DM Q&A: Monk Orders and Cleric Patrons

[louballic2]

I created cleric (as an alternate character). With a view to taking a few levels of monk. Currently her Deity is Wukeen - and is lawful neutral alignment
I have since discovered monastic orders. There are monastic orders that allow multiclassing as cleric and monk. Must the deity i worship match the deity of the monastic order?
. ..  . If it does i need to remake the character (or make a new one). (current character is very new)
 

[Munroe]

Your character may not make very much sense if you worship a deity outside of the monastic order to which you belong.

Monastic orders are a form of indoctrination, lifestyle, and regimentation, so following a deity outside of the deities acknowledged and supported by the order would be a schism your character holds with the order to which the character claims to belong.

A few orders (Old Order, Long Death) are more concerned with concepts than specific deities, but most of the orders are deity-based. Those two orders, unfortunately, do not seem to fit very well with Waukeen and do not allow multiclassing cleric. (Old Order also requires that monk levels exceed total levels in any other class, so it's pretty impossible to multi-class into this order.)

If you have just created the character, and you're determined to play a cleric/monk, your best bet is to restart as a cleric of a patron of one of the orders that allows cleric multi-classing, and multi-class as detailed in the rules for that order.
Monk Orders used on FRC are found here: Monk Orders Information (frc.proboards.com/post/22135/thread)

Alternatively, if you restart and take monk as your first class, it's also possible to take all your monk levels first, then leave the monastic lifestyle (no more monk levels ever), to pursue being a cleric. If you choose this path, you should contact a DM to let us know you're leaving the path of the monk to pursue another class. If you take all your monk levels first, you do not need to join a monastic order. Monks without a monastic order may not multiclass freely with any other class, so multiclassing as a monk without an order means you can no longer advance as a monk.