Level 4 stat boost to CON and level 8 boost to DEX for ITWF
Traits: Focused Mind and River Rat
Weapon Finesse (1), WF: Dagger (3) Toughness and Combat Casting at 5.
In either case i'd gear for DEX and INT, possibly look at Piranha Strike as an option and Extra Arcane Pool whenever i could.
i am looking at frostbite and chill touch for level 1 offense. Elemental Touch at level 2 looks solid for the stagger rider.
Shield, Windy Escape and Mirror Image are my standard Magus defenses and i see no reason to rock the boat here. At the very first few levels shield and windry escape are about the only spells i'd use. A D4+3 or 4 isnt too much but should drop a goblin at least and you can get AC of 17-21 very easily.
I have only seen one rules shaky nova option with hammer the gap and magic missile. The concentration check to pull it off is 27 which is rough (assuming 5 int mod +2 Trait + 4 Feat +9 level gives a +20 to the roll) and without a FAQ on how to interpret the combination it is a table variation thing. If it works though at level 9 you are looking at 5D4+5 + 5D4+20 + 45 in a full attack with haste. For 2 psychic points the melee attacks are against touch AC and you could afford to trade some attack bonus for higher concentration too.
I took a brief look over the psychic spells you can choose from and didn't see too many great options. Inflict Pain looks like a nice de-buff and Hypercognition can be somewhat useful, definitely flavorful.
Are there any others i am not seeing?
I'm leaning towards option two now. Going for wakazashis hurts for the first few levels and doesnt pay off to much. It would be 1D6+2(3) (1 STR, 1 Enhancement +1 optional pool point.
Expanding on the dagger route,
Dual talent human
Level 1: Weapon Finesse
Level 3: Weapon Focus / Arcane Accuracy
Level 5: Extra Arcane Pool
Level 5 Bonus Feat: Combat Casting
Level 6: Familiar? What is the best arcana that doesnt have a point cost?
Level 7: Two Weapon Fighting
Level 9: Improved Two Weapon Fighting / Accurate Strike
Level 11: Hammer the Gap and Extra Arcane Pool?
The class starts off with 5 pool points and needs one reserved for a dagger, another point per fight to boost its hit/damage by 1 and no other use for them so there is the longevity for 4 battles per day.
At level 3 there are 6 points to play with and spending one point on arcane accuracy basically guarantees a hit. (2BAB + 1 weapon focus +2 enhancement + 3 DEX + 4 INT = +12 to hit)
Level seven hits pool points harder with needing to reserve two points for weapons and spending two extra points to boost hit/damage. At this point is it better to forgo extra enhancement for weapons and instead focus on adding Arcane Accuracy onto full attacks? At any rate there should be about 10 points in the pool to use.
At nine is the last big cost jump when using Accurate Strike but it also almost guarantees all attacks will land since you are up against touch AC. Getting boosted weapons out costs 4 points out of a probable pool of 12.
After level nine pool costs level off and the total pool keeps growing which is great.
Accuracy is fairly amazing at all levels, especially considering its a 3/4 BAB TWF build. Damage isn't as low as i thought it would be either since there are two scaling bonuses you can add in and that doesnt even consider spellstriking to say, add an extra 1D6+level to each hit.
Again though, is there anything i am not considering? Where is the 2M wide exhaust port in my build?
Honestly I see Mindblade being a bit different. While the two weapon fighting bit is interesting its just as much of a trap as it always has been.
Use the flexibility of mind blade to always do the correct physical damage type, focus less on crit and more on total damage, and always have reach to avoid the AoOs of psionic casting.
The two go to spells I see for Mindblade are Enlarge Person and Acid Splash. Build for strength and summon the largest die damage weapons that increase when you enlarge, I see no reason you cannot summon a large size bastard sword which could still be considered a 1 hand weapon for how much arcane pool is required. Stack power attack and arcane strike with pure enhancement bonus to cut through DR and decimate your targets.
With reach you can use spell combat and spell strike with acid splash and close range arcana to increase your hits which at level 13 can be at full 2 hand damage.
Lastly, psionic casing does not fail due to armor. Either a single level multiclass with fighter or cavalier or burning feats to pick up heavy armor prof will give you a sizable AC to run with, tack on shield spell and we have a tank.
Sample
1lvl Medium Armor Prof
Human Heavy Armor Prof
3 Arcane Strike
3 Arcana Close Range
5 Power Attack
5 Bonus Cleave?
6 Arcana Pool Strike for those move an hit moments
7 Lunge
9 EXP: Bastard Sword
9 Arcana Hasted Assault
Combat Casting isn't a valid option for your bonus feats. It's not a combat, item creation or metamagic feat.
If you're going to be using daggers, find a way to make Divine Obedience (Pharasma) part of your concept.
Thanks for pointing that out, i had just assumed combat casting was combat related. oops. I could restructure it to take extra arcane pool at level 3 which gives me more uses of Arcane Accuracy anyways and move weapon focus to the level 5 bonus slot.
The +2 bonus is nice and its a very flavorful feat too. I will have to see how the campaign goes that i get to use this character in, its one to keep in mind though!
Consider the first level spell "warding weapon", which will eliminate the need for you to make concentration checks.
In addition, keep in mind that you're not limited to only the psychic spells listed in the book, but rather the list of spells the psychic has access to. In addition, you'll be gaining 2 new spells from that spell list at the first level you have access to level 2 spells, and the first level you have access to level 3 spells. This is an unprecedented increase in options for any spontaneous caster.
To find the list of spells the psychic can take, look at page 69-71 of the OA book. Note that Heroism is listed among the spells he has access to, meaning the mindblade can get it at the earliest possible level he could learn it without having to burn a feat on it at level 7. I haven't taken a thorough look at all the spells yet, but that one stood out to me.
Honestly I see Mindblade being a bit different. While the two weapon fighting bit is interesting its just as much of a trap as it always has been.
Use the flexibility of mind blade to always do the correct physical damage type, focus less on crit and more on total damage, and always have reach to avoid the AoOs of psionic casting.
The two go to spells I see for Mindblade are Enlarge Person and Acid Splash. Build for strength and summon the largest die damage weapons that increase when you enlarge, I see no reason you cannot summon a large size bastard sword which could still be considered a 1 hand weapon for how much arcane pool is required. Stack power attack and arcane strike with pure enhancement bonus to cut through DR and decimate your targets.
With reach you can use spell combat and spell strike with acid splash and close range arcana to increase your hits which at level 13 can be at full 2 hand damage.
Lastly, psionic casing does not fail due to armor. Either a single level multiclass with fighter or cavalier or burning feats to pick up heavy armor prof will give you a sizable AC to run with, tack on shield spell and we have a tank.
Sample
1lvl Medium Armor Prof
Human Heavy Armor Prof
3 Arcane Strike
3 Arcana Close Range
5 Power Attack
5 Bonus Cleave?
6 Arcana Pool Strike for those move an hit moments
7 Lunge
9 EXP: Bastard Sword
9 Arcana Hasted Assault
Salt to taste
Your to hit will be just as affected as a TWF build since you cant mitigate the -2 for unusual size with effortless lace or the like, you also give up the multi charge delivery available to a TWF build in exchange for the (relatively) small benefits of power attack with a two handed weapon, which will also penalize your to hit. you are also giving up on spell combat entirely until level 13.
What kind of stat lay out would you use for the build? How does your hit and damage look?
I am guessing it starts out around 2D8+9 for power attack and 18 strength on the large bastard sword. but that would be at a -6 hit penalty until level 9...
Consider the first level spell "warding weapon", which will eliminate the need for you to make concentration checks.
In addition, keep in mind that you're not limited to only the psychic spells listed in the book, but rather the list of spells the psychic has access to. In addition, you'll be gaining 2 new spells from that spell list at the first level you have access to level 2 spells, and the first level you have access to level 3 spells. This is an unprecedented increase in options for any spontaneous caster.
To find the list of spells the psychic can take, look at page 69-71 of the OA book. Note that Heroism is listed among the spells he has access to, meaning the mindblade can get it at the earliest possible level he could learn it without having to burn a feat on it at level 7. I haven't taken a thorough look at all the spells yet, but that one stood out to me.
Now that is beautiful, I was looking at the first psychic spell access and inflict pain was the only thing that stood out as a solid choice. I hadn't thought to look through the arcane/divine cross overs... wonder what else you can do.
I've been looking through the psychic spell list more and i am not really seeing much that is an immediate stand out. contagious zeal is alright. there are a few spells you can get at lower level from the psychic list than from the magus list but eh, they arent that awesome from what im seeing. i do like the level 5 ultra-mega-zord-shocking grasp in synaptic shock... but thats a high level slot to pull if off.
What am i missing from the list? a lot of flavor and fluff?
Since the Psychic Pool replaces the normal Arcane Pool i take it that you can not then spent a point from the pool to further enhance the bonus to their weapon? I have been missing that point up to now, kind of a downer.
The Psychic's spell list includes Silence. Cast that on yourself when you're close to a traditional caster without Silent Spell, and they have two options: move away and provoke an attack of opportunity, which you could use to trip them, or waste their entire turn withdrawing.
You might also look at the Psychic spells as an opportunity to pick up utility spells, such as Telempathic Projection and Clairaudience/Clairvoyance. I've never played a multitouch spell-focused Magus, but I imagine they burn through slots more slowly than the traditional Shocking Grasp magus. If so, you might have slots left over for less combat-oriented spells.
Since the Psychic Pool replaces the normal Arcane Pool i take it that you can not then spent a point from the pool to further enhance the bonus to their weapon? I have been missing that point up to now, kind of a downer.
If you look at the scaling, the psychic pool's enhancement point progression is actually much faster than what the magus normally gains. This is what makes up for the fact that the mindblade can't enchant his weapons outside of his ability.
The Psychic's spell list includes Silence. Cast that on yourself when you're close to a traditional caster without Silent Spell, and they have two options: move away and provoke an attack of opportunity, which you could use to trip them, or waste their entire turn withdrawing.
You might also look at the Psychic spells as an opportunity to pick up utility spells, such as Telempathic Projection and Clairaudience/Clairvoyance. I've never played a multitouch spell-focused Magus, but I imagine they burn through slots more slowly than the traditional Shocking Grasp magus. If so, you might have slots left over for less combat-oriented spells.
I like that, it really turns the psychic casting into a great advantage!
Yeah, I see the archetype as having a much different approach to resource management. In general I don't see the class as spell combating much at all past the early levels die to the ridiculous concentration DCs. Action economy hurts at low levels actually. An action to bring out your weapon, another for a buff (mirror image or shield or the like) and a third to get an offensive booster online.
Since the Psychic Pool replaces the normal Arcane Pool i take it that you can not then spent a point from the pool to further enhance the bonus to their weapon? I have been missing that point up to now, kind of a downer.
If you look at the scaling, the psychic pool's enhancement point progression is actually much faster than what the magus normally gains. This is what makes up for the fact that the mindblade can't enchant his weapons outside of his ability.
I was tracking that one but for some reason thought psychic pool was a modification instead of replacement and I could stack the bonuses. It's not though. With the fast scaling and arcana accuracy boosters though I have no worries about hitting, I was looking for a damage booster. Going finesse which is almost mandatory for dual wielding, limits how much you can invest in strength. I am looking at 1D4+3 with an extra +1 at level three and six but then a -1 at seven. That's really paltry on its own. Frostbite can boost that up a lot against living enemies though so it could still work out.
Your to hit will be just as affected as a TWF build since you cant mitigate the -2 for unusual size with effortless lace or the like, you also give up the multi charge delivery available to a TWF build in exchange for the (relatively) small benefits of power attack with a two handed weapon, which will also penalize your to hit. you are also giving up on spell combat entirely until level 13.
What kind of stat lay out would you use for the build? How does your hit and damage look?
I am guessing it starts out around 2D8+9 for power attack and 18 strength on the large...
My thoughts were to start manifesting a longsword until EWP bastard which could be moved up to level three as Entryhazard noted Arcane strike is no longer an option for Mindblade which I had missed. The -2 for oversized may not be worth the damage increase until you can 2hand an oversized bastard sword at large size or larger. Part of what you need to keep in mind as well that at level 12 a 2 hander will have +5 enhancement and will get through all DR but 2 one handers will only have +3 and will be missing adamantine and alignment DR. The accuracy difference and DR impunity can be very telling.
I was targeting a build with 18 str, 12 dex, 14 con, 14 int, 10 wis and 8 cha human 20 point. At level 8 it would be +12 to hit 2d8+15, +7 to hit 2d8+15, spellstrike +12 to hit 2d8+15+1d3 acid. -2 for spell strike and large size 1 handing bastard sword included. Ave damage 74 all hit Vs 20 AC 37.5
level 13 +14 to hit 3d8+24, +9 to hit 3d8+24, spellstrike +14 to hit 3d8+24+1d3 acid. Average damage 114 vs 25ac 41.25
Flip dex and strength and 2 daggers.
Lvl 8 2 weapon fighting + spell strike with daggers and chill touch and close range which isn't currently in your build.
6(bab) +5(dex) +2(dex item) +1(WF:dagger) +2(Enhance) -2(TWF) -2(Spell combat): +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +7 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy +1d3 acid total:42 vs 20ac 22.7
Lvl 13:
9(bab) +5(dex) +2(dex item) +1(WF:dagger) +3(Enhance) -2(TWF) -2(Spell combat): +16 to hit 1d4+5+1d6 negative energy, +16 to hit 1d4+5+1d6 negative energy, +11 to hit 1d4+5+1d6 negative energy, +11 to hit 1d4+5+1d6 negative energy, +16 to hit 1d4+5+1d6 negative energy +1d3 acid total:57 vs 25 ac 25.85
So 1 handing a bastard sword out damages 2 daggers at level 7 and 2 handing an oversized bastard sword at large size significantly out damages 2 daggers at 13. Haste and move then hit situations will also greatly favor the strength build as will the heavy armor and not needing to make concentration checks at range.
Your to hit will be just as affected as a TWF build since you cant mitigate the -2 for unusual size with effortless lace or the like, you also give up the multi charge delivery available to a TWF build in exchange for the (relatively) small benefits of power attack with a two handed weapon, which will also penalize your to hit. you are also giving up on spell combat entirely until level 13.
What kind of stat lay out would you use for the build? How does your hit and damage look?
I am guessing it starts out around 2D8+9 for power attack and 18 strength on the large...
My thoughts were to start manifesting a longsword until EWP bastard which could be moved up to level three as Entryhazard noted Arcane strike is no longer an option for Mindblade which I had missed. The -2 for oversized may not be worth the damage increase until you can 2hand an oversized bastard sword at large size or larger. Part of what you need to keep in mind as well that at level 12 a 2 hander will have +5 enhancement and will get through all DR but 2 one handers will only have +3 and will be missing adamantine and alignment DR. The accuracy difference and DR impunity can be very telling.
I was targeting a build with 18 str, 12 dex, 14 con, 14 int, 10 wis and 8 cha human 20 point. At level 8 it would be +12 to hit 2d8+15, +7 to hit 2d8+15, spellstrike +12 to hit 2d8+15+1d3 acid. -2 for spell strike and large size 1 handing bastard sword included. Ave damage 74 all hit Vs 20 AC 37.5
level 13 +14 to hit 3d8+24, +9 to hit 3d8+24, spellstrike +14 to hit 3d8+24+1d3 acid. Average damage 114 vs 25ac 41.25
Flip dex and strength and 2 daggers.
Lvl 8 2 weapon fighting + spell strike with daggers and chill touch and close range which isn't currently in your build.
6(bab) +5(dex) +2(dex item) +1(WF:dagger) +2(Enhance) -2(TWF) -2(Spell combat): +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +7 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy, +12 to hit 1d4+4+1d6 negative energy +1d3 acid...
The damage difference is very telling... though not mentioned in the comparison is every chilltouch hit carries potential STR damage on it. Also remember in your level 13 comparisons you can have weapon specilization online which gives a slight edge to the daggers due to volume of hits.
I am on the edge about it though. I am not sure about going to the extreme of large bastard sword but a dual talent human with medium armor proficiency could look something like this:
STR 16 (+2 racial) DEX 14 CON 12 INT 14 (+2 racial) WIS 10 CHA 8
Nodachi +5 to hit 1D10+7 18-20/2
AC 16 (four mirror armor +4, DEX +2)
What i hadnt considered before is that a mindblade doesnt need a free hand due to psychic casting so action economy is actually improved somewhat. if you put up a shield spell as your first action you are sitting on an amazing ac of 20 at level one. from there you can afford to 5' step out of melee and cast a spell to boost your damage/carry a rider effect if you need it. accuracy and damage is superb. at level three you can use arcane accuracy and power attack to boost both easily. Spell combat is basically a loss for most of the game but you get around that with using breaks in full attack availability to top off charge per level spells and spell strike is still there for you.
Aldiss Lear, 9th-level human mindblade - A nasty psychic magus capable of assaulting both a foe's body and his mind. As for traditional blade work, he is capable of moving up to his enemy* and getting as many as 6 melee touch attacks**, which means he generally makes short work of the opposition. If he is already in melee, he can assault the body with excruciating deformation (dealing ongoing damage, ability damage, and debuffing the target) or ravage the mind with mind thrust III (dealing a respectable 9d8 damage, Will half).
Gaseous form allows him a method of entrance or escape not common in martial characters; heart of the metal allows his mindblades to ignore hardness and material-based damage reduction despite being made of psychic energy; and bladed dash, haste and phantom steed grant him great battlefield mobility. Silence and invisibility make him better than a rogue at sneaking, whereas heroism, mirror image and shield help to further shore up his defenses in combat. Storm of blades, shocking grasp, and magic missile help to round out his combat abilities.
*:
Via bladed dash
**:
Via bladed dash, haste, and accurate strike
Ravingdork wrote:
I just realized that if Aldiss cast storm of blades, rather than bladed dash, he could have as many as 9 attacks in a round, 10 if he can get his caster level one higher. Not too shabby.
Now where are those sneak attack dice when you need them? ;P
It would probably look something like this:
Activate Spell Combat and cast storm of blades to summon four greatswords and launch them at nearest foe (five at CL 10).
Attack 1: +11 ranged to hit, 2d6/19-20 damage
Attack 2: +11 ranged to hit, 2d6/19-20 damage
Attack 3: +11 ranged to hit, 2d6/19-20 damage
Attack 4: +11 ranged to hit, 2d6/19-20 damage
Five-foot step into melee, activate Accurate Strike magus arcana and proceed with full attack with Improved Two-Weapon Fighting and haste.
Attack 5: +11 melee touch to hit, 1d6+8/19-20 damage
Attack 6: +11 melee touch to hit, 1d6+8/19-20 damage
Attack 7: +11 melee touch to hit, 1d6+8/19-20 damage
Attack 8: +6 melee touch to hit, 1d6+8/19-20 damage
Attack 9: +6 melee touch to hit, 1d6+8/19-20 damage
I'm sure you guys could build off of this general concept to make a real badass nova character.
... Can the mindblade's psychic weapon count as the material component for storm of blades?
Maybe, but as a material component it should be "consumed" by the spell, so as a DM I'd rule that after casting the spell the Mindblade used as component disappears from you hand and you don't get back the psychic points spent to create it.
Aldiss Lear, 9th-level human mindblade - A nasty psychic magus capable of assaulting both a foe's body and his mind. As for traditional blade work, he is capable of moving up to his enemy* and getting as many as 6 melee touch attacks**, which means he generally makes short work of the opposition. If he is already in melee, he can assault the body with excruciating deformation (dealing ongoing damage, ability damage, and debuffing the target) or ravage the mind with mind thrust III (dealing a respectable 9d8 damage, Will half).
Gaseous form allows him a method of entrance or escape not common in martial characters; heart of the metal allows his mindblades to ignore hardness and material-based damage reduction despite being made of psychic energy; and bladed dash, haste and phantom steed grant him great battlefield mobility. Silence and invisibility make him better than a rogue at sneaking, whereas heroism, mirror image and shield help to further shore up his defenses in combat. Storm of blades, shocking grasp, and magic missile help to round out his combat abilities.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Ravingdork wrote:
I just realized that if Aldiss cast storm of blades, rather than bladed dash, he could have as many as 9 attacks in a round, 10 if he can get his caster level one higher. Not too shabby.
Now where are those sneak attack dice when you need them? ;P
** spoiler omitted **
...
That is so beautiful...
I might suggest using Hammer the Gap to add up to 36 extra damage in there.
... Can the mindblade's psychic weapon count as the material component for storm of blades?
Maybe, but as a material component it should be "consumed" by the spell, so as a DM I'd rule that after casting the spell the Mindblade used as component disappears from you hand and you don't get back the psychic points spent to create it.
I wish i had the book on hand but doesnt a psychic caster have a loophole for most material components? Also doesnt mindblade have a specific clause that anything that destroys your mindblade cause you to regain the points? The trade off is that you lose an action to call it back.
Aldiss Lear, 9th-level human mindblade - A nasty psychic magus capable of assaulting both a foe's body and his mind. As for traditional blade work, he is capable of moving up to his enemy* and getting as many as 6 melee touch attacks**, which means he generally makes short work of the opposition. If he is already in melee, he can assault the body with excruciating deformation (dealing ongoing damage, ability damage, and debuffing the target) or ravage the mind with mind thrust III (dealing a respectable 9d8 damage, Will half).
Gaseous form allows him a method of entrance or escape not common in martial characters; heart of the metal allows his mindblades to ignore hardness and material-based damage reduction despite being made of psychic energy; and bladed dash, haste and phantom steed grant him great battlefield mobility. Silence and invisibility make him better than a rogue at sneaking, whereas heroism, mirror image and shield help to further shore up his defenses in combat. Storm of blades, shocking grasp, and magic missile help to round out his combat abilities.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Ravingdork wrote:
I just realized that if Aldiss cast storm of blades, rather than bladed dash, he could have as many as 9 attacks in a round, 10 if he can get his caster level one higher. Not too shabby.
Now where are those sneak attack dice when you need them? ;P
** spoiler omitted **
...
Another thought, was the spell ever clarified about carrying any bonuses from strenght, weapon specialization, buff spells, etc. etc.? could make it vastly more powerful. Especially for a Mindblade who doesnt have to pay full cost of the weapon.
I wish i had the book on hand but doesnt a psychic caster have a loophole for most material components?
A psychic caster can forgo most basic material components (usually what falls under Eschew Materials) and instead of a specific costly material component he can use a relevant object of the same monetary value.
So you have still to provide something of the same value of the weapon you want to replicate and relevant to the situation.
Torbyne wrote:
Also doesnt mindblade have a specific clause that anything that destroys your mindblade cause you to regain the points? The trade off is that you lose an action to call it back.
The archetype says you regain the points when the weapon disappears, stated in a sentence right after one that says the Mindblade can dismiss the psychic weapon, so the intent to me is that he regains the points when he dismiss the weapon in order to avoid awkward scenarios like the Mindblade always having weapons manifested for fear of wasting psychic points. Recreating destroyed or "consumed" weapon for free seems unintended, despite it may be allowed by strict application of the rules as "disappear" covers a rather broad set of possibilities.
Also doesnt mindblade have a specific clause that anything that destroys your mindblade cause you to regain the points? The trade off is that you lose an action to call it back.
The archetype says you regain the points when the weapon disappears, stated in a sentence right after one that says the Mindblade can dismiss the psychic weapon, so the intent to me is that he regains the points when he dismiss the weapon in order to avoid awkward scenarios like the Mindblade always having weapons manifested for fear of wasting psychic points. Recreating destroyed or "consumed" weapon for free seems unintended, despite it may be allowed by strict application of the rules as "disappear" covers a rather broad set of possibilities.
that would seem pretty harsh to me. Losing upwards of 3 points because someone disarmed you would be crippling. I would imagine that it is indeed intended that any time your weapon leaves your hands, it would refund your points. The payment is the action next round for having to manifest your weapon again.
As for the spell, I'm not sure. The DM in me wants to say no way, not an intended use of the spell. The player in me thinks it's a unique idea. Regardless it's from a splat book so balance is not always the best in those.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Johnny_Devo wrote:
... Can the mindblade's psychic weapon count as the material component for storm of blades?
I don't believe so. However, psychics ignore material components that have no listed costs listed, so I suspect he doesn't need it.
Torbyne wrote:
That is so beautiful...
I might suggest using Hammer the Gap to add up to 36 extra damage in there.
Haha. Thanks. I generally steer clear of HtG since it requires CONSECUTIVE hits to be effective. You say up to 36 damage, but more than likely it will be 3 or 4. It's generally better to use the feat slot on something like Weapon Focus, which will have a far more dramatic impact on damage output.
Using my numbers above, an example attack routine with HtG might end up looking like the following:
In this example, that's a net 17 bonus damage from HtG in nine attacks. Had I not been using touch attacks for them, it only would have been three extra damage, which is pathetic for a feat and nine attacks.
Also doesnt mindblade have a specific clause that anything that destroys your mindblade cause you to regain the points? The trade off is that you lose an action to call it back.
The archetype says you regain the points when the weapon disappears, stated in a sentence right after one that says the Mindblade can dismiss the psychic weapon, so the intent to me is that he regains the points when he dismiss the weapon in order to avoid awkward scenarios like the Mindblade always having weapons manifested for fear of wasting psychic points. Recreating destroyed or "consumed" weapon for free seems unintended, despite it may be allowed by strict application of the rules as "disappear" covers a rather broad set of possibilities.
that would seem pretty harsh to me. Losing upwards of 3 points because someone disarmed you would be crippling. I would imagine that it is indeed intended that any time your weapon leaves your hands, it would refund your points. The payment is the action next round for having to manifest your weapon again.
As for the spell, I'm not sure. The DM in me wants to say no way, not an intended use of the spell. The player in me thinks it's a unique idea. Regardless it's from a splat book so balance is not always the best in those.
Disarmed might be ok to regain the points, but what about sundered or outright destroyed in any way? If someone breaks the Fighter's +2 Greatsword he has to buy another one, but the Mindblade can conjure another one identical for free? It seems too easy for me. As a material component the weapon you use for the spell is destroyed, it's not a Focus.
Also doesnt mindblade have a specific clause that anything that destroys your mindblade cause you to regain the points? The trade off is that you lose an action to call it back.
The archetype says you regain the points when the weapon disappears, stated in a sentence right after one that says the Mindblade can dismiss the psychic weapon, so the intent to me is that he regains the points when he dismiss the weapon in order to avoid awkward scenarios like the Mindblade always having weapons manifested for fear of wasting psychic points. Recreating destroyed or "consumed" weapon for free seems unintended, despite it may be allowed by strict application of the rules as "disappear" covers a rather broad set of possibilities.
that would seem pretty harsh to me. Losing upwards of 3 points because someone disarmed you would be crippling. I would imagine that it is indeed intended that any time your weapon leaves your hands, it would refund your points. The payment is the action next round for having to manifest your weapon again.
As for the spell, I'm not sure. The DM in me wants to say no way, not an intended use of the spell. The player in me thinks it's a unique idea. Regardless it's from a splat book so balance is not always the best in those.
Disarmed might be ok to regain the points, but what about sundered or outright destroyed in any way? If someone breaks the Fighter's +2 Greatsword he has to buy another one, but the Mindblade can conjure another one identical for free? It seems too easy for me. As a material component the weapon you use for the spell is destroyed, it's not a Focus.
While I agree, we cannot cherry pick the situations and assume that is what they meant.
Sunder is actually an interesting one to bring up, there are no rules on what hardness or HP our mindblades have. And if it's broken in half, why could you not just let go of it and have it considered to disappear.
Causes too much confusion, unless they list exactly what would cause the points to be refunded or what would not cause the points to be refunded specifically.
For the purpose of sundering I'd say that the HP and Hardness of a manifested weapon are the same of a steel weapon they emulate, including Masterwork and magical enhancements
For the purpose of sundering I'd say that the HP and Hardness of a manifested weapon are the same of a steel weapon they emulate, including Masterwork and magical enhancements
While it is your table, your rules; i believe the printed rules and intent both align in that anything that causes you to lose the weapon causes you to regain the pool points. as already mentioned there is an action economy tax to bring it back no matter what level you are. The mindblade is what the archetype gets to be good at, their trade off is a loss of a lot of Magus flexability. They can never really cherry pick their enchantments, they get a fixed list and controls over how they can divide their points.
