[Forgotten Realms//Baldur's Gate 2] Monks of the Dark Moon

[Zhentarim]

I am playing a computer game called Baldur's Gate 2, and my lead character is a Male Human Monk of the Order of the Dark Moon who worships a goddess named Shar. The Order of the Dark Moon is weaker mechanically than the Order of the Sun Soul, but I wanted to play an evil monk. There is a Lawful Evil alignment requirement. He is adventuring with a True Neutral Female Half-Elf Werewolf Shapeshifter Druid, A Lawful Evil Male Human Blackgaurd who serves Bane, a Lawful Evil Male Half-Orc Cleric of Helm, a Lawful Neutral Half-Elf Dragon Disciple Sorcerer, and a Lawful Evil Male Gnome Illusionist/Thief. His stats are as follows:

18 str
18 dex
18 con
16 int
18 wis
3 cha

Focusing on the Dark Moon Monk a second, I have 3 questions regarding mechanics, roleplaying, and lore:

Mechanics Question: Does it make sense to equip my monk with a sling and bullets while he is low level, rather than putting him in danger in melee since his monk speed bonus allows him to better keep his distance from enemies? (The lead character is like the king in chess: If you lose him, you lose the game)

Roleplaying Question: His friends are an odd assortment of people. What is a good RP reason these 6 characters would know each other?

Lore Question: I want to learn as much as I can about the Order of the Dark Moon. What is their code, their practices, what things have they been involved in, ect.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: Since this is a CRPG question, I moved it over to Gaming (Other), with the rest of the computer games.

For your questions, I would suggest looking at Baldur's Gate Wiki. The Forgotten Realms Wiki also has useful information about the world, including the Order of the Dark Moon.

[Winthur]

Mechanics Question: Does it make sense to equip my monk with a sling and bullets while he is low level, rather than putting him in danger in melee since his monk speed bonus allows him to better keep his distance from enemies? (The lead character is like the king in chess: If you lose him, you lose the game)

Sure. That, or darts. Or even thrown daggers. It stops mattering once you hit level 10 and your fists are enchanted, which will be very soon. Until then, it's not wrong to bide your time. You can still strike out more or less safely in melee if you have someone else in your party take the first hit and have your Monk come into the fight later, esp. if he's pre-buffed.