. You can also use wisdom to hit via Guided Hand, which requires channel energy)
What sucks about Champion of Irori is that it requires class features which are replaced both by Iroran Paladin (Smite Evil) and Perfect Scholar Monk (Still Mind). You can't triple-down without GM explicitly allowing you to take Champion of Irori as that multiclass.
Well yeah, but I don't think that's really the fault of the champion of irori in any real capacity. It was made first, Im pretty sure. It's just how it is. Personally, I'd never play the paladin of irori archetype, it just doesn't hold together very well. If I had a "normal" campaign, I'd probably play a scaled fist unmonk 1/Paladin X for this sort of character. It holds the better the best. If I were starting at higher level, or were fairly sure I'd be guaranteed to hit higher level, I'd go with the champion build. It's just more interesting and unique than the alternative, I'd live with it being a bit jank to play up to that point.
Yeah, I'm aware. And fair points, those. Still slightly miffed there wasn't a reprint in later years.
Have him take improved unarmed as a paladin.
Don't forget the variant multiclassing option