PFS: Dwarf Monk Build - looking for comments Good / Bad / Ugly Advice

[Scosu]

My wife and I will be playing this exact build on our own two characters. She is very new to RPG's in general.

So, the goal is a kick-butt monk that is effective, fun, yet easy to play.

Name: Mojo-Mojo
Dwarf Monk 2
LN Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+1 shield, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 untyped)
hp 19 (2d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5; +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities
Defensive Abilities:
defensive training (+4 dodge bonus to AC vs. giants),
evasion
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee masterwork cold iron temple sword +5 (1d8+3/19-20) and
unarmed strike +4 (1d6+3)
Ranged shuriken +3 (1d2+3)
Special Attacks flurry of blows,
+1 on attack rolls against goblinoid and orc humanoids,
stunning fist (2/day, DC 13)
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Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 8
Base Atk +1;
CMB +4 (+6 grapple);
CMD 19 (23 vs. bull rush, 21 vs. grapple, 23 vs. trip)
Feats:
Dodge,
Improved Grapple,
Improved Unarmed Strike,
Snapping Turtle Style,
Stunning Fist
Traits:
observant,
reactionary
Skills:
Acrobatics +6 (+2 jump),
Climb +7,
Knowledge (dungeoneering) +0,
Knowledge (religion) +3,
Perception +8 (+10 to notice unusual stonework)
Languages:
Common,
Dwarven
SQ ac bonus, stunning fist (stun), unarmed strike
Other Gear masterwork cold iron temple sword,
shuriken (50),
wayfinder, 1,225 gp
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Special Abilities
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AC Bonus +2 The Monk adds his Wisdom bonus to AC and CMD, more at higher levels.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Flurry of Blows +0/+0 (Ex) Make Flurry of Blows attack as a full rd action.
Hatred +1 Gain a racial bonus to attacks vs Goblinoids/Orcs.
Improved Grapple You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when grappling a foe.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Snapping Turtle Style +1 Gain +1 shield bonus to AC when at least one hand is free
Stunning Fist (2/day) (DC 13) You can stun an opponent with an unarmed attack.
Stunning Fist (Stun) (Ex) At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, and every 4

levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a new condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This conditio
Unarmed Strike (1d6) The Monk does lethal damage with his unarmed strikes.
Wayfinder

Thank you in advance!

[StreamOfTheSky]

Alright, if you're ok with "the ugly," I'm just going to come right out and say the best advice is: don't do it. Monks are extremely weak in Pathfinder, as are non-casters in general, but you can make a better unarmed fighter multiple ways, especially if you're willing to consider fighting with natural weapons like claws and bite as "unarmed" (I mean...it is...).

Judging by your feats and temple sword, you seem to have Advanced Player's Guide (APG) and Ultimate Combat (UC) available...anything else besides the core rulebook? It makes a difference.

Some suggestions: Lore Warden Fighter (PFS Field Guide) or Unarmed Fighter (UC) are better than monk at maneuvers and/or unarmed combat, though you can dip a level or 2 in monk (I suggest Master of Many Styles or Maneuver Master; flurry of blows doesn't combine well with much...) if you want to supplement it. If you have Ultimate Equipment, the brawling armor property is +1 cost and an untyped +2 to unarmed attack and damage and grapple checks. If going Fighter, you want gloves of dueling eventually...probably between getting strength +2 belt and upgrading it to +4.

Snapping Turtle is a poor style... The "good" styles aren't universally so...some give good benefits with the base style feat, others are only good for the 3rd feat in the chain. Which to go for depends on what you want to do, what your ability scores will support, and whether you're dipping Master of Many Styles (MoMS) or not.
It lets you skip pre-reqs if you have the base style feat, so... Make sure you only take a level in it that grants a bonus feat if you're equipped as such. For example, dipping the first level of MoMS at 3rd overall level. You pick up Imp. Unarmed Strike and use it to take Snake Style as your 3rd level feat, and can then use the bonus feat on Snake Fang, the thing you actually want. And obtain it much earlier and less painfully than normal.
Recommended styles:
- Snake: Some like the base style feat...I think it's a crutch and you shouldn't rely on it. Anyway...2nd feat is worthless, but the 3rd feat, Snake Fang, is probably the best style feat in the game. AoO every time someone misses you? Yes, please! Definitely use MoMS to skip the 2nd feat.
- Dragon: The base feat is decent if situational, and the 2nd feat is solid for a high-strength character. Not a fan of the 3rd feat, Roar.
- Tiger: Opposite of Dragon. The base style and 2nd feat are utterly horrid, but Tiger Pounce rocks. Doesn't actually give pounce (the name's such a tease), but applying power attack penalty to AC and pursuing fleeing mages as a swift is awesome. Use MoMS to skip the 2nd feat.
- Monkey: The base style feat is genuinely handy. Not so sure about the other 2 feats, but if you just want a base style feat and can't afford to spend more feats beyond that, you could do worse.
- Panther: I personally hate this whole style, it's predicated upon enemies being morons and continuing to try to AoO you despite blatant evidence it's a bad idea. Also, it's NOT WORTH THE PERSONAL RISK (and loss of full attacking from moving around) until you have all 3 of the feats, to strike first and to get it multiple times per round. That said, judging from complaints I've seen on paizo's boards from PFS DM's about "overpowered monks I can't hit!" it seems that a fair number of them never learned that having enemies ignore a non-threatening tank PC is an option. So it might be useful in PFS.

[Scosu]

I can have any/all necessary materials as long as Paizo sells them in PDF.

[Sayt]

With Snapping Turtle style and Imrpoved grapple, it looks like you're going for a grappler. In which case, I strongly urge you to take the Tetori archetype, which makes grappling actually possible in the long term.

[StreamOfTheSky]

With Snapping Turtle style and Imrpoved grapple, it looks like you're going for a grappler. In which case, I strongly urge you to take the Tetori archetype, which makes grappling actually possible in the long term.

I've heard PFS has a lot more classed humanoid enemies than normal games; teleporters probably aren't as big a problem as in other games. In any case, I think Lore Warden is the best grappler, for sheer CMB/CMD bonuses. Actually, I think the summoner's biped eidolon with nothing but tentacles and the Grab evolution to get a ton of attacks with long reach that all have grapple attached is the best grappler (not to mention the size and strength it can wrack up). But that's probably not what the OP is looking for...
Unarmed Fighter is also decent at grappling...gets a fair bit of DR when wrestling.

I will not dispute a dip in (Maneuver Master, not Tetori) Monk can help any grappler. But I'd bail to fighter at some point.

[Sayt]

It's also worth noting that Tetori also lets you get around Freedom of Movement, which can just turn off your whole ability to actually contribute if you invest in grappling as your combat style. I don't know how often it comes up, but it's Cleric 4, which is, IIRC, within the realm of PFS?