Definately not balanced, especially from a character archetype point of view. From my personal experience, the Sacred Fist is the FAR better choice for a player who wants to be the true "master" of unarmed fighting. His abilities simply better replicate the archetypal butt whipping martial artist of film than the actual Monk class.
Problems with a straight Cleric/Sacred Fist:
1) He gains the ability to hit up to +4 at level nine, without the Wisdom bonus from No Shadow. Coming straight from Cleric, that's level 15.
Versus the Monk, who, at level 16, can effect +3 This is already one better than the monk, the "master" of unarmed combat. Then, add in the fact that at 8th level, the Sacred Fist adds his Wisdom to the existing bonus and you're looking at a +5, period. In other words, no need to waste a Greater Magic Weapon spell.
2) He can wear light armor. Decent magical light armor not only adds to AC, it can possess special powers. Probably will too, since a Sacred Fist won't be spending any money on weapons.
3) Uncanny Dodge. The monk, the "master" of unarmed combat, based off characters in martial arts movies who routinely fight a dozen men simultaneously, doesn't get Uncanny Dodge. To me, the Sacred Fist having this ability is particularly galling.
4) Blindsight 30'. Stacked with Uncanny Dodge it makes the Sacred Fist 90% invulnerable to Sneak Attack.
5) Sacred Flame. d6 + Wis + Class levels, max 15, at will. In other words, Starting at 7th level, the Sacred Fist does 11-15 damage with every hit, more than the average monk with d20 is going to do.
6) Inner Armor. Makes up for the lack of Wisdom bonus to AC by adding a +4 to AC and Saves 10 times a day for Wisdom bonus rounds each. At 20th level, WoTC's guidelines say a character will have a 26 in their prime stat. So, 8 rounds at a shot.
7) Spells. 5th level as a cleric + 4th level as a Sacred Fist. Bull's Strength. Endurance. Healing spells. Righteous Might. Hold Person. Slay living. New domain too.
What he loses compared to the Monk:
1) SR. Probably the worst thing, but a straight class cleric doesn't get it either (except by 5th level spell).
2) Movement. The monk is fast. Very useful for getting to enemies quickly. The monk has abundant step (which some clerics can duplicate). Both monk and Sacred Fist can go Ethereal, but the Sacred Fist can do it more than once at a MUCH lower level.
3) Stunning Fist 20 times a day. Should he choose a Cleric can take a feat to do this, though not as often. Alternately, he can just cast Hold Person.
4) Saves. Slightly better than the Sacred Fist. Without Stat bonus: Monk 12, 12, 12. Sacred Fist 14, 10, 10.
5) d20 damage. Potentially slightly more damage than a Sacred Fist.
6) Extra unarmed attacks at a lower BAB. Good for low AC opponents, almost useless against decent AC.
To make things worse:
Take 1 level of monk with your Cleric levels to qualify for Sacred Fist. Skip the armor and gain Wis bonus to your AC on top of all the rest. Perfectly valid as a character concept too.
Even worse:Ranger/Sacred Fist. You get:
1) Fighter BAB. Meaning you have a Flurry that stands a good chance of hitting on a regular basis.
2) Good saves.
3) ACTUAL CLASS ABILITIES PAST LEVEL 1 as a Ranger!!!!!
4) Good skill list. And hey, a ranger with Blindsight! Take that, Legolas!
5) Free domain. Ranger doesn't start with one, so this is just a great bonus.
6) Qualify at 4th level if human.
To make the class really good, go Rng/Mnk/SF. Perfectly valid as a character concept and you gain Wis bonus to AC, Improved Unarmed Attack for free and an extra boost to saves.
