[Aerich]

Maybe. But I gave the monk Rapid Shot for two reasons: one, she's a svirfneblin, and the 3-level ECL penalty means she has very low HP in the start. She does have a good AC, but one critical hit and she's gone. I'm keeping her out of the front lines for now, although she does make forays after the battle is started to get after spellcasters and archers. Two, my party lacks a dedicated archer, so I thought I'd make up for it by having two characters who are pretty decent in that respect. With such a high Dex, it seems a waste not to get as much out of her as I can, missile-wise.

Rapid Shot is also nice for run-and-gun style sneak attacks with a monk. You can hit stealth, sneak up to something, hit it, run away and get separation because you have extra movement, hammer it with Rapid Shot, run around a corner, hide again... It's a good way to cut the odds while bringing a horde of monsters back to the party.

Rapid Shot adds quite a bit of diversity to a monk, although I agree that it puts off turning it into a true melee terror. But I've got two tanks already, and a bit of a shortage of heavy-hitting missile users. It has worked well so far.