Seems like a pretty solid dip to me. Though I don't see why you say Arcane pool will become useless. It stacks after all. Just don't ever make your weapon +5?
Arcane strike scales with caster lvls which you will only ever have 1 of so its not really worth it IMO.
Though setting back BaB is not something to take lightly for a pure melee build it seems like it may be worth it.
Best way to build a Duelist or Swordlord IMO.The most important thing is that Spell Combat gives you an extra attack and thats badly needed for Onehanded fighters.
Get the Wand Wielder Arcana so you can use wands with spell combat.
Best way to build a Duelist or Swordlord IMO.The most important thing is that Spell Combat gives you an extra attack and thats badly needed for Onehanded fighters.
Get the Wand Wielder Arcana so you can use wands with spell combat.
It is the combo of spell combat and spellstrike that net the extra attack. This means you would need 2 lvls of Magus.
It is the combo of spell combat and spellstrike that net the extra attack. This means you would need 2 lvls of Magus.Best way to build a Duelist or Swordlord IMO.The most important thing is that Spell Combat gives you an extra attack and thats badly needed for Onehanded fighters.
Get the Wand Wielder Arcana so you can use wands with spell combat.
Yeah thats right. I thought he would go Magus 4/Fighter 1 but as I read it now I see he only wants one level of Magus.The question is why?Taking 4 levels of magus nets you second level spells and spell recall or in his case as a kensai +3AC from int and the ability to increase his crit modifier to x3,...oh and 2 magus Arcana wich of course would be Wand Wielder and Arcane Acurracy. What does fighter have to offer?
Agreed. I would take at the very LEAST 2 lvls of Magus.Even 3 for an arcana isn't a bad choice at all.
But how are you getting 2 arcana at lvl 4?
Ooops forgot that magus don't get arcanas every other level like rogues.My bad.
I would still take all 4 levels.BAB wise its all the same and the benefits of hitting 4th level of magus just outweighs bonusfeats.Hell getting Bladed Dash alone is worth it.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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What does fighter have to offer?The Aldori Archetype for fighters is pretty decent for additional AC. In fact you can get some pretty crazy AC bonuses that way when fighting defensively. You can also attempt to disarm AND still do damage and at level 9 Aldori you get your level of Weapons Training so that you can get gloves of dueling - which just rocks for any melee build that qualifies
See, I prefer the Lore Warden over the Aldori, the increase in class skills & CMD/CMB is worth it to me.
Pros? +2 Will and Fort Saves. Access to cantrips - not needed for combat but its nice to be able to clean your armour with a twist of the fingers or spice your food after a long day combat and access to a single level 1 per day.
Something to keep in mind:
A kensai is not proficient with armor or shields and suffers normal arcane spell failure chance when casting magus spells while armored.
Yep but here's the thing, If I only take 1 one level dip then 'True Strike' doesn't have an arcane failure chance.
Not sure about other level 1 and 2 spells... /Celestial/Mithral armour could be a thing that helps and possibly with Armour adept feat (I lose one feat later to gain one earlier)
All right. I would advise against a level dip into kensai, though. The archetype gives you a lot of nice things later on if you stay with it all the way to 20, but I think you lose more than you gain if you only dip once.
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I'm currently running a duelist with the Aldori flavor but without actually any levels in Fighter (Aldori Swordlord) or the Aldori Swordlord PrC. I'm flavoring it as he learned the basic techniques but was exiled before he was officially recognized.
Build is basically Magus (Kensai) with an early Monk (Master of Many Styles) two level dip. You want to talk crazy high AC when you fight defensively? How about Dex, Int, and Wis modifiers to AC AND Touch AC? Also the option to Crane Wing (parry) any melee attack that gets through?
If I cast Shield on myself and have allies capable of hitting me with buffs like Mage Armor and Shield of Faith, my AC can hit 33 or so at level 5 and that's before any stat increasing items. Currently wondering about taking an additional 2 levels in Monk for Ki Pool bonus to AC as well.
Granted this build is a bit MAD. On a 20-point buy MY scores are 10, 18, 12, 16, 14, 8. (Racial Bonuses in Dex and Int - Giving up the Human Racial Feat for Dual Talent).
Low DPR initially until Spell Combat + Spell Strike + Shocking Grasp in later levels. Pearls of Power fix this.
I've actually been thinking of this PrC from a different angle. Build as a Kensai and then just dip into the PrC for Dex to damage and + 2AC and Initative, then come level 7 keep going with Kensai. The only real prerequisite Feat is Dazzling Display which isn't all bad. You could also easily mesh in a level or two of Monk for easy access to Crane Style.
Overall I'm not sure if that beats a straight Dervish Dancing Kensai however...
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A thought for another thread perhaps, but why the hell does the sword lord archetype not get auto proficiency with the algorithm dueling sword, when the blasted Kensai Mage gets EWP AND Wep Foc., were the designers bullied by people who played fighter back in 1st and 2nd edition?
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Completely on topic: I want to make a character that wields an algorithm dueling sword.
It seems that I don't have much to contribute at this point, other than agreeing with what has been said. The one-level dip into Magus feels a little off, particularly when there are other ways to get the EWP that you want without dipping Kensai. Personally, I would just stick with Fighter and eat the feats. Wearing any armor can ruin your ability to put up True Strike, and it eats your actions to get it cast.
If it fits your character, though, go for it. It's not a terrible idea overall.
I am actually planning out a PFS character that will take a single level dip, but it'll be a level of Algorithm SwordLord, not Kensai. Kensai 7/ASL 1/Kensai 4. Arcane Strike and Weapon Specialization = +5 damage (at 11th level), + Dex mod (at 8th) + (up to) 3 from Arcane Pool.
Wearing any armor can ruin your ability to put up True Strike, and it eats your actions to get it cast.
True Strike has no Somatic components and is unaffected by ASF.
How does a Algorithm Sword Lord calculate his damage?
B1←a1{Bi is what we divided into in step i}
i←1while i≤N do
q i←largest integer such that d×qi≤Bi;{qi is the i-th digit of the quotient q}
if i≤N−1 then
B i+1←10×(Bi−d×qi)+ai+1
end if
i←i+ 1;
end while
r←B N−d×q N{r is the remainder}
Math!
AAAAAEEEEEEEEIIIIIII!!!!!
*Runs screaming from the thread*
Agreed. I would take at the very LEAST 2 lvls of Magus.Even 3 for an arcana isn't a bad choice at all.
But how are you getting 2 arcana at lvl 4?
One Arcana plus Extra Arcana as a feat if you really want more?
I agree that if you're going to go Magus, go to 4th Level. You don't get another +1 BAB for your 5th level in the class (delaying Swordlord even more) and by 4th level you have Spellstrike and Arcane Recall, which is all you really need to wreck magical havoc on your foes. If you take Magical Lineage, your 1st level touch spells can be capped for damage with 4 levels of magus (namely shocking and corrosive touch).
See, I prefer the Lore Warden over the Aldori, the increase in class skills & CMD/CMB is worth it to me.What does fighter have to offer?The Aldori Archetype for fighters is pretty decent for additional AC. In fact you can get some pretty crazy AC bonuses that way when fighting defensively. You can also attempt to disarm AND still do damage and at level 9 Aldori you get your level of Weapons Training so that you can get gloves of dueling - which just rocks for any melee build that qualifies
I agree. I basically bought the Pathfinder Society Field Guide just to own that archetype. Absolute favorite.
For me, trading Bravery for Combat Expertise was the point where I was like, "This is too cool not to take."