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To start off, me and a couple of friends of mine have been playing DnD off and on for about 12 or 13 years now. We have pretty much exclusively played 2nd edition up until now, mostly because it worked, and we liked it.
We decided to make the jump to Pathfinder with this next campaign we are starting up, and this will be my first time playing it. Our group needed a rogue, and I decided I would bite the bullet and play a rouge this time around.
When I started rolling my character, I decided that rogues sounded very boring. So I figured I would multi-class rogue and something caster like, so magus seemed like a decent fit.
From there I decided I liked how Kensai sounded, so I want to play one of them as well.
We are starting at level 5, so I took 3 levels as Kensai/Magus and took 2 in Rouge.
My DM is going to play with the Crit/Fumble cards, so i was going to build my character around using a Keen Scimitar for the 15-20 threat range. The fact that when I use Spellstike, the spell crits if the melee attack does seemed very interesting to me because the DM said that if I crit, I will get the magic and slashing crit effects off of the one attack.
I was wondering if the following build seems decent enough to get by, or if I should change anything around specifically.
Trait - Dirty fighter; Took this because i will mostly be trying to get flanking so I get sneak attacks.
Trait - Reactionary; Took to have higher initiative.
Race: Elf
Str: 10
Dex: 16 (after racial) 18 w/ belt (see gear)
Con: 10
Int: 21 (after racial, and the level 4 point) 23 w/ headband (see gear)
Wis: 10
Cha: 7
Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge (not sure about this one), Dervish Dance
Bonus Feat from rogue talent: Weapon Finesse (to get Dervish Dance)
Bonus Feat from Kensai: Weapon Focus Scimitar
Kensai also gets the Canny dodge class feature, which basically adds your Int modifier to your dex to ac bonus (affected by armor's max dex).
I took the Magus Arcana Close range, so I can use the ranged touch attacks thru the spellstrike ability and still get the melee attack that it causes.
I also plan on using scrolls for defense spells, and save spells/day for offensive spells, since Kensai get the -1 spell/day for each level of spell.
Gear:
Haramaki - +1 ac, and no max dex.
Keen Scimitar - 15-20/2x
Belt of incredible dexterity +2 (House rule against only lasting 24h)
Headband of vast intelligence +2 (see above)
Longbow - Just in case
Common Arrows - Again, just in case.
Skill point are put in the obvious places.
There is a wizard in the group, that knows mage armor, so i am going to learn the spell from his spell book, so i can cast it.
When all is said and done, this characters basic stats are
22ac (25 with mage armor, and 29 with shield/mage armor)
3 Fort Sv.
8 Reflex Sv.
3 Will Sv.
BAB +3
+6 Initiative
Basic attack will be +8 to hit, 1d6+4 damage and 15-20/x2
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--BUMP--
Really needing advice, as this is my first time playing anything other than 2nd Edition.
You're probably better off sticking with a single class than multiclassing (just in general). I'd stick with Magus, personally.
Also, for this build (either the one presented or the Dex based Magus), your Dex is more important than your Int. Swap them around.
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Well, as I stated, my party needed a rogue. So I'm trying to fill that void, unless rogues aren't needed to find/disarm traps effectively in Pathfinder.
Actually, a couple other classes may sub in for them, though a Trapfinder is still needed.
May I reccomend the Archaeologist Archetype for Bard? It's got the trap finding skills of a Rogue, and is almost as good at diabling them, all with spellcasting and self-enhancement stuff tacked on and a whole lot of style.
Or, for a less mystical route, the Urban Ranger? Which is Rogue-ish, but gets some low-key spells, an Animal Companion and a few other bits of coolness.
Both would be more effective than dipping Rogue just to get a trapfinder, and the first even sounds much like what you want.
A single level dip in rogue gets trapfinding, all you need as a rogue. As there is no penalty for putting points into non-class skills, you just keep putting points in Search once you leave rogue. The high Int would match your magus needs and help with Search.
A second level dip into rogue will get you Evasion, something I would definitely not pass up.
I don't really recommend any further levels in rogue however as you'd water yourself down too much. Continue from there with magus and you should be fine.
I'd work the rogue part into my character history, claiming that I was a thief who had a change of heart and began seeking the discipline of a kensai.
I think your character is fine and shouldn't have any real problems as long as you don't keep taking rogue dips. You do not need to keep your multiclass levels close to each other in 3.5-3.75 and people rarely do.
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Well Bards are CHA casters, and Magus are DEX/INT characters, would that not be spreading your ability points too thin? Or would you just take the Bard class as a dip in that case?
If so, what makes a bard a better dip than a rogue, as rogues get sneak attacks, and rogue talents (why i have the Dervish Dance feat) and rogues can disarm magical traps at level 1, as opposed to level 10 as an Archaeologist.
Not trying to shoot down your idea by any means, I'm just trying to understand what makes it better than rogue.
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A single level dip in rogue gets trapfinding, all you need as a rogue. As there is no penalty for putting points into non-class skills, you just keep putting points in Search once you leave rogue. The high Int would match your magus needs and help with Search.
A second level dip into rogue will get you Evasion, something I would definitely not pass up.
I think your character is fine and shouldn't have any real problems as long as you don't keep taking rogue dips.
Thanks for the reply; I didn't plan on taking any more rogue levels at all. I took level 2 for evasion, and the rogue talent for weapon finesse (so i could take Dervish Dance).
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Well Bards are CHA casters, and Magus are DEX/INT characters, would that not be spreading your ability points too thin? Or would you just take the Bard class as a dip in that case?
Oh, I was suggesting going straight Archaeologist Bard (or whatever) for all 5 levels, not dipping. It's not quite the same as Magus, but it does most of what Magus/Rogue does thematically, with far more effective mechanics.
If you're gonna dip, you're right, Rogue's the way to go.