So I'm about to play in a Skull & Shackles campaign. My character concept is an elf arcane caster with a focus on creating magic items, weapons and constructs. Since I still don't know if we're going to play gestalt, I'm focusing on the Magus. Bladebound, to be exact.
Then I take a look at the Soulforger, and I'm not quite sure I'm reading it right. It seems almost self-limiting and contradictory: I'll try to address the issues one by one.
1) The Soulforger is focused on the creation of "armaments of surpassing power": while he *can* craft himself a very good weapon, by class features it will almost certainly be the only weapon he will ever wield, thanks to his Spell Combat and Spellstrike limited to his Bonded Object only.
I find this somewhat contradictory to the theme of "magical weapon artisan", "a-magical-weapon-for-every-circumstance" character; but I could be wrong. At this point, however, even considering that he will always fight with his Bonded Object, the Soulforger is only one feat ahead of a standard Magus.
2) Since he gains his ability to "craft" a magical weapon through his Bonded Object ability, by class features the Soulforger is completely unable to craft magical weapons for his allies. Even stranger, he is also unable to craft himself a magical armor.
This is where things start to fall apart in my head. The archetype still retains the full Magus armor proficiency, but can't craft himself a magical one even if his life depended on it. He's focused on magical weapons. Can he craft magical weapons? No, he can craft -one- magical weapon. He could do everything better by using a feat, so why am I going to choose this archetype over a feat for my Magus crafter?
3) The Soulforger adds his Magus level to all Craft checks to manufacture weapons, armors and shields -as well as skill checks for crafting Magic Arms and Armors.
Now, this is when I think either the archetype is trolling me, or I am not reading it right. Soulforgers get a -huge- bonus on mundane Craft rolls, enough to make me gasp, and can use that to probably create a dozen or so masterwork weapons, armor and shields per day. This is good, very good. At the same time, they get that same bonus on their Spellcraft check -hooray! Get magical items fast, and get them early. But wait... what can they craft? Hint hint: bonded object. Nothing more. Unless they take the feat, of course, in which case they can craft whatever they want but still be unable to use it.
So let me get it straight: all of this archetype's features are focused on crafting his weapon and that weapon only. The archetype is so nerfed while not wielding his weapon (no spellstrike and spell combat, spellcasting is impaired) that he becomes, combat-wise, a rogue with no sneak attack (a disadvantage; situational, but a disadvantage nonetheless).
Once he maxes out his bonded weapon (something he gains 5/6 level earlier, but he could've gotten anyway) a Soulforger is left with a massive bonus on Crafting that he will probably never use because
a) he cannot craft other magical weapons, for himself and his allies;
b) even if he could, you still would not be able to use them.
Soulforger baffles me. A character without this archetype can do everything it can, only slower.
It is designed for the "casual" crafter who has a single weapon in mind, does not want to waste a feat and wants access to his custom weapon as early as possible?; is it designed for the "hardcore" crafter looking for the titanic skill bonus, but nerfing him on his battle prowess and imposing upon him a dreaded "feat tax"?
Am I ignoring something? Something about this archetype, the Magus, the item creation rules... an errata somwehere?