Yes. Yes. No. But for the last question try Dervish Dance from the Inner Sea World Guide.
It says it functions like a scimitar, so any feat, ability, or whatever else that affects scimitars will affect your Flame Blade.
But, since scimitars are not finessable, Weapon Finesse would have no impact on a Flame Blade. You'd need to go with Dervish Dance as Avian noted.
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Opinions differ on whether a flame blade has a critical threat range of 18-20 or 20. Expect debate.
Opinions differ on whether a flame blade has a critical threat range of 18-20 or 20. Expect debate.
That's a good point. Improved Critical still works, obviously, but whether it becomes 15-20 or 19-20 would still be up in the air.
Hmmm. Interesting question. There's arguments for both sides. I tend toward a base critical of 20.
Flame blade does NOT critical on 18-20. Mythic Magic allows you to increase it to 18-20. Thus, it does not usually function with such a crit range. Also, augmenting it allows you to increase the critical range to 15-20, so improved critical also does not appear to apply.
Flame Blade (Mythic)
The blade's damage increases to 2d6 points of fire damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +20). The blade threatens a critical hit on a natural 18–20 as if it were an actual scimitar.
Augmented (3rd): If you expend two uses of mythic power, the blade threatens a critical hit on a natural 15–20, and bypasses hardness, fire resistance, and fire immunity.
Also, augmenting it allows you to increase the critical range to 15-20, so improved critical also does not appear to apply.
Or augmenting is just an alternative to having the feat. Especially since the augment does a lot of other things on top of that.
So why does it say it functions as a scimitar if it doesn't function as a scimitar?
It functions as a scimitar in that you must be able to wield one and it qualifies for such feats such as Dervish Dance
It's another one of those cases where the designer thought it was obvious which ways it functions as X when, in fact, it isn't obvious at all. It's a trend.
It's another one of those cases where the designer thought it was obvious which ways it functions as X when, in fact, it isn't obvious at all. It's a trend.
Out of curiosity, are the person who wrote Flame Blade and the person who wrote the mythic augments the same people?
Beats me.
Flame Blade (Mythic)
The blade's damage increases to 2d6 points of fire damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +20). The blade threatens a critical hit on a natural 18–20 as if it were an actual scimitar.
Augmented (3rd): If you expend two uses of mythic power, the blade threatens a critical hit on a natural 15–20, and bypasses hardness, fire resistance, and fire immunity.
Emphasis mine. I'd say by reading this that the normal version of the spell criticals on a 20. The mythic version adds more of the scimitar's characteristics to it, including the increased threat range.
Also note that the Magic chapter notes that touch spells (which flame blade technically isn't, though attacks made with it are melee touch attacks, but neither is it a ray and those are the only two types of spell that actually critical) critical on a natural 20 for x2.
The spell says that you wield it as a scimitar, not that it has stats like one, so I'm completely comfortable with the 20/x2 critical info.
It says it functions like a scimitar, so any feat, ability, or whatever else that affects scimitars will affect your Flame Blade.
But, since scimitars are not finessable, Weapon Finesse would have no impact on a Flame Blade. You'd need to go with Dervish Dance as Avian noted.
Weapon finesse works on all touch spells, right? So, it should work for flame blade.