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So here's my question, I want to play a Kensai (possibly also bladebound) Magus. I do not have access to the dervish dancer feat so a dex build is out. Humans are also banned from being played.
So with all this I could use some help building a str based Kensai. I am looking at a 25 point build, want to use a Falcata, Starting at lvl 1.
This will be an island hopping based game so lots of water, probably not alot of in water combat (if at all) knowing the DM.
My current idea is a Suli since I would like a str bump but the int minus is not so good.
Str 16 -> 18
Dex 12 -> 12
con 14 -> 14
Int 16 -> 14
Wis 8 -> 10
Cha 10 -> 10
feats
Kensai Bonus: Weapon Focus(falcata)
1: Extra Arcane Pool???/Toughness???
thoughts on Toughness, get the extra HP since no matter how i look at it my AC will be not so good.
Any help will be awesome.
Play a regular Magus.
Why do you want to focus on Kensai?
the only problem is that at low levels your AC really hurts since you only get 1 Int Modifier per level.
My current idea is a Suli since I would like a str bump but the int minus is not so good.
Str 16 -> 18
Dex 12 -> 12
con 14 -> 14
Int 16 -> 14
Wis 8 -> 10
Cha 10 -> 10
These stats are wrong if you're playing a Suli. They get +2 Str, +2 Cha, -2 Int. Not +2 Wisdom. Also, I agree with Name Violation(Awesome name by the way lol), the Bladebound would work better than the Falcata here.
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What do you have access to?
If you have access to UC. Katana will keap the same threat range, but allow you to use it one or two handed.
Katana 1D8 18-20/X2
Race might want to think of the Nagaji from Dragon Empires Gazetter.
All nagaji are humanoids with the reptilian subtype. They have the following racial traits.
•Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, –2 Intelligence.
•Size: Medium
•Speed: 30 feet
•Senses: low-light vision
•Special Abilities:
Armored Scales (Ex) +1 natural armor bonus from their scaly flesh.
Resistant (Ex) +2 racial saving throw bonus against mind-affecting effects and poison.
Serpent’s Sense (Ex) Nagaji receive a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks against reptiles, and a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Magus Kensai
Ability Purchased Racial Mod Actual
STR 15+2=17
DEX 14
CON 16 (or 14)
INT 14-2= 12 (or 16-2=14)
WIS 10
CHA 8+2=10
You don't get level 3 spells untill level 7. By then you can find or get a Int item. To cast your spells.
1. Extra Arcana: Spellshield
1. Weapon Focus Katana (free with Kensai)
3. Arcane StrikeI'd also use a Katana which gives you the option of 1H or 2H (use 2H after you charge your weapon for a Spellstrike or use 2H for easy fights).
Make sure you take the spell Shield for a +4 AC. I also like Enlarge Person for the reach and upgrade to weapon damage.
Except that you can't take Extra Arcana until level 3, because it requires you to have the Arcana class feature (or 6 for Bladebound).
And, Spell Shield and the Shield spell (confusing? very) do not stack as they both grant shield bonuses.
Im currently playing a monk/ kensei. My stats were rolled(and awesome) but im a monk lvl 1and kensei lvl3 and I have a 30 ac... 16 str. 14 dex 14 con 18. Wis. 20 int. 13cha. So my ac comes from +2 dex +4 wis. +1 dodge +3 int. +2 from the aldori dueling sword feat tree +4 from shield spell and +4 from mage armor (taken with the lvl 3I magus arcana) im enjoying the character. Damn near everything has to roll a 20 to hit me while I use my sword to deliver my shocking grasp spell and pearls of power to recharge those spells
Im currently playing a monk/ kensei. My stats were rolled(and awesome) but im a monk lvl 1and kensei lvl3 and I have a 30 ac... 16 str. 14 dex 14 con 18. Wis. 20 int. 13cha. So my ac comes from +2 dex +4 wis. +1 dodge +3 int. +2 from the aldori dueling sword feat tree +4 from shield spell and +4 from mage armor (taken with the lvl 3I magus arcana) im enjoying the character. Damn near everything has to roll a 20 to hit me while I use my sword to deliver my shocking grasp spell and pearls of power to recharge those spells
Again.. Aldori Dueling Mastery gives +2 shield bonus to AC. doesn't stack with Shield spell.
My 2 cents:
I'd actually go for a DEX based build regardless of not having Dervish Dance.
Pick up a Agile kukri Agile weapon enchantment. If you're spending considerable time island hopping and thus can't go shopping ask your GM if he'll let you use up a blade-bounds 2nd weapon enhancement at level 5 for the agile property instead of the +1.
The difference between a Kukri & Scimtar:
-Damage dice 1d4 vs 1d6 (Average both at 3.5 and 2.5 damage, respectively)
-Kurkri can be used with Piranha Strike (Dex based power attack).
So you essentially lose out on 1 average damage 2 if you crit, but get to ignore STR. For the cost of a +1 weapon property. You also free up a feat that you would've otherwise put into dervish dance conventionally which is also nice. Both have a 18-20 crit range which if made keen or you pick up improved critical make for nice synergy with a Kensai magi. While I like DD I think it borders on the don't spend a feat on what you can replicate with gold habit that I try to loosely stick to.
At low levels keep in mind not all Armor has ASF or ACP. If you pick up both a Haramaki & Armored Kilt you could have +2 Armor Bonus to AC and the only penalty for non-proficiency is taking the ACP to your attack rolls and with an ACP of 0 it's a moot issue.
If you go the DEX route it doesn't really come "Online" till you can pick up the Agile property and weapon finesse at around level 3-5 so I'd recommend grabbing a bow and keeping at range, but once it does it's arguably leaps and bounds above most STR based Magi and works well with the Kensai archetype.
For races I'd recommend a middle aged Tiefling, if you can get away with it.
Kensai have no armor prof. and you are focussing on melee going Str. build... Then you select a race that hampers your INT which is one of the only other ways to bump your AC as a Kensai. Are you sure you want AC seems like you avoiding it. Then you take toughness over Dodge which would bump your AC? the Dodge line also could give you wind and lightining stance... since you worried about lower AC this would give you concealment later on. Are you allowed to use anything from the Pathfinder Society Field Guide? Like say the Agile Weapons? This is similar to the Dancing Dervish feat except you can add your Dex to damage and it doesn't have to be the scimitar like the Dervish although it would have to be a light weapon, whip, rapier, or spiked chain. Weapon Finess + Agile Weapons make a pretty decent combo to get yourself some higher AC and not lose all the damage. The melee itself isn't supposed to be the damage as much as the spellstrike through the weapon so going with a bigger critical range could help the spells crit more often. Take a rapier add the Keen ability through blackblades arcane pool and you got a 30%(15-20) crit on spells with a spell strike. Depending on if your DM allows a magical ability to be put on the blade before or after it becomes a blackblade could help you. If you don't have to spend 2 arcane pool points to make it a Keen Agile weapon can change alot of the way the build works.
Also you can take Bladebound and Kensai the two archetypes mix since they take away different magus abilities. So if he went Kensai at 1 and focused on Falcata (as a free feat) he could take Bladebound at 3 and his Falcata would become the black blade. I don't know why people are saying he shouldnt go falcata he should go bladebound when they could be the same. I don't think it is the best choice to max AC, but he could do it if he wanted...
Also another option which I am not very fond of ever giving up attack bonus is the Combat Expertise feat.
If you are focused on Magus, want to be melee, and can't use the dervish then I think a regular magus would work better since you would at least be able to wear armor. It is going to be really tough as a Kensai with no armor and no dex... Then toss in the fact that you have diminished spells and low INT. It is going to be really rough... good luck!
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@waltz Those are some really good suggestions, unfortunately the reason I can not go the dervish dancer build is because we are not using anything from the AP's, so I'm restricted to core, apg, the ultimates, and the bestiary's(for races).
The idea of elf could work, I'd just have to start with an 16 str instead of 18, but then I could easily get a 16 dex and 16 int. Starting 14 AC, could be worse. The 12 con is meh but I could look into toughness if it becomes an issue.
str 16-10
dex 16-5
con 12-5
Int 16-5
wis 10-0
cha 10-0
(Hate the thought of negative stats but if its a huge upgrade i'd consider it)
the reason i originally went with falcata over scimitar is because the falcata has a 19-20/x3 and d8's, while the scimitar is 18-20/x2 with d6's. Focusing on the more martial part and the fact that I won't get spell recall will mean I will only get so many shocking grasps a day. the x3 and d8 will net more over all dmg than the 18-20 of the scimitar. Plus i will get the ability to kick it up to a x4 by spending arcane pool.
Also on a side note, if I go elf I'll still be proficient with bows.
@Tormad: Agile Weapon enchantment is from PFS field guide and Piranha Strike is from Pathfinder Companion: Sargava, the Lost Colony. Neither is from an Adventure Path and they're both listed on the SRD, but if your GM nerfs those options then I guess they're closed to you.
I personally would highly recommend against playing a Kensai without an option to make it a DEX based build. It's a nice archetype, but it hurts far too much in the AC department and makes you quite MAD. I'd suggest going standard Magi or even Blade-Bound instead. The above mentioned feat and weapon enhancement makes a Kensai a lot more playable without access to Dervish Dance, without them I'd scrub the whole exercise and just play a Bard instead.
Still picking up the Haramaki (Ultimate Combat) or Armored Kilt (Adventurers Armory) at level 1 for a +1 armor bonus with no ACP/ASF and no penalty to attack for not being proficient is a must if you still want to go Kensai.
If you plan to take a exotic weapon for a strength based magus I would suggest the katana. I like the falcata also, but mathematically the katanas crit range works better for a magus. Spells only multiply by 2 on a crit regardless of the weapon. @ gallahad2112- I can see the writing loop hole your trying to use, but I doubt thats legal. If your DM lets that slide you may also want to get the enforcer feat, and raise your intimidate skill. +1 to Tiefling. Great for a magus. Less so for a strength build, but still good. +1 to bladebound. A strong choice.
Using the Kensai perfect strike, the factor for critical hits for falcata AND every 18-20/x2 weapon becomes (1-0,6), without that we face (1+0,3) for 18-20/x3 and (1+0,4) for falcatta.
The fighter training the Kensai gets is different than the one the regular magus gets. The regular magus only gets 1/2 his level to qualify as a fighter. The Kensai takes his level and subtracts 3 to qualify for fighter. Thus a lvl 20 magus is only considered a 10th lvl fighter while a lvl 20 Kensai is considered a 17th lvl fighter.
I believe there are a few feats that would make a difference...
Critical mastery requires a lvl 14 fighter
Greater weapon specialization lvl 12
Penetrating strike lvl 12
Greater penetrating strike lvl 16
So some of them could be quite useful if you are more melee magus as the Kensai build tends to be.
Okay, the kensai is a pretty good archetype, it just has some trouble early on. So don't feel like you have to play a regular magus or a different archetype :/
That being said, DO NOT take a race with an int penalty if you're playing magus, ESPECIALLY if you want to play a kensai. One trick I like it playing a Samsaran Kensai, and using the Mystic Past Life to get access to mage armor, which helps overcome your poor starting AC. You can also get some other neat stuff like early access Summoner Spells (haste, dimension door, stoneskin, etc.) or cool wizard spells like Touch of Stupidity, Calific Touch, Contingency, Siphon Magic, etc. Go for arcanas like arcane accuracy which lets you add your intelligence to hit for a round, and take spells like Bladed Dash, which also add INT to hit, but also let you full attack with spell combat even if you're 30feet away. Focus on Strength at first, but then switch to Intelligence at higher levels.
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I've been looking at the Kensai, and, for some theory crafting, there are a couple of ways around the low-level AC drop.
Shield is a 1st level Magus pick, and a good spell for the Kensai. You can also use Potions of Mage Armor -- it doesn't appear that Mage Armor is on the list, but using a pot for harder fights would be a good way to boost your ac occasionally for a relatively low GP cost (50 or 100, IIRC).
I'm curious why no one mentioned Elves -- they seem to be a perfect fit for a Kensai, boosting Dex and Int, and you can switch out Weapon Familiarity for a +2 bonus to Concentration checks. With an Agile weapon, you don't need strength unless you're going for combat maneuvers (is there a feat that lets you replace and/or add Dex to CMB rolls?)
Yes, depending on your weapon, either Weapon Finesse or Agile Maneuvers.
Weapon Finesse only lets you add it for weapon-based combat maneuvers that you use a finesseable weapon with, like sunder, disarm and trip.
Agile Maneuvers is a blanket replacement, so you could use it with Bull rush or any other maneuver.
Note that Fury's Fall, which lets you add Dex to your CMB for trip maneuvers, is something your GM says won't stack with the dex replacement from WF or AM. Fury's Fall is from the Cheliax book, IIRC, the other two are, actually, Core feats.
Can I recommend the android? They have +2 INT +2 DEX and -2 CHA so no party face but pretty boss for making a magus.