If your DM doesn't allow you to combine Arcane Mark with Spellstriking/Spellcombating:
You have two ways to get access to "Brand" (cantrip/orison):
- Hexcrafter Magus Archetype, because "Brand" is a [curse] (and you get loads of other cool spells, imho)
- "Two-world Magic" trait: select "Brand" as your crossclass extra spell
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Would one of you nice folks who has experience playing a magus clear something up for me, please?
From the PRD:
Enduring Blade (Su)Prerequisite: Magus 6
Benefit: Whenever the magus enchants his weapon using his arcane pool, he may spend 1 additional point from his arcane pool to increase the duration to 1 minute per magus level.
Enduring Arcana (Su)
Benefit: When the magus expends a point from his arcane pool to grant enhancement bonuses or properties to his weapon, the bonuses and properties last for 1 minute/level.
It looks like Enduring Arcana does the same thing that Enduring Blade does, but without the need to spend an additional point from the arcane pool to do so. Do DMs generally allow Enduring Arcana? It looks like an excessively beneficial option to me. Am I missing something?
I can't find Enduring Arcana. Are you sure it's not just referring to Enduring Blade?
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I'm going to jump in here and put in my 2 cents for Blade Bound Magus in PFS. Mine is currently level 7.
Blade bound is not the way to go. You lose all flavor of the blade in org. play, and you cannot siphon its pool until way later levels. Also, right when you are thinking that a +2 blade would be nice, you're stuck with +1. Don't get me wrong, the auto +2 makes it very sweet, but you have this tendency to feel like you got shafted every other level. Also, you miss out on your first Magus Arcana, which you might not feel until later, but it is a big deal. And you fall into the "might as well just use a scimitar" pigeon hole. Your blade isn't silver/cold iron/whatever, so if you are sold on the archetype, make sure to grab backups.
My Magus uses Arcane Strike. It's not much, but it helps. When I play my Magus, I hit myself *over and over* because I do not have a card in front of me that says:
1) Swift Action
2) Standard Action
3) Move Action
4) Free Action
If you play a Magus, especially Blade Bound, you have to be aware of the action economy. You'll scold yourself when you don't. Combat for me had historically been: launch my Magus' bonuses to hit/damage, then every round after use Arcane Strike until the Magus' charge runs out. I sit idly with an effective +2/+4 enchantment for quite a while, but as I said earlier, running +2 when you want a +3 for that DR enemy can really suck.
Don't over-think feats too much, either. I've taken Extra Arcane pool two or three times and it's just crazy. Once you hit mid levels, you just start recalling your spells left and right. Don't have the skill roll to make your Faction Mission? Ask if you can find The Droids You're Looking For by searching around using Invisibility. Then recall it later. Spell Recall is a wonderful thing. The core spells, I've found, have been: Arcane Strike (you can really amuse the group if you're creative), Shocking Grasp (you want to take the trait that offset's one single spell's metamagic level by 1: "Magical Lineage"), Invisibility, Bladed Dash (if you're 30 ft. away you can still spell combat), and Expeditious Retreat for chases. That's about it. Your bag of tricks as a Magus really is limited.
Finally, don't be afraid to soak up AoOs. If you build with enough Dex, and take good enough armor, they'll miss and you can do your thing. The other tactic is casting defensively, which will lose you your spell and you probably want to take a feat for. But no matter what, you are casting within striking range, so you need an AoO plan.
But, that's my advice and experience for 7 levels of PFS Blade Bound Magus play. I love the class. My only gripe is that once you hit Medium armor, your speed is still lowered.
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The core spells, I've found, have been: Arcane Strike (you can really amuse the group if you're creative), Shocking Grasp (you want to take the trait that offset's one single spell's metamagic level by 1: "Magical Lineage"), Invisibility, Bladed Dash (if you're 30 ft. away you can still spell combat), and Expeditious Retreat for chases
Sorry, I meant Arcane Mark, not Strike. Also Chill Touch makes for a decent spell if you look like you're in for a longer combat. Arcane Mark can then give you an extra attack, but you still have Chill Touch charges to discharge with each subsequent hit. Chill Touch + attack, attack; next round Arcane Mark + attack, attack. That's a net of 4 Chill Touch discharges at level 4, for example. I've not used it much, though, since Shocking Grasp tends to lord over it as a level one with Spell Recall.
Also, Blade Bound gives you 1/3 level Arcane Pool points, not 1/2. You'll start to notice that eventually, if you don't take Extra Arcane Pool.
You get arcane poinys in your blade wich even out the lower pool just think what you can buy with the money you woul otherwise waste on the weapon
Black Blade is going to really help out on wealth:
A +1 weapon is 2k+ gold that you don't have to spend at level 3. At that point, your character should have about 5k in total value of items. That's close to half of your base wealth that you can spend on other nice trinkets. Maybe two Pearls of Power at a level when you can really use a few extra spells?
At 5, the weapon is worth 8k+ gold, when you should have 15k gold average. Most players won't be able to afford a +2 weapon at that point, but would like to pick it up in a few levels.
By level 9 you have a +3 that you can make into a Keen +5 weapon. DR /Cold Iron /Silver /Adamantine and /Alignment can be bypassed. Only DR /Bludgeon /Piercing /Epic and /- apply, and you can use Energy Attunement to get past that as well. Your weapon is valued at just over 18k gold, and your average character wealth is expected to be around 75k, so the proportion of your total wealth closer to a quarter rather than a half. Still, 18k extra gold...
if you get that cantrip at lvl 2 or below its kinda over the top !! :-) you could just wack every cr1 creature in 1 go VERRY easy now
I purchased materials and started the new spell research at level 2, and had the spell available before level 3. There were a few times the extra 1d4 was what made a hit into a kill, but the main benefit was the ability to do the "magus dervish flurry" and get two attacks (at -2) on the target with the first hit dealing 1d6+1d4+5 (average damage is 11). And the new cantrip doesn't cost a feat or arcana slot, just gold.
if you get that cantrip at lvl 2 or below its kinda over the top !! :-) you could just wack every cr1 creature in 1 go VERRY easy nowI purchased materials and started the new spell research at level 2, and had the spell available before level 3. There were a few times the extra 1d4 was what made a hit into a kill, but the main benefit was the ability to do the "magus dervish flurry" and get two attacks (at -2) on the target with the first hit dealing 1d6+1d4+5 (average damage is 11). And the new cantrip doesn't cost a feat or arcana slot, just gold.
That's what people use arcane mark for. Your spell is OP, but kudos for getting it past a DM.
Ehh black blade. If you ware going dex based with the scimitar I would rather just buy a keen scimitar.
the arcana is offset by the alerness feat you get by the way
and the 1/3 pool is no realy an isue the feat extra arcane pool just goes up in value as you stil get 2 points from it!
That's what people use arcane mark for. Your spell is OP, but kudos for getting it past a DM.
In my point of view, Arcane Mark as a route to an extra attack always seemed like a cheesy way to go about it. I discussed this with my DM and he agreed that Arcane Mark should work, but it doesn't make much sense really. The rules are fairly clear on crafting new spells, and doing so seemed significantly less cheesy than marking a "Z" on every target.
Another strong rationalization for development of such a spell was the Magical Lineage trait. The trait does nothing until you can get a metamagic feat, even though it is meant to convey a intimate understanding of the associated spell. Letting that be an avenue to develop a new spell allows the trait to be applicable to game play from the time when funds allow for spell research.
As far as the spell itself being OP, it hardly seems so to me. 1d3 ranged touch attack is available on Acid Splash and Ray of Frost, so 1d4 touch seemed in line with cantrip damage. We didn't allow the new spell any portion of Shocking Grasp's +3 to hit metal targets (which probably would have made it OP). Checking against Words of Power (mentioned in a few threads as a good way to gauge power of new spells), you will see that almost all elemental spells have a cantrip level spell that is identical to the one I now use.