So, I have an Ectoplasmatist and my attack bonus isn't all that high. I am looking for ways to increase it.
Some things to know:
1. I am using Weapon Finesse and Slashing Grace so I already have Weapon Focus. So I realize that a Dex belt comes at high priority as it increases both my hit and damage. For reference this is the build I am going with:
Yes, I realize that it isn't the most optimal build but it accomplishes the concept that I am going for. My feats will be:
Weapon Finesse (human)
Weapon Focus (Kensai)
Combat Reflexes (1st)
Slashing Grace (3rd)
Improved Unarmed Strike (bonus)
Crane Style (bonus)
Snapping Turtle Style (5th)
Deflect Arrows (7th)
Crane Wing (9th)
Weapon Trick: Stylish Riposte (11th)
Crane Riposte (13th)
The character is currently 3rd level and is being played in PFS and is being played through Emerald Spire. I have barely spent any gold and almost have enough for my Dex belt which I will be picking up after my next session (being played tonight).
2. The Ectoplasmic Lash is considered to be a weapon that is wielded in your hand. That means that it should work with such things as Deliquescent Gloves which help in the damage department but not the attack bonus.
3. Amulet of Mighty Fists doesn't work as it isn't a Natural Attack.
4. Greater Magic Weapon does work because it is a "weapon".
5. Due to my Bladebound/Kensai Magus levels I will be able to use my Arcane Pool to give it an enhancement bonus until it gets outstripped by the rest of my Ectoplasmatist scaling bonus.
6. There are a few other spells that will help later like Shocking Grasp against opponents who have metal on them and personal buffs like Aid, Haste, Heroism, etc.
7. I know there are a bunch of debuffs that could be applied to make an opponent easy to hit. Unless they are something I could fit into my pre-existing build and can be done regularly without interfering with my usual schtick I will probably skip them. Example: I don't want to carry a net due to weight issues on a low Str build and because I don't want to spend a turn basically debuffing my target before tearing in when I'm likely already using a turn to buff as is.
8. Same thing goes for situational modifiers. I already know about such things as flanking, higher ground, prone targets, etc. I use those whenever I can.
9. There are a few corner case items that are helpful but most are prohibitively expensive (currently) like the Pale Green Prism Ioun Stone. Well, I guess I could afford the cracked version, hm... well, these kinds of things can help if you know of others. Luckstones sadly do not add to attack bonus.
10. While expendable things like potions and round/day magic items are helpful I am looking for things that are more sustainable in the long run. Still, as long as it doesn't hit the belt pouch hard it is likely at least worth considering. Also, I just wanted to end on 10.
I'm not sure that build is even rules-legal, to be honest with you.
Sure, you can select Weapon Focus with it per a FAQ, and Weapon Finesse would work because it's specifically designed as a Light Weapon, but I don't think you can select the Lashes with Slashing Grace, because it lacks the exceptional rules that Weapon Focus and company have (especially in relation to a FAQ).
Darksol the Painbringer: Thank you for dropping by. :)
I think you will have a hard time convincing me that the Ectoplasmic Lash (a one-handed slashing weapon) is not a "light or one-handed slashing weapon", which is all that Slashing Grace requires. Blackblade also requires it to be a "a one-handed slashing weapon, a rapier, or a sword cane" which, being a one handed slashing weapon it meets as well.
Got anything constructive to add about increasing the attack bonus though?
why are you bladebound and an ectoplasmatist? What's that doing for you?
Getting me an intelligent, unbreakable, telepathic Ectoplasmic Lash Black Blade (that is RPed as a tentacle of the Great Old Tentacled one, Cthulhu with a slightly altered personality that matches the character and is called Nefrysky) that can be dismissed and manifested at will. In short, it is a roleplay decision and I hope to have a lot of fun with it. :)
Sadly, Bladebound replaces the Arcane Talent normally gained at 3rd level and I do not plan on going any deeper than 3rd as that is where the Black Blade comes online at so I wont be able to pick up any Arcane Talents. Black Blade is the only thing that I wanted out of Bladebound. Everything else I want out of the weapon I can get from Ectoplasmatist.
I can't really add a lot about attack an attack bonus, as you already mentioned all the obvious answers, but it appears to me that changing the build slightly would be the obvious answer. Mixing 3 medium BAB classes will always hurt your attack.
The magus doesn't even add all that much, because the Lash already IS the manifestation of some ghost as is, so you could easily roleplay it to be sentient just like a phantom would be.
Getting more Ectoplasmatist levels earlier helps increasing its bonus and causes fewer levels to be dead BAB-wise and allows you to reach higher spell levels (for better buffs) earlier.
Apart from that I got nothing. But I agree that there is no reason slashing grace wouldn't work if weapon focus does.
I've got nothing, you're hosing on multiple levels (pun intended) regarding your attack bonus. I don't even understand what "concept" this monstrosity is supposed to represent.
First, you are triple multiclassing in medium BAB Classes; so you have at least two dud levels that will never go away. Meaning no matter what you do, you'll always be 10% less accurate than a better built character.
Second, Thanks to your multiclassing, you've completely hamstrung your spellcasting abilities, best cast scenario you'll always be at least a full spell level behind even the other 2nd tier spellcasters, and your caster level will be (at least) 4 levels lower. You won't get your first 3rd level spell until 11th (by which point you should have been well into 4th level spells.
Third, several of your class features just don't stack well, and they certainly don't synergize like they should for a gish build:
For example, you've traded out most of you arcane pool to gain a second sass talking magic weapon with an enhancement bonus worse than what your Lash could have had a level earlier.
PS: Your lash cannot also become your Black Blade: the magus' class feature doesn't allow you to select an "existing weapon" (ala Arcane Bond), it gives you a weapon of a selected type (which in this case when they say "weapon type" they almost certainly intended it to be a "manufactured weapon" type); In this regard this class feature is like the Gunslinger's Gunsmithing. Further, even if you could select an extant weapon (ala Arcane Bond), the Black Blade is a magical item, and the Lash doesn't qualify to become such a magical item because it isn't a masterwork item (nevermind the whole, manifest and dismiss at will).
You have Monk Improved Unarmed Strike, Telekinetic Projectile, and the Ectoplasmatist Lash, and a s$#$ty Black Blade none of which will ever do more than 1d6 base damage.
Oh but at 4th (8th for you) your Lash becomes a glorified Whip, except that you can't take Whip Mastery (instead gaining its primary benefit at 12th level right before you finish the campaign).
Unfortunately, you traded away most of your Arcane Pool, for a s%+!ty sass talking rapier. Which is a shame because it is one of the few class features you possess which actually synergizes with the Lash; as it was the only source of unusual special enchantments available to you (like Flaming and such).
Frankly... this build is illegal, it looks terrible on paper, and no amount of magical equipment will save it. The most constructive advice I can give is to burn it and start over.
Have you considered just playing a straight Mindblade Magus (OA 121)? It will let you manifest a psychic +1 whip (which you can actually take Whip Mastery with) at 1st level, and by 12th level it'll be a +5 weapon all the time. You'll have a full 3/4 BAB, Full Magus Caster Level, and some Psychic Spells. In the end you'll deal more damage, hit more often, and have more spells.
Darksol the Painbringer: Thank you for dropping by. :)
I think you will have a hard time convincing me that the Ectoplasmic Lash (a one-handed slashing weapon) is not a "light or one-handed slashing weapon", which is all that Slashing Grace requires. Blackblade also requires it to be a "a one-handed slashing weapon, a rapier, or a sword cane" which, being a one handed slashing weapon it meets as well.
Got anything constructive to add about increasing the attack bonus though?
I understand your line of reasoning, but this FAQ would suggest that it wouldn't work, since Slashing Grace isn't a feat like Weapon Focus or Improved Critical, in the same vein that you can't use Weapon Finesse to deliver Touch Attacks unless you use a Light weapon (such as an Unarmed Strike) to do so.
**EDIT** Also, you can no longer stack Bladebound and Kensai, based on the Archetype Stacking FAQ, so even without the feat issue, your build is illegal.
Sorry, I had guests come by, so I was cut short as to how to actually answer your question. In short, buffs would help. Since the Lashes are wielded like weapons, improving your relevant attribute also helps. Utilizing tactics like Flanking and Elevation are also helpful, even if only circumstantial.
Your Kensai Magus levels can utilize Shocking Grasp and Spellstrike, which can give you an extra +3 if the enemy is using metal armor or weapons (or is mostly made of metal, as a reasonable GM would conclude).
Also, you can no longer stack Bladebound and Kensai, based on the Archetype Stacking FAQ, so even without the feat issue, your build is illegal.
Wait.. I didn't see any overlap in Kensai and Bladebound in the PRD, am I missing something?
Bladebound alters Arcane Pool, and replaces their 3rd level Arcana.
Kensai alters Weapon and Armor Proficiencies, Grants Diminished Spellcasting and Weapon Focus, and replaces Spell Recall, Knowledge Pool, Medium Armor (the class feature), their 9th level Arcana, Improved Spell Recall, Heavy Armor (the class feature), Greater Spell Access, and True Magus.
The FAQ says that if you add to or remove from an open option available from the parent feature, that counts as replacing the entire parent feature for the purposes of stacking archetypes.
In this case, Bladebound removes the ability to select the Familiar Arcana, and as such counts as replacing the entire Arcana class feature, not just the Arcana gained at 3rd level, because it removes an option available from the original parent feature (which is the Familiar Arcana).
This means that any other classes which replace sub-features of that parent class feature (such as the 9th level Arcana from the Kensai) wouldn't work, because the entire parent feature is considered replaced, sub-features and all.
A GM can fairly houserule for the combination to work, but that's no different than stacking, say, the Sorcerer's Wildblooded and Crossblooded archetypes.
And that's not including the factor that temporary-existing lashes would constitute being permanent weapons such as a Black Blade, which no sane GM would allow. Quite frankly, if that's the case, a Druid who took some levels in Bladebound Magus could make a Black Blade out of his Flame Blade spell, and have the Flame Blade be permanent (and enhanced like a regular weapon) because of the Black Blade properties.
Not only is that overpowered, but it's highly unintended to work that way. (By the way, another option for OP to help his to-hit chances is to target things like Touch or Flat-footed AC instead of regular AC, something I forgot to mention earlier.)
I missed that aspect of Black Blade and its interaction with the FAQ, you are entirely correct. Thanks for the correction!
The other FAQ you posted above regarding weapon attacks and special abilities also indicates that you cannot apply Arcane Pool to an Ectoplasmic Lash because it is a Special Ability, and the FAQ specifically prohibits Arcane Pool from applying to similar special abilities such as Kinetic Blasts and Mystic Bolts.
Considering that the OPs character is being played in PFS, he's just screwed. His build is illegal on multiple levels (Kensai and Bladebound not being stackable, and Arcane Pool and Black Blade not being applicable to his Lash)... yeah burn it and start over.
Leaving aside the possible build issues, flying via item or otherwise makes it easier to get higher ground (besides the usual advantages). If you can spare a feat somehow then press to the wall makes flanking easier. It might have been better on the unchained rogue build you considered at one point, true.