Shield and monk questions...

[winter sorrow]

i think that short swords and daggers only count as light weapons. goes by weapon type and not weight.

[E.Bill]

Im considering getting a monk (2)/paladin(1) cleric(x) or a monk (3)/Cleric(x) instead.

the advantage of the monk(3) build is that i can easily get 4 levels of fighter to get weapon specialisation feat later on. Also i dont have to be lawful good and can have more choice with my cleric order.
This character will either be dual wielding with ambidexterity and two weapon fighting feats, so if i were to get the paladin only sword for this as well, it would be good as well.
Or she would be getting a greataxe. I wont be using a shield as that would lose me my monk AC bonus.


But, I already have a wildelf(perhaps aasimaar) paladin/sorceror, who will also be taking the frontlines:
STR: 18 (16 if aasimaar)
DEX: 18
CON: 18
INT: 3
WIS: 3(5 if aasimaar - my charisma saving throws will save me from being taken over too often)
CHA: 120 if aasimaar)

Now i need a lawful cleric, but she should have a reasonable selection of spells, as well as be good in melee. Im thinking of helm or ilmater, or perhaps bane, but i hear lathlander and talos(can talos be lawful?) is also good...

Suggestions for a solid lawful cleric?

[Bozos of Bones]

OK, for the last time: it doesn't pay up to multi a monk into almost any class, since using weapons and armors and shields NEGATES ALL his bonuses(except for some abilities, like healing, but doesn't include anything really good) and will cancel his wisdom bonus, spell resistance and spell-like powers. The only way a Monk is ever going to be effective with another class is a low-level cleric(under 10) or as a very low level paladin. In both cases, he must refrain from using shields, armors and weapons.
And, since you are obviously powergaming, why bother with a lawful cleric? Any will do, there's no actual change. I recommend Tempus and Ilmater as the best out there, with Lathander close behind.

[E.Bill]

Bozos, are you sure a monk loses his WIS AC bonus if he wields a weapon, even if he is unarmoured and not using a shield? My understanding was a monk will only lose his AC bonus if he were to wear armour and/or use a shield, but weapons dont matter. Jukka's powergaming party uses this idea to boost up character AC's.

Because i am making a caster who needs a high WIS score, he is obviously going to benefit more from the WIS bonus and spirit armour than from platemail. The only way i can get wis bonus is to get a monk, who has to be lawful, hence the need for a lawful cleric. After doing a bit of background research, i have arrived at bane, because he has the most spells, and apparently benefits from a quest.

[Bozos of Bones]

Yes, that he does. But still, any weapon in the game is weaker than his fists, and it's abilities. I'm sorry, you're right, he pretains WIS bonus when using weapons, but loses some extras then. Yes, Bane has some cool extras, make sure you have sufficient INT for Dipl, Intim and Bluf to talk to people(like in Andora). Hmm... Yes, a low-level monk and cleric build with weapons could be a cool character, especially if dual-wielding light weapons. His Dex would then be his attack bonus(feat req) and his high Dex and Wis would complement each other perfectly. There's a slight catch tho, you need to know when to stop advancing monk, to not water down the cleric's power.