A more realistic comparison would be to eliminate cantrips/orisons from the counts, because at 8th level, those are extremely niche at best. That drops the MT to 25 vs. 21 for the pure Wizard (4w + 1s + 2i 1st level, 3w + 1s + 1i 2nd level, 3w + 1s + 1i 3rd level, 2w + 1s + 1i 4th level because a 20 Int by 8th level for a single-stat caster is not at all unreasonable). That puts the Mystic Theurge at 4 spells total ahead, but the Wizard (or Cleric, or any other single-class caster) is a full spell level ahead, and next level goes to two spell levels ahead. The Wizard's DCs are all higher, spells last longer, has more spell access due to getting spells from leveling, etc.
The Mystic Theurge has a really cool flavor and can still be a fine character, but the Wizard is going to be more powerful. If you let the MT use SLAs, you end up with being a little behind and can't progress your school powers (or domain powers, hexes, etc.), but you gain some minor casting from a second class. This can be enough to make it worthwhile depending on what you're looking for.
However, you seem to be getting a bit aggressive over this, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore.
With a 5th level cleric caster level (3 lvls of cleric, 2 of mystic theurge), you get 3+d 1st lvl, 2+d 2nd level, and 1+d 3rd lvl. Note: I'm actually unsure - do you continue to gain domain spells/domain spell-slots with cleric casting but no cleric levels? I'd presume so... but I've been proven wrong on such presumptions before.
With a 5th level wizard caster level (3 levels of wizard, 2 of mystic theurge), you get 3+s 1st lvl, 2+s 2nd lvl, and 1+s 3rd lvl.
I actually got to 24 total spells for the theurge.
Wizard
1st level: 3 from level, 1 from school, 1 from stat (5 total)
2nd level: 2 from level, 1 from school, 1 from stat (4 total)
3rd level: 1 from level, 1 from school, 1 from stat (3 total)
With the Cleric's spells mirroring that, just with domain spells instead of school spells. Ends up as: 5w + 5c + 4w + 4c + 3w + 3w = 10 + 8 + 6 = 24 vs. the 25 of the pure Wizard.
But even with that, and counting orisons/cantrips (a total of 8 more spells; but why on Earth would we count these?), the MT is sitting at 32 (still not 35) and the pure Wizard is at 29. Barely ahead at all, and they have lower level spells, worse saving throws on their spells, and less Wizard spell access due to not getting ones from leveling. Plus the other stuff you mentioned, too.
To the people still believing in the efficacy of torture, I'd suggest reading this study on the matter. The conclusions basically state that it provides so much false information mixed in with the real information, because the victim only wants it to stop and tells the torturer what they want to hear, that it is essentially useless (stating "The goal was to appease the torturer, not to reveal the truth. And, because the interrogators were not omniscient, they could not discern which bits of information were true and which were false.") when compared to other interrogation techniques. In a later section, it also details the long-term psychological effects torture has on both the victim and the perpetrator.
There is no defense for torture as a tool of Good. It does not provide consistently accurate information to save people, it is a horrifying thing in the moment, and it leaves terrible and permanent psychological damage on both participants.
I didn't make a full spell list, just put in the ones I was using for this. Leaves a lot of room for more utility and campaign relevant spells. Also, I didn't put a lot of thought into it beyond making sure she met prereqs, so possibly a different order.
Fahana Angelbane is a Spellbreaker Inquisitor. Since they last for 1 hour/level, and she has a caster level of 21, I'm figuring that it's reasonable to count her having bloodhound and countless eyes up before the fight. That said, they aren't really all that important to the fight, I suppose. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Anyways. The build. Since she practically lives invisibly with her ring of invisibility and uses her alter self SLA to become an undine for the swim speed, she uses the start of the fight with the shoggoth to buff up. Consequently, the only buff not accounted for in the spoiler below is prayer from her crown of conquest.
Special Abilities:
Rage: +4 morale bonus to Str and Con, +2 morale bonus to Will, -2 AC. Morale bonuses increase by +3 from weapon to +7 and +5. 23 rounds.
Judgment: Various abilities. Effective Inquisitor level 23 (28 for one judgment per use). 7 uses per day, three judgments per use. Bonuses chosen during Beastmass combats: +5 profane bonus to AC, +5 profane bonus to attack, +9 profane bonus to damage.
Foil Casting: +2 to DC of defensive casting to threatened casters. Additional +2 to DC for one round after being hit by McKillington.
Greater Bane: +2 weapon enhancement bonus and +4d6 damage vs. chosen enemy type.
Stalwart: For effects that do a reduced effect on a Fort or Will save, take no effect.
Spells (Incomplete list; only spells used for this combat) (CL 21): divine favor, expeditious retreat, bloodhound, countless eyes, greater invisibility, greater dispel magic, spell resistance, true seeing, heal
Equipment: cracked pale green prism ioun stone, ring of invisibility, belt of physical perfection, headband of mental prowess (Int and Wis) +4, ring of protection +5, amulet of natural protection +5, mithral breastplate +5, crown of conquest, boots of speed, cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone, wings of flying, orange prism ioun stone, dusty rose ioun stone, eyes of the eagle, otherworldly kimono, potion of haste x5, potion of cure moderate wounds x3, bag of holding type I, falchion (courageous, cruel, furious, keen, vicious) +5, shovel, 2173 gold pieces
Fahana's toughest challenge was the antimagic field from the pit fiend's wish and off of the ancient gold dragon. To deal with that is the reason I took the Spellbreaker archetype. Saw that the capstone specifically called out including immunity to area of effect spells.
Everything else was dealt with through a combination of high damage and high Stealth. The ring of invisibility is there mainly to let me get a couple buffs off before the shoggoth noticed me so I could go smashing away.
I added Cornugon Smash, Staggering Critical (with Keen on my weapon), Cruel to my weapon, and the crown of conquest to help mitigate my lowish AC by stacking some debuffs onto them.
On to the fights!
Day One: Angelbane vs. Shoggoth:
Seeking once more to prove her loyalty to the Demon Queen, Angelbane asks her patron for a challenge fit for the truly strong: Beastmass. Her dark deity grants her request, giving her a moment to prepare herself with her daily casts of bloodhound and countless eyes before sending Angelbane to the shoggoth.
She finds the critter deep underwater, at the edge of the 90' range, but being invisible, has a +67 Stealth check while stationary and so the shoggoth cannot see her yet.
Surprise round: alter self into an undine for the swim speed and +2 Str. Lasts 40 minutes thanks to the Prolong Magic trait.
Round 1: Angelbane wins Initiative with a +12 vs. a +11. She begins her buffing with expeditious retreat (lasts 21 minutes), and moves to a different spot, keeping away from the shoggoth but remaining within sight distance. She also uses her judgment, granting herself +5 AC and attack, and +9 damage to the shoggoth. The shoggoth, noticing the spell casting, but not seeing the thing that cast it (47 Stealth while moving vs. 33 Perception) swims its 50' toward the original casting spot. Angelbane is now, to her annoyance, within tremorsense range.
Round 2: Angelbane continues her buffing with spell resistance, giving her 33 SR (lasts 21 minutes), but stays still this time because she knows she can't stay away for a second round. The shoggoth, now knowing where Angelbane is, moves to attack (can't charge; Angelbane is at most 35' or so away at this point). It tries a slam against the Inquisitor, but misses with a 40 to attack vs. her 46 AC (no rage penalty yet).
Round 3: For one more round of spell buffing, Angelbane casts defensively to get in a freedom of movement (lasts 210 minutes), and rummages in her pack with her move action for a potion of haste. In response, the shoggoth attempts a full attack on her, missing with every blow.
Round 4: Angelbane chugs the potion of haste, provoking an attack of opportunity from the beastly ooze, which misses her once more. She waits for the next round as the shoggoth attempts move-through trample, hitting for 33 points as she fails her Ref save against it, but cannot engulf her as its CMB is just not high enough. While doing so, it tries a maddening cacophony against the Inquisitor, who makes her save with a roll of 38 vs. the DC of 22.
Round 4: Angelbane is almost ready to start chugging through these beasts! She casts her final buff, divine favor, on herself defensively to avoid the attack of opportunity from the shoggoth for another +3 to attack and damage. Frustrated, the shoggoth attempts to simply grab the annoying thing at its side, but fails the grapple check with a total of 49 vs. her 50 CMD, even discounting the freedom of movement.
Round 5: Ready to get it on, Angelbane turns on her bane ability against oozes, begins her rage, and makes a full attack against the shoggoth. Her first attack hits for 70 points of damage, and she Intimidates the ooze with a to make it shaken. The second swing crits for 139 points, which procs the crown of conquest's power to cast prayer on Fahana, giving her another +1 to hit and the shoggoth a -1 to attack (among other things). This triggers Staggering Critical as well, staggering the shoggoth. Third attack hits again for another 70 points, and the fourth attack crits again for another 139 points, killing the shoggoth. However, Fahana takes 14 points of damage from her Vicious enchant.
End of fight: Fully buffed; haste for two more rounds, divine favor for 8 more rounds, all other buffs remaining with 20+ minutes. 21 rage rounds remaining, 6 judgments remaining, 18 bane rounds remaining. 206 health left.
"Take me to my next challenge!"
Day One: Angelbane vs. Balor:
Seeing the ease with which Angelbane smote the shoggoth, the Demon Queen sets her up against one of her foes' most prized commanders: a balor. Little does Fahana know, though, this balor has been looking forward to a chance to clash against one of the Demon Queen's toughest fighters, and knows what to expect.
Surprise round: The balor knows this is its best chance to get something in on the Inquisitor, but also knows her saves are too high, and she's immune to greater dispel magic. Instead of wasting an attempt on a spell, the balor uses its whip to entangle her. He hits against her flat-footed AC of 32 (no judgment yet) for 13 points of damage (she is down to 226 HP) and entangles her.
Round 1: Angelbane wins Initiative again (12 vs. 11), uses her judgment on the balor for her standard array, takes a five foot step up, and full attacks with her last round of the haste potion. Even without bane, all of her attacks hit, and since her weapon is effectively at a +7 enhancement bonus (+5 base, +2 Furious), it bypasses the balor's DR. Between all four attacks, she does 382 damage and drops the balor, but takes another 14 points.
Round 2: Angelbane CDGs the helpless balor on the ground, and takes 3 points from her Vicious weapon in the process.
"Give me a real challenge!"
End of fight: Everything but haste, will have to use boots from here on to not waste actions; divine favor for five more rounds, other buffs sitting at 20ish minutes, alter self still at 40 or so minutes. 18 rounds of rage left, 5 judgments left, 17 rounds of bane left. 176 hit points left.
Day One: Angelbane vs. Pit Fiend:
The last fight being so surprisingly easy, Angelbane is set against a beast she might not be so familiar with: a pit fiend.
It has a few options normally: Targeted dispel, antimagic field, summons, some sort of wall or visual hindrance (deeper darkness, etc.), or trying to full attack. However, given its knowledge of Angelbane, it knows that she is immune to the first two, can counter the fourth with true seeing (even if it doesn't know for certain that she has the spell, it's intelligent enough to guess the possibility) or just going around a wall, and can't be hit by any of the pit fiend's attacks. So its only option left is to summon something to help, though it still knows this is only a delay tactic.
Round 1: This time, neither party has any surprise time, though the pit fiend gets to act first with a +13 Init vs. Angelbane's +12. It brings in the CR 19 immolation devil next to Angelbane to set it up for a full attack next round, and shoots off an ineffective quickened fireball (can't beat Angelbane's SR), because why not? Unfortunately for the immolation devil, this also sets up Angelbane for a full attack this round, which she gladly takes advantage of, choosing devils as her bane and using her boots of speed for a round of haste. Hits for a total of 382, dealing yet another 14 to herself (down to 162).
Round 2: The pit fiend thinks it might attempt to go for a grapple on the Inquisitor, and so it wishes for a true strike to use next round. Angelbane, in response, casts greater invisibility on herself to ensure her own safety against the devil, and moves into melee for next round. With her +47 Stealth against the devil's +33 Perception, she skates right in undetected. She also activates judgment on the pit fiend, granting her standard array of bonuses.
Round 3: The pit fiend readies an action to grapple as soon as Angelbane attacks and it knows where she is. However, since she still has full concealment against him, and so has a 50% miss chance, fails his grapple when she attacks (and even if it succeeded, freedom of movement prevents it). Fahana proceeds to full attack with another round from her boots of speed for 438 points of damage, dropping the pit fiend for good, but taking yet one more round of damage from her Vicious weapon.
Round 4: Being uncomfortably low, Fahana pops a heal on herself real quick, going back to full health.
"This was but a taste of real battle!"
End of fight: Everything but haste; 8 rounds left on her boots of speed, 1 round left on divine favor, greater invisibility has 18 rounds left, other stuff still sitting at many minutes. 14 rounds of rage, 4 judgments, and 14 rounds of bane left over. 253 hit points.
Day One: Angelbane vs. Tarn Linnorm:
Ah, the great, lumbering tarn linnorm. Truly an unimpressive creature to the great Angelbane; it cannot hit her with its normal attacks, and its grapple is entirely prevented with her freedom of movement. The only real threat it has on her is the breath weapon, as her Ref isn’t high enough to save against it, but even then it can only use it every 2d4 (5) rounds.
Surprise round: The linnorm, knowing its main form of attack is melee, and seeing through the Inquisitor’s greater invisibility with its true seeing moves up twenty feet to put Angelbane in range.
Round 1: Tarn and Angelbane have the same Init bonus, but the linnorm has a higher Dex, so it goes first. The lumbering beast opens the fight up with a double breath weapon blast for 198 points of damage, putting Angelbane to 55 HP, the danger zone for dropping from rage. However, she does make the Fort save against the Str damage with ease. In response, rummages around and chugs her potion of cure moderate wounds for 12 HP, provoking an attack of opportunity from the linnorm, which misses her.
Round 2: Tarn makes a full attack at Angelbane in an attempt to smack her down, but misses with every attack. This time, she drops from rage, putting herself to 7 HP, but she then quickly casts a heal spell, going back to 157 HP.
Round 3: The linnorm attempts a grapple, but can’t make it stick with Angelbane’s freedom of movement still active. Wanting to keep her roll going, Fahana once again defensively casts, this time getting another divine favor going for 10 more rounds.
Round 4: Tarn linnorm, seeing its foe still standing, lashes out with a full attack, all of which miss Angelbane’s AC. In response, she uses another round of her boots of speed, enrages once more, makes her weapon dragonbane, and full attacks the hulk before her for 432 points of damage, slaying the beast with ease, but taking 14 points of damage from her weapon.
End of fight: Expeditious retreat, alter self, and spell resistance left with many minutes; 7 rounds left on her boots of speed, divine favor has 8 rounds left on it once more, greater invisibility has 13 rounds left. 12 rounds of rage, 3 judgments, and 12 rounds of bane left over. 191 hit points.
Day One: Angelbane vs. Ancient Gold Dragon:
Amused by these games, Angelbane is sent off to take on the next in this series: the ancient gold dragon, long lived and powerful. Given its intelligence, I’m going to rule that it should actually have at least some knowledge of Angelbane and her abilities, though with its penchant for sleep and long periods of hibernation, it’s a bit out of the loop for specifics. So it knows the major things: Angelbane is dangerous in melee, immune to arcane abjuration spells, and highly resistant to most other spells and melee attacks.
Surprise round: Angelbane’s +47 Stealth check with greater invisibility, especially at a distance of 300 feet, is far more than enough to see the dragon before it sees her. However, at this distance, Angelbane is incapable of doing anything useful, so she spends her action flying 30’ closer to the dragon, and easily beats the frightful presence save.
Round 1: Angelbane is still undetected, but still too far away to do anything with the dragon. She flies another 30’ closer, and takes a potion of haste out of her pack to drink before she reaches the dragon. The dragon still hasn’t seen her.
Round 2: Angelbane chugs the potion, judges the dragon for her big buffs, moves 45’ closer this time, then shouts to the dragon, “COME AT ME, BRO,” to get its attention. Hearing the coming foe, but not being able to see it, the dragon casts true seeing and moves in the direction of the shout until he the Inquisitor is in range of his breath weapon for the next round. Distance: 60’.
Round 3: Finally being level with the dragon, and beating his -1 Initiative bonus with ease, Angelbane turns bane on against the dragon, charges him and makes an attack, hitting for 80 points of damage, taking 3 points in return. Attempting to drain Angelbane of some of her power, the winged lizard uses its Strength drain breath weapon. Unfortunately for him, Fahana’s +27 Fort is plenty high enough to beat the DC 31 saving throw.
Round 4: Angelbane makes a full attack against this iguana with a thyroid problem, dropping it from the sky with another 438 damage, taking 14 from her weapon.
End of fight: Expeditious retreat, alter self, and spell resistance left with many minutes; 7 rounds left on her boots of speed, divine favor has 3 rounds left on it once more, greater invisibility has 8 rounds left, haste has 1 round left. 7 rounds of rage, 2 judgments, and 10 rounds of bane left over. 191 hit points.
Day One: Angelbane vs. Solar Angel:
This is another one I decided to change a bit. Given it is pretty darn smart, and Angelbane’s acquired surname, I figure the solar has at least some knowledge of Fahana. The solar has difficulty getting accurate information on Angelbane, since its fellow good outsiders rarely live to tell tales when they meet her. However, it would know the same things I gave the ancient gold dragon.
Angelbane, however, also knows of the solar’s casting prowess, which is something of an actual danger to her, since it is divine in nature instead of arcane. This means she actually has to worry about its abjuration spells, most notably antimagic field and dispel magic. With that in mind, the solar is the only fight so far that has Angelbane at all worried – a creature truly her antithesis. She steels her mind and carries on (my wayward son?).
Surprise round: Angelbane tosses out a targeted greater dispel magic to strip the angel of any buffs it may have. Between the ioun stone and the kimono, Angelbane is able to beat the DC 31 caster level check against five of the solar’s buffs, stripping it of anything important. Angelbane also triggers her second-to-last judgment on the angel.
Round 1: Angelbane wins initiative against the solar, moves in close, and readies an action to counterspell any spell cast by the solar with another greater dispel magic. In response, the solar backs up with a five-foot step and attempts to cast an antimagic field to stop Angelbane in her tracks. This triggers Angelbane’s readied action, whereupon she uses her greater dispel magic and successfully counters the angel’s spell with a 39 vs. the DC 31.
Round 2: With her final round of divine favor, Angelbane triggers bane against angels and haste from her boots, then makes a full attack against the solar for 408 damage, putting it down for good, but dealing 14 damage to herself in the process.
Round 3-4: In preparation for her final fight, Angelbane drops from rage to cast heal, followed by another divine favor.
“My name has been well earned. Take me to my last battle, that I may prove my might one more time! Bring me in right next to my foe, so our fight is not delayed.”
End of fight: Expeditious retreat, alter self, and spell resistance left with many minutes; 6 rounds left on her boots of speed, divine favor has 10 rounds left on it once more, greater invisibility has 3 rounds left. 7 rounds of rage, 1 judgment, and 10 rounds of bane left over. 193 hit points (goes to 253 when raging).
Day One: Angelbane vs. The Tarrasque:
As requested, Angelbane is transported to the tarrasque standing in front of its great head. After a moment of disorientation from the change in scenery, she gets right to the task at hand.
Surprise round: Fahana starts with judging the tarrasque and enraging herself, then takes a quick swing at the tarrasque for 65 points, dealing 3 to herself, and succeeding at the frightful presence check.
Round 1: Fahana follows that last attack with a hasted round of full attacks after triggering bane against the tarrasque for 408 more damage, with another 14 to herself. The tarrasque is, surprisingly to Angelbane, still alive, though it is sickened, shaken, staggered, and has a -1 penalty to (among others) attack rolls from the prayer cast by her crown of conquest. Restricted to a single action, the tarrasque lashes out, attempting to grapple the tiefling-turned-undine in front of it with its mouth to swallow her whole next round, but is foiled by her freedom of movement, even if it could hit her with her full concealment from being invisible.
Round 2: Fahana does another 408 damage with a second hasted full attack, dropping the tarrasque. It is more than 40 below 0, so it does not regenerate enough to get back up this round.
Round 3 onward: Fahana continues full attacking the tarrasque for as long as she can. Even after she runs out of haste, rage, and bane rounds, she’s still doing a few hundred damage a round. When she takes too much damage from the Vicious property on her weapon, she takes a round to cast heal, and gets back to it. Doing this should easily get the tarrasque down several thousand HP below zero. At that point, she takes out her scythe, and begins to CDG the tarrasque until she is confident it cannot regenerate in time to avoid having dirt shoveled into its mouth and nose, suffocating it and leaving it permanently unconscious.
End of fight: Some time, likely days, later, if we include the time for shoveling. Angelbane has admittedly probably rested more than just once, but I feel like that’s a fair call at this point. The tarrasque has long since been brought down, it’s just a matter of making it permanent (or as permanent as anyone can make it with the tarrasque). Probably has all her spells and health back.
Let me know if you thought any of the fights were done unfairly toward the monsters. The pit fiend and solar are my main concerns, as I'm not sure I entirely did their spellcasting justice, particularly the pit fiend's wish. That being said, I don't think there's anything any of them could have done to avoid their fates.
To paraphrase a few, the Bladebound gives you bonuses and some money at the cost of this weapon's enchantment and a limited arcane pool.
Whether or not this becomes a good option depends on a very simple principle - is the money you save a significant amount in your campaign?
The maximum wealth achievable by PFS is 185k and the theoretical maximum around 15-ish. That's a +3 for 18k at 15. Add intangibles from class features and suboptimal wealth gained/leveling and you're looking at maaaybe 15, 20% of your total wealth.
It's not a huge benefit, but what if we changed wealth in non-PFS campagins? Say, everyone has 0 gold and is naked. The Bladebound is suddenly overpowered. Or if everyone is fully equipped with stuff worth 500,000 gold... at that point there's no big difference.
So knowing how much relative cash you'd be getting would be the first step. The second step is forming a plan on how to spend that money, and you should have a very good plan.
I think it's generally assumed in these discussions that you have standard wealth by level. House rules, and PFS is included in that, make things wonky. By 15th level, you actually have a +4 black blade; this is worth 32k, which is 13% of the standard WBL at 15th level of 240k. This doesn't sound like a lot, admittedly, until you start looking at what you can do with 32k gold. At 15th level, you'll be behind by 2 Arcane Pool points; two 1st level pearls of power and a second level pearl of power more than make up for the lack of points, and your cost savings on your weapon have barely been dented. Get a few more pearls, and you suddenly have even more to enchant your weapon with your Arcane Pool or use on your Arcana; you're suddenly ahead of the normal Magus's Arcane Pool, and you haven't even started sapping your blade's pool yet or gotten any other magic items with the 15-20k or so you still have left from not buying a weapon.
Or, again, you could just grab a wyroot club and a bag of rats, and suddenly your Arcane Pool size is mostly irrelevant because you recover it all after combat anyways.
*Edit*
LazarX wrote:
Actually if you've stuffed your weapon with +10 worth of enchantments, you're DONE. You simply can't do ANYTHING with it with Arcane Pool points at the time because you've hit the ceiling.
I think you're misreading me there -- I was talking in the case of the black blade, not a fully enchanted weapon for a normal Magus. The black blade can be enhanced with your Arcane Pool beyond its base enhancement.
I hunt and have a tiger friend, and I am preeeeeetty sure the tiger is the reason that I hunt. What is your point?
And your ram, auroch or giant frog companion?
What about being friends with animals prevents you from also hunting other animals? Duck hunting, fox hunting, and falconing all spring to mind. As does the archetype of the wild man with the giant bear hunting the frozen north (translate that to the mountains, plains, or swamp for your examples). Tack onto that a bit of shamanistic magic, and you've got yourself exactly what was described in the flavor text for the class and a fitting concept for a "hunter".
I'm seriously having trouble understanding what's wrong with the name here.
I'd actually be happy to get the new PDF whenever one of you gets around to it. I'm still pushing my group to get together with your rules, but work and such continues to get in the way. Maybe someday we'll all have nice, steady jobs with hours that can be predicted and coordinated to have some good play time. And maybe someday I'll shoot lightning out of my ass.
Spoiler:
andrewvit92atgmail.com
I've also been thinking about how to give the fighter narrative skills, heavily related to the reputation talks a few pages ago. When I'm a bit less sleepy (and subsequently a bit more coherent) I'll post what I have in mind. Mostly I want to push for truly extraordinary abilities, leaving them as perfectly non-magical for the folks who prefer that, but still well beyond normal human capabilities (as it should be, I feel).
Well, if they survive the situation they'll learn two things:
1. There's no point in planning - charge in and things will work out fine.
2. If things are too dangerous, increasingly unlikely coincidences will prevent us from being wiped out.
On the other hand, if you let the cards fall where they may - even if that means a few dead characters, or a TPK - then they learn two different things:
A. Don't bring somebody who's "emotional" and "reckless" into a potential deathtrap.
B. It's not up to the GM to save us - it's up to us to save each other... including knowing when it's time to run.
I won't pretend I'm not fonder of the second two lessons, but you should make whichever decision produces the campaign you want to see. In a pulp-fantasy or swashbuckling kind of campaign, the first two lessons are valid and encourage entertaining play. In a more hard-boiled or 'historical fantasy' play stile, the second set of lessons are going to provide more gaming enjoyment in the long run.
They might also learn that when someone charges off into the darkness on their own, it's sometimes best to leave them on their own.
I'll go ahead and address your post point by point here.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
I am looking to diversify with another Character, wanting to role a Blade Bound Magus, they looking good and II think I like em.
But how do I play it right, I have read lots and got all confused. I have been told I should get my rapier to adamantine prior to level 3 for the hardness but can't for the life of me work out why (it has some DR bypass, but does not mithril for the demon dr make sense, what sets Adamantine apart?)
Bladebound is definitely a solid choice when you're looking for something different. Saves a lot of money on your weapon.
Adamantine is a good choice because it makes your weapon darn near invulnerable, and you can't change its material after you get your black blade. It also cuts through hardness if you're interested in sundering things (which, contrary to popular belief, does not ruin your chances at getting new equipment; in normal games, the spell mending fixes it, and in PFS you get access to purchase anything special after the game anyways). This makes it a good choice against equipment-reliant enemies, but they aren't super common.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
I have gone for a Dervish Design, currently weapon finesse with Rapier so I can use my dex on my attack rolls.
str 12
dex 16
con 13
int 15
wis 12
cha 10
There was a reason I had wis as 12 for the +1 and the int 15 +2 but I forget them at this moment in time.
For Dervish Dancing, I wouldn't suggest having the 12 Str. I wouldn't suggest necessarily dumping it, but you really don't need it to have any bonuses, as it will become useless to you at 3rd level. Also, the Wis isn't necessary since you have a strong Will save. If you're willing to deal with the low stats, this is what I'd suggest:
Str 9
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 7
If you'd rather not dump things, then this is what I'd suggest:
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 12
Cha 10
Both give you plenty of options to work with, and yes you can definitely roleplay just fine with a low Cha. The first will make you have more HP and more spells, the latter will let you work through social encounters a bit more easily.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
Feed back on my character design is more than appreciated, but the real Question is how do I make the best of this character, I understand I can Cast a spell, use a 5 foot step and then melee attack.
Making the best use of your character really depends on what kind of situation you're in, and that just comes from experience and system mastery (which also comes from experience). In general, just see what, if anything, you have that can apply to a situation. If it's a situation that the group needs help with, and you have a way to help, then do that; if not, then don't worry about it.
You can also talk to your group. Generally people are willing to help a new person, especially one willing and eager to learn and help. That really is the best advice I can give for any tabletop rpg.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
So for the sp[ells thus far, 0 levels are Acid Splash, Ray of Frost and Read Magic, I have read people recommend Arcane Mark but why? I cannot find info on how to use it, I right a symbol of the person but what else??? (1st level Unseen Servent to trip traps on doors etc, and Shocking Grasp cause, well it's good against people wearing metal armour)
Okay, arcane mark is used to get a free attack out of Spellstrike when you hit 2nd level without spending a limited resource. It's a touch range spell (note: not a ranged touch spell; those are different than just a touch range), which you then channel through an additional attack with your weapon. I would suggest reading this post for more help on how Spellstrike and Spell Combat work. It's a long read, but very helpful for navigating the rules and special conditions surrounding the Magi's abilities.
Also of note, shocking grasp is far more useful than just against enemies with metal armor. It does 1d6 damage per caster level, and with the Magical Lineage trait (with shocking grasp chosen) you can use Intensify Spell on it later to get it up to a max of 10d6 bonus damage to your attack.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
So from what I understand I can
1) Cast Ray of Frost or Acid Splash as ranges spells
2) 5 foot step into Combat
3) Melee Attack
(or reverse melee, 5ft then magic)
This works, or you can just cast the spell defensively and take the concentration check. This will be somewhat difficult to make at first, but gets much easier later.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
now to totally confuse things, there is swift and free actions which I keep getting confused where they come into it.
I would suggest reading this section as well as the next for how swift and free actions work. The gist is, though, that you can take as many free actions as you want during a turn, as they normally take very little/no time. Swift actions, though, take about as much time as a free action, but you only get one per turn. They're similar, but different.
Lance Ashcroft wrote:
Apart from the guide on creating a magus, is there any "play" guides or any advice how to do this properly??? sorry for all the noob questions.
Like I said earlier, talk with your group. If you're having trouble understanding a rule or want to know if there's a way you can help, just ask the other players. They should be happy to help you figure out how you can pitch in during your first games. Also ask before you start if there is any gear you should have that you don't already; again, they should be happy to help you figure out what you are missing, and what you should be looking to get.
Hope everything goes well for you.
As for the discussion above on arcane mark, yes it gives you a "free" attack with Spellstrike. Spellstrike gives you an additional attack that you channel a spell cast with Spell Combat through when you full attack. Arcane mark is a touch range spell that works with Spellstrike. Cast arcane mark with Spell Combat, full attack, and Spellstrike your arcane mark. This also means that if you fail the concentration check for casting defensively, or you miss your attack, you don't waste a spell slot.
True. But do note that just about every pro-DMPC post is from a DMPC running DM. Not a player in a campaign where the DM runs a DMPC. Interesting, eh?
I was in denial. Maybe some others here are too.
I'll speak up as one of those players in a game with a GMPC (a 3.5 game). I really enjoyed that my GM was willing to step up to help out and provide a scout (something my group severely lacked at the time) character. He always made sure to avoid the spotlight, but kept the character as a part of the group.
In another game (HERO, this time), I had a different GM who had a GMPC. I hated his GMPC, because he always took the spotlight, and made myself and the other player feel useless.
And as far as my players go, they were genuinely sad when I decided that my GMPC was no longer necessary, and removed her from the campaign (well, dropped her from active adventuring and made her an NPC in one of the big cities). Is it possible that they were lying to me about enjoying having my GMPC in the game? Sure. But they've told me when they disliked other aspects of my campaign, so I'm inclined to trust them on the matter.
So, yeah, a GMPC can either ruin a game, or improve it significantly, the same as any other campaign tool. You just have to make sure your players are open and honest about whether they like your GMPC or not to make sure that it's okay to have it there. If they'd prefer to go without the GMPC? Well, it's time to make the sacrifice, and take the GMPC out. But if they're okay with it? Full steam ahead, captain.
For the last month, I've been studying Pathfinder Adventure Paths, specifically ones with dungeon crawls in it. Usually they are the ones Greg A Vaughn do. I noticed that in these long dungeon crawls, they tend to have encounters that are one to two levels below the ECL scattered about. Furthermore, I've used this method and have found that dungeon crawls last longer without a lot of rest in-between and are still challenging. I'd suggest trying that. I also like to scatter traps in there as easier ways to gain XP without the same resource expenditure.
There's a reason the 3.5 DMG suggested that you only make half of the fights even EL with the party. Doing something like this not only increases dungeon longevity without over-pressuring the players, but it gives the fights more variety as well. The Alexandrian has a good writeup on the matter.
