A little of this, and a little of that, and- ohmygawd what is that thing?
There's no easier way about this: you need to be familar with what different classes get at different levels in order to truly excel at character building. Without a comprehensive knowledge of the options out there, you might too quickly strike off a particular feature of your ideal build. Imagine now you want to make a phantom like character, whose terrifying presence slowly eats away at his foe's energy. How can you translate that into a DDO build?
Well, you will have to realize that rogues can learn the feat "Crippling Strike", while dark monks have the enhancement of "Shadow Fade" available to them. Combining this two can give you an incorporeal character whose every touch reduces the enemy's Strength by 2 points.
For detailed information, it would be wise to refer to a dedicated reference like the ddowiki page found here. Have a rough idea of what certain classes can give you.
Archibalde has at least one monk level in order to add his Wisdom bonus to his AC. I increased that to at least two monk levels, because evasion adds to his ability to relax in the middle of a fight. The third monk level looks attractive too, offering the monk finisher move "Aligning the Heavens", which is a wonderful way to "[benefit] from increased player activity/attention" (from Concept section). However, the question is whether or not it really adds much: in solo play, I don't want to have to keep the buff up; in group play, the presence of a light monk will render this ability moot. I eventually decided that it would be a fun little perk, with increased movement speed as a deal sweetener, and took the third monk level.
← Translation: Benchmarking
← Translation: Benchmarking