easing monk alignment or multiclass restrictions?

[gnomeking]

Hey all. I was wondering if anyone had tried allowing monks to more freely multiclass. IMC we don't use prestige classes or splat books, and it seems like a monk/rogue (for example) would make an effective "ninja" Similarly, a monk/sor specializing in touch spells (which in-game would represent manifestations of her mastery of ki energy). Does anyone have any thoughts on this, especially in regard to balance issues?

On a side note, has anyone tinkered with the monk as written in the phb to give it some variety? I was thinking specifically of replacing certain virtual feats with others depending on what sort of martial art the monk used (the setting is pseudo-asian). The search function is disabled, so any links would be appreciated.

 

[Geoff Watson]

Have a look at Oriental Adventures.
It modifies monks so they can multi-class, and allows some of their feats to be swapped for other martial arts feats.

Geoff.

 

[EOL]

When 3e was put together the designers mentioned that the paladin and monk multi-classing restriction was a flavor issue, not a game balance issue. So loosening the multi-class restrictions would not seriously affect the play of the game.

 

[Psion]

I personally expand the multiclass options for both, and has already been mentioned, OA chucks them entirely. This could easily qualify as the most common house rule.