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If you are regularly doing archery, you probably won't be charging, and you won't need the fixed feats for those, so using Mount and later Phantom Steed (or a Mauler Familiar if you are Small) are actually viable. For making an Arcane Horse Archer, an Eldritch Archer Magus becomes attractive Archery itself is pretty feat-intensive, so again be careful about spending too many feats for flexibility or upgrades before you have the basics online.
Very feat intensive. I quickly put this together, and immediately had to switch to Human for the Bonus Feat
FEATS
Level 1 - Magus - Level - Point-Black Shot
Level 1 - Magus - Human - Precise Shot
Level 3 - Magus - Level - Weapon Focus
Level 5 - Magus - Level - Deadly Aim
Level 5 - Magus - Bonus - Rapid Shot
Level 7 - Monk - Level - Mounted Combat
Level 9 - Magus - Level - Mounted Archery
Level 11 - Magus - Level - Manyshot
Level 11 - Magus - Bonus - Clustered Shot
ARCANA
Level 3 - Familiar
Level 6 - Empowered Magic
Level 9 - Reach Spellstrike
Level 12 - Hasted Assault
It is built around Phantom Steed which does not need to be cast in tight spaces. The need for that extra early feat hurts a lot, as it stops Paragon Surge as well as not being able to get the Elf FCB for extra Arcana
^Is the Monk dip at level 7 held over from a prototype version of the build? I don't see anything that needs it.
^Is the Monk dip at level 7 held over from a prototype version of the build? I don't see anything that needs it.
Ignore that, that is typo (Pure Magus). I copy and pasted the formating from a previous comment of mine
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Very feat intensive. I quickly put this together, and immediately had to switch to Human for the Bonus Feat
While it's certainly feat-intensive, I don't think you need every single archery feat given that you have Magus class features.
For example, arcane pool enchant largely obviates the need for Clustered Shots; ranged spell combat means you can hold off Rapid Shot for several more levels; and Weapon Focus is a rather mediocre feat anyway (unless it's the prereq for something).
So it's doable as a build, and it becomes even more doable if you're willing to take a one-level dip for bonus feats.
Very feat intensive. I quickly put this together, and immediately had to switch to Human for the Bonus FeatWhile it's certainly feat-intensive, I don't think you need every single archery feat given that you have Magus class features.
For example, arcane pool enchant largely obviates the need for Clustered Shots; ranged spell combat means you can hold off Rapid Shot for several more levels; and Weapon Focus is a rather mediocre feat anyway (unless it's the prereq for something).
You are probably right about Weapon Focus and Clustered Shot; Both staples for a Fighter Archer but not needed here. The thing with Rapid Shot however is that it is a prerequisite for Manyshot.
FEATS
Level 1 - Magus - Level - Point-Black Shot
Level 1 - Magus - Human - Precise Shot
Level 3 - Magus - Level - Deadly Aim
Level 5 - Magus - Level - Rapid Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Bonus - Mounted Combat
Level 7 - Magus - Level - Mounted Archery
Level 9 - Magus - Level - Manyshot
Level 11 - Magus - Level - Improved Mounted Archery
Level 11 - Magus - Bonus - TBD
ARCANA
Level 3 - Familiar
Level 6 - Empowered Magic
Level 9 - Reach Spellstrike
Level 12 - Hasted Assault
FEATS
Level 1 - Magus - Level - Point-Black Shot
Level 3 - Magus - Level - Precise Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Level - Rapid Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Bonus - Deadly Aim
Level 7 - Magus - Level - Mounted Combat
Level 9 - Magus - Level - Mounted Archery
Level 11 - Magus - Level - Manyshot
Level 11 - Magus - Bonus - Improved Mounted Archery
ARCANA
Level 3 - Familiar
Level 6 - Empowered Magic
Level 9 - Reach Spellstrike
Level 12 - Hasted Assault
My apologies if I am derailing from your Lance build @UnArcaneElection (Which I would love to see an outline for btw)
Are there any good Magus or Wizard spells (Spell blending) that a mounted Magus could use in a unique way?
^No problem -- what you are doing is part of what this thread is for. Besides, it will probably be quite a while before I can get to an Arcane Lancer or Arcane Horse Archer build, because I am being redeployed again to the coronavirus testing lab (did 2 evening shifts at the end of last week, 1 more this Friday, and then all next week). So go right ahead with the Arcane Horse Archer build.
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I have a crazy idea
'A Magi for every occasion'
We (As a community) attempt to come up with 24 unique Magus builds, one for every AP?
I like the idea. Although the timing is terrible for me personally, but who knows when that is going to get better? (No way to know that without knowing when COVID-19 Omicron is going to subside.)
A Magi for every occasion
Level 1 - Magus - Level - Point-Black Shot
Level 3 - Magus - Level - Precise Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Level - Rapid Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Bonus - Deadly Aim
Level 7 - Magus - Level - Mounted Combat
Level 9 - Magus - Level - Mounted Archery
Level 11 - Magus - Level - Manyshot
Level 11 - Magus - Bonus - Improved Mounted Archery
ARCANA
Level 3 - Familiar
Level 6 - Empowered Magic
Level 9 - Reach Spellstrike
Level 12 - Hasted Assault
Arcana
6.Close Range
7.Empowered Magic (feat)
9.Accurate Strike
11.Natural Spell Combat (feat)
12.Spell Shield
13.Spell Blending (feat)
15.Bane Blade
18.Maximized Magic
Feats
1.Improved Initiative; Endurance (race)
3.Step Up; Alertness (archetype)
5.Additional Traits: Seeker, Sound of Mind; Intensified Spell
7.Extra Arcana
9.Lunge
11.Extra Arcana; Weapon Focus
13.Extra Arcana
15.Fortified Armor Training
17.Spell Penetration; Weapon Specialization
19.Greater Spell Penetration
Adventure Path:
Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 9, Cha 14
AI Order: STR, CHA, INT, STR, STR
Archetype: Myrmidarch
Race: Half-Elf
Racial abilities: Kindred Raised
Favored class bonus: (Elf) The magus gains +⅙ of a new magus arcana.
Traits: Touched by the Sea, Arcane Temper, +1, +1 Drawback
Tactics: This build is inspired by Scott Wilhems Druidzilla Druid Warpriest multiclass. It takes the exponential nature of transforming into a Giant Octopus to gain lots of attacks with Sacred Weapon Damage for huge DPR. Then to top it off it combines the Shapechanger bloodline to abuse things such as Beast Shape and Paragon Surge, the latter of which can be used to craft yourself powerful items.
Arcana
- 3 (Class) - Maneuver Mastery: Grapple
- 6 (Archetype) - Weapon Training: Natural
- 8 (Favored Class) - Spell Blending: Bonefists & Mage Armor
- 9 (Class) - Still Magic
- 12 (Archetype) - Advanced Weapon Training - Focused Weapon: Tentacles
- 14 (Favored Class) -
- 15 (Class) - Quickened Magic
- 18 (Archetype) - Weapon Training: Close
- 20 (Favored Class) -
Feats
- 1 (Level)- Improved Unarmed Strike
- 3 (Level) - Skill Focus (Disguise)
- 5 (Level) - Weapon Focus (Unarmed)
- 5 (Bonus)- Eldritch Heritage (Shapechanger)
- 7 (Level)- Combat Reflexes
- 9 (Level)- Martial Versatility (Weapon Focus - Close&Natural)
- 11 (Level) - Multiattack
- 11 (Bonus)- Improved Eldritich Heritage
- 13 (Level)- Greater Weapon Focus (Tentacles)
- 15 (Level)- Penetrating Strike
- 17 (Level)- Greater Eldritch Heritage
- 17 (Bonus) - Greater Penetrating Strike
- 19 (Level) - Advanced Weapon Training - Focused Weapon: Spiked Armor
Arcana
3.Wand Wielder
4.Hex: Flight (archetype)
6.Flamboyant Arcana
7.Hex: Misfortune (feat)
9.Hasted Assault
12.Major Hex: Agony
13.Maneuver Mastery: Trip (feat)
15.Maneuver Mastery: Disarm; Reflection (feat)
18.Grand Hex: Abominate
19.Quickened Magic (feat)
Feats
1.Weapon Finesse
3.Dervish Dance
5.Enforcer; Rime Spell
7.Extra Arcana
9.Lunge
11.Dimensional Agility; Combat Reflexes
13.Extra Arcana
15.Extra Arcana
17.Artful Dodge; Redirect Attack
19.Extra Arcana
Adventure Path: Iron Gods
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 8
AI Order: STR, STR, INT, STR, STR
Archetype: Golemfist Hexcrafter
Race: Human
Favored class bonus: +1 HP
Traits: Exile, Brusing Intellect, Bred for War, +1 Drawback
Tactics: This is all about applying and stacking as many debuffs on top of one another as possible, and that is mainly possible because of the synergy between dirty tricks and unarmed combat. Ultimately you are going to be applying up to about 6 conditions.
Arcana & Hexes
- 3 - Empowered Arm*
- 4 - Misfortune
- 6 - Maneuver Mastery: Dirty Trick
- 9 - Shielding Arm
- 12 - Spell Trickery
- 13 - Break Spell
- 15 - Quickened Magic
Feats
- 1 (Class) - Unarmed Strike
- 1 (Human) - Enforcer
- 1 (Level) - Dirty Fighting
- 3 (Level) - Improved Dirty Trick
- 5 (Level) - Kitsune Style
- 5 (Bonus) - Hex Strike
- 7 (Level) - Kitsune Tricks
- 9 (Level) - Quick Dirty Trick
- 11 (Level) - Greater Dirty Trick
- 11 (Bonus) -
- 13 (Level) - Extra Arcana
- 15 (Level) - Dirty Trick Master
Arcana
3.Familiar; gain Alertness and +2 to will save
6.Arcane Accuracy
9.Spell Blending
12.Maximized Magic
15.Spell Blending
18.Quickened Magic
Feats
1.Extra Arcane Pool; Extra Arcane Pool (race); Quarterstaff Master (archetype)
3.Spell Focus: Evocation
5.Craft Wondrous Item; Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
7.Spontaneous Metafocus: Fireball
9.Intensified Spell
11.Divine Defiance; Dazing Spell
13.Quicken Spell
15.Spell Perfection
17.Spell Penetration; Improved Initiative
19.Greater Spell Penetration
You'll probably need googledocs for this.
100%. Just trying to get ideas down right now
And is there a pun I'm missing here? Because "magus" is the singular, and "magi" is the plural (or rarely, "maguses"); so I'm not sure why you're writing "a magi".
No Pun, it just flows a lot better in my opinion. Ultimately the title does not mean much until it is finished
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"Words mean what I want them to mean, neither more nor less." -- Humpty Dumpty
Going to be a while before my Cavalier Magus comes together, but for a couple of others, I can help courtesy of stuff I already developed (reposted even if posted before, due to having undergone some refinement):
Magus (Staff Magus), Elf with the Blended View alternate racial trait replacing Keen Senses (to get Darkvision), and the Shadowhunter alternate racial trait replacing Weapon Familiarity to be able to fight Incorporeal creatures (even without a Ghost Touch or other magic weapon -- use Chill Touch to make some of them run away) and recover better from Undead attacks.
15 Point Buy version: Str 14 / Dex (13 + 2 =) 15 / Con (14 - 2 =) 12 / Int (15 + 2 =) 17 / Wis 09 / Cha 07 (I hate dumping, but it is unavoidable here without higher point buy); increase Intelligence at level 4; increase Dexterity at level 8; increase Intelligence thereafter.
20 Point Buy version: Str 15 / Dex (14 + 2 =) 16 / Con (14 - 2 =) 12 / Int (15 + 2 =) 17 / Wis 10 / Cha 07 (I hate dumping, but it is unavoidable here without higher point buy); increase Intelligence at level 4; increase Strength at level 8; increase Intelligence thereafter.
Traits: Campaign Trait, Pragmatic Activator (get Wand of Mage Armor to use pre-Combat, and other Wands for out-of-combat utility).
Favored Class Bonus: Skill Points for 1st 2 levels (use for the low-investment but potentially life-saving skills Climb and Swim), then add +1/6 of a new Magus Arcana thereafter (unfortunately can't choose this before level 3, because level 3 is when you get your first Magus Arcana).
Skill Ranks per Level: Total 6: 2 for Magus, 1 for Cunning feat (retrained once intelligence increases at level 4), 3 (eventually more) for Intelligence 17; also gets 1 extra Skill Rank from Favored Class Bonus at each of levels 1 and 2.
Skills to Max initially: Perception, Knowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Local), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device.
Skills to add as much as possible to, and then Max after Intelligence increase at level 16: Knowledge (Planes).
Other Skills (low investment but need to be non-0): Climb, Fly (eventually needs to be more than 1), Knowledge (all not listed above, and some eventually need to be more than 1), Sense Motive, Swim.
01: Level 1 character feat = Cunning (need the skill points); Staff Magus bonus feat = Quarterstaff Master.
02: -
03: Level 3 character feat = Dodge; level 3 Magus Arcana = Wand Wielder (get Wand of True Strike to use for Combat Maneuvers).
04: Level 4 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; retrain Cunning to Mobility; Spell Recall comes online and will be very important in case you need to recast a critical spell -- do not take an archetype that impairs this.
05: Level 5 character feat = Spell Penetration (get started on becoming able to fight things having Spell Resistance -- this stacks with Elven Magic); level 5 Magus bonus feat = Rime Spell -- use initially with Frostbite.
06: Level 6 Magus Arcana = Arcane Accuracy.
07: Level 7 character feat = Spring Attack -- use this with high speed that you get from Haste to lay hits and bad touches on opponents without them being able to retaliate, even if they have Reach (unless their Reach is insanely long); Tactical Adaptation also comes online, but hold off on this until you have Haste covered.
08: Level 8 ability score increase goes to Dexterity on 15 point buy or to Strength on 20 point buy; Favored Class Bonus Magus Arcana = Spell Shield (for when you can't get the Shield Spell up).
09: Level 9 character feat = Greater Spell Penetration (become even more able to fight things having Spell Resistance); Level 9 Magus Arcana = Accurate Strike (use against very heavily armored enemies that have terrible Touch AC, like Dragons).
10: -; use Greater Invisibility to thwart highly mobile foes from retaliating, and stack it with Mirror Image in case you get Glitterdusted, and stack THAT with Displacement so that it is harder for enemies to hit you AND your Mirror Images.
11: Level 11 character feat = Dimensional Agility (so that you can use Dimension Door and attack inn the same round or have a fighting chance of casting Dimension Door to get out of a Grab/Grapple); level 11 Magus bonus feat = Combat Expertise (a feat tax for Whirlwind Attack, but you can use Blade Tutor's Spirit to mitigate the attack penalty); since you will only be using Whirlwind Attack when facing hordes of enemy minions, use Tactical Adaptation to get it temporarily (until you can get it permanently later on) so that you can debuff a horde of enemy minions with Chill Touch or Rime Frostbite; Improved Spell Recall comes online and will be very important in case you need to recast a critical spell -- do not take an archetype that impairs this, because you WILL end up needing to recast Bad Touch spells like Calcific Touch if you had to recast some critical buff that got dispelled (which itself is likely to require Improved Spell Recall) or to recast Dimension Door if an enemy is getting away or if you need to get away.
12: Level 12 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; Level 12 Magus Arcana = Maximized Magic (normally bad due to the once per day limit, but you are going to need this to make Calcific Touch do reliable Dexterity Damage to once per day bosses in a couple of more levels).
13: Level 13 character feat = Piercing Spell -- some boss enemies like Wyrm Dragons and very high level Fiends have insane Spell Resistance, and you will need this in addition to all the other bonuses you have for overcoming Spell Resistance.
14: Favored Class Bonus Magus Arcana = Spell Blending (Calcific Touch, Dimensional Anchor) -- most Giants and the great majority of big Dragons other than Linnorms have awful Dexterity, and a Maximized Calcific Touch (with Piercing Spell for Dragons) will turn them to stone in 2 or 3 touches, with no Save (the Save is only good against the Slow effect); Lesser Globe of Invulnerability is Dispel Magic bait -- enemies have to dispel it first before removing your other buffs (including held charges of Calcific Touch); Dimensional Anchor is to keep enemies from teleporting away (with no Save) before you can finish turning them to stone; try to get a Staff of Abjuration for Lesser Globe of Invulnerability, but if you can't get this Staff, get a few Scrolls of this spell so that you can cast and if necessary recast it using your hefty Use Magic Device modifier.
15: Level 15 character feat = Whirlwind Attack (same use as before, but now you don't need to use Tactical Adaptation to get it); level 15 Magus Arcana = Quickened Magic(normally bad due to the once per day limit, but you are going to need this for quick recasting of spells that are too high level to use with Quicken Spell), including Calcific Touch and your higher level buffs.
16: Level 16 ability score increase goes to Intelligence.
17: Level 17 character feat = Dimensional Assault; level 17 Magus bonus feat = Quicken Spell (use this for fast recasting of low level buffs like Shield and Mirror Image, so that you can save Quickened Magic for the higher-level spells, which will potentially include Dimension Door until you get to level 19).
18: Level 18 Magus Arcana = Reflection (9th level spells can be extremely nasty -- you want to be able to reflect them).
19: Level 19 character feat = Dimensional Dervish -- Swift Action Dimension Door without needing Quicken Spell or Quickened Magic.
20: Level 20 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; Favored Class Bonus Magus Arcana = Devoted Blade or Bane Blade, depending upon campaign.
Magus (no archetype or Hexcrafter), Half-Elf with Ancestral Arms alternate racial trait replacing Adaptability to get Whip proficiency and Fey Thoughts (Escape Artist, Perception) replacing Multitalented.
15 Point Buy version: Str 10 / Dex (14 + 2 =) 16 / Con 14 / Int 15 / Wis 10 / Cha 08 (I hate dumping, but have to soft-dump here); all ability score increases go to Intelligence.
20 Point Buy version: Str 10 / Dex 16 / Con 14 / Int (15 + 2 =) 17 / Wis 10 / Cha 08 (I hate dumping, but have to soft-dump here); all ability score increases go to Intelligence.
Traits: Campaign Trait, Pragmatic Activator (get Wand of Mage Armor to use pre-Combat, and other Wands for out-of-combat utility).
Favored Class Bonus for no archetype: Add +1/4 point to the Magus’ Arcane Pool.
Favored Class Bonus for Hexcrafter: Skill Points for 1st 2 levels (use for the low-investment but potentially life-saving skills Climb and Swim), then add +1/6 of a new Magus Arcana thereafter (unfortunately can't choose this before level 3, because level 3 is when you get your first Magus Arcana).
Skill Ranks per Level: Total 4 for 15 Point Buy version or 5 for 20 Point Buy version: 2 for Magus, 2 or 3 for Intelligence 15 (15 Point Buy version) or 17 (20 Point Buy version) (in both cases, eventually get more); Hexcrafter also gets 1 extra Skill Rank from Favored Class Bonus at each of levels 1 and 2.
Skills to Max: Acrobatics (delay acquisition until Intelligence increase at level 4), Escape Artist (critical due to low Strength), Knowledge (Arcana) (20 Point Buy version -- for 15 Point Buy version add this later when Intelligence increase permits), Perception, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device.
Other Skills (low investment but need to be non-0): Climb, Fly (eventually needs to be more than 1), Knowledge (all not listed above, and some eventually need to be more than 1), Sense Motive, Swim.
01: Level 1 character feat = Weapon Finesse; Half-Elf Ancestral Arms = bonus feat Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Whip); however, also carry a Rapier to use when a Whip is not effective, and also carry a Kukri as a backup weapon in case you get Grappled.
02: -
03: Level 3 character feat = Whip Mastery; level 3 Magus Arcana = Wand Wielder (get Wand of True Strike to use for Combat Maneuvers; resist the temptation to get a Wand of Ill Omen to debuff enemies that don't know about how to remove Ill Omen, which won't work very well, since you can't Spellstrike with a Wand, which doesn't matter in the case of True Strike).
04: Level 4 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; if using HexCrafter archetype, Spell Recall replaced by Level 4 Hex = Slumber Hex.
05: Level 5 character feat = Phalanx Formation; Level 5 Magus bonus feat = Combat Reflexes.
06: Level 6 Magus Arcana for no archetype = Prescient Attack (for fighting something like a Monk or a Pixie, or worse yet a Shadow or especially a Greater Shadow, although unfortunately Prescient Attack needs a successful hit in the first place to get it started, so you might have to Wand Wield a True Strike first to get it started); level 6 Magus Arcana for Hexcrafter = Evil Eye Hex.
07: Level 7 character feat = Emergency Attunement (use this if you have to change your Tactical Adaptation choice and later if you have to change your Paragon Surge choice); Tactical Adaptation come online and can be used to get a temporary Combat Feat, including Dirty Fighting until you get this as a regular feat at level 9, and then including the Improved Combat Maneuver feats unlocked by Dirty Fighting.
08: Level 8 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; if using HexCrafter archetype, Favored Class Bonus Magus Arcana = Misfortune Hex.
09: Level 9 character feat = Dirty Fighting; Level 9 Magus Arcana = Accurate Strike (use against very heavily armored enemies).
10: -; Paragon Surge comes online to add to Tactical Adaptation (see above, and optionally add Greater Combat Maneuver feats when using both spells), but can also be used for some other type of feat, including Extra Magus Arcana (Maneuver Mastery), which could be better than the corresponding Greater Combat Maneuver feat if you don't think you can get good use of teammates getting Attacks of Opportunity on whatever enemy you used Improved Combat Maneuver on (and would have otherwise used the corresponding Greater Combat Maneuver on); if using Hexcrafter archetype, you can alternatively use Paragon Surge for Accursed Hex or Extra Hex.
11: Level 11 character feat = Weapon Focus (Whip); Level 11 Magus bonus feat = Improved Whip Mastery; although not explicitly stated in the rules, assume that since Hexcrafter replaced Spell Recall with a Hex, it automatically degrades Improved Spell Recall (not explicitly altered by the archetype text) to Spell Recall.
12: Level 12 ability score increase goes to Intelligence; Level 12 Magus Arcana for no archetype = Devoted Blade; Level 12 Magus Arcana for Hexcrafter archetype = Ice Tomb Hex or Retribution Hex.
13: Level 13 character feat for no archetype = Greater Whip Mastery; level 13 character feat for Hexcrafter archetype = Split Hex (double your Hexing action economy).
14: - for no archetype; if using Hexcrafter archetype, Level 14 Favored Class Bonus Magus Arcana = Retribution Hex or Ice Tomb Hex (whichever one you did not get at level 12).
15: Level 15 character feat = Slashing Grace (only works in rounds in which you aren't using Spell Combat, like in successive rounds of delivering a multi-touch spell like Chill Touch or Frostbite); level 15 Magus Arcana for no archetype = Bane Blade or Devoted Blade (depending upon campaign); level 15 Magus Arcana for Hexcrafter = Regenerative Sinew Hex (you can fix up party members including yourself that get massively damaged or ability damaged).
16: Level 16 ability score increase goes to Intelligence.
17: Level 17 character feat = Rime Spell; level 17 Magus bonus feat = Heighten Spell (use on Frostbite to change it from a multi-touch debuff into a multi-round multi-touch debuff, and use on Chill Touch to boost the Save DC back into relevance -- Persistent Spell would be better for that but wouldn't work for Frostbite or other boosted low-level Cold spells).
18: Level 18 Magus Arcana = Reflection (9th level spells can be extremely nasty -- you want to be able to reflect them) (for Hexcrafter it is tempting to select Life Giver, but unlike Regenerative Sinew, which will be needed fairly often, this should be needed rarely enough that using Paragon Surge, possibly with Emergency Attunement, to get this should cover the need).
19: Level 19 character feat for no archetype = Quicken Spell; level 19 character feat for Hexcrafter = Split Major Hex (double your Major Hexing action economy).
20: Level 20 ability score increase goes to Intelligence.
Magus (Skirnir), Dwarf (with alternate racial trait substitutions of Unstoppable for Hardy, Fey Thoughts (Perception, Survival) for Hatred in Ironfang Invasion or Death's End for Defensive Training and Hatred in Tyrant's Grasp, and Lorekeeper for Greed).
15 Point Buy version: Str 15 / Dex 12 / Con (14 + 2 =) 16 / Int 15 / Wis (8 + 2 =) 10 / Cha (07 - 2 =) 05 (I hate dumping, but it's unavoidable here without higher point buy); increase Strength at level 4; increase Intelligence thereafter.
20 Point Buy version: Str 15 / Dex 14 / Con (14 + 2 =) 16 / Int 15 / Wis (8 + 2 =) 10 / Cha (08 - 2 =) 06 (I hate dumping, but it's unavoidable here without higher point buy); increase Strength at level 4; increase Intelligence thereafter.
Traits for Ironfang Invasion: Ironfang Survivor (need that +2 Dodge Bonus against Goblinoids), Defensive Strategist (never be Flat-Footed due to surprise or at the start of a battle).
Traits for Tyrant's Grasp: The Pessimist (even as a Dwarven Magus, never turn up your nose at +1 to Will Saves, especially when you have to semi-dump Wisdom), Defensive Strategist (never be Flat-Footed due to surprise or at the start of a battle).
All Favored Class Bonus goes to Skills (always really hard up for skill points, and unfortunately, the Dwarf Favored Class Bonus for Magus just isn't very good, being one of those that advances at a rate of 1/6).
Skill Rans per Level: Total 5: 2 for Magus, 1 for Favored Class Bonus, 2 for Intelligence 15 (becomes 3 at level 8 and 4 at level 16).
Skills to Max: Knowledge (Local for Ironfang Invasion or History for Tyrant's Grasp), Knowledge (Nature for Ironfang Invasion or Religion for Tyrant's Grasp), Perception, Spellcraft, Survival.
Other Skills (low investment but need to be non-0): Climb, Fly (eventually needs to be more than 1), Knowledge (all not listed above, and some eventually need to be more than 1), Linguistics, Sense Motive, Swim.
01: Level 1 character feat = Artful Dodge (later on lets us get Two-Weapon Fighting using Int instead of Dex for the prerequisite, and the Dodge bonus partially makes up for having lower Dex); Level 1 bonus feat = Toughness (from the Unstoppable alternate racial trait); start with weapon (preferably Dwarven Waraxe or better yet Dwarven Double Waraxe) and Light Armor of choice and Light Shield (no Spell Combat yet for the Skirnir archetype, so use your shield hand to hold your weapon when casting a spell, and keep in mind that your shield is an Arcane Bond item, so you can enchant it without needing Craft Magic Arms and Armor); use the 1st level Magus spell Lock Gaze to punish enemies who refuse to pay attention to you, and use offensive spells that have multiple charges (such as Chill Touch) to amortize the penalty of not having Spell Combat and make your Attacks of Opportunity more punishing -- at this point, although you are merely a tanky melee combatant, you will be quite tough for your level, except for your lousy Armor Class, so use other spells to shore that up as much as you can.
02: - (note that Skirnir actually gets Spellstrike at the previous level, and can use it with a Shield Bash as well as a weapon strike).
03: Level 3 character feat = Improved Shield Bash (keep your Shield Bonus when Shield Bashing); Level 3 Magus Arcana = Maneuver Mastery (Bull Rush) (to use your level instead of your BAB; later on, Shield Slam is a Bull Rush, somewhat nerfed in effectiveness but greatly improved in action economy, so this should work with it, but you don't have Shield Slam yet, so use this on regular Bull Rushes, but beware that you incur Attacks of Opportunity until you get Improved Bull Rush at 5th level; as a considerable bonus, it doesn't consume Arcane Pool points) -- at this point, you can start pushing enemies around the battlefield (use True Strike to help with this if you need), although since you will take some hits in so doing, don't overdo it.
04: Level 4 Ability Score Increase goes to Strength (gets Strength to an even number).
05: Level 5 character feat = Power Attack (required for Improved/Greater Bull Rush; use Blade Tutor's Spirit to mitigate the penalty); Level 5 Magus bonus Combat feat = Improved Bull Rush (you get a +2 bonus and suffer no more Attacks of Opportunity against you when you do a regular Bull Rush, and even when you get Shield Slam later) -- at this point, you can do what you were doing at level 3, but do it several more times, due to Improved Bull Rush making you take fewer hits.
06: Level 6 Magus Arcana = Prescient Attack -- if you are going to do a weapon attack and then a Shield Bash (or later a Shield Slam), this helps, since denying an opponent their Dexterity Donus nerfs their Armor Class and their CMD, assuming that they have a Dexterity Bonus -- this is important if you are fighting something like a Monk or a Pixie, or worse yet a Shadow or especially a Greater Shadow (normally, Accurate Strike would be better because it doesn't need a successful hit to get it started, but unlike most Magus builds, you have real Two-Weapon Fighting to add extra attacks to help get it started even in rounds when you aren't using Spell Combat).
07: Level 7 character feat = Two-Weapon Fighting (required for Shield Slam; use to get Shield Bashes in, and use Blade Tutor's Spirit to mitigate the penalty, and avoid using Power Attack at the same time); Medium Armor also comes online, and unlike the original Human version of this build, it doesn't slow you down, so suit up!. Fly also comes online, and you can Bull Rush (and eventually Shield Slam) flying opponents, as long as you can catch up to them (Haste, which also comes online at this time, helps with that part). In case you need some Temporary Hit Points while in a fight, Vampiric Touch also comes online at this time. Tactical Adaptation also comes online, and the combat feats you can use it on include Improved Combat Maneuvers other than Bull Rush.
08: Level 8 Ability Score Increase goes to Intelligence; Shielded Spell Combat comes online, and since this lets you use your shield hand to perform Somatic components of your spells, you could upgrade to a Heavy Shield (but beware that this worsens Two-Weapon Fighting penalties, so not recommended); BAB is now +6 as needed for Shield Slam, but you don't have a feat available until next level.
09: Level 9 character feat = Shield Slam (a MAJOR action economy boost for your Bull Rushing); Level 9 Magus Arcana = Enduring Blade (for Ironfang Invasion long fights against hordes) or Ghost Blade (for Tyrants Grasp going up against a lot of Undead/Incorporeal -- just make sure to turn on Ghost Touch and not Brilliant Energy by mistake, since the latter doesn't work on Undead, or on Constructs, for that matter; Brilliant Energy may also have undesirable effects on your shield) -- you are now mostly online, although you still have 2 more bits of awesomeness coming at level 11.
10: -
11: Level 11 character feat = Greater Bull Rush (you get another +2 bonus, and whether doing a regular Bull Rush or a Shield Slam, whoever you Bull Rushed takes Attacks of Opportunity from all of your allies that they go by); Level 11 Magus bonus feat = Combat Reflexes (especially juicy to use with Shield Slam, and Greater Bull Rush makes this even more dangerous for your opponents) -- you are now fully online, and everything after this is just icing on the cake.
12: Level 12 Ability Score Increase goes to Intelligence; Level 12 Magus Arcana = Accurate Strike (use this in conjunction with Shield Slam -- Shield Slam as a Touch Attack? -- sign me up!; also use Power Attack and Two-Weapon Fighting at the same time for the rest of your turn, as long as you aren't fighting something like a Monk or a Pixie, or worse yet a Shadow or especially a Greater Shadow -- fortunately, if you are up against one of those enemies, you also have Prescient Attack).
13: Level 13 character feat = Weapon Trick (Weapon and Shield) -- this immediately unlocks Block & Counter (only use when you have juicy Attack of Opportunity potential or need to set up a squishier team mate to pull off something awesome) and Warded Movement (as long as you meet the more strict requirements of Artful Dodge compared to Dodge); if you have any ranks in Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (which you should anyway), this also immediately unlocks Shielded View (which won't come up very often but could save your rear when it does). Also, Heavy Armor comes online now -- this build has less Dex than the old one (especially on 15 point buy), so suit up!
14: -
15: Level 15 character feat = Shield Master (now your BAB is at the required +11) -- no more Two-Weapon Fighting penalties on attack rolls made with a shield, and your shield's defensive enhancement bonus now becomes also an offensive bonus, so go ahead and Power Attack at the same time as Two-Weapon Fighting; Level 15 Magus Arcana = Bane Blade (for Ironfang Invasion) or Devoted Blade (for Tyrant's Grasp).
16: Level 16 Ability Score Increase goes to Intelligence.
17: Level 17 character feat = Armor Focus (feat tax for Poised/Imposing Bearing); level 17 Magus bonus feat = Poised Bearing).
18: Level 18 Magus Arcana = Reflection (9th level spells can be extremely nasty -- you want to be able to reflect them).
19: Level 19 character feat = Imposing Bearing.
20: Level 20 Ability Score Increase goes to Intelligence.
Gunslinger (no archetype) 1/Magus (Myrmidarch), Human with no alternate racial traits.
15 Point Buy version: Str 14 / Dex 14 / Con 13 / Int (14 + 2 =) 16 / Wis 11 / Cha 07 (I hate dumping, but it is unavoidable for this); increase Constitution at level 4; increase Wisdom at level 8 (for more Grit); increase Intelligence thereafter.
20 Point Buy version: Str 14 / Dex 14 / Con 13 / Int (14 + 2 =) 16 / Wis 13 / Cha 09; increase Wisdom at level 8 (for more Grit); increase Constitution at level 4; increase Intelligence thereafter.
Traits: Campaign trait, Pragmatic Activator (gets us UMD on Intelligence, and we already have it in-class, so just need to move it away from dumped Charisma onto boosted Intelligence).
Favored Class Bonus (Magus only): Add +1/4 point to the Magus’ Arcane Pool.
Skill Ranks per Level: Total 7 for Gunslinger or 5 for Magus: 4 for Gunslinger or 2 for Magus, 3 (eventually more) for Intelligence 16.
Skills to Max: Craft (Weapons) (required for firearm maintenance and supply), Knowledge (Engineering), Perception, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device.
Other Skills (low investment but need to be non-0): Climb, Craft (Alchemy) (need to Max for making alchemical ammunition when Intelligence increase permits), Craft (Jewelry) (needed for making Pearls of Power), Fly (eventually needs to be more than 1), Knowledge (all not listed above, and some eventually need to be more than 1), Sense Motive, Swim.
01 = Gunslinger 1: Level 1 Character Feat = Combat Reflexes; Human bonus feat = Combat Expertise (alternatively Dirty Fighting, but the spell Blade Tutor's Spirit actually lets us make good use of Combat Expertise a bit later); use a Firearm (preferably two-handed for better range) at range and use a weapon with the Trip quality (such as a Flail) in melee; be sure to make good use of the Deadeye Deed to convert ranged attacks beyond the first range increment into Ranged Touch Attacks (this means DON'T use a Gunslinger archetype that trades this out, except as noted in the variants below).
02 = Gunslinger 1/Myrmidarch Magus 1: -; use True Strike (with Spell Combat) as needed to make sure that enemies go down when really urgent; more economically, use Long Arm and/or Enlarge Person to get Reach that lasts through multiple attacks.
03 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 2: Level 3 Character Feat = Improved Trip.
04 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 3: Level 3 Magus Arcana = Maneuver Mastery (Trip); level 4 ability score increase goes to Constitution.
05 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 4: Level 5 character feat = Ranged Trip; use True Strike as needed to make sure that even distant enemies go down when urgent, even when you are operating under non-ideal conditions for ranged combat; Ranged Spellstrike comes online, and while without Ranged Spell Combat this isn't as good as it sounds, you can still make good use of it in combination with the Deadeye Deed and/or an enchanted Firearm.
06 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 5: Level 5 Magus bonus feat = Deadly Aim (which Blade Tutor's Spirit actually lets us make good use of, since we usually don't use Combat Expertise simultaneously).
07 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 6: Level 6 Myrmidarch Weapon Training = Firearms (replaces a Magus Arcana -- this is what we went Myrmidarch for); level 7 character feat = Craft Wondrous Item (especially to make Pearls of Power, since Myrmidarch trades out Spell Recall -- make as many of these as you can).
08 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 7: Level 8 ability score increase goes to Wisdom (for more Grit, for more uses of the Deadeye Deed). Tactical Adaptation also comes online, and the combat feats you can use it on include Improved Combat Maneuvers other than Bull Rush.
09 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 8: Level 9 character feat = Ace Trip (which requires the Weapon Training we got at the 6th level); use True Strike as needed to make sure that even flying enemies go down when urgent, even when you are operating under non-ideal conditions for ranged combat, and then run up and use your melee weapon and normal Spell Combat/Spellstrike to finish them off; Myrmidarch Armor Training 1 comes online, so switch to Medium Armor.
10 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 9: Level 9 Magus Arcana = Accurate Strike.
11 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 10: Level 11 character feat = Extra Magus Arcana (Spell Blending (Staggering Fall, Burdensome Thoughts)) -- use Staggering Fall as an Immediate Action on enemies you Trip, including Ace Trip, and use Burdensome Thoughts to keep them from getting back into the air, and you don't even need Spell Combat or Spellstrike to do this.
12 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 11: Level 11 Magus bonus feat = Advanced Weapon Training (Warrior Spirit) (enables enchantment with weapon special qualities you can't get with Arcane Pool enchantment or that would require a Magus Arcana for; uses separate pool, but enchantments can be combined); Level 12 ability score increase (and all those following) goes to Intelligence.
13 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 12: Level 12 Myrmidarch Weapon Training = {your melee weapon group} (qualifies your melee weapon for use with Warrior Spirit and increases Warrior Spirit pool size and enhancement bonus equivalent); level 13 character feat = Persistent Spell (use this especially with Staggering Fall and pretty soon also with Burdensome Thoughts -- suddenly enemies' save every round to throw off the effects of Staggering Fall doesn't look so good, and their single chance to throw off the effects of Burdensome Thoughts looks even less good).
14 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 13: -
15 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 14: Level 15 character feat = Greater Trip; Myrmidarch Armor Training 2 comes online, so switch to Heavy Armor.
16 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 15: Level 15 Magus Arcana = Reflection (high level spells are nasty, and you want to be able to reflect them); level 16 ability score increase goes to Intelligence.
17 = Gunslinger 1/Magus 16: Level 17 character feat = {start of ranged combat improvement feats}.
Build variant 1 of 4: Bolt Ace
Build variant 2 of 4: Hooded Champion Ranger
Build variant 3 of 4: Techslinger (requires modern weapons)
Build variant 4 of 4: Siege Gunner (requires modern weapons)
I can help courtesy of stuff I already developed (reposted even if posted before, due to having undergone some refinement)
Thank you
I started uploading ideas to a Google Doc. Only missing 5 ideas so far.
Green means I have a build
Orange means concept but no build
Red means no concept and no build
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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I'm sure I can add a few to that.
Rise of the Runelords: A halfling Magus focusing on the Bodyguard feat, Crane Style, and Blundering Defense to protect his allies, and that could use spellstrike with a whip to buff allies from a distance (e.g. Vanish, Displacement). Also, he uses the Shared Training spell to give his entire party Broken Wing Gambit. Beastblade is fitting for giving a supportive familiar, which of course takes the Valet archetype.
Hell's Rebels: A tiefling sneak attack Magus, using two levels of ninja for the swift-action invis, plus the accomplished sneak attack feat to go into Arcane Trickster. And then uses the Ki Throw feat to set up flanks, along with vicious stomp (later retrained to greater trip). The spell Long Arm is good here, or later the lunge feat. So your basic spell combat routine is a ki throw (to move the enemy between you and an ally), opportunity attack, iterative, and finish up with the attack spell of your choice. Mindblade is a decent archetype for this, because psychic casting is sneaky, and because you can manifest a weapon at-need even when unarmed.
Return of the Runelords: A gnome debuffer Magus, who uses his racial ability to make his weapon Conductive, then has a level in cleric to deliver nasty touch abilities of the Chaos, Repose, or Excommunicate domain. For more synergy, make it an eldritch scion (arcane is good, destined is fitting) so you can channel well, and pick a nasty negative variant channel. Also, since it's a gnome, the bewildering koan feat.
Wrath of the Righteous: A nature-bonded Magus who wields a flame blade, as the druid spell. I think there was another way to get that spell and still have arcane pool, that would be the best combo. Then take feats like burning amplification and flame blade dervish. Also, dip in either bloodrager or shaman to add a nasty condition whenever you crit with a spell (i.e. the flame blade). Race is either ifrit, obviously, or half-orc for its racial bonus on fire spells.
Tyrant's Grasp: A charge Magus who dips into Siegebreaker Fighter, and takes the charge through feat. This gets interesting when you combo with with the Flash Forward spell. So you charge through someone (overrun) against someone else (bull rush + overrun) and all this deals damage because of siegebreaker, and THEN you teleport back and make a full attack. This one could also be an eldritch scion, as the undead bloodline adds the shaken condition on your charge attacks; then add a cruel weapon. I feel this one should be a dwarf with the steel soul feat, and bladebound with an ancestral battle axe is fitting.
HTH! Also, LOL at that title :)
I'm sure I can add a few to that.
Rise of the Runelords: A halfling Magus focusing on the Bodyguard feat, Crane Style, and Blundering Defense to protect his allies, and that could use spellstrike with a whip to buff allies from a distance (e.g. Vanish, Displacement). Also, he uses the Shared Training spell to give his entire party Broken Wing Gambit. Beastblade is fitting for giving a supportive familiar, which of course takes the Valet archetype.
This sounds good, although using a whip to buff your allies sounds like something that lends itself to a party of Zon Kuthon worshippers (which is not entirely implausible).
Hell's Rebels: A tiefling sneak attack Magus, using two levels of ninja for the swift-action invis, plus the accomplished sneak attack feat to go into Arcane Trickster. And then uses the Ki Throw feat to set up flanks, along with vicious stomp (later retrained to greater trip). The spell Long Arm is good here, or later the lunge feat. So your basic spell combat routine is a ki throw (to move the enemy between you and an ally), opportunity attack, iterative, and finish up with the attack spell of your choice. Mindblade is a decent archetype for this, because psychic casting is sneaky, and because you can manifest a weapon at-need even when unarmed.
The problem with this is one common to most spellcasting prestige classes when you enter from a 6/9 (or worse yet 4/9) spellcasting class: Now you are d6, 1/2 BAB, AND progressing 6/9 casting instead of 9/9 casting. I would rather go single class Mindblade Magus VMC Rogue, even though that leaves out Swift Action Vanish and the Arcane Trickster goodies, and has lower total Sneak Attack dice -- at least you will stay 3/4 BAB and have complete 6/9 spellcasting progression.
Return of the Runelords: A gnome debuffer Magus, who uses his racial ability to make his weapon Conductive, then has a level in cleric to deliver nasty touch abilities of the Chaos, Repose, or Excommunicate domain. For more synergy, make it an eldritch scion (arcane is good, destined is fitting) so you can channel well, and pick a nasty negative variant channel. Also, since it's a gnome, the bewildering koan feat.
The Domains (Inquisition for Excommunication) work because those particular ones have abilities that are No Save and do not scale with level, but Variant Channeling is going to become obsolete quickly due to having only 1 Cleric level, which means that the DC and Channel Bonus/Penalty will not scale. Unfortunately, VMC Cleric is just awful, or I would have recommended Magus VMC Cleric. Cleric VMC Magus, on the other hand, wouldn't be so bad, except that you can't get the Gnome Magus Favored Class Bonus that way, so you'll have to just get a Conductive weapon.
Wrath of the Righteous: A nature-bonded Magus who wields a flame blade, as the druid spell. I think there was another way to get that spell and still have arcane pool, that would be the best combo. Then take feats like burning amplification and flame blade dervish. Also, dip in either bloodrager or shaman to add a nasty condition whenever you crit with a spell (i.e. the flame blade). Race is either ifrit, obviously, or half-orc for its racial bonus on fire spells.
For another way to get Flame Blade, did you mean dip in the Magaambyan Arcanist prestige class? Unfortunately, that means you need to dip Wizard to get Spell Mastery, or dip 5 levels of Magaambyan Initiate Arcanist, and either way you also need the Scholar feat (dual Knowledge skill booster, so it's not just a feat tax), so Nature-Bonded Magus is the cleaner way to do it, despite losing Arcane Pool. However, I wouldn't totally count out a Wizard dip (followed by Spell Mastery), because some Wizard Arcane School abilities are really good even with just 1 level of Wizard. The Prescience ability of Divination:Foresight and the Versatile Evocation ability of Evocation:Admixture both come to mind. If you went this route, you would be 1 level behind a single-classed Magus with regard to spellcasting progression (and caster level), and 1/2 BAB behind, and 2 hit points behind, and 2 FCB behind, and having invested 2 feats (1 of which is mainly a feat tax), but this is serviceable.
Which Bloodrager Bloodline or Shaman Spirit did you have in mind for adding a nasty condition on a Spell Critical? (Aberrant, Fey, and Kyton Bloodlines come to mind for imposing a Critical, but these don't need to be a Spell Critical -- a pure weapon Critical will do just fine. Undead, mentioned below for the next Magus, instead keys off a Charge attack.) Also, if you're going to dip Bloodrager, be sure to snag the Mad Magic feat so that you can cast while in Bloodrage, and then later snag the Rage spell with Spell Blending to give yourself an extended cheapo Rage (forget the concentration part of the duration -- just use the 1 round per level). As an alternative to snagging the Rage spell (or even in addition to it), you could go VMC Barbarian -- the 3rd level ability starts out as a weak Extra Rage, but unlike the feat, it scales, so fairly soon afterwards it becomes stronger; the 7th level Uncanny Dodge makes it tempting to dip 2 levels of Bloodrager to make this into Improved Uncanny Dodge. As an alternative to dipping Bloodrager, if you're willing to put up with the drawbacks of Eldritch Scion Magus, you can go Eldritch Scion Magus and only do the Wizard and Magaambyan Arcanist dips (although you won't be able to invest in enough Intelligence to get very many uses of the Wizard Arcane School abilities) -- this will get you the Bloodrager Bloodline you want. If you go Eldritch Scion Magus, as an alternative to dipping Wizard and Magaambyan Arcanist, you unfortunately CAN'T also be a Nature-Bonded Magus (the archetypes are incompatible), but you CAN make use of your high Charisma and your in-class UMD skill together with the Wand Wielder Magus Arcana to fire up a Wand of Flame Blade, although you won't get the scaling damage bonus beyond +1 (or +2 if you paid extra).
Tyrant's Grasp: A charge Magus who dips into Siegebreaker Fighter, and takes the charge through feat. This gets interesting when you combo with with the Flash Forward spell. So you charge through someone (overrun) against someone else (bull rush + overrun) and all this deals damage because of siegebreaker, and THEN you teleport back and make a full attack. This one could also be an eldritch scion, as the undead bloodline adds the shaken condition on your charge attacks; then add a cruel weapon. I feel this one should be a dwarf with the steel soul feat, and bladebound with an ancestral battle axe is fitting.
Flash Forward is also a good catch for a mounted Magus. A Siegebreaker Fighter dip is also a good catch for a mounted Magus -- although Armored Vigor is a very lackluster replacement for Bravery, Breaker Rush is really good (including letting you put off getting Improved Bull Rush and Improved Overrun for a bit) and Breaker Momentum is good enough to make it worth extending the dip to 2 levels (need the Magical Knack trait to compensate for the loss of caster level).
Haven't had a chance to figure out how to make good use of Puppetmaster's weird replacements for the Magus action economy enhancers, but in terms of flavor, the more I think about Hell's Vengeance, the more a (Whip-wielding) Puppetmaster Magus seems to fit.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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This sounds good, although using a whip to buff your allies sounds like something that lends itself to a party of Zon Kuthon worshippers
Or Calistria, or Lissala, or good-aligned Selket.
I would rather go single class Mindblade Magus VMC Rogue, even though that leaves out Swift Action Vanish and the Arcane Trickster goodies, and has lower total Sneak Attack dice -- at least you will stay 3/4 BAB and have complete 6/9 spellcasting progression.
Yeah, I'll have to run some numbers on that. This is a character I'm actually building right now.
Variant Channeling is going to become obsolete quickly due to having only 1 Cleric level, which means that the DC and Channel Bonus/Penalty will not scale.
None of the variants that give a channel bonus or penalty are all that good; I'm more looking for condition-afflicting channels. DC strikes me as doable if you're willing to invest feats and/or traits in it. Having DC 18 at level 10 strikes me as workable (that's 20 charisma, +2 from a feat, +1 from a trait).
Which Bloodrager Bloodline or Shaman Spirit did you have in mind for adding a nasty condition on a Spell Critical?
Right. Regular critical also works. Aside from the bloodrager abilities there's Vortex Spell from the wind shaman.
And yeah, I'd call Scholar also a feat tax; so this one works better with Nature-Bonded (and that goes online much earlier; Magambyan doesn't get flame blade until level 11 or so).
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Hell's Rebels: A tiefling sneak attack MagusThe problem with this is one common to most spellcasting prestige classes when you enter from a 6/9 (or worse yet 4/9) spellcasting class:
It turns out pretty well, if I replace ninja by brawler. Compared to a magus/10, a build of snakebite brawler 1 / magus 5 / arcane trickster 4 has -2 to hit and +13 to damage (which are much better returns than e.g. Power Attack), 7 less hit points, and +1 better saving throws.
At higher levels, the loss of BAB and pool enchant becomes problematic, but if your campaign plays at PFS levels (or the first four books of the AP, maybe five depending on which AP) then this is a very workable build. At higher levels, the obvious solution is to take more Magus levels instead of AT.
Haven't had a chance to figure out how to make good use of Puppetmaster's weird replacements for the Magus action economy enhancers, but in terms of flavor, the more I think about Hell's Vengeance, the more a (Whip-wielding) Puppetmaster Magus seems to fit.
Deja Vu, Charm Person, and Hideous Laughter would be the spells to use I think
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Deja Vu, Charm Person, and Hideous Laughter would be the spells to use I thinkHaven't had a chance to figure out how to make good use of Puppetmaster's weird replacements for the Magus action economy enhancers, but in terms of flavor, the more I think about Hell's Vengeance, the more a (Whip-wielding) Puppetmaster Magus seems to fit.
Deja Vu, Charm Person, and Hideous Laughter would be the spells to use I think
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^I see what you did there.
While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Sense Vitals, which gives you almost 2/3 strength Sneak Attack that also stacks with other sources of Precision Damage, including any Sneak Attack you already have. This spell is also on the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list (although not on the Magus spell list), so you can snag it with Spell Blending. If you go Magus (optionally Mindblade) VMC Rogue and snag this spell, you can actually have better Sneak Attack than a normal Arcane Trickster, as well as better than a Magus-based Arcane Trickster (although you miss out on Ranged Legerdemain, Tricky Spells, and Impromptu Sneak Attack). An alternative would be Eldritch Scoundrel Rogue, which gets this spell natively and thus would get you even better Sneak Attack without eating 5 feats, although this wouldn't get you Spell Combat and Spellstrike.
Hi all,
A calculation that some might find useful (I can show more work if anyone would like; this was done with tejon's DPR calculator):
Level 12 Bladebound Magus +24 to hit vs. AC 30, with Rime Frostbite, Haste, BTS, Keen: 131.8 DPR
Same Magus using Accurate Strike: 172.8 DPR
Same Magus activating Bane Baldric: 173.0 DPR
In an already tight swift action economy, this dissuades me from taking Accurate Strike.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Sense Vitals
I've seen that spell before, but damage-wise it compares unfavorably to Frostbite (and casting FB gives you a free attack, whereas casting SV does not).
A calculation that some might find useful (I can show more work if anyone would like; this was done with tejon's DPR calculator):
The thing is that Accurate Strike is for enemies with a massive AC; not for enemies that you hit on a 6+ (and certainly not something to spam every combat). That said, Bane Baldric is a very powerful item.
The thing is that Accurate Strike is for enemies with a massive AC; not for enemies that you hit on a 6+ (and certainly not something to spam every combat). That said, Bane Baldric is a very powerful item.
Your point is well-taken. I suppose considering Accurate Strike in the context of Bane Baldric helped me to understand that AS is more situational than I had thought; I'm uncertain if the situational benefit is desirable enough to warrant the opportunity cost (In the example of the Level 12 Magus referenced above, BB loses ~10 DPR per each additional point of AC faced. I.e. BB is ~160 DPR vs. AC 31, ~150 vs. AC 32, etc.).
However, an important additional consideration (and frankly one I overlooked initially) is the third iterative at Level 15. Here, AS becomes much less situational.
While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Sense VitalsI've seen that spell before, but damage-wise it compares unfavorably to Frostbite (and casting FB gives you a free attack, whereas casting SV does not).
Does Sense Vitals need a flank?
Does Sense Vitals need a flank?
Looks like it.
While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Sense VitalsI've seen that spell before, but damage-wise it compares unfavorably to Frostbite (and casting FB gives you a free attack, whereas casting SV does not).
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Why not do both? If you know a fight is coming up real soon, cast Sense Vitals, and then Spell Combat cast Frostbite as the fight starts (since you aren't holding the charge on Sense Vitals, and it is instead a buff to you, the Frostbite won't mess it up). (This will be hard to do at the lowest levels, due to short duration, so you might want to wait on getting this spell until level 7, when your Spell Blending to snag it can also snag another 1st or 2nd level Sorcerer/Wizard spell for you.)
And yes, since Sense Vitals gives you Sneak Attack, you need a Flank or something else that qualifies for Sneak Attack (making the enemy Flat-Footed will also work). But as a Magus, you are more capable than the average combatant at getting into a flanking position, even if your allies aren't so smart about such things.
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And yes, since Sense Vitals gives you Sneak Attack, you need a Flank or something else that qualifies for Sneak Attack (making the enemy Flat-Footed will also work). But as a Magus, you are more capable than the average combatant at getting into a flanking position, even if your allies aren't so smart about such things.
I am just thinking about my Horse Archer again, Sense Vitals and Prescient Attack (Su) looks interesting
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Your point is well-taken. I suppose considering Accurate Strike in the context of Bane Baldric helped me to understand that AS is more situational than I had thought
An alternative way of looking at it is that you don't need +24 to hit (and Blade Tutor's Spirit) at level 12: you could invest less in to-hit bonuses and compensate by taking Accurate Strike.
Why not do both? If you know a fight is coming up real soon, cast Sense Vitals, and then Spell Combat cast Frostbite as the fight startsI've seen that spell before, but damage-wise it compares unfavorably to Frostbite (and casting FB gives you a free attack, whereas casting SV does not).
{. . .}
Yes, that's some impressive damage there. I find it really depends on the GM if that will work out; some GMs commonly allow the party to buff itself to the max before "kicking in the door", and other GMs rarely let you know in advance that combat is coming.
I am just thinking about my Horse Archer again, Sense Vitals and Prescient Attack (Su) looks interesting
Prescient is great with any source of sneak attack, including VMC Rogue, dipping Snakebite Brawler + Accomplished Sneak feat, and this spell. Or possibly all of the above.
Knowing whether combat is coming before your enemies do is something you probably want to invest in (including investing heavily in Stealth and Perception) if you are going to be an Arcane Trickster substitute. Pulling this off will indeed differ between GMs and between campaigns, but investing in it will tend to tip the balance in your favor. In keeping with the idea of "A Magus for Every Occasion", we should try to think of which APs this kind of Magus would work best in, but not having time to do the job properly right now, I'm going to hazard the guesses that:
- •In horror-themed APs (where things are SUPPOSED to be jumping out at you from complete surprise, like in Carrion Crown and Strange Aeons), this won't do so well;
•In APs where many opponents are themselves highly proficient magically (like in Second Darkness after you get past the bait part of the bait and switch), this won't do so well;
•In APs where many opponents will have relatively poor Perception and not much magical ability (like in Giantslayer and Ironfang Invasion, and large parts of Rise of the Runelords), this could do quite well (although be careful of sheer numbers of opponents in the latter);
•This might be able to do okay in some in-between APs in the wilderness (like Kingmaker) or Intrigue/Semi-Intrigue APs (like Hell's Rebels and War for the Crown) if your party has a member that really goes all-in on Perception.
Knowing whether combat is coming before your enemies do is something you probably want to invest in (including investing heavily in Stealth and Perception) if you are going to be an Arcane Trickster substitute. Pulling this off will indeed differ between GMs and between campaigns, but investing in it will tend to tip the balance in your favor. In keeping with the idea of "A Magus for Every Occasion", we should try to think of which APs this kind of Magus would work best in, but not having time to do the job properly right now, I'm going to hazard the guesses that:
•This might be able to do okay in some in-between APs in the wilderness (like Kingmaker) or Intrigue/Semi-Intrigue APs (like Hell's Rebels and War for the Crown) if your party has a member that really goes all-in on Perception.
I am penciling it in for Hell's Rebels
I am penciling it in for Hell's RebelsWait, did you miss my previous post with five suggestions and instead put in archetype names for the missing entries?
I didn't msis it, although I had to go back to refresh my memory on the details:
{. . .}
Hell's Rebels: A tiefling sneak attack Magus, using two levels of ninja for the swift-action invis, plus the accomplished sneak attack feat to go into Arcane Trickster. And then uses the Ki Throw feat to set up flanks, along with vicious stomp (later retrained to greater trip). The spell Long Arm is good here, or later the lunge feat. So your basic spell combat routine is a ki throw (to move the enemy between you and an ally), opportunity attack, iterative, and finish up with the attack spell of your choice. Mindblade is a decent archetype for this, because psychic casting is sneaky, and because you can manifest a weapon at-need even when unarmed.
{. . .}
The concept fits in line nicely with what I was thinking of, but instead of getting levels in Ninja and Arcane Trickster, go Mindblade Magus VMC Rogue, and get Extra Magus Arcana (Spell Blending (Sense Vitals)) at 5th level(*), and get Prescient Attack as your 6th level Magus Arcana. At 7th level, retrain the Extra Magus Arcana to Extra Magus Arcana (Spell Blending (Sense Vitals, {some other 1st or 2nd level Sorcerer/Wizard Spell})). If you must have Ranged Legerdemain (which has unlimited uses per day and definite utility), go ahead and dip 1 level in Arcane Trickster once you get enough Sneak Attack, but I wouldn't recommend delaying the progression of Magus class features any more than that (or at most a 2nd level of it to get another +1d6 Sneak Attack, if you aren't using Fractional Base Bonuses, in which case you're going to get hosed on Bab and Fortitude Save anyway and might as well make the best of it).
Note that the Mindblade text explicitly lets you use Spell Combat with a dual weapon or double weapon when you get the ability to manifest such weapons. You also eventually get the ability to use Spell Combat when wielding a weapon two-handed, but this comes much later than when you can manifest a two-handed weapon.
It might be worth getting Extend Spell to increase the duration of self-buff spells that you would usually cast before battle (including Sense Vitals), since increasing the casting time to a full round action won't matter in that case.
If nobody else in the party has Perception cranked to the max, you're going to have to do it yourself. The Campaign Trait Pattern Seeker (gets you Perception in class) is a good start for this.
Analysis of VMC Rogue for a Magus:
VMC Rogue I (3rd level) = Trapfinding. Not necessarily the most used class feature in Hell's Rebels, but it could save your life, particularly if you honk off Barzillai Thrune and company enough that they start trying to lay magical traps for you. In that case, you'll also be glad you cranked Perception to the max.
VMC Rogue II (7th level) = Sneak Attack, starting at +1d6 and scaling slowly as indicated below, and only a little bit later than the time Sense Vitals starts lasting long enough that you can get good use of it when casting it just before a fight.
VMC Rogue III (11th level) = Evasion. Not bad, although since your Reflex Save is your worst Save, you won't get the best benefit from it unless you can somehow cram Lightning Reflexes into your build. Also, your innate Sneak Attack is now +2d6.
VMC Rogue IV (15th level) = Uncanny Dodge. Being immune to being Flat-Footed from surprise or an invisible opponent is good. Too bad you get it so late. Also, your innate Sneak Attack is now +3d6.
VMC Rogue V (19th level) = Improved Uncanny Dodge. Being immune to being flanked by anything short of a way superior opponent is good. Too bad you get it so late. Also, your innate Sneak Attack is now +4d6.
I am penciling it in for Hell's RebelsWait, did you miss my previous post with five suggestions and instead put in archetype names for the missing entries?
Nope, I have a Master sheet. I update the one you see sporadically when progress has been made
While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Umbral Weapon, which is actually in your guide, but gets an Orange rating on the grounds of Frostbite doing more damage. Shouldn't Umbral Weapon be rated higher? Since it is effectively a weapon attack reroll buff (which strangely is No Save even though Illusion) and not something you spellstrike with, it won't hose the charges on a Spellstrike spell, so you could use both it AND Frostbite (or better yet, Rime Frostbite) at the same time, or even Rime Umbral Weapon(*) and some other spell to Spellstrike with -- Chill Touch comes to mind (later on, Calcific Touch if you snag it with Spell Blending), or even multiple single-shot Spellstrikes with spells like Shocking Grasp and Vampiric Touch.
(*)I went back and looked at the wording of Rime Spell to be sure, and it looks to me like this combination works, although it actually gets LESS effective that way if you are actually hitting with your normal attack most of the time; however, as your Base Attack Bonus goes up and you get more iterative attacks, you'll get a few misses in to trigger it, since your later attacks in each round have greater penalties.
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While reviewing spells in the discussion thread for IluzryMage's Antipaladin/Paladin Guide, I stumbled upon Umbral Weapon, which is actually in your guide, but gets an Orange rating on the grounds of Frostbite doing more damage.
As I understand the spell, it's not actually a weapon reroll, because the hit deals only 1d8+half level (as opposed to, say, 1d8+3d6+strength).
So if I'd be stacking buff spells, I'd sooner go with Telekinetic Strikes or Blade Tutor's Spirit or one of the polymorph buffs. Although yes, it does work with Rime Spell (and Chilling Amp) which makes it more appealing.
^Good catch -- I'll make a note of this in the discussion thread for the Antipaladin/Paladin guide, but looks like it still works as needed.
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Quick question: does robe of runes work with Spellstrike?
Do you mean, does the robe's bonus on attack rolls with spells stack with the bonus on the magic weapon you're using to spellstrike with? No, both are enhancement bonuses, so they don't stack.
Do you mean, does the robe's bonus on attack rolls with spells stack with the bonus on the magic weapon you're using to spellstrike with? No, both are enhancement bonuses, so they don't stack.
I actually meant does Spellstrike trigger the robe, which I take it you believe it does. Now that you mention it, however, I wonder about the enhancement bonus; I of course see what you mean, but could it be that the bonuses are to different "objects," and therefore would stack?
Multiple enhancement bonuses on the same object (in the case of armor and weapons), creature (in the case of natural armor), or ability score do not stack.
"attack rolls made with spells" is a really vague term (that's also not used anywhere else, the only similar language is for specific weapon types). I don't think there is a definitive answer.
could it be that the bonuses are to different "objects," and therefore would stack?
No, what's relevant is what the bonuses are applied to. In this case, both are directly applied to the attack roll, and thus don't stack.
Also, you should stop using d20pfsrd.com as a definite rule source. What you quoted is not in any Pathfinder book, but rather taken from the 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide.
Also, you should stop using d20pfsrd.com as a definite rule source. What you quoted is not in any Pathfinder book, but rather taken from the 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide.
This is a good point. I usually check d20pfsrd.com's reference, but was sloppy here.
Trigger what exactly? The robe's main ability (spell recall) is activated, not triggered.
This was also sloppy on my part. What I meant was (as Derklord noted): does Spellstrike count as an "attack roll[s] made with spells"? Given that the enhancement bonus doesn't apply, however, this question is irrelevant.
My sense is that robe of runes predates Pathfinder and thus creates some problems. It seems like a Magus could use it to generally good effect while missing out on Spellstrike application. Given the paucity of strong body slot items and the added advantage of freeing up the headband slot, robe of runes seems quite nice overall.
My sense is that robe of runes predates Pathfinder and thus creates some problems.
It predates PF as a system, yes, although the wording for the version from the original AP for 3.5 was slightly different: "for one round after recalling a spell, the wearer’s spell save DCs and attack rolls for spells gain a +2 enhancement bonus." I think that wording is actually clearer.
I have circled back around to figure out the Phantom Steed Eldritch Archer (For a Legacy of Fire game)
OUTLINE
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Eldritch Archer
Stats – 25 Points
Str: 12
Dex: 16+2
Cons: 14
Int: 16
Wis: 10
Cha: 8
ATTRIBUTE INCREASES
4, 8,12,16,20 - DEX
TRAITS
____________ (Campaign: X)
Arcane Temper (MAGIC)
FEATS
Level 1 - Magus - Level - Point-Black Shot
Level 1 - Magus - Half-Elf - Skill Focus: Ride
Level 3 - Magus - Level - Precise Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Level - Rapid Shot
Level 5 - Magus - Bonus - Deadly Aim
Level 7 - Magus - Level - Mounted Combat
Level 9 - Magus - Level - Mounted Archery
Level 11 - Magus - Level - Extra Arcana: Spell Blending (Sense Vitals & Resist Energy)
Level 11 - Magus - Bonus - Manyshot
Level 13 - Magus - Level - Improved Mounted Archery
ARCANA
Level 3 - Familiar
Level 6 - Empowered Magic
Level 6 - Prescient Attack
Level 9 - Reach Spellstrike
Level 12 - Hasted Assault
Level 12 - Distant Spellstrike
Level 15 - Quickened Magic
Level 18 -
Level 18 -
OVERVIEW
As an archer I am always useful in combat, and a steed just makes me better. As a Magus I offer the party some arcane flexibility.
My main thought is my spell blending. I like the Sense Vitals pick in combo with Prescient Attack, but I am not sure about the 2nd pick. Resist Energy is decent, but could I pick something better?