Siege of Dragonspear campaign: doesn't give you boots of speed if you start there, unless you get lucky on a random roll. Does allow you to buy a speed-boosting item ... for mages. Dynaheir has the fastest foot speed in my party right now. My 21-Con dwarven defender protagonist would love a speed boost so he can tank better, but that's just not an option.
It's not just random chance. Sometimes it's by design.
With my current game, squishy Rasaad is just too eager. Even putting him in the back row has him reach an enemy before my dwarven Charname. The only one dying more often is Neera.
In my experience, the key to using a monk effectively at low levels is to treat them like a backstabbing thief. They're squishy, but they're stealthy. They need the extra attention so they can get in without being noticed, get in a few hits, and then retreat when the enemy turns their attention to the monk. You can't just group them with everyone and auto-attack, because then it's exactly like you experienced - they run ahead with their extra speed, get targeted, and get crushed. Instead, you give that monk the skirmisher treatment, micromanaging them to hit key targets hard and retreat. A well-played monk can beat up battle horrors with ease, given enough time.
Does all this micromanagement make a low-level monk powerful, a standout in the party? No, not really. At best, the monk will pull their weight and feel about average.
Caelar is not a paladin though. She's a LG Fighter. I can't remember off the top of my head if Aasimar can cast Detect Evil as a racial ability, however, so your point may still stand.
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Definitely not just you bro!
It's not just random chance. Sometimes it's by design.
Does all this micromanagement make a low-level monk powerful, a standout in the party? No, not really. At best, the monk will pull their weight and feel about average.