GeneMemeScene's page

I don't really know the flavor trappings that would go with it, but I would like a class based on a resource that by design is supposed to ebb and flow, and is based on alternating between situational or tactical actions that gain you points and direct actions that cash out points to for higher effect.

The kineticist has a small instance of this with Elemental Overflow, where having some amount of burn gives you attack and damage bonuses, but doesn't work for what I have in mind because it doesn't fall (only rises) and there is no reason not to fill up Overflow at the beginning of the day (especially since you have Internal Buffer to do that with).

Imagine if the Swashbuckler's stuff like Superior Feint and Targeted Strike, instead of costing panache, had you gain panache? So you would be pressured to use your more stylish but lesser abilities frequently in order to more frequently fuel your better abilities like Parry and Riposte or Precise Strike. And on top of that, it might also have heightened defenses when panache is higher, so there is a deliberate tradeoff to cashing out that panache.

An upcoming character of mine is a war journalist from an imperial nation. His goals are a) to follow refugees of the war and report on their plight and b) to study other cultures threatened by his nation's expansion and expose their ideas in a positive light, hopefully to curb the fervent nationalism that is feeding the invasion effort.

CHANGES:

- More streamlining
- Spellstrike removed
- Protecting party from own spells now in-archetype feature again
+ DC increases improved, but now limited by level

- This archetype would stack with Beastblade, Bladebound, Hexcrafter, Kensai, and Staff Magus (and possibly others).
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METEOR KNIGHT V3

The meteor knight uses the raw might of their weapon to enforce their arcane abilities, landing explosive spells to overwhelm their enemies’ defenses.

SPELL COMBAT

A meteor knight can use spell combat with a weapon held in two hands, so long as one hand can freely let go of the weapon.

Upon reaching a base attack bonus of +6, when using spell combat, the meteor knight does not make the attack roll at their lowest base attack bonus. (bab-5 from level 8-14, bab-10 from level 15 onwards)

This ability alters spell combat.

METEOR STRIKE

At 2nd level, when the meteor knight casts a spell with an area of effect, they can channel it through their weapon to improve its power. The meteor knight must be wielding a magic weapon to use this ability. The DCs of all saving throws that enemies make in response to the spell cast increase by an amount equal to the critical multiplier of the meteor knight’s weapon (up to a total of half the Meteor Knight's caster level). This ability can only be used with spell that has a shaped area of effect (cone, line, sphere, etc.). This ability cannot be used with spells that produce multiple areas of effect. If the shape of the spell has a radius, the meteor knight must center the radius on themselves. The Meteor Knight receives a bonus on saving throws equal to their Intelligence Modifier against their own spells cast this way.

This ability replaces spellstrike.

CALAMITY WARD

At 7th level, when a meteor knight prepares their spells, they can choose to lose one prepared spell of the highest level they can cast to gain the benefits of this arcana. When the meteor knight casts a spell from the magus spell list, they may chose to lose a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell lost to designate a number of targets equal to the level of the spell lost. These targets are excluded from the effects of the spell cast and you take damage equal to twice the level of the spell lost.

This ability replaces Improved Spell Combat.

PENETRATING MAGIC

At 14th level, if a meteor knight is wielding a melee weapon enhanced by their arcane pool, they gain a bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance equal to the critical multiplier of the weapon.

This ability replaces Greater Spell Combat.

Lowest BAB? That attack is often thought of as a lost cause already. Perhaps just a flat -5 penalty to hit with a spell?

The Magus has tons of accuracy boosting options and ways of hitting flat footed and touch attacks. BAB-15 is a lost cause, BAB-10 not so much, and BAB-5 not really.

And this spell combat can't combo with spellstrike anyway; there's no spell to be getting a -5 penalty to.

The idea that this archetype ends up with fewer attacks during spell combat than a normal magus using the spell combat cast with spellstrike.

1st: both can get one spell and one attack, but the normal magus can make that spell a touch spell through spellstrike for an extra attack

8th: the meteor knight still only gets one spell and one attack, while the normal magus gets two attacks and can get a third via spellstrike

15th: meteor knight gets one spell and two attacks, while the normal magus gets three attacks and can get a fourth via spellstrike; even calling the bab-10 a lost cause, that puts the normal magus potentially one attack ahead

Ah, much tidier at least.

CHANGES:

- Abilities and replacements streamlined
- DC bonuses slightly reduced
- Armor related abilities removed

- My concern about the arcana is that this could be a considerable blessing to blasters with VMC Magus, getting them a more easily version of Selective Spell 3 levels earlier.

- This archetype would stack with Beastblade, Bladebound, Hexcrafter, Kensai, and Staff Magus.
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METEOR KNIGHT

The meteor knight uses the raw might of their weapon to enforce their arcane abilities, landing explosive spells to overwhelm their enemies’ defenses.

SPELL COMBAT

A meteor knight can use spell combat with a weapon held in two hands, so long as one hand can freely let go of the weapon.

They cannot use spell combat to cast any spell that requires an attack roll.

At 8th level, when using spell combat, the meteor knight does make the attack roll at their lowest base attack bonus (bab-5 from levels 8-14, bab-10 from level 15 onwards).

This ability alters spell combat.

SPELLSTRIKE

When a meteor knight delivers a spell through Spellstrike while holding their weapon in two hands, the DCs of all saving throws made in response to the spell are increased by the critical multiplier of the weapon used - 2.

This ability alters spellstrike.

METEOR CRASH

At 8th level, as a full round action, a meteor knight can cast an area of effect spell strengthened the weapon they wield. The DCs of all saving throws that enemies make in response to the spell cast increase by an amount equal to the critical multiplier of the meteor knight’s weapon - 1. This ability can only be used with spell that has a shaped area of effect (cone, line, sphere, etc.). This ability cannot be used with spells that produce multiple areas of effect. If the shape of the spell has a radius, the meteor knight must center the radius on themselves.

This ability replaces Improved Spell Combat.

PENETRATING MAGIC

At 14th level, if a meteor knight is wielding a melee weapon enhanced by their arcane pool, they gain a bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance equal to the critical multiplier of the weapon - 1.

This ability replaces Greater Spell Combat.
__________

And introducing a new arcana:

CALAMITY WARD

When you prepare your spells, you can choose to lose one prepared spell of the highest level you can cast to gain the benefits of this arcana. When you cast a spell from the magus spell list, you may chose to lose a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell lost to designate a number of targets equal to the level of the spell lost. These targets are excluded from the effects of the spell cast and you take damage equal to twice the level of the spell lost.

I'm not a fan of it. The magus could already cast a spell and attack with a two-hander using spellstrike.The archetype gets a bunch of abilities that are way better than what they lose. And the archetype gets medium armor early for no reason, which is a really big buff for the magus.

They lose the Spell Combat > Spellstrike > Full Attack chain, which was the magus' biggest perk; this doesn't have a corresponding "nova" like the base magus does. It ends doing less damage to single targets in exchange for more better AoE. The armor things were more just the image in my head and because the Armored Battlemage is awful, but right, one thing at a time.

I'll be streamlining things in my next post.

an Archetype that fills this niche ideally shouldn't replace/modify any class features except Spell Combat and its advancements, so it can be compatible with as many other Archetypes as possible (for example, the way you made it, it couldn't go with the Kensei).

Getting a two-handed magus to stack with Kensai would take some finagling, because a two-handed Spell Combat would be broken. This means you need to nerf Spell Combat, and doing so generally means enough changes to the ability that it demands renaming the ability. And if you've renamed Spell Combat, then you need to alter the text of True Magus, which Kensai replaces.

However, Eldritch Scion calls its alteration of Spell Combat "Spell Combat", so I guess it's doable.

So wait, heavy spell combat isn't actually a full attack sort of move, it's just a 1 or 2-hit deal?

Yeah. 1.5xstr with two handed weapons on an actual spell combat on its own would probably be worth more than everything this archetype trades out.

Now that I think about it though, that might be too much of a lateral change, as now Spell Combat and Heavy Spell Combat are pretty incongruous, both in mechanics and intended use.

Perhaps an alteration instead:

"As a full-round action, they can make all of their attacks with their melee weapon at a –2 penalty, but their highest bab attack is replaced by casting any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If this spell includes any attack rolls, those attacks also take the -2 penalty.

At 4rd level, a meteor knight may use both hands to wield their weapon during the attack."

But it comes down to how much of a nerf is needed to account for the advantage of two-handing.

Just start dipping like mad.

1 Sorc, swapping out the 1st level power for the havoc mutation

1 Wizard or School Arcanist for Admixture

Brawler's Martial Flexibility will be great at level 20 and above

OVERVIEW
While they aren’t the cliché that the dex magus is, the strength magus is hardly wanting for power. However, it is something of a letdown that the magus is basically restricted to one-handed weapons. They can admittedly still spellstrike with a two-hander, but then they’re missing out on one of their main abilities with little to show for it, and the supremacy of large critical threat ranges compared to the lack of advantage for high critical multipliers can be fixed. The mindblade takes until level 13 to answer the former, doesn’t answer the latter, and comes with the possibly unwanted conversion to psychic magic.
The meteor knight is supposed to cover this, with all of its features useable with any melee weapon you can wield and rewarding higher critical multipliers. I realized about ¾ of the way through that this setup was screaming for a bladebound falcata, and I think that’s great. Spell Combat is now purely for keeping up some damage while buffing and can no longer be used for mini-flurry. The early access to medium and heavy armor comes from an early draft that was actually supposed to get Armor Training and full movement in armor, but I figured that much wasn’t necessary.
__________________________________________________

METEOR KNIGHT
The meteor knight uses the raw might of their weapon to enforce their arcane abilities, landing explosive spells to overwhelm their enemies’ defenses.

WEAPON AND ARMOR PROFICIENCY
A meteor knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light and medium armor. They can cast magus spells while wearing light or medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a meteor knight wearing heavy armor or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass meteor knight still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.

HEAVY SPELL COMBAT
As a full-round action, a meteor knight can make one attack with a melee weapon held in one hand at a –2 penalty and can also cast a spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action; this spell cannot be one that requires an attack roll. If they cast this spell defensively, they can decide to take an additional penalty on the attack roll, up to their Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on the concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attack still takes the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attack first.
At 4rd level, a meteor knight may use both hands to wield their weapon during the attack.
At 8th level, a meteor knight may use Heavy Spell Combat as a standard action.
This ability replaces Spell Combat.

HEAVY SPELLSTRIKE
When a meteor knight delivers a spell through Spellstrike, the DCs of all saving throws made in response to the spell are increased by the critical multiplier of the weapon used -2.
This ability alters Spellstrike.

HEAVY ARMOR
At 7th level, a meteor knight gains proficiency with heavy armor. They can cast magus spells while wearing heavy armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a meteor knight using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.
This ability replaces Medium Armor.

METEOR CRASH
At 8th level, as a full round action, a meteor knight can cast an area of effect spell strengthened the weapon they wield. The DCs of all saving throws that enemies make in response to the spell cast increase by an amount equal to the critical multiplier of the meteor knight’s weapon. This ability can only be used with spell that has a shaped area of effect (cone, line, sphere, etc.). This ability cannot be used with spells that produce multiple areas of effect. If the spell has a radius, the meteor knight must center the radius on themselves.
This ability replaces Improved Spell Combat.

CALAMITY WARD
At 8th level, when a meteor knight prepares their spells, they can choose to lose one prepared spell of any level they can cast. This allows them to designate a number of creatures up to the level of the spell lost +2 whenever they cast a spell. The designated creatures gain a bonus equal to the meteor knight’s Intelligence modifier on saving throws against spells cast by a meteor knight. Damage dealt to the designated creatures by spells cast by a meteor knight also decreases by the meteor knight’s caster level + the meteor knight’s intelligence modifier. This decrease is applied after factoring in resistances, vulnerabilities, and the outcomes of saving throws.
This ability replaces the magus arcana normally gained at 9th level.

PENETRATING MAGIC
At 13th level, if a meteor knight is wielding a melee weapon enhanced by their arcane pool, they gain a bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance equal to the critical multiplier of the weapon.
This ability replaces Heavy Armor.

METEOR CHARGE
At 14th level, a meteor knight may cast a spell delivered through Spellstrike in place of the attack at the end of a charge. In addition to the +2 bonus on attack rolls and -2 penalty on AC for charging, the spell cast has its saving throw DCs increased by 2. Effects that augment damage dealt on a charge only apply to the weapon damage and not any damage dealt by the spell.
This ability replaces Greater Spell Combat.

UNSTOPPABLE IMPACT
At 20th level, a meteor knight does not need to make concentration checks to cast defensively when using their Heavy Spell Combat, Spellstrike, Meteor Crash, and Meteor Charge abilities.
This ability replaces True Magus.
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MAIN CONCERNS
- Poorly worded abilities and/or abilities that require more specification
- Any unfair breaking of action economy (Heavy Spell Combat as a standard action is most suspect)
- Being overpowered in any other way (like maybe those DC increases)
- Whether this is actually a helpful archetype for users of two-handed or high crit multiplier weapons
- Whether something about this archetype buffs a weapon style I didn’t intend, particularly if it benefits them more than it does the two-handers and high crit wielders.

CHANGES SO FAR
- Removed "At 6th level, this increase becomes equal to the critical multiplier of the weapon used" from Heavy Spellstrike

Eldritch Archer Magus can also grab Bane on the fly once it hits level 15. It's also grabbing Spell Perfection, which means it can Quicken Empowered Intensified Snowball Spellstrike > Maximized Empowered Intensified Snowball Spellstrike > Full Attack.

Admittedly that's well above where the calculations are being done.

Chess Pwn wrote:

A ravener hunter adds all spells of 6th-level and lower on the cleric spell list with the good descriptor to her inquisitor spell list as inquisitor spells of the same level.

...

She cannot cast 2 with the chaotic, evil, or lawful descriptors, even from spell trigger or spell completion items.

I wonder what was supposed to go where the "2" is?

Presumeably "spells".

I'm just upset that we lost the amazing ability "domaravener hunterin".

I don't really see the point in crusader's flurry. Very few deity weapons are better than the sansetsukon.

Dervish Dance still works with flurry if you wanna ignore strength; alternatively, it's good for grabbing reach weapons.

Aasimar with the Scion of Humanity alternate trait count as both Outsider (Native) and Humanoid (Human).

With Feral Combat Training,

1) Dragon Style and Medusa's Wrath would work with natural attacks

2) Pummeling Style would not, as it has a specific line of dialogue saying they can only be unarmed strikes. In this case the "specific overrules general" standard should make it restricted.

3) For Vicious Stomp I lean towards saying it would work with natural attacks, because the restriction does not call out abilities that would let you override it, suggesting that it is not supposed to incapable of being overridden.

U-monk does an okay job at it, but also locks you into a fairly specific character design in the process.

The Invulnerable Rager Barbarian who disregards AC entirely and just prioritizes his DR and HP.

UnRogue just needs Exotic Weapon Proficiency in Elven Curve Blade or Elven Branch Spear.

What was specific to a glaive that it breaks your idea?

I believe there's a feat for one handing and finessing glaives in the newest splatbook.

Amusingly, White/Blue Control's DnD analogue is Black Tentacles.

Huh, looks like they reduced the radius of a fireball too by a bit. I'd still stand by a ruling of a fireball in a 5 foot wide hall and a backstop 10 feet beyond the target is going to spread back and affect someone standing 40 feet away from the target. Normally, the caster and company would be safe. But in that situation, the fireball's spread is channeled towards them.

That would be something that the GM should go over with their players before the campaign starts, because that's a pretty significant houseruling.

master_marshmallow wrote:

Trekkie90909 wrote:

master_marshmallow's suggestion is very good; it's a magus archetype which does exactly what you want it to do much better than AA.

Eldritch Archer 2 is still a good dip, since you can skip the two magus arcana, and get full BAB. From there I'd recommend magus 2 (10 total, to get fighter training), then take Eldritch Knight to 8.

Do you mean Arcane Archer 2 is still a good dip? As in 8 levels of Eldritch Archer, then 2 levels of Arcane Archer, then another 2 levels of Eldritch Archer, then 8 levels of Eldritch Knight?

Eldritch Knight is hardly worth it. The extra bab is offset by losing Arcane Pool progression and an attack at bab-15 is hardly worth losing all your class features over.

GeneMemeScene wrote:

Secret Wizard wrote:

Kensai Magus is the only "true" option other than Monk. Everyone else enjoys the armor better than being unarmored. I'd love a mundane unarmored fighter class.

There are a couple of light armors that have no armor check penalty; the Kensai would prefer to wear those for the ease of enchantment and even just the +1 AC besides.

Wearing that armor for a kensai means you lose uncanny defense.

Canny Defense "is identical to the duelist prestige class ability of the same name", which can be used while in light armor.

Kensai Magus is the only "true" option other than Monk. Everyone else enjoys the armor better than being unarmored. I'd love a mundane unarmored fighter class.

There are a couple of light armors that have no armor check penalty; the Kensai would prefer to wear those for the ease of enchantment and even just the +1 AC besides.

At 5th and every four levels thereafter, the Swashbuckler can take an extra 5-foot step in a turn. At 9th level, the Swashbuckler can take one 5-foot step even if they have moved or will move later in the turn (including a charge or move action). At 13th level, the Swashbuckler gains a +10 bonus to their move speed and can

Whoops, forgot to finish the thought.

At 13th level the Swashbuckler gains a +10ft bonus to their move speed and can take all of their 5-foot steps even if they have moved or will move later in the turn, so long as the total distance they move does not exceed their move speed.

If we're going to keep the Swashbuckler as a class (rather than just making it an archetype like it should have been), then these fixes are more inclined to making the Swashbuckler work as advertised; their damage is already fine.

Derring-Do's threshold for increasing dice lowers as you level up. At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the next lower number on the first d6 also results in another d6 rolled (5 or higher at lvl 4, 4 or higher at lvl 8, etc). At 12th level, the threshold on the second dice begins to lower as well (5 or higher at lvl 12, 4 or higher at lvl 16, etc). At 20th level, if the Swashbuckler manages to roll a third dice, this die resulting in a 5 or 6 will allow the Swashbuckler to roll a fourth dice. In addition, starting at 12th level the Swashbuckler regains one panache point if they manage to roll at least 3d6 with Derring-Do.

Opportune Parry and Riposte does not take an action. Instead, a successful parry causes the attacker to provoke an attack of opportunity from the Swashbuckler. The Swashbuckler can spend one panache point as an immediate action to increase the number of attacks of opportunity they can make in a round (allowing the Swashbuckler to still Riposte even without Combat Reflexes).

Charmed life now gives the Swashbuckler a permanent bonus of their Cha to one of their saves. The Swashbuckler can change which of their saves gets the Cha bonus as a move action, or can spend one panache point to change it as an immediate action.

Precise Strike's precision damage is not doubled by spending a panache point. Instead, the Swashbuckler can spend a panache point as a swift action in order to turn the precision damage into normal damage, allowing it to be multiplied on critical hits and increasing their effectiveness against precision-immune foes.

Superior Feint no longer costs panache. Instead, it requires a successful Feint, with a bonus to the Swashbuckler's Bluff equal to the ability modifier that the Swashbuckler uses to attack. If one of the Swashbuckler's allies hits the target while it is dex-denied from this ability, the Swashbuckler regains one panache point.

Targeted Strike no longer costs panache. Instead, if the Swashbuckler successfully hits the opponent, the Swashbuckler regains one panache point.

At 5th and every four levels thereafter, the Swashbuckler can take an extra 5-foot step in a turn. At 9th level, the Swashbuckler can take one 5-foot step even if they have moved or will move later in the turn (including a charge or move action). At 13th level, the Swashbuckler gains a +10 bonus to their move speed and can

Overall changes: give them more incentives to use their interesting abilities and give them better mobility; their reliable damage against most foes drops but in exchange they stop being null against foes like elementals.

I'd think it could be worn.

But as helmets seem to serve no statistical benefit whatsoever (so that's why people never wear them in situations where they should), and the Cassisian would be rendering himself unable to move for the interim, there would be little reason for one to subject itself to such a dehumanizing (deangelizing?) fate.

The Cassisian actually gives AC and save bonuses to one creature within 5 feet. So assuming that the Cassisian wants to assist the person (they are an Improved Familiar choice) it gives the Cassisian a way to protect its handler while also looking inconspicuous so as to avoid being attacked.

GM: Hey guys! I'm thinking of running Skull and Shackles, a game where you all get to play ruthless pirates on the high seas.

PCs: Heck yeah! That sounds like fun!

Barry: Dibs on the martial tank!

Harley: I guess I'll be the crazy fun-loving bard backup.

Clark: Paladin! I do love paladins!

Slade: I'm going to play an intimidation focused debuff unchained rogue, or perhaps a slayer.

GM: Sounds great guys, though a Paladin likely won't be a good fit for this game, Clark. Perhaps a ranger instead?

I feel like Clark's a bit more of a Brawler.

I don't think there's that much hate, but even if it's overdone I don't see why people have a problem with the Dervish Dancing Bladebound Kensai. We don't go for it because it's overpowered (it isn't; at all); we like it because it's cool. Really f$%#ing cool.

Burnscar wrote:

Darksol has the right of it. It has nothing to do with hands of effort, it's 'functions as'.

Which is why flurry doesn't work either, despite the monk's ability to flurry with his unarmed strikes while his hands are otherwise occupied wielding things he can't flurry with. It references two-weapon fighting.

Now this is a very interesting point because, as I mentioned earlier in the topic, the Unchained Monk's flurry does not reference Two Weapon Fighting in any way shape or form.

Ergo, since the Magus is disallowed because Spell Combat functions as Two Weapon Fighting then the Unchained Monk should be allowed to use Slashing Grace since the UC Monk's Flurry is not Two Weapon Fighting, like Two Weapon Fighting, nor does it function as Two Weapon Fighting.

Strictly being a pedantic RAW lawyer.

Unfortunately the ability "flurry of blows" is explicitly called out in the errata'd wording of the feat as nor working.

I mean, a Nodachi is basically just a big Katana. You could just use a Katana and describe it as being really large.

Someone who specializes in Unatural Lust is the literal answer.

"save or succ"

Arcane Addict wrote:

None of the above! Its like the Elves' bonus to perception, just a bonus and nothing more.

But a bonus to what? To the skill, or to the skill check? There's a difference.

For instance, qualifying for the Cornugon Smash feat requires "Intimidate 6 ranks". Does the Skilled evolution meet that requirement?

The distinction there is not "skill" vs "skill check". It is "ranks" vs "total modifier". Your total modifier to a skill is equal to your ranks in the skill plus any bonuses. The evolution specifically calls out a "racial bonus", which counts among those "any bonuses".

Unless the term "ranks" is explicitly used, then you shouldn't assume that something is giving you ranks.

We Be Goblins? I don't actually know much about it but given what I've heard it sounds censor-friendly.

yeh

In no particular order...

TOP:

Magus - The only actual gish in the game. Not a wizard who is a fighter on some turns, and not a fighter that provides their own buffs, an actual gish. Spell Combat and Spellstrike are both wonderful and flavorful features on their own and having them both makes the only way to make gish concepts work for me. Add on all the variety allowed for with all the archetypes and you have something truly special.

Alchemist - Once again, variety is the spice of life.

Shaman - Fun to play, but also fun to build. There are so many moving parts here that there's always new options to explore and new synergies to play around.

Slayer - I suppose this could have just been a fighter archetype, like the many failures below. But I think the most important thing it has over them is build options. In particular the ability to take ranger styles for prerequisite skipping but no advanced weapon training makes for an interesting trade off between the two.

Fighter - Advanced Weapon Training, while not fully fixing the fighter, has certainly made some concepts much cooler. And the new muscle wizard build is just beautiful.

Arcanist - If there was anything that could make me like vancian casting it's this style of it. I'd still prefer mana points but the flexibility here is nice enough.

Bard - They're Bards! What's not to love? Once again it's mainly their flexibility, but even besides that as someone who loves theatre I just have to put them here.

Monk - Asceticism is something that has strong cultural resonance for me. Monks have been the source of some of my best RP.

Inquisitor - The Divine Bard. So basically everything I like about Bards, and yet for a completely different set of character concepts

BOTTOM:

Warpriest - I more just disagree with it conceptually, and of my bottom 10 it's my least disliked. That said, fluffwise it doesn't bring anything to the table that the other divine classes don't already. Swift action buffing is cool, but ultimately I prefer the Inquisitor's Bane.

Cleric - domain powers are almost all boring, prepared casting is annoying, and only one other class feature; anything I would want to do with it is done better by the other 500 (okay, 4) divine militant classes

Vigilante - should have been a universal option for characters rather than a class

Summoner - a "summoner" shouldn't mean "I have one big friend I summon", it should mean they constantly summon new swarms and hordes to do everything; Master Summoner you say? Frankly that still isn't enough; either they should be constantly summoning creatures or they should have several eidolons that they can shuffle through depending on the situation; the way they're commonly played now they're mainly just their to buff the eidolon, only actually summoning one thing in the morning and that's it

Ranger - Anything concept I'd want to do with this guy is better done with a Slayer or Hunter; being region-locked is annoying and more fitting for npcs than an adventurer

Wizard - again, I hate prepared casting, and now that the Arcanist exists there's just nothing that this does for me

Gunslinger - should have been a fighter or just some feats

Cavalier - should have been a fighter or just some feats

Samurai - should have been a fighter or just some feats

Swashbuckler - should have been a fighter or just some feats; actually, it's worse than that, because this abomination of a class should have been by far my favorite, rather than my least favorite; I love the dandy dashing swashbuckler archetype, but while this class at least has charisma psynergy for me to quip it does absolutely nothing to free the class from the tired "stand still and full attack" pattern, when this is absolutely the last concept that should be doing so; constant nerfs to everything else about it (the grace feats and parry and riposte) just seal it

If you want a different Swashbuckler-themed combat style, you could always do something like wielding two katanas with a multiclass Swashbuckler/Whatever, using Swashbuckler's Finesse and Slashing Grace for Panache but otherwise using another class.

Slashing Grace no longer works with Two-Weapon Fighting unfortunately.

You are aware of the Swashbuckler's 3rd level deed precise strike, yes?

Precise Strike (Ex): At 3rd level, while she has at least 1 panache point, a swashbuckler gains the ability to strike precisely with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon (though not natural weapon attacks), adding her swashbuckler level to the damage dealt. To use this deed, a swashbuckler cannot attack with a weapon in her other hand or use a shield other than a buckler.

So that 1d6 you're trying desperately to avoid? By the level you get this deed it will be outdamaging the Elven Curve Blade on average, and the difference is only going to get worse going forward.

Yeah, I just realized that you won't have 3rd level spells until 6th level Arcanist (7th character level), and don't get an exploit until 7th level Arcanist.

That pushes you back to your first EK level to character level 9th if you want the full Black Blade progression.

I retract my previous advice.

You get your first exploit at 5th level, because Blade Adept only replaces the 1st, 3rd, and 9th level exploits. You only end up one level behind the Wizard.

Sorcerers are pretty poor blasters. Blasters are the build that most knows in advance what slots it will use metamagic on and that tends, due to metamagic mitigators being single spell, to be most reliant on a single spell that can be spontaneously cast by a wizard with preferred spell. The blasting sorcerer doesn't get move actions while the blasting wizard does. Move actions are how you avoid winding up in melee. The wizard is also casting higher level spells for half of his career between level 3 and level 18. Also, no sorcerer bloodline has anything like the alternate evoker ability to change the element of his spells on the fly. Even elemental metamagic you have to choose an element when you take the feat and it's a 1 level cost the wizard doesn't have to pay.

With the new bloodline mutations (Intensity and Havoc especially), I'm pretty sure the best blaster now is a sorcerer. The level adjustment they have to pay for Elemental Spell is offset by them not having to pay for Intensify Spell, and they can just take the Wizard VMC to grab the admixture power.

A blaster Wizard doesn't even really have the advantage of getting spells earlier, because if they want to optimize they'll want to dip sorcerer for the orc bloodline arcana.

Spear dancing spiral is probably the worst option for weapon finesse mechanically you could take. It takes five feats to pull off, one of which is wasted on a swashbuckler, not to mention it locks you out of dex to damage. It's cool and all, but it has an outrageous opportunity cost.

It's somewhat more justifiable as a Staff Magus, but that's moreso because it lets you use a Fauchard for its 18-20/x2 Crit Range.

Why do you need both Crusader's Flurry and Ascetic Style?

Shaman on the Divine side and Arcanist on the Arcane side. I think Shaman also wins overall with Arcane Enlightenment.

Irongrip Gauntlets are the only thing that springs to mind.

Comparing a small Warhammer to a Light Mace, it's probably worth those 4000gp for an extra crit mod.

WOW, why is this the first time I'm hearing about these? You'd think with all the size shenanigans people attempt I'd see this more often. I might actually try over-sizing now.

I notice that the Weapon Adept is listed as a +2 for power, but aren't its only benefits Weapon Focus and Specialization until level 17?

Yes they get Perfect Strike instead of Stunning Fist but unlike the Zen Archer they don't have any ability to use Perfect Strike with other weapons, so if you actually want to make use of Perfect Strike you'll be locking yourself into a handful of really bad weapons.

Warrior of the Holy Light paladin is pretty good, you still get your smite evil, amazing saves, immunities lay on hands etc, you just trade out spells for an AOE buff thing and more uses of lay on hands, it's a bit weaker than the normal paladin, but still pretty good.

Maybe if the initial numerical buff scaled upwards with level like Bardic Performance. The ability damage healing can only be done once per day. Shining Light and the energy resistance take too long to kick in (maybe they could have gotten ER 5 at level 7?).

D6/2 levels is generally considered a tolerable amount of damage. Especially for a single target RTA. It's not great, but it's also not obsolete as soon as you level up either.

The topic isn't referring to d6/2 levels like Kineticists or sneak attack. It refers to things that do 1d6 damage, plus 1/2 levels.

1) Magus: A simple but effective solution to the biggest problem plaguing gishes. I don't want to be a wizard one turn and a buffed fighter the next, I want to hit things with a sword of lightning. And even besides that, there's just so much versatility in the way you can approach problems while also having the cathartic resort of solving problems with your big pointy stick.

2) Alchemist: Again, versatility plays a key, perhaps even moreso for the wonderful variety you can pick up with different archetypes. And there's always something to be said about having a class that lets you build Bloodborne characters. Not quite as fitting to the generic anime heroes I usually play (hence my love for the magus), so it takes second.

3) Shaman: Yet more versatility, but here's the qualification: Yes, it is fun to play a Shaman, but it is also fun to build a Shaman. Like the Alchemist you have significant variety found in the archetypes and the different Spirits, but what I enjoy most is that it incorporates elements from not just the Oracle and Witch but also the Druid and Cleric, and with the Lore Spirit you can even pick up Wizard tricks. If this class had Arcanist-style casting I don't think I would ever play any other full caster.

Arcanist: "Did they really need to combine these two classes? Couldn't they have thought of a better idea?" But when I saw the way Arcanist casting worked and the Quick Study exploit, I was quickly won over. Now my opinion is mostly the same, but with a slightly different perspective. It isn't that Wizard and Sorcerer combined to make a cool class...it was that I just f****** hate strict Vancian casting systems, so modifying the wizard's casting is exactly what I would have asked for. I dearly hope that Arcanist casting becomes the norm for prepared casters if/when PF2 comes out.

Bloodrager: I thought this was a cool idea, the primal mirror to the Magus. A warrior with its own buff spells; straightforward and cool, although it was a shame that applying those buffs would cut into time that could be spent raging and hacking. Now I've learned about how useful Bloodrage Powers are and that they get free buffs on raging that last for the full rage. Cool class. Probably my favorite fullbab class (though I haven't played with the UnMonk, so that might change).

Brawler: This wasn't a class on its own so much as it was the limo driving up with superstar celebrity Martial Versatility stepping out into the limelight. It was a cool concept then and remains one now, making a game mechanic out of the otherwise cripplingly annoying feat trees. That said, I wish they had fixed its flurry to work the same way as the UnMonk.

Hunter: Yet another "does this hybrid need to exist?" class. So it got it's niche by focusing on the Animal Companion; that's cool. The fact that you could double up on bonuses by not having an Animal Companion was weird and remains recurring part of some of my quirky multiclass builds.

Investigator: This originally struck me as too restrictive in its flavor and focus. Now though I find that I like the way Studied Strike works much more than the way Sneak Attack works (obviously SA is more powerful, but the idea of closely studying an enemy for multiple rounds and then landing a single finishing blow is much more flavorful than attacking as many times as possible, which should make it more difficult to land with precision). However, the fact that the class doesn't really come online until 4th level is a major hindrance.

Shaman: This was the ACG class I paid least attention to originally. Recently I've decided to play around with it...and wow, this is wonderful. There is so much versatility to this class, both in character creation and just day-to-day options. In my opinion this is the standout triumph of the ACG.

Skald: I *still* haven't given this a proper consideration. But when ACG was coming out I thought this was a solid idea, and it still seems to be so.

Slayer: I didn't really think much about this apart from thinking it was kind of boring. Why I thought this I have no idea, because my favorite Ranger build was a Guide/Skirmisher to have a flexible favored enemy, to lose the animal companion that I just didn't really like, and to lose the spells which felt vestigial. So I realize now that the Slayer is basically the Ranger that I've always dreamed of, and it has become my favorite full martial class.

Swashbuckler: This ended up being opposite the Shaman. When the ACG was coming out this was far and away the class I was most hyped about. In fact, the reason my original thoughts on most other classes in the ACG were so short was because I was devoting so much of my thoughtspace to fantasizing about the Swashbuckler. Now I realize that everything interesting about this class is gained at first level. The fact that it has nothing in the way of actual movement options renders this one of the most flavorless classes in the game, when frankly this should be one of the most flavorful. Fighter + Gunslinger was a terrible approach to this; Bard should have been in there somewhere.

Warpriest: I originally thought this was a stupid idea and just butting into an already crowded niche. But now I can see...that my original idea was almost entirely correct, but I did find a way to justify it's place somewhat: The warpriest is to the inquisitor as the magus is to the bard. The magus analog is especially important because the Warpriest swift action buffing is comparable to the Magus' Spell Combat, the difference being that the Magus has both buffs and attack spells to work with from the arcane list while the Warpriest will much more exclusively be using buffs. Unfortunately the Warpriest's oversaturation of swift actions is still annoying (sacred armor and sacred weapon should be able to activate with the same action imo), but we've got the awesome Arsenal Chaplain archetype to alleviate that some.

Magus:

1) Bladebound (Arcane Pool)
2) Hexcrafter (Spells and Spell Recall)
3) Spellblade (Spellstrike)
4) Staff Magus (Weapon Proficiency, Medium/Heavy Armor, Fighter Training)
5) Fiend Flayer (replaces and alters nothing)

Alternatively, if the issue is more that you don't want the world to slow down and you don't mind them having all the items they can afford to craft, you could just reduce the crafting times.

Speaking with my group last night, removing the fighter may be the way we go. Our problem at the moment is what niche is the fighter meant to fill that can't be done with a different class? What character concept does a fighter encapsulate that is both unique & interesting, but also not limited (ie fights good, but that's it)? Part of me wants to keep the fighter as the exemplar of a man at arms...but I dislike the idea of a character being completely reliant on equipment, and having a class that can only fight is poor form in a game about problem solving & resource management.

Take the Avenger Vigilante, remove the dual identity stuff, and give it weapon and armor training (or maybe a choice of the two).

GeneMemeScene wrote:

You'll need to spend a feat on EWP for the Bastard Sword. The Effortless Lace only reduces the attack penalty, the increase in necessary hands still applies. So if a regularly-sized Bastard Sword is a two handed weapon for you, a large Bastard Sword is unusable. You need the Bastard Sword to be a one-handed weapon in order to be able to wield a large Bastard Sword in two hands.

This is inaccurate. A medium Bastard Sword is a one-handed weapon for all medium creatures; however, if they are not proficient a secondary rule makes them have to use it 2-handed. Even without proficiency, it is still a 1-handed weapon. When you make it a large weapon, it becomes a 2-handed weapon with a rule that states that without proficiency you must wield it with two hands (which is superfluous at this point).

Huh, that's super interesting.