CopperWyrm's page

The feat Animal Disguise is ridiculous.

This is something that the party rogue will do once over the course of a campaign, probably for comedic effect. It shouldn't take a feat.

Also, this feat is particularly bad because it only limits the players: Without this feat, it was arguably RAW that players could disguise themselves as animals, because the Disguise rules had options for disguising yourself as different races.

It shouldn't be easy by any means, but if someone actually goes to the trouble of investing like 15 ranks in Disguise, one of the least used skills, they should be allowed to try something impractical.

Honestly, the most important part of building a good character is time.

There are so many options in this system, so you need to go through them carefully and consider all possible options. Eventually something will click, and you'll fall in love with the character before you even print the character sheet.

At the very least, do yourself a favor, and read every single archetype of a class if you think you are going to play that class.

Go through certain scenes and situations in your head and try to imagine what you will do at the table, both mechanically and in terms of flavor.

More specifically, one thing you need to address when making martial characters is "how do I keep the flavor and mechanics of their fighting interesting?"

You don't want every turn described as "you hit the creature with a big stick." You need ways to keep things interesting for you and others.

Lastly, try not to start playing with something you haven't already fallen in love with. Keep tinkering.

So recently I have seen a few posts about how to make a magus that isn’t just “shocking grasp everything that moves”.

I had a few ideas, particularly regarding the reposition maneuver and it's feat chain, when combined with the (scorpion) whip, spire defender archetype and spell dancer archetype.

When Reposition is combined with “true strike” spell combat, you’re talking about being able to do ridiculous antics, like pushing people off cliffs, into spell effects, up onto a ledge and into buildings, moving allies or even just tossing enemies 20 feet into the air for s@~*s and giggles. Keep in mind, you can move someone back and forth, in and out of someone’s reach, potentially triggering multiple attacks of opportunity.

Another key part of this strategy would be to invest in a “anchoring” weapon, so you can keep people in dangerous positions once you force them there. You also better have another caster with good battlefield control spells. Forcibly dunking someone into good spell effects multiple times in a single round could get NASTY.

Anyway, here are the stats:

Male Elf Magus (Spire Defender + Spell Dancer)
NG

Starting Stats: (25 point buy. These stats can vary considerably though without huge problems.)
STR 7
DEX 18--->20
CON 14--->12
INT 14--->16
WIS 12
CHA 10

Race Traits:
-Elven Immunities
-Elven Magic
-Arcane Focus
-Illustrious Urbanite
(Probably Conjuration. I know, I know, spell focus in conjunction isn’t the best because there aren’t as many saving throws involved, but I plan on maybe using Mudball, so I figure it’s alright. Plus, it’s free and flavorful.)

Traits:
-Two-World Magic (Touch Of Fatigue)
(Because spell-strike.)
-Prehensile Whip
(Because Awesome.)

Feats + Magus Arcana:
(Elf Favoured Class Bonus included, which gives more Magus Arcana. Feats given by class are also noted.)

LEVEL ONE
Bonus Feat: Combat Expertise
Bonus Feat: Dodge
Specific Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Whip (Which confers proficiency with Scorpion Whips)
Feat 1: Weapon Finesse
LEVEL TWO

LEVEL THREE
Feat 2: Improved Reposition
Magus Arcana: Wand Wielder (for True Strike wands)
LEVEL FOUR

LEVEL FIVE
Feat 3: Tactical Reposition
LEVEL SIX
Magus Arcana: Spell Shield
Fav. C Magus Arcana: Arcane Accuracy
LEVEL SEVEN
Feat 4: Quick Reposition
LEVEL EIGHT

LEVEL NINE
Feat 5: Greater Reposition
Magnus Arcana: Accurate Strike

The important levels would be 3, 5 and 7. Level 3 is when you can use wands of true strike, although a staff that has true strike might also be good. Level 5 is when you can start repositioning people into hazards. Level 7 is when the reposition can be part of spell combat.

Originally I planned on getting Eldritch Heritage at level 3, but I found I had to sacrifice too much to get it.

Also, unsure about getting Spell Shield at level six. It is far more versatile than a regular shield spell and much more powerful at high levels when your INT score will be greater than +4, but I still have my doubts. BUT, more importantly, the Magic Trick (Shield) feat is interesting, especially the Instant Cover part of it, which is very good on a magus.

If I could spare the feat, Tumultuous Spell would also be hilarious when combined with spellstrike, but that is low priority, sadly. However, if tumultuous spell’s random movement is three dimensional, that could be more enticing. Of course, most stuff in this system is assumed to be two dimensional but just thought I’d bring it up?

Any advice?