Ok so I wanted to make a character focused on INT for a Gestalt game.
Now I am curious because I have three classes in mind and at least two ways to run them.
Scholar 1/Magus(Kensai) 19//Arcanist 20
Scholar grants INT to AC, Kensai grants it as a dodge bonus so those would stack. Find some 0% ASF armor And that all stacks, or cast Mage Armor and Shield for a really good AC.
Magus gives some good combat abilities, tag on something like Knowledge Devotion from 3.5 and you have a really high to hit and damage.
Arcanist gives you a wide array of spells and basically everything a Wizard can do with some more cool tricks on the side.
Any advice on which should be done?
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I would take Kensai for action economy reasons. Spell combat let's you fight and cast in the same turn (using Arcanist spells with Broad Study) while the Scholar seems to have a lot of secrets that are used as standard or full round actions and thus compete with casting and some exploits for your actions.
Honestly I'm not that familiar with the scholar but its secrets look really unbalanced compared to each other. One grants Into to Bluff checks and another grants Int to attack - seriously? Depending on what your stats look like you might want Scholar 2 / Kensai 18 // Arcanist 20, just for that secret (smart weapon) and Evasion - especially if you then get access to an "Extra Secret" feat to pick up one or two other OP secrets like Creature Focus.
I am aware that the Scholar can be broken with its secrets, which is why I originally only wanted 1 level, less broken but 2 levels of it would allow Creature Focus on top of Knowledge Devotion which can make out at a +6 to hit and damage on its own. Creature focus is basically Knowledge Devotion as a class feature.
The version of the scholar that is on the SRD looks goofy. Kensai /arcanist is good. Or arcanist/mind chemist(alchemist) that Will give you all good saves and a chance for lots of cool buffs and Heals along with a great int boost.
Hmm what do you mean goofy?
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I had a second look at the Scholar and I agree with kestral287. Most of the secrets are really minor and overall the Bard gets most of the stuff that the Scholar has that's worth having. (Grievous example: the Scholar splits the bard's minor Jack of all Trades ability into three separate advanced secrets.) But there are a handful of very good secrets, mostly Smart Weapon and Creature Focus depending on your stats/enemies, and these plus Smart Defense and Evasion make it a really good dip.
Consider also the Investigator (Empiricist archetype) - an Int-based class with the same skill ranks, BAB, and saves as the Scholar, and lots of skill-based abilities. It's a good choice if you see yourself only entering melee occasionally and skills are important to you.