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Question

Human 6th Magus archetype Kensai and Bladebound (they do not affect each other from what I could see)

Magus Arcana: Animate Weapon

1st question: Are their restrictions on what the Animate Weapon is? Could a Magus with this feat Animate a Huge Battle Axe? Or would it be more like those they can wield, aka Medium, or even more restrictive able to use it on those weapons that they are proficient in as well as only Medium Weapons?

2nd Question: With the Magus Arcana and Animate Weapon, would they get three attacks:

1: The Magus Arcana, Animate Weapon

2: Normal Attack

3: Spell Strike

What, if any, reductions to their attack bonus would they get?

Thanks

So if a character, PC or NPC is climbing, on a ledge, etc can get their saving throws, dodge bonus, Deex bonus and such?

I'm drawing a blank

Thanks in advance

If a player takes "Powerful build" as a Feat, does that mean they JUST take no penalty to using oversized weapons

OR

Do they treat weapons of "Large" size as if they were using S/M/L weapons that were medium sized for ALL situations:

Point of contention:

If a Fighter using two weapons wielding anything other but 2 Light weapons has a higher penalty:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/two-weapon-fighting-combat---fin al

If the weapon in the Off Hand is a Light Weapon, the Penalties to hit are -2/-2 which is better than the -4/-4

So if a character has Powerful Build and Two Weapon Fighting feat, if they use two Large Sized Light weapons, is that -4/-4 or -2/-2?

Should a Soulknife use up all of their Power Points via "Unlocked Talent" or another Psionic Class do they lose their Manifesting abilities?

Same for an Aegis. Would they lose the ability to form their suit?

Or does it mean they have full psionic class abilities that don't specifically use Power Points?

Are they a Manifestor?

As in, if they take the "Unlocked Talent" Feat, and pick "Force Screen", could they even use it at all, save getting a true Manifestor Psionic Class?

1st: Is this the correct place to ask Psionic questions?

If it is, then:

2nd: While the Aegis are Psionic, are they Manifestors?

3rd: Aegis Customization Points, do they have to be spent and confirmed, like a Sorcerer getting new spells each level, they're kinds stuck on down the road with them

Well, there's another "Paladin Thread" detailing how Paladins should be this or that and how the "other side" is wrong

I'd like to keep this on the basics of the Paladin class. How the expected roles some feel the Paladins SHOULD play are IMO, not that great of an idea when one dissects the Paladin down to the Core

Let's start with the iconic "Human Paladin"

Let's use the "Elite Stats" 15 - 14 - 13 -12 - 10 - 8

So Let's build the Paladin

Str 15 - Good
Dex 10 - Wears heavy armor
Con 12 - Fighting types can use this
Int 8 + 2 = 10 - The +2 from being Human saves him from being below average
Wis 13 - Spells
Cha 14 - Paladin's Bonuses are off of Charisma

Okay this Paladin gets 2pts + 0 Int Bonus + 1 human = 3pts/level skill points of which Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int) are Class Skill. As for Feats, this Human Paladin gets 2 Feats, 1st Level and being Human

The Paladin gets these class abilities at 1st level:
Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/day

As we can see, Paladins aren't made for doing 2 things. They are fighters but the fight they excel at are against EVIL opponents. As for determining who is redeemable, etc, that should be left to preferably the clerics of their or allied faiths or trusted companions

Even a cursory glance shows that if a Paladin were to divide up their skill points in the 6 skills of Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge Religion, Ride, and Sense Motive at 10th level, barring the Paladin not putting their Stat Bonuses into Intelligence (most likely Str and Wis), they'd finally have 5 Ranks in each of those 6 Skills

That will mean the Paladin completely ignores Spellcraft and negatives for his armor when riding are not covered well

But turning to what a Paladin does, I like the first paragraph in the SRD:

"Through a select, worthy few shines the power of the divine. Called paladins, these noble souls dedicate their swords and lives to the battle against evil. Knights, crusaders, and law-bringers, paladins seek not just to spread divine justice but to embody the teachings of the virtuous deities they serve. In pursuit of their lofty goals, they adhere to ironclad laws of morality and discipline. As reward for their righteousness, these holy champions are blessed with boons to aid them in their quests: powers to banish evil, heal the innocent, and inspire the faithful. Although their convictions might lead them into conflict with the very souls they would save, paladins weather endless challenges of faith and dark temptations, risking their lives to do right and fighting to bring about a brighter future."

We already know that Paladins are a rare breed. Their very first job is to pledge their sword vs evil in battle. Next, their role is pretty specific as well"

"Role: Paladins serve as beacons for their allies within the chaos of battle. While deadly opponents of evil, they can also empower goodly souls to aid in their crusades. Their magic and martial skills also make them well suited to defending others and blessing the fallen with the strength to continue fighting."

I see a lot about battle, crusade, deadly opponent, martial, defending and continue to fighting. I don't see much about coddling evil but a great deal on fighting and killing evil.

Now, I'm not saying that is the only and all it should be. Should a DM want to have a Paladin play as a Celibate, Merciful, Poverty, redeemer, etc, something like the old 3.5 BoED, great!

Caveat: GIVE THEM THE FEAT FOR FREE AND GIVE THEM THE BENEFITS OF THOSE FEATS AS WELL

That does 3 things:

1: Makes it far more clear how you expect the Paladin to be played

2: Makes it a gradual step by step "fall from Grace" - not to say, drinking heavily the night before, running his sword through the bar patrons, having his way with the bar maids and going across town and slaughtering the orphans won't get anything less than a stern warning

3: The crimes and the punishment are far more equitable. The Paladin getting frisky? Wham, bye-bye Celibacy (although that's not really what celibacy means) not Bye-Bye all Paladin powers

Any thoughts?

If a Soulknife is a "Gifted Blade" variant, eschewing Psychic Strike for Manifesting, if they use up all their PP for the day, would that mean they lost their ability to bring forth (I hate using the term "Manifest") their ability to create a Psionic Blade and other Psionic Powers?

Thanks again

Given a 9th level Deadly Fist who is +16/+11 after BAB+Str Bonus+Weapon Focus and they take the "Flurry or Fists" and Improved "Flurry of Fists"

From my reading:

"Flurry of Fists" = +14/+14/+9

"Flurry of Fists, Improved" = +11/+11/+11/+6

Is that correct?

TY for your assistance

Howdy all,

I have a player who has a Magus. Their PC's race is of the +1 LA variety but no racial die so they started at 2nd level character but only 1st level Magus with a +1 LA

Now at 5th level character, 4th Magus/+1 LA, they want to take a Template to add to their character. The Template is layered, +1 LA for HD 1-5/ +2 LA for 6-10 HD/ +3 LA and 11+ HD

Just checking how this would work:

Should there be an "Experience Point Debt" to pay off

OR

Should I have them "level up" into the Template though there are no levels?

I can see where there is really no difference but the latter introduces the "4th level character but needs to make it to 7th level to level up"

That will get confusing

I can't find this specifically about the Bladebound Magus so I'll ask here.

A Bladebound Magus, say 3rd to 7th level where they have only 1 attack, can use his Blade to cast a Touch Spell as a melee strike as per Spellstrike.

If they do Spellstrike, can they still take a swing with their Blade in a normal melee attack or do they suffer penalties?

From my understanding, it would look like this:

Melee no Spellstrike: Normal attack at full bonus vs Full AC, second hand can be used to make the Blade hit harder

Melee w/Spellstrike: Normal attack at full bonus vs Full AC, second hand must be free

Melee and Spellstrike: -4/-4 or -6/-10 for two attacks vs Full AC. As normal, the -6 stays with all subsequent attacks if he has multiple attacks. They can take the Spellstrike attack on any one of there attacks. Still the 2nd hand must be free

Melee with Spell Combat (non "To Hit" spell): -2 to hit with all melee attacks, second hand must be free

Melee w/Spellstrike with Spell Combat (non "To Hit" spell): -2 to hit with all melee attacks, second hand must be free

Melee with Spell Combat ("To Hit" attack spell): -4 to hit with all attacks, second hand must be free

Melee w/Spellstrike with Spell Combat ("To Hit" attack spell): not allowed

If this is not where this belongs or you have already heard/argued/the rules been clarified somewhere else, I'd appreciate it