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I had an admittedly absurd idea of a Kobold Kineticist with the Dragon Disciple archetype. Mostly it was to get the Scales of the Dragon feat.

With the GM’s permission, it might be cool to reflect the character having two elements by having different dragon types as exemplars. For example, you could start as a red dragon dragon scaled kobold with the fire element, and then choose a blue dragon exemplar when you start the dedication, and choosing air as your second element. Mechanically, I don’t think there would be a way to have a third exemplar, but having a third element could be reflected in a subtle change in appearance, like some scales turning black when earth is chosen.

First off, this is a very informative guide, and very clear and easy to navigate.

I did have one question. In the Mastermind racket, one of the sentences reads

It is tempting to take Intelligence as the Mastermind’s Key Ability and if you’re going to gain the Sorcerer (Arcane) or Wizard dedications, then it would be a good idea.

It seems like this is implying that there is a Sorcerer dedication that uses Intelligence as the casting stat. From what I've seen, Charisma is always the casting stat for Sorcerers, regardless of bloodline.

Basically, it seems like the Mastermind would be better for the Wizard dedication, and the Scoundrel would be better for the Sorcerer or Bard dedication.

Otherwise, the guide is top notch. Thank you!

If you dip Gunslinger you'll get proficiency with firearms, the Gunsmithing feat, and a deed which I'd recommend be Quick Clear. If you stick with Gunslinger for 5 levels, you'll get dex to damage with one weapon.

Gunslingers (and Swashbucklers for that matter) get all the deeds when they reach the appropriate levels. Unlike most class features like Rogue talents or Magus arcana, you don't have to make choices.

Spell Combat only works with spells you gain from level in the Magus class. It won't work with spells you get from being a hunter or wizard.

The Broad Study Magus arcana lets you use spell combat and spell strike with spells from other classes. You need at least 6 levels of Magus to choose it, though.

Have you thought of using a Warpriest instead of cleric? You don't get the 9th level casting, but you do get 6th level casting along with swift action buffing. You do get Weapon Focus as a bonus feat right out of the gate. You also get bonus feats, which are useful for an archery build. Finally, Sacred Weapon lets you add magical properties to your weapon, which helps you be almost as good as a martial.

I've read up on the new Iron-Ring Striker archetype...

Otherwise, I don't see anything in the Martial Arts Handbook that's particularly useful for a Magus.

Yeah, the devs seem to think that a Monk's unarmed damage is worth one fewer spell per level. When you consider that unarmed strikes don't have the critical range that makes Spell Strike so good, it's a big nerf just to get an unarmed magus.

The Esoteric is probably slightly better than the Iron-Ring Striker in that they replace some of those lost spells with spell-like abilities. You'd have to really like maneuvers to make IRS worthwhile.

For a Fighter build, the Advanced Weapon Training feat can be taken at 5th level and every five levels after. Some of them can be pretty sweet. Versatile Training means you get to treat your class level as ranks in a couple of skills, like Intimidate and Perception. Focused Weapon lets you use the Warpriest weapon damage progression, so it eventually helps out. Armed Bravery lets you apply your Bravery bonus to all Will saves. So, basically, you have a bunch of options.

Still, though, I'd probably lean toward a Slayer for an archer, because I like being useful outside of combat. The Sniper archetype lets you do sneak attack at range, and halves range penalties.

Finally, if the crossbow is an option, take a look at the Bolt Ace Gunslinger archetype. The big draw is the DEX-to-damage at 5th level. There's not a lot that comes after that's very exciting, so switching to another class is a smart move.

Since strength is your highest stat and your tanking dex, you can use full plate. Mithral Full plate counts as medium so you can wear it at 7th and get some extra dex to it or you can go armored battlemage which heavy at 7th and medium at first.

Something to keep in mind: You don't get heavy armor proficiency until 13th level, so you'd still have the armor check penalty to attack rolls and movement checks unless you spent a feat on proficiency or picked it up from another class.

Rangers could be an option. The natural weapon combat style can get you claws if that’s your thing. If your DM is okay with reflavoring the divine combat style, irori’s can get you Monastic Legacy to get some of a monk’s unarmed damage.

The Monk/Sorcerer build you mentioned earlier uses the Scaled Fist Monk archetype to get Charisma to AC. You don’t have to worry about spells failing due to armor because you don’t wear any.

Another option to look at would be the Eldritch Scion Magus. It does limit your use of Spell Combat until you hit 8th level, but you get the magus goodies.

As for why people recommend only getting 4 levels of DD, you lose another spellcasting level at five. It’s a significant loss for little gain.

Finally, there’s some difference of opinion on how DD works with bloodrager. DD calls out as stacking with your sorcerer levels. If you go Bloodrager, you don’t technically have sorcerer levels. Your DM may let you stack your bloodrager levels instead.

Are you playing a classic or Unchained rogue? If you’re unchained, you’re probably better off sticking to straight rogue, at least until third (Dex-to-damage) or fourth (Debilitating Strike) level. With classic rogue, going to swashbuckler would make you better at straight combat, but would reduce your nova potential. It’s also worth noting that rogues like to dual wield to maximize sneak attack damage, while swashbucklers can’t if they want to use precise strike.

Another class that could help your fighting ability and still continue your sneaky start is slayer. They get sneak attack dice and martial weapons proficiency. That means you could use kukris instead of daggers and still get your d8 sneaks.

How does an amulet stay on a snake?

Staples.

Xethik wrote:

Telflammar Shadowlord (mentioned upthread) and Crinti Shadow Marauder from 3.5 (both Forgotten Realms) have a Shadow Pounce ability that lets them full-attack on a teleport. Combining this with multiple teleport actions (Blink Dog shirt from Totemist, Dimensional Hop Psionic ability, and Tome of Battle standard teleports) made a pretty crazy character.

Oh yeah, I think I still hold the record for most attacks on a shadow pouncer back in the brilliant gameologists forums with my ruby knight vindicator telflamar shadowlord build :-)

For OP here is my take on a decent Gish pouncer build that uses reposition for fun grouping up if ennemies.

**Clipped**

One possible issue with this build is that a Blade Adept trades their first two exploits for Sword Bond and Sentient Sword. They don't technically have exploits until fifth level. That means they can't select the Extra Exploit feat until after 5th level.

Also, the School Understanding (Teleportation) exploit would be useful for this character. They get 3+CHR Dimension Doors for free, and can spend a reservoir point at 8th to teleport 30ft/level.

Have you thought about the Bloodrager? Your spell casting would lag, but you’d be stronger in melee.

Another option is to start with the Scaled Fist Unchained Monk. You’d get to add your Charisma to your AC, and can pick up Dragon Style as a bonus feat. It’s also thematic. You’d just have to decide on how to split the Monk and Sorcerer levels.

Finally, some of the combat oriented Bards can be effective, and you’d be able to contribute out of combat, too.

AZGrowler wrote:

An Unchained Rogue works pretty well for a dagger based build. You get free Weapon Finesse and Dex-to-Damage at 3rd, which works at range, too.

Doesn't Finesse Training specifically call out melee attacks.

You're right. I just re-read that. Good catch.

An Unchained Rogue works pretty well for a dagger based build. You get free Weapon Finesse and Dex-to-Damage at 3rd, which works at range, too. The Rogue's sneak attack damage will outstrip a Swashbuckler's precision damage, although it does need some work to be able to apply it. Also, the Rogue can use TWF and still apply the bonus damage. The Knife Master archetype should be available for extra fun.

As far as getting a weapon to work with the build, a Dagger of Doubling can be split and thrown as often as you need if you have Quick Draw. The base weapon is only a +1 dagger, but I don't see why the enhancement bonus couldn't be increased over time.

Have you looked into the Iroran Paladin? You get to add your Charisma bonus (up to your class level) to your AC in light armor, and you get Unarmed Strike built in.

That's pretty much it. A human Swashbuckler could take WF: Longsword and Slashing Grace: Longsword and still use an Aldori dueling sword. They just wouldn't qualify for the later feats without picking up EWP: Aldori Dueling Sword.

You would only count the 4 fighter levels for your Armor Specialization. Treating Warpriest levels as Fighter levels is only for meeting prerequisites. There's nothing in the ability language that you treat your Warpriest levels as Fighter levels for other purposes.

Also, Advanced Armor Training can be picked up with a feat, but it still counts as a class feature. If you could stack your Warpriest and Fighter levels, there would probably be specific language allowing that, like the Martial Artist feature from the Champion of Irori or the Aligned Class feature from the Evangelist.

You can't use Slashing Grace with a longsword unless you're a Swashbuckler or Daring Champion or Virtuous Bravo or a Fighter with the Fighter's Finesse AWT. Really, unless you really want one of the Aldori style feats or Aldori Mastery, there's no real reason to grab EWP for it.

As far as Aldori Artistry, the big advantage is that you don't need to take Combat Expertise. Combat Expertise is a feat tax, but the Dirty Fighting feat counts as Combat Expertise for prereqs.

The Aldori dueling sword seems cool from the setting's fluff, but mechanics work against making an effective Aldori duelist.

Volkard Abendroth wrote:

What I find amusing is Unarmed Spell Combat does, literally, nothing. Anyone can deliver touch spells via unarmed strikes.

Yes, not one of their brighter moments. The ability to use arcane pool on unarmed strikes also does nothing (any Magus can do that), and tattooed spell also does nothing except partially compensate for diminished spellcasting. Of course, you do lose feats for the "privilege".

I'm not sure the vanilla Spellstrike works on unarmed attacks without dipping monk or brawler. The Spellstrike description says "...he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack." IUS means you don't provoke attacks of opportunity and can deal lethal damage, but don't allow you to count your unarmed strikes as weapons like the monk and brawler features do.

That being said, a dip in brawler might end up with a better unarmed build than the Esoteric. You don't quite lose a spell a level, but you don't get the SLAs. You also don't lose Spell Recall, which is probably a little better. And, as a bonus, you could take the Mutagenic Mauler brawler archetype to get a Mutagen.

I really like the idea of the Esoteric, but the execution is lacking.

Why did you pick a light crossbow instead of a (composite) longbow? The crossbow does have a slightly better crit, but the bow has a longer range, and when you get a composite bow, you can add your Strength bonus to damage. You're already proficient with longbows, so there isn't much of a benefit of going with the crossbow.

The Assassinate talent is a trap option because the DC scales based off of Intelligence. So, 10 + 5 + Intelligence = ~DC 17 (which is generous, by the way), which by 10th level is a complete joke to make. Having a 5% chance to outright kill an enemy isn't really worth the talent. Stuff like Evasion is a lot more helpful, especially with you being so Dexterity-based like you are now.

Slayers get to add their Studied Target bonus to Assassinate (and any other talent with a DC). That's +3 at 10th level.

This doesn't mean it's necessarily a good pick, but it's a lot better than the Assassin's Death Attack.

Slayers are a class that can benefit from dips, mainly because most of the talents are lackluster. Two levels of Shadowdancer gives you quite a bit. Three levels of UnRogue let you get Dex-to-damage, evasion, a rogue talent, and one more sneak attack die than you get from the three levels of slayer.

Half-orc Paladin of Abadar (VMC Barbarian) 10. This paladin is constantly fighting an internal battle between his chosen calling and the monster inside of him. The neat synergy is that the paladin's mercy can remove fatigue after a rage. On the other hand, you're stuck with all of three feats at 10th level.

You think it might be better to go Arsenal chaplain to get weapon training goodies?

My initial thought was that you would lose a lot going with Arsenal Chaplain, but the average damage would be about the same at 10th level, and you also benefit from +2 to attack. You do lose one of your blessings, though, and Liberation is pretty good.

On the other hand, you can take Advanced Weapon Training with your bonus feats, and that opens up some goodies, like Trained Throw.

1. Elf UnRogue 4/Slayer 6 - Pick the Elven Curve Blade for your Finesse Training choice, and take the Two Handed Ranger Combat Style to get Power Attack without needing a 13 STR.

2. Martial Artist Monk 5/Barbarian 5 - Five levels of Martial Artist makes you immune to fatigue, so rage cycling is no big deal.

3. Sohei Monk 1/Empyreal Wildblooded Sorcerer 6/Eldritch Knight 3 - Empyreal makes WIS your casting stat, so you have a bonus to your AC without needing armor.

4. Arsenal Chaplain War Priest 10 - Gorum likes greatswords, and can let you use Vital Strike at the end of a charge with Divine Fighting Technique. You also can pick up Weapon Training goodies.

5. Brawler Fighter 10 - Gorum's Shield-trained trait lets you treat heavy shields as light weapons. With two weapon fighting, you can use your shield and your favorite close weapon. With the new Advanced Weapon Training options, you can do some fun things.

6. Human Crusader Cleric 1/UnMonk 9 - Pick a deity with a favored weapon you like, like Shizuru's katana, and take Crusader's Flurry to Flurry with it.

1. Elf UnRogue 4/Slayer 6 - Pick the Elven Curve Blade for your Finesse Training choice, and take the Two Handed Ranger Combat Style to get Power Attack without needing a 13 STR.

2. Martial Artist Monk 5/Barbarian 5 - Five levels of Martial Artist makes you immune to fatigue, so rage cycling is no big deal.

3. Sohei Monk 1/Empyreal Wildblooded Sorcerer 6/Eldritch Knight 3 - Empyreal makes WIS your casting stat, so you have a bonus to your AC without needing armor.

4. Arsenal Chaplain War Priest 10 - Gorum likes greatswords, and can let you use Vital Strike at the end of a charge with Divine Fighting Technique. You also can pick up Weapon Training goodies.

5. Brawler Fighter 10 - Gorum's Shield-trained trait lets you treat heavy shields as light weapons. With two weapon fighting, you can use your shield and your favorite close weapon. With Weapon Finesse, Martial Focus and Advanced Weapon Training, you can choose Trained Grace to be DEX-based without losing much.

6. Human Crusader Cleric 1/UnMonk 9 - Pick a deity with a favored weapon you like, like Shizuru's katana, and take Crusader's Flurry to Flurry with it.

As for the Dragon Disciple PrC, claws wouldn't be the main reason one would go that route. The biggest benefit for a melee class is the bonuses to Str and Con, the Natural Armor and the energy resistance. Darkleaf leather armor would probably be the armor of choice because it doesn't have an Arcane Spell Failure chance.

For the Sorcerer level, using the Tatooed Sorcerer archetype would trade the unusable claws with a familiar.

By RAW, Precise Strike wouldn't have worked for a Magus even before the errata. Look at the first sentence of the description:

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.

Arcane Deed says nothing about using your Magus level in place of the Swashbuckler level, just that deeds can be selected as if the Magus was a Swashbuckler of the same level.

This means that a 20th level Magus that chose Precise Strike via Arcane Deed would do +0 extra damage, because they have no Swashbuckler levels.

On the other hand, the errata is a serious nerf, and hurts the arcana's utility.

A Slayer is a good base class, as it gets sneak attack and things that synergize with Assassin. The Assassination Advanced Slayer Talent is better than Death Attack, though. It only takes one turn, and Studied Target adds to the DC. Most of the Assassin's features can be replicated with Slayer Talents, except Uncanny Dodge, Hide in Plain Site, and a faster sneak attack advancement. A Slayer with a couple of levels of Shadowdancer probably works better than Assassin overall.

Well, to get the Eldritch Blade exploit, you need 5 levels of Arcanist anyway. The big advantage of the Blade Adept is the black blade. The Scryer Wizard or Arcanist might be able to qualify for EK faster, but they'd have to bring their own weapon.

Spell Combat does only work for Magus spells, but those are probably quite a few that you'd want to use in close combat anyway, as those are the spells that wouldn't be affected by the ASF. Otherwise, you'd have to take Arcane Armor Training and burn a swift action to not be affected by the ASF. In addition, you wouldn't get that lovely attack and a spell in the same turn.

I think you're underselling the Arcanist in your guide. There are two options that could replace Sorcerer as the Inevitable. The Blood Arcanist essentially trades most of its exploits for bloodline abilities. The other option is to take a level of Sorcerer or Bloodrager, and then take the Bloodline Development exploit. This allows the Arcanist levels to stack with the other class for purposes of determining the bloodline abilities.

The Arcanist is a little more flexible than the Sorcerer, particularly when it comes to spells known. You could have lesser used spells in your spellbook that you only pull out when you need them. The Quick Study exploit lets you swap out a spell you have memorized for one in your spellbook to make it even more attractive.

Finally, the Arcanist is an Intelligence-based caster, so the bonus to Intelligence that DD gives you helps out here.

The biggest problem is that you have to burn through your Eldritch Pool to be able to use Spell Combat until 8th level. You have to burn 1 point for two rounds of focus. This is ridiculous, because no other Magus archetype has to use their Arcane Pool to be able to use one of the defining features of the class.

I understand the desire to use parts of one of the new hybrid classes, but it cripples the archetype until it reaches 8th level.

Some comments about the Blade Adept:

1. This is a fascinating gish idea. Compared to a full Magus, you'd end up with a slightly higher BAB (depending on when you went into Eldritch Knight), and access to 5th level spells at character level 12, and more flexibility with spells. The Magus would be better in armor, have more spells per day (and spell recall), be able to use Spell Combat and some more utility options with arcana.

2. For the martial dip, the two most likely choices are Fighter (for armor proficiency and the bonus feat) or Swashbuckler (for Finesse and deeds). The Inspired Swashbuckler archetype lets you add your Intelligence modifier to your Panache pool, so you don't have to worry about Charisma, and you get Weapon Finesse and Weapon Focus (Rapier). This lets you take Fencing Grace without any other feats or skills, and get Dexterity-to-damage.

3. Another option to satisfy the Martial Weapon Proficiency would be the Magus. In addition to proficiency, you would get the Spell Combat feature, letting you attack and cast in the same turn, and the ability to cast in light armor. You'd lose a point of BAB and at least one feat compared to the Fighter or Swashbuckler, but Spell Combat is probably worth that. Of course, you might still be better off, optimization wise, to stick with Magus.

4. You mention taking three levels of Arcanist, and then take Extra Exploit (Eldritch Blade) at level 5. Unfortunately, because the level 1 and 3 exploits were replaced by archetype features, you can't take Extra Exploit as you don't have the Arcanist Exploit class feature. You'd have to take 5 levels of Arcanist to qualify.

While the bayonet is listed as a two-handed weapon, by itself it's either a spike or a knife that's designed to attach to the end of a crossbow or firearm. Common sense would argue that you'd need either a crossbow or musket to use it with two hands.

The Two Weapon Warrior archetype for Fighters is another option out there. The two advantages are the reduced penalties for dual wielding (including letting you use two one handed weapons with the same penalty as using light weapons), and using both weapons on a standard action or attack of opportunity. Most of the abilities come on line fairly late, though, and you don't get Weapon Training, so you can't use Dueling Gloves.

On the other hand, at 11th level, you can use two bastard swords with the same penalty as using two light weapons. That's a fun image. In the end, you don't get the massive potential damage that sneak attack can bring, but when you add all the fighter and archetype goodies, you're able to do quite a bit of consistent damage. In addition, you still keep the heavy armor proficiency, which is nice.

As far as weapons go, there are a few others that could be mentioned. A high critical threat range is not the end all and be all of weapon selection. A weapon like a rapier, scimitar, or katana crits 6 out of 20 times, or 30% of the time. A weapon like a longsword, falcata or bastard sword crits 4 out of 20 times, or 20% of the time. In terms of average damage, a falcata (x3 critical) or bastard sword (1d10 base) outperforms the rapier and scimitar. In a build where spending panache is less important, and therefore needing to replenish it isn't as great, these other weapons may be preferred.

I'd like to see a feat something along the lines of "Improved Weapon Finesse" that says "With a light weapon, elven curve blade, rapier, whip, spiked chain or other finessable weapon made for a creature of your size category, and wearing light or no armor, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on damage rolls."

The prerequisite would be Weapon Finesse. This would be an almost default feat for rogues, monks, duelists, and Dex-based fighters. I think it's balanced against Strength due to it costing two feats to use and the armor and weapon limitations. It can't be used with greatswords or plate, so it doesn't make those options obsolete. On the other hand, it would help monks be less MAD and let rogues focus on Dexterity and still be (somewhat) effective.