Need help finishing my whip Magus build

[Tashen]

I have been looking around a lot for whip magus builds and a lot of the ones I have seen people are taking feats at level 1 which have a required +1 BAB. I am making this for PFS, so I cannot use any house rules on building this. I know a lot of people have been trying to make this work. Does anyone have a good build for a whip based magus? If not feel free to help with what I have started below. So far the only way to get a whip proficiency at level 1 is to use the Kensai, so let me know what you think.

Here is what I have so far:

Elf Kensai Magus
Alternate racial trait (Whip) - I lose Adaptability for this

Str 10
Dex 18 (16+2)
Con 14
Int 15
Wis 8
Cha 10

Traits (I am open to change here)
Magical lineage (shocking grasp)
Social trait (something that gives me diplomacy or sense motive)

Feats
1 Weapon Finesse
Kensai Ft: Weapon Focus (Whip)
3 Whip Mastery
5 ???

My main goal is to have a reach based weapon. I would like to be threatening with it. With my low damage in this class if I could try to use the whip to trip or disarm I think I might try to focus on that.

Also, as I mentioned this is for society play, so it will never be leveled past 12.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[ThatEvilGuy]

Are you an elf or half-elf because the Adaptability racial trait is a half-elf feature. The kensai gives you EWP (whip) anyways if you choose it as your favorite weapon. Take dual-mind instead (+2 Will saves).

A trait which gives you either Diplomacy or Sense Motive is Calistrian Prostitute (religious trait). If you want to disarm or trip you'll want to pick up Combat Expertise to take the Improved Disarm/Trip feat in tandem with the Maneuver Mastery arcana to use your magus level instead of base attack to determine CMB. If you want to take maximum advantage of reach and attacks of opportunity, you'll want Improved Whip Mastery (@lv 7 for 10 foot reach) and Combat Reflexes as well.

Probably:

1: Weapon Finesse
3: Whip Mastery
5: Combat Expertise, Improved (Trip/Disarm)
7: Improved Whip Mastery
9: Intensified Spell
11: Combat Reflexes, Greater (Trip/Disarm)

[Tashen]

I chose half elf to get the Alternate racial trait (Ancestral Arms - whip), which gives me the ability to use the whip. This is added in place of Adaptability. Then the weapon focus from Kensai is just giving me a +1 in whip (prerequisite: Proficiency with weapon and BAB +1)

Without doing it that way I was having a hard time getting the whip proficiency at level 1.

[ThatEvilGuy]

Kensai lets you choose any weapon and you become proficient in it. In fact, some of your class abilities (like canny defense) ONLY work when you're wielding that weapon. I'd suggest you choose the whip. ;)

[Tashen]

Wow, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I was using Hero Lab, and I didn't select my Kensai special abilities to give me proficiency with the whip.

So now I am not forced to be a Half-Elf and I can select a difference race. I think Human for the extra feat would be best depending on which feats I can select.

Thanks so much, I am going to have to rework this build now.

Any thoughts about my ability selection. I see a lot of people choose 13 str, but I don't think I will be doing power attack ( I assume it's for that). Although I am wondering if I should try to up my Int.

[ThatEvilGuy]

Higher Int is always preferable on a kensai build since so many of your abilities are based on your Int mod including your AC.

I believe PFS is 20-point buy so I'd do the following:

Elf

Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 8

Get an agile whip ASAP.

Alternatively, you can lower your Dex score by 1 to have a 13 Strength (for encumbrance purposes). On the plus side, as a kensai you don't really wear armor (until you get a mithril shirt, or an enchanted haramaki) and thus weight isn't as much of a problem.

As a human the extra feat is nice but so is the extra +2 vs. SR as an elf (for your evocations) and proficiency in the longbow and the rapier as secondary weapons.

[galahad2112]

I believe that you could also do the Spire Defender archetype as an Elf Magus (similar build to that suggested by ThatEvilGuy).
The reasons that I like them are
1) No diminished spellcasting (it's really harsh on the magus)
2) If you acquire armor proficiency, you can still cast armored, just like a regular magus
3) bonus feats
4) Free EWP with an "exotic weapon with the trip or disarm feature", which whip easily qualifies for.

Obviously, the drawback is that you don't get Wpn Focus with this at lv.1, however, if you dip fighter at lv. 2, you can get Wpn focus as your bonus feat, and still get whip mastery at 3rd.

[james maissen]

Tashen wrote:

I have been looking around a lot for whip magus builds

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Here's the idea of one I posted a few months back, but it's not a pure magus build.. but c'est la vie:

I stated out a 1/2orc with this mix:
Fighter (lorewarden) 3/ Magus (hexcrafter) 9

Using the racial alternative to make whip (and net) proficient.

Feats: WF: Whip (F1), Enforcer, Combat Exp(LW2), Improved Trip (F2), Whip master, intimidating prowess, Greater Trip, Improved Whip master(M5), combat reflexes and butterfly sting.

Arcana: Wand wielder, hex, maneuver mastery (trip)
Hexes: Flight and Evil Eye

Traits: blade of mercy (for non-lethal with any slashing weapon and +1 damage on non-lethal), and whatever.

Eventually you'll get a +2 dueling whip, likely you will get the variant whip that you can make out of adamantine so you can sunder when you wish to.

After level 12 (if you continue the PC into specials/mods) go for maneuver master monk picking up more maneuvers.

I went with 1/2 orc as it can pick up the whip as a racial and it gets bonuses to intimidate as well as darkvision and can boost STR.. all in all a winner.

Starting stats:
STR 19
INT 14
WIS 07
DEX 14
CON 14
CHA 07

Bumps to STR.

If you want to do a DEX based version then you'll want weapon finesse and fury's fall, so you can dump Enforcer & Intimidating Prowess for it. But personally I like the status effects piling on..

-James

[Tashen]

I am using Hero Labs and I have just about everything for it, but I don't see Loremaster under the Fighter Archtypes. Where do you find that at?

Also, I could not find agile whip. I did find agile maneuvers which looked interesting, but not agile whip. Where can I find that also?

[Ezekiel W]

Tashen wrote:

I am using Hero Labs and I have just about everything for it, but I don't see Loremaster under the Fighter Archtypes. Where do you find that at?

Also, I could not find agile whip. I did find agile maneuvers which looked interesting, but not agile whip. Where can I find that also?

Not Loremaster, but Lorewarden. Both that archetype and the Agile weapon quality are from the Pathfinder Society Field Guide.

[sveden]

Tashen wrote:

I am using Hero Labs and I have just about everything for it, but I don't see Loremaster under the Fighter Archtypes. Where do you find that at?

Also, I could not find agile whip. I did find agile maneuvers which looked interesting, but not agile whip. Where can I find that also?

Go to your source book and read about the Lore Warden. Please do not rely exclusively on Hero Lab to make your PC.

[Tashen]

Ezekiel, Thanks for the info.

Sven,

I looked in the Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Core Rulebook, Advanced Players Guide, and Hero Lab and couldn't find it any any of those. I like to make sure I have the source material for the characters I build which is why I asked where to find it.

[sveden]

Tashen wrote:

Ezekiel, Thanks for the info.

Sven,

I looked in the Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Core Rulebook, Advanced Players Guide, and Hero Lab and couldn't find it any any of those. I like to make sure I have the source material for the characters I build which is why I asked where to find it.

Its in Pathfinder Society Field Guide. I can let you look at my copy on Saturday.