So, my GM has given me 'free reign' to create a character with stats that I rolled. They seem a little cheaty to me, but he gave me the okay: 13, 14, 14, 16, 17, 18 (My d6 has it on for me, apparently) at level 1!
These are his home-brewed rules, and I know it's not typical, but I was hoping with this much freedom, someone could help me build a fun magus. I figured human to keep it relatively simple (plus free feat), or aasimar for the pretty-boy flavor. I could go vanilla or bladebound (maybe bladebound/kensai?).
Optimized? Not necessarily. But the game we're playing now, we're barely staying alive at level one, and it looks like new characters are going to be necessary -really- fast, and I want to have this in my back-pocket.
At the moment, I have an inquisitor knowledge-monkey, because everyone else was more interested in just DPR, and I wanted to actually role-play a bit, but, like I said, we all look like we're dying fast.
So, what am I looking for? Tips on which archetype (or not), ability scores, feats, traits. I know it's typical for the whole scimitar/shocking grasp mentality, but I wanted a balance between RP fun(which I can provide a lot of just off hand, and happens to be my only talent in this game), and damage/defense/stat management (which I completely suck at).
If you think magus just isn't right for me, I'm also not opposed to using these liquid magma stats for something else.
Edit: I failed to mention, although these guys are starting at level 1, we're supposed to do an extensive progression of campaigns, so I don't want an 'early focus' build.
And I know there's a stigma about building a character for a new guy, and instead get pointed in the direction of the guides (which all basically say almost the same thing about optimizing), and calling us lazy.
I instead implore you to look at me as a pathetic first-timer and have a modicum of pity.
I'm a bit concerned for the health of your campaign if your GM is being so brutal that at level 1 you're already considering backup characters. That said, it's a damn good stat spread, so you could realistically do just about whatever you please.
Before deciding on a Magus and figuring out how to build it, figure out what your party needs. What else is already being played? What roles do you need to fill? A Magus can be a strong striker sort, but can stumble a bit as a sole pure martial character.
If you do go with a Magus, you've got marginally more options than just a scimitar if you with a Dexterity focus. Slashing Grace lets you get Dex to damage with any light or one-handed slashing weapons, meaning that you get to add...handaxe and kukri to your list of decent weapon choices. Fencing Grace gives you rapier, Starry Grace gives you starknife. So yeah, unfortunately not a very diverse weapon list for Dex builds, but the old scimitar standby is still pretty decent.
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If you do go with a Magus, you've got marginally more options than just a scimitar if you with a Dexterity focus. Slashing Grace lets you get Dex to damage with any light or one-handed slashing weapons, meaning that you get to add...handaxe and kukri to your list of decent weapon choices. Fencing Grace gives you rapier, Starry Grace gives you starknife. So yeah, unfortunately not a very diverse weapon list for Dex builds, but the old scimitar standby is still pretty decent.
I think you've missed some errata and FAQs and the like. Slashing grace and Fencing grace have both been changed, and now Spell Combat counts as having your off-hand occupied, and you cannot get dex-to-damage with them and Spell Combat in the same round - only Dervishing is left now.
If you do go with a Magus, you've got marginally more options than just a scimitar if you with a Dexterity focus. Slashing Grace lets you get Dex to damage with any light or one-handed slashing weapons, meaning that you get to add...handaxe and kukri to your list of decent weapon choices. Fencing Grace gives you rapier, Starry Grace gives you starknife. So yeah, unfortunately not a very diverse weapon list for Dex builds, but the old scimitar standby is still pretty decent.I think you've missed some errata and FAQs and the like. Slashing grace and Fencing grace have both been changed, and now Spell Combat counts as having your off-hand occupied, and you cannot get dex-to-damage with them and Spell Combat in the same round - only Dervishing is left now.
Drat, this is what happens when I get most of my rules information off PFSRD/AoN. Ah well, at least a scimitar isn't a terrible option.
If this is your first character ever, I would suggest a ranger. It's a relatively easy class to run, has lots of fun features, and slowly teaches you the basics of Pathfinder (monster types, combat styles and feats, terrain types, spellcasting, pets, party buffing, etc.). Also lots of useful skills, both for in and out of combat.
If you've played before or just really want to play a magus, great! You have lots of really good stats, so you can make a real survivable and fun magus. Maybe Str 17, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12?
I played a dwarf barbarian 1/magus 6 that was really fun and versatile. I took barbarian as my first level, so I had a ton of hit points, and Power Attack (and Berserker of the Society trait for 3 extra daily rounds of rage and Magical Lineage (shocking grasp) for eventual Spell Strike with Intensified shocking grasp). Pretty basic stuff. I used a dwarven waraxe, 1-handed when using Spell Combat or Spellstrike, 2-handed when raging and Power Attacking (sometimes enlarged and/or bull's strengthed).
My build was
1. Barbarian, Power Attack (Berserker of the Society, Magical Lineage)
2. Magus.
3. Magus, Dodge
4. Magus.
5. Magus, Combat Reflexes
6. Magus, bonus feat: Arcane Strike
7. Magus, Intensify Spell
I initially went barbarian just for the speed boost, but the extra hit points, rage, extra class skills and skill points, and ability to take Power Attack at 1st level were all really fun and exciting options.
Obviously, you can't crit fish with a dwarven waraxe and you don't get to x3 spell damage with it, but it's fun to be able to switch between one-handed magic-using and two-handed raging Power Attacking. Sometimes you would use magic to self-buff and sometimes to blast and sometimes to spellstrike.
Another fault with my build is that I had a 14 Dex, so when I was [i]enlarged, my AC dropped a lot because I lost my Dodge feat too. Even more when raging.