Shadow Sun Ninja

[Eldariel]

Unless you're using the popular variant that has 3/4 BAB classes stack for BAB purposes, I'd actually skip the SSN's last two levels. (I don't like the downside to the SSN's capstone ability anyway.) End up with either 4 monk, 8 swordsage, 8 ssn, or 8 monk, 4 swordsage, 8 ssn.

There's also a feat that lets a monk multiclass freely with another class, although it won't help once you have both swordsage and SSN.

Note that SSN's capstone requires activation (including the Negative Level), so it's at worst an even trade, and you still get a new Maneuver Readied along with Flurry, Unarmed Attack Bonus, AC bonus and speed bonus from it. Oh yeah, and full initiator level. I find it very much worth it, especially since SSN 10 is epic ready. And really, the final ability is incredible, +4 on all attacks with shadow, the ability to heal yourself while evinscerating opponents with your insane Unarmed Damage and penalties to EVERYTHING. Hide bonuses, immunity to criticals, mind-affecting and so on... But yea, if not using fractional BAB*, I suppose losing a point of BAB is painful.

*[rant]Which is really like it shoulda been in PHB in the first place if the lazy effers didn't eff it up with a system that basically just effs multiclassing in the eye, which specifically is the major new feature of 3.X! Effin' effers; they effed saves up too, the bastards. Thank Wee Jas for UA and SRD making the variant commonly available.[/rant]