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On a related topic, the magus touching his held weapon doesn’t count as “touching anything or anyone” when determining if he discharges the spell.
A magus could even use the spellstrike ability, miss with his melee attack to deliver the spell, be disarmed by an opponent (or drop the weapon voluntarily, for whatever reason), and still be holding the charge in his hand, just like a normal spellcaster.
Furthermore, the weaponless magus could pick up a weapon (even that same weapon) with that hand without automatically discharging the spell, and then attempt to use the weapon to deliver the spell.

It's in his hand, he delivers the spell through any weapon he attacks with while holding the charge.

Where in the rules does it say that spellcasters with a held charge in their hand can lose it through their feet if they touch anything with their feet?

Does touching the ground count as touching anything other than a weapon?
I would say yes personally, in which case I would've ruled the same way your DM did, but if you were disarmed or dropped the weapon & remained standing, then you would retain the charge in your hand, by my interpretation.

^A barrel full of deadly chickens all attacking one individual, for when you're in the mood for a good Zelda reference.
Start by throwing one, wait for it to be attacked, then release the rest.

I was also wondering that^, but I didn't bother to ask.

Hey Diego Rossi, what does this mean?

"If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks."

Referring to Spellstrike.

My previous comment justifying how Spellstrike works while wielding a shield was incorrect, this is how it works.

"he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack."

This can be a two-handed weapon.
How do we know that it can be a two-handed weapon?
Because it doesn't say that it can't be, that's how the rules work.
"any weapon he is wielding".

This means that a Magus does not require one of his or her hands to be free in order to use Spellstrike, this means that he or she can have a free hand while using a one-handed weapon & USE that other hand for another purpose that DOES NOT have to involve casting the spell for use with Spellstrike. Where did you dream up that requirement Diego Rossi?

"a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell."

"If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks."

A Magus can use Spellstrike in concert with Spell Combat so one spell is cast with his free hand, & the other is cast with his weapon hand (the spell he uses for Spellstrike).

"With a buckler, if you use the hand to cast the spell, you stop using the buckler"

This is not how Spellstrike works, you use the hand holding the weapon to cast the spell.

Or fight with melee weapons when in close quarters.

Hans Hansen 433's situation doesn't involve building new races, it involves his DM wanting to make races more balanced by giving 'weaker' races such as Kobolds more points to work with, & 'stronger' races such as Svirfneblin less points to work with.

Unless I'm reading the question wrong, but I'm pretty sure I read it right given that Hans Hansen 433 wrote:
"He said he wants to run a game where we are either have to pick a weak race with lots of negatives, or a more expensive race and not get as much ability modifying."

The DM is just being stingy with points, Humans should get 15 points, not 5.

Thanks.

FAQ
If I cast a spell that allows multiple touch attacks, can I deliver all of those spell touches through my weapon?

Yes. For example, if you cast chill touch (which allows multiple touch attacks), you could use spellstrike to cast and deliver the spell through your weapon, and in later weapon attacks you could use your weapon to deliver the remaining spell touch attacks (one spell touch attack per weapon attack).

If you have multiple attacks per round with that weapon (such as from having a BAB of +6 or higher), you can use the weapon to deliver multiple spell touch attacks per round, so long as you have uses of that spell touch attack remaining.

For example, if you are an 8th-level magus (BAB +6/+1) and you cast chill touch, you have up to 8 uses of that spell touch attack. If you make two weapon attacks in a round, you can deliver two spell touch attacks per round (one for each successful weapon attack).

FAQ
Can a magus use spellstrike to cast a touch spell, move, and make a melee attack with a weapon to deliver the touch spell, all in the same round?

Yes. Other than deploying the spell with a melee weapon attack instead of a melee touch attack, the magus spellstrike ability doesn’t change the normal rules for using touch spells in combat. So, just like casting a touch spell, a magus could use spellstrike to cast a touch spell, take a move toward an enemy, then (as a free action) make a melee attack with his weapon to deliver the spell.

On a related topic, the magus touching his held weapon doesn’t count as “touching anything or anyone” when determining if he discharges the spell. A magus could even use the spellstrike ability, miss with his melee attack to deliver the spell, be disarmed by an opponent (or drop the weapon voluntarily, for whatever reason), and still be holding the charge in his hand, just like a normal spellcaster. Furthermore, the weaponless magus could pick up a weapon (even that same weapon) with that hand without automatically discharging the spell, and then attempt to use the weapon to deliver the spell. However, if the magus touches anything other than a weapon with that hand (such as retrieving a potion), that discharges the spell as normal.

Basically, the spellstrike gives the magus more options when it comes to delivering touch spells; it’s not supposed to make it more difficult for the magus to use touch spells.

Magus:
Spellstrike (Su)
[See FAQ]
At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the effects of the spell. If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon’s critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals ×2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.

Phalanx Soldier:
Phalanx Fighting (Ex)
At 3rd level, when a phalanx soldier wields a shield, he can use any polearm or spear of his size as a one-handed weapon.
This ability replaces Armor Training 1.

Why would these not work together? Obviously shields have an arcane spell failure chance with Magi that needs to be taken into account, but the ability can be used.

Murdock Mudeater wrote:
And this is a necro of a 4 years old thread. Check the magus FAQs.
Ugh. I always miss this. Way too easy to mistake old posts for new ones. Kinda feel like posts should be color coated by year, or something.

But if a new thread is posted, someone else will say (rightly) that it's a waste of space as there's already a thread on this topic from 4 years ago.

Anyway...
Diego Rossi wrote:
"If you cast a spell with a somatic component you need a free hand, if you have your polearm in 1 hand and use the other to cast the spell, you lose the buckler bonus to AC and aren't wielding it. So your polearm revert to a 2 handed weapon and you can't use it with spellstrike."

Well, that would be fine & relevant if a Magus using Spellstrike cast their spell into their weapon using their "other" hand, but they don't.
When using Spellstrike with a one-handed weapon in one hand, the spell is cast into the weapon using the hand holding the weapon, or either hand when wielding it two-handed which is also an option with Spellstrike. So Spellstrike would work 100% with this concept, even if Spell Combat doesn't.

That's why you revive a 4 year old conversation.

3 toed sloth style.

Chicken style.

Probably best not to have a level 10 character with BAB+1, but I personally like the idea of adding Alchemist & Shadowdancer to a list of BAB+1 classes for their level 1 abilities & choosing Falconer as your Ranger archetype for the animal companion.
Obviously depends on what you like personally though.

Thanks.

Tell him he can play with his concept, but that the available points aren't high enough to calculate it that way. Given that the standard rule is that you get 15 points for stats & the GM decides which races you are & aren't allowed to use, the human should get 15 points to use, making your total pool of points worth 25.
So a Kobold (5RP) would get 20 points to work with, & the Svirfneblin (24RP) would get 1, that's how I would calculate it if I were to use this system, no need to run away from this GM if he's willing to work it like this.

Also, now that I've found-
Concealable Thieves' Tools: Price 190 gp; Weight 1/2 lb.; Smaller and made of stronger materials than most thieves' tools, the items in this kit are much easier to conceal. You gain a +4 bonus on Sleight of Hand skill checks to conceal these tools on your body. They otherwise function as masterwork thieves tools (granting a +2 circumstance bonus on Disable Device checks),
why would anyone use a-
Thieves' Ring Price 300 gp; Weight —
This slightly over-sized ring conceals a few lockpicks and other tools coiled inside its band. These discreet tools, made of a metal alloy that springs straight once the tool is removed from the band, are sufficient to attempt Disable Device checks without penalty, and long enough to pick locks on manacles fastened around the wearer's hands (once she slips off the ring). The wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal the ring's nature from anyone searching her.

The only benefit I see to the Thieves Ring is that if your captors fail to notice it, you can access it while manacled while possibly or even probably unable to access the Concealable Thieves' Tools on your body, in which case you might need to be able to use them one-handed.

If a Rogue (or other character with Disable Device) is wearing a Thieves' Ring & is locked up with their hands not close to each other, can they open the ring & use the thieves tools to unlock the lock on that hand one-handed?

Check out the Pathfinder Chronicler Prestige class for an idea of what could motivate a non-violent character to adventure, & how they can contribute to a campaign.

The Bard is the obvious choice for combining with this, given it's requirements & features, & personally I think the Bard is the perfect class choice for your character concept.
Every level 0 & 1 spell & the vast majority of other Bard spells are non-violent.

Along with your Bard spells, Skills, Performances, & other abilities, & whatever other suggestions you take from other people, you could also use the feat 'Equipment Trick (Thieves Tools)' to get 'Ranged Chicanery' without having to take any Rogue levels.

Ranged Chicanery (Disable Device 1 rank, Sleight of Hand 1 rank, ability to cast mage hand) You can use mage hand to attempt Disable Device and Sleight of Hand checks at range. Working at a distance increases the normal skill check DC by an amount equal to 5 + 1 for every 5 feet the range is greater than 25 feet. You can't take 10 or 20 on this check. Any object manipulated must weigh 5 pounds or less. If you also possess the ranged legerdemain class feature, you no longer increase the skill check DC by 5 while using Disable Device and Sleight of Hand at range.

mplindustries wrote:

Because there is absolutely zero player buy in for that. No rogue in the history of D&D ever wasted a combat turn picking a lock.

When an enemy is barreling down on the party, they're not going to fret at the lock hoping the rogue doesn't blow it, they're going to get into ambush positions.

Locks are not an in-combat obstacle. If they were, they actually would be interesting. People pick locks when they're safe, when the rules for picking locks are most boring.

But honestly, even if you could get players to buy in to that trope and actually try to get away through locked doors, it would still lack excitement for two reasons:

1) In a TV show or movie or whatever, you can see the person desperately trying, tension causing music is playing, and we get cool shots at perfectly chosen angles anticipating the event. Around the table, you get a group of people watching someone roll a d20 over and over until its high enough.

2) The nature of the game would make it such that the threat baring down is either too powerful for the PCs to handle (so failing to pick the lock in time, a serious possibility) will lead to a TPK, or the threat isn't really worth running from in the first place, meaning everyone is "faking it" for the sake of the buy in.

& then wrote:
For all the people suggesting that picking a lock takes time, then roll once and have that attempt take more time. Perhaps it could take progressively less time based on how well you succeeded. But having it be a task you can just attempt over and over with no negative consequences doesn't work without a script.

So..... The GM could use this last suggestion & let the lockpicker know how far along they are in getting the lock unlocked, so if a dangerous situation comes up, depending on the level of the threat & the lockpicker's progress they could potentially have an incentive to continue picking the lock.

There are 100 variant tiefling abilities & 100 alternative physical features available to Tiefling characters. Here's what it says about them.

Variant Abilities and Physical Features

GMs may customize tiefling NPCs using the following charts, or allow players to do so by rolling a d%. Players with a particular character concept in mind may consult their GM if they want to select a specific variant ability or may take the Fiendish Heritage feat. The abilities and alternative physical features presented here replace the standard / default equivalent trait or feature. Any abilities that grant spells or spell-like abilities are treated as having a caster level equal to the tiefling’s character level.

Some of these are easy enough to figure out the "standard / default equivalent trait or feature" of, such as Variant Ability 1 "You can animate a 1 HD skeleton, as per animate dead, once per day as a spell-like ability" which obviously replaces Spell-like ability Darkness, or Alternative Physical Feature 1 "Arms: elbow spurs" which obviously replaces the default physical feature "Not having elbow spurs".

I'm having a bit of trouble though figuring out others, such as Variant Ability 12 "You do not need to sleep. You are not immune to sleep effects", which default ability would this replace?
There are others I also can't figure out, any help with this would be appreciated.

1 level of Shadowdancer lets you hide in plain sight.

If you want to add Sneak Attack classes, you could add
Rogue or Ninja,
Vivisectionist Alchemist (no bombs),
Snakebite Striker Brawler (no martial flexibility),
Assassin,
Guild Thief,
Ninja of the Crescent Moon,
Outlaw of the Crimson road,
& Spymaster.

They all get Sneak Attack at level 1.

1 level of Alchemist will give you
the ability to identify potions as if using detect magic by examining the potion for 1 round,
Brew Potion as a bonus feat,
Throw Anything as a bonus feat,
Extracts,
Bombs,
& a Mutagen that gives you +2 natural armour & increases 1 physical stat of your choice by +4.

The Falconer Ranger gets an animal companion at level 1, you could add a level of Druid & Nature Warden to level it up.

& as others may have mentioned, Stealth should be as high as you can get it to catch enemies flat-footed.

Knife Master archetype.

Scout archetype & Spring Attack feat.

This next strategy is a big investment, & probably more useful to a rogue that uses a reach weapon, but I'll include it just incase you might like the idea.
Racial Heritage feat (Halfling)(or be a Halfling), Defensive Combat Training, Perception & Stealth - 5 ranks, Halfling Opportunist - 5 levels. This will give you 2D6 extra sneak attack damage & the ability to do sneak attack damage any time you make an attack of opportunity.

Mantis style.

Gangnam style.