Dex-Based Kensai w / Katana

[twells]

Hello gaming world,

If I could impose upon your goodwill, I would like to tap your collective experience for some advise.

The Question is this: Is there any way to get Dex in place of Str for both to-hit AND damage for a Kensai wielding a katana?

I am not really interested in a scimitar for the Dervish Dance route, as I am pretty fixed on using a katana for flavor reasons. At most, I would consider downsizing to the wakazashi.

I could do a level dip if needed, but would prefer to stay single-classed.

Although my search foo is not perfect, I have investigated slashing grace as getting halfway to the prize.

Its a PFS build, so I've got that going for me.

Any help you can render would be most appreciated.

[LoneKnave]

If you are fine with a level dip, 1 level in swashbuckler (or possibly Daring champion cavalier; that teamwork feat is actually quite nice and you can/should get the panache deed stuff later as a magus anyway) with slashing grace feat is the answer to all your dexterious katana problems.

You need the level in cavalier/swashbuckler because you don't get the ability to use DEX for to-hit otherwise (slashing grace only adds dex to damage).

[Protoman]

For PFS, you're stuck level-dipping into swashbuckler or daring champion if you want Dex to attack with katana.

[plaidwandering]

there's the effortless lace possibility, but you'll have to wait and see what's allowed from the giant hunter's handbook when they add that to additional resources

[twells]

Thanks everyone for the quick reply. The swashbuckler solution seems like the way. Thanks for the advise.

[plaidwandering]

the addition has been made, and lace was banned

[Imbicatus]

This is a scimitar. This is a katana. They are almost identical. If you want a katana for flavor reasons, nothing is stopping you from calling the slightly curved one handed slashing weapon in your hand that does 1d6 18-20/x2 damage a katana.

[StabbittyDoom]

Imbicatus wrote:

This is a scimitar. This is a katana. They are almost identical. If you want a katana for flavor reasons, nothing is stopping you from calling the slightly curved one handed slashing weapon in your hand that does 1d6 18-20/x2 damage a katana.

If not playing PFS, this is the best way to handle it. Worst fallout is an effective +1 damage since katana is 1d8 instead of 1d6, but since it requires exotic proficiency to 1-hand I can't see that as much of an argument against it.

[LoneKnave]

As a Kensai you get the exotic prof for free, and the katana has the deadly quality; which is quite good indeed for a crit fishing kensai magus.

[StabbittyDoom]

LoneKnave wrote:

As a Kensai you get the exotic prof for free, and the katana has the deadly quality; which is quite good indeed for a crit fishing kensai magus.

Deadly doesn't do anything outside of coup-de-grace, in which case it probably still doesn't do anything since any respectable crit should be nat-20-or-die in that situation anyway, and it doesn't deal increased damage (just increases the DC).

[LoneKnave]

My bad, I totally misremembered what deadly does.