So, as some may know from previous posts I'm playing around with a magus build. My regular group would like to finish off a high-level campaign they started before I met these guys and so the build is for level 15. All magic items on table as long as the coin lasts.
My problem, having put together a mostly typical shocking grasper, but with a few choice hexes, is that the campaign is heavily demon-centric. Immunity: Electricity makes me sad.
Elemental Spell is a solution but I hate having to apply it to Shocking Grasp instead of better meta-magics.
Before it looked something like
Elf Magus
Traits: Magical Lineage, Reactionary
1 Weapons Finesse
3 Dervish Dance
5 Elemental Spell/Heighten?
5 Lunge (Bonus feat)
7 Intensify Spell
9 Maximize Spell
11 Quicken Spell
11 Improved Critical (Bonus feat)
13 Extra Arcana/Preferred Spell?
15 Spell Perfection
But now I'd need to work Elemental Spell in there.
What I'm wondering is whether anyone has played around with basing a magus off of a slightly higher-level spell than SG.
I'd probably give up hexcrafter since I'd need Improved Spell Recall more (and likely preferred spell and its tax, heighten, as well) but I wasn't married to it.
What about a Frigid Touch build with Rime Spell?
Or a Toppling spell build? Something even less standard?
I've looked around some but almost all the builds I've seen are shocking grasp based. Would I be just better off sticking with elemental spell SG?
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Past 10th level or so the vast majority of spells you'll be spellstriking with is Vampiric Touch, the damage is almost as good but the Temp HP's you'll be getting is far more important to your staying power.
Frigid Touch builds are nice but Demons have cold resist 10 and this spell avg's 12 pts of damage. If you are only concerned about the staggered condition go for it but it's not a damaging spell.
If you want the high burst damage Magi usually do you'll need to find a way to change the energy type of shocking grasp to something else.
Keep Hexcrafter. If only for Slumber and Ice Tomb. They are that good.
Also at your level. Wandwielder can be really nice. Grab a wand of a spell good vs Demons.
Check out my Blaster Mage in the Hexcrafter Handbook and use it as a base.
Magical Lineage and Elemental Spell/Intensify on SG only uses a 2nd level slot.
Also don't underestimatd Evil Eye. It's a great debuff when you have nothing better to do.
Plus all curse spells are on the Hexcrafter list.
If you took accursed strike you could Evil Eye+Move to close in rd 1 (-4 to saves)
Rd 2 you could Cackle+Spellstrike with Blindness/Deafness (or even Major Curse if you took accused strike)
Mathawei has the right on Vampiric touch. Don't like SG? Take Magical Lineage (Vampiric Touch) and intensify it in a 3rd level slot. Good stuff.
Seems like good advice. Thanks.
What about Arcanas/Hexes?
I was planning on also going Bladebound for flavor/RP reasons, further cutting my Arcane pool, so my arcanas go:
3 - none (Bladebound)
4 - Hex Magus: Flight
6 - Arcane Accuracy
9 - Slumber
12 - Prehensile Hair
15 - Evil-Eye (Although if it lands won't I just wish I'd used slumber?) or Devoted Blade (given the setting this might be better than usual).
Extra Arcana - Ice Tomb (this needs an errata so hard)
Should I just ditch Bladebound? At 15 the difference is only 2 pool points, though by 20 that grows to 4. Hefty difference without Improved Spell Recall. Granted, the Black Blade save money that can be spent enhancing Int, and further improving my hexes, but will the hexes have a enough mileage to make up the difference?
Also, should probably add they we've got a gunslinger, an archery ranger, a rather optimized pally and another incoming new player who'll be playing "some kind of dedicated healer."
Bladebound sucks at low levels. At high levels is less painful. Saves a TON of cash for more gear so it does have good points. Forget about spell recall and grab a few pearls of power. They are cheap. I could honestly go either way.
As I said you debuff with evil eye for EVERYBODY's benefit, not just yours.
That decicated healer will have offensive spells and your spells are lower level than a straight wiz. Evil Eye takes a round but it GARAUNTEES thier save is 20% lower or they are 20% easier to hit. That is a big deal.
Force punch with intensify looks like a good idea for a 15th CL spell.
Traits: Magical Lineage and Wayang Spell hunter
That looks pretty boss, not sure if my GM will let me get by with Wayang without switching race or rewriting backstory or etc., but yeah, I must have missed that trait before. Ridiculously good with Magical Lineage.
What point buy? Given that you're coming in at 15, you could take a dip that might not be as viable at lower levels.
1 level in crossblooded (Orc/Shaitan) sorcerer would give you the +1 in damage per die, and the ability to change shocking grasp into acid damage, which demons resist but aren't immune to. For your small handful of sorcerer spells, taking utility spells that a magus doesn't get would make sense.
It would lose your third iterative attack, but at a BAB of +1 and the penalties from spell combat it probably wouldn't hit much anyway
What point buy? Given that you're coming in at 15, you could take a dip that might not be as viable at lower levels.
1 level in crossblooded (Orc/Shaitan) sorcerer would give you the +1 in damage per die, and the ability to change shocking grasp into acid damage, which demons resist but aren't immune to. For your small handful of sorcerer spells, taking utility spells that a magus doesn't get would make sense.
It would lose your third iterative attack, but at a BAB of +1 and the penalties from spell combat it probably wouldn't hit much anyway
No point buy, it's rolled stats -- but generous: 4d6 drop lowest, lowest stat becomes an 18.
Scripps check out
Scripps check out
Nice!
One last question: how much utility do people really see out of Preferred Spell? It seems awesome but it's two feats and I'm starved!
OK -- after taking everyone's excellent advice into account and playing around some, this is what I've come up with:
Elf Bladebound/Hexcrafter Magus
Traits:
Magical Lineage
Reactionary (Wayang Spellhunter would be better, I'm sad)
1 Weapons Finesse
3 Dervish Dance
5 Heighten
5 Preferred Spell (Bonus feat)
7 Intensify Spell
9 Elemental Spell
11 Maximize Spell
11 Improved Critical (Bonus feat)
13 Quicken Spell
15 Spell Perfection
17 Extra Arcana (Hex)
19 Extra Arcana (Hex)
3 - none (Bladebound)
4 - Hex Magus: Flight
6 - Arcane Accuracy
9 - Devoted Blade
12 - Evil-Eye
15 - Slumber
17 - Prehensile Hair
18 - Ice Tomb
19 - Summon Spirit
I'm pretty happy with this build. I gave up Lunge -- which can be a pretty sweet feat for a squishy melee character -- but I'm getting a lot out of this build (and might consider sacrificing quicken for lunge and splurging for the rod and a glove of storing -- I've got a lot competing for swift actions).
Intensified Elemental Shocking Grasps spells that can be spontaneously cast (Preferred Spell) as 2nd-level spells and that are Maximized or Quickened for free (Spell Perfection), great hexes and, while I normally wouldn't take it, Devoted Blade for +4d6 on every attack against demons -- which the campaign is centered around.
And last advice on my Arcanas and Hexes?
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Well since you are starting at 15th level there is no reason to take Flight hex. You gain access to the overland flight spell so just cast that in the morning and fly all day.
I'd switch Prehensile hair down to your 4th level hex and since it naturally has a 10 foot reach it takes care of your need for Lunge (mostly).
This will free up a feat so you can drop ice tomb and summon spirit by a level letting you have 2 grand hexes by end game.
And I really think you should re-think the devoted blade arcana. Remember you can only pick the choices that match your Alignment and you can only get one of them at a time. So unless you are planning to be Lawful Good (to use the Axiomatic & Holy effects) you might want to choose something else.
My recommendation is to drop Devoted blade and pick up Bane Blade instead.
It's much more flexible since you pick a type instead of alignment (Evil outsiders is best) and gives you a +2 additional bonus against that type. This means your Blackblade will be an effective +6 weapon and automatically bypass ANY Damage Reduction you come across.
Up to you though.