I've only ever played Pathfinder once and that was the 'We be Goblins!' thingo. I've heard that playing a Magus is quite complicated but my imagination forbids me from ignoring a blade wielding mage. So I've read up some about playing them and my DM says that if I finish making my character sheet he'll take me through some practice scenarios to help me get the hang of the class. I was considering the DEX dervish dance type dude.
So! I'd like some advice for creating the character. (Elf, Magus, High Fantasy, buy point system)
(Also first post so I'm not sure if it's in the right place.)
They can be powerful easy, they can be disgustingly powerful and versatile with work. You are definitely taking the easy way with this...Yet another dervish magus
So what you're saying is.. I'm going to have fun?
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Magus is not to hard to play. Read the rules and google some build guides or check out the sticky link in the advice forum for ideas of what is effective and has worked for other people to get some ideas.....Don't listen to anyone who gives you the advice "x,y, or z might be easier for someone who is new"......
In all honesty a lot (reference: most everyone) of people make mistakes on their first character but making mistakes is part of the learning curve. If you are going to play you should play something that you think will be fun, not something that someone else thinks you will have an easier time with because honestly you will probably make a few poor choices on the character design and mechanics regardless.
Don't be afriad to make bad choices it helps you learn the game. Everyone I have ever met has a much stronger second character.
There are a number of on-line guides about how to build a magus; here's one, and there are lots more where that came from. Ignore the advice from the snobs who say you shouldn't read optimization guides; if you want to know how to create a character, they will outline the concepts that work well together.
As Andrew pointed out, the dervish dance magus is common, iconic, and easy to play. I think you will indeed have fun with it assuming a cooperative GM and all rest. One word of advice, however: Make sure that you and your GM have a common understanding of how Spellstrike and Spell Combat work.
It almost doesn't matter if your understanding is correct, as long as it's shared. For some reason, a lot of people are confused by how they work, and some game masters feel that they're overpowered.
Thanks a lot guys I guess learning from experience is the best thing for me. I've checked the guides and I think I'm all set :D Thanks again.
seach for: The Comprehensive Kensai Magus Guide
It tells you what you need to know about build a dex-based magus (with the kensei achetype).
On a style note I prefer the Bladebound Hexcrafter. Slumber, CDG, repeat. Plus having a telepathic soulbound black blade is supergreen.
That certainly has the advantage for a n00b that the tactics are easy to learn. It has the disadvantage of being relatively one-dimensional, and it's arguable that save-or-suck is a more boring style of play than blaster.
If you're going for the thrill of combat, it's hard to beat rolling 20d6 when you crit with an intensified shocking grasp. While I appreciate the chess game of dueling hexes,... moar dice == moar dakka.
The difficulty with the magus lies with the fact the class utilizes many mechanics that even experienced players screw up. The magus involves:
1) Two-weapon fighting rules
2) Spellcasting
3) Touch spell rules
4) Casting defensively
5) Weapon enchanting
In addition, the magus also has extra book keeping with magus arcana and arcane pool. Reading and understanding how all these work will help you play your magus.
I know you want to play the mage with a sword, but I was going though the different classes when I was trying to choose for my next character and I noticed that the Arcane Duelist (Bard) and the Magus are Similar Both get to wear heavy armor and cast spells. The bard just doesn't get to do the touch spells like the magus.
The Bard doesn't have as much book keeping as the magus. If you want a similar experience, consider the Arcane Duelist.
(BTW, my next character isn't an Arcane Duelist its a Magus of a certain type)
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They can be powerful easy, they can be disgustingly powerful and versatile with work. You are definitely taking the easy way with this...Yet another dervish magus
Caveat: d8 melee front-liners can and will die "disgustingly easy" in PFS around Tier 8 & up.
Whereas something like a CRB S&B fighter is difficult to gork, the magus (and similar gish ilk) requires considerable game mastery, so much so that mechanical minutia-hashing may intrude into your roleplaying experience more than you'd like.
Not about building, but about playing:
My magus had a LOT of things that affected her attacks, and I ended up making an index card with her more common attack routines and their damages. It was a lot easier than remembering adjustments from arcane pool enhancement, haste, polymorph, spell combat, power attack, using the sword 1-handed or 2-handed, arcane strike and... so on, for each attack.