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Defensive Strategist (Religion)
Quantium University graduate (Regional)
These traits are for survival, the first trait keeps my dex till my turn and Quantium gives a +2 to concentration checks.
Feats and Magus arcana
1. weapon focus
3. extra magus arcana: Precise strike
magus arcana: Flamboyant
5. additional traits: magical lineage (magic)/reactionary (combat)
Bonus feat: Dervish Dance
I would put Dervish dance at third level but that means I don't have a proper feat for the bonus feat at fifth level. Dervish Dance is the only dex to damage feat that I know of that works with spell combat. This is the base of the build. Magical Lineage is connected to Shocking Grasp and is retrainable to force punch or what not. Reactionary is there because I can't think of anything else to put there. If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
6. magus arcana: arcane accuracy
7. Intensive spell
9. Empower spell metamagic feat
magus arcana: spell blending - Heroism
11.quickdraw
bonus feat: Improved criticle - Scimitar
This is a PFS build. Arcane accuracy is much needed for those high AC fights. Intensive spell is a must for shocking grasp. The trick with empower spell is it works well with magical lineage and shocking grasp. It makes Shocking grasp a second level spell and the power curve works great. Spell Blending is there because I can't think of any thing else. Quickdraw is there because it is a prerequisite for maximize spell strike at thirteenth level even though I show this build till 11th level. I cant think of anything else better with the bonus feat at eleventh level. If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
Elf
S 12, d 18, Cn 12, i 16, W 10, Ca 8
20 pt build
Favorite class point to HP. I will increase my dex at fourth and eighth level.
Basically, everything is adjustable, please post why you would adjust anything. Keep in mind, the whole Idea is to have a Dex magus.
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Precise strike doesn't work since you count as swashbuckler 0 for your magus level. Put Flamboyant as your level 3 extra magus arcana.
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Parry and Riposte isn't bad to be honest. In my Strange Aeons run, the magus missed his spellcombat attacks, but the charge was still held, so when the monster attacked him, he parried, then riposted the monster, delivering the shocking grasp charge and killing it in the process.
I count it as a classic case of villain being hoisted by his own petard.
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Since, I have been told precise strike does not work with the Magus this is the alternate build.
Defensive Strategist (Religion)
Quantium University graduate (Regional)
These traits are for survival, the first trait keeps my dex till my turn and Quantium gives a +2 to concentration checks.
Feats and Magus arcana
1. weapon focus
3. Dervish Dance
magus arcana: arcane accuracy
5. additional traits: magical lineage (magic)/reactionary (combat)
Bonus feat: Empower spell metamagic feat
Dervish Dance is the only dex to damage feat that I know of that works with spell combat. Arcane accuracy is much needed for those high AC fights. The trick with empower spell is it works well with magical lineage and shocking grasp. It makes Shocking grasp a second level spell and the power curve works great. Magical Lineage is connected to Shocking Grasp and is retainable to force punch or what not. This is the base of the build. Reactionary is there because I can't think of anything else to put there. If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
6. magus arcana: empower spell
7. Intensive spell
9.magus arcana: spell blending - Heroism
11.quickdraw
bonus feat: Improved critical - Scimitar
This is a PFS build. The empower spell arcana works well with the Empower spell metamagic feat. Intensive spell is a must for shocking grasp. Spell Blending is there because I can't think of anything else. Quickdraw is there because it is a prerequisite for maximize spell strike at thirteenth level even though I show this build till 11th level. I cant think of anything else better with the magus arcana: spell blending or with the bonus feat at eleventh level. If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
Elf
S 12, d 18, Cn 12, i 16, W 10, Ca 8
20 pt build
Favorite class point to HP. I will increase my dex at fourth and eighth level.
Basically, everything is adjustable, please post why you would adjust anything. Keep in mind, the whole Idea is to have a Dex magus.
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Parry and Riposte isn't bad to be honest. In my Strange Aeons run, the magus missed his spellcombat attacks, but the charge was still held, so when the monster attacked him, he parried, then riposted the monster, delivering the shocking grasp charge and killing it in the process.
I count it as a classic case of villain being hoisted by his own petard.
To keep flamboyant all by itself I would be going through pool points too quickly. Between powering up the weapon, recalling spells and arcane accuracy magus arcana, I have enouph to use pool points on. I well consider it though.
You should lower your Strength to 10 and boost up your Wisdom and Constitution; outside of carrying capacity, there's no reason to have a 12 Strength, and unless you bump it to 13 Strength for Power Attack (which isn't until 9th level at the earliest), I'd advise against it.
While I can understand having a high Concentration is important for a Magus, I don't think it's worthwhile to ignore the Wayang Spell Hunter trait. My suggestion is to take Reactionary (or go the Adopted route for Unbreakable Hate to maintain Concentration Check bonuses) and Defensive Strategist with your standard traits, and then with your Additional Traits feat, take Wayang Spell Hunter and Magical Lineage, letting you have free Empower or Intensify Shocking Grasps (with combining both simply being a 2nd level spell slot).
Note that you can qualify for Fighter feats by 10th level, so I would take Weapon Focus at 9th, and then proceed to take Weapon Specialization with your bonus 11th (and take Improved Critical as your base feat). You'll have enough feats to get Maximize by 13th level, and then Spell Perfection by 15th (assuming you play the character for that long).
I think having the Empower Spell Arcana is pointless unless, for example, you want to have an emergency Vampiric Touch for when you get low (and don't want to/can't burn a potion or other consumable), since the Empower Feat lets you already memorize Empowered Shocking Grasps that can be cast as normal anyway; having that one extra Empower for a standard Shocking Grasp slot isn't really worth an Arcana.
I'd suggest bumping your Spell Blending Arcana to 6th (you can retrain it at 7th level for Heroism if you really want that spell, though there are some good 1st and 2nd level Wizard-only spells to consider), and taking a different Arcana at 9th. Suggestions include Hasted Assault (1 Arcane Pool point for Haste for 1 round), Close Range (You can use spells like Enervation with your Spell Combat, which can do a lot more in a combat against a super powerful enemy than your typical Shocking Grasp), and Vision-Clouding Strike (Enemies in Darkness and they have Darkvision? Now they can't see and everyone can turn them into giblets).
Spell Blending isn't a bad choice, but it's not the only one. A Familiar would be a lot of fun, and can open up a lot of utility options depending on which one you pick. Accurate Strike would be somewhat redundant, but there ARE a few super-high-AC foes around level 11 that you would benefit from targeting Touch AC against.
Disruptive is good if combo'ed with Step Up, but trying to fit it into the build can be a problem.
Hasted Assault is also kind of strong. Wand Wielder isn't bad if you have a Level 1 Wand you'd really like to use.
I like Heighten Spell and Preferred Spell, for spontaneous casting. You can prepare utility spells, then recycle them with spell recall. If you take magical lineage and Wayang spell Hunter, you can apply both intensified and Elemental Spell at the same time, for a first level spell.
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You should lower your Strength to 10 and boost up your Wisdom and Constitution; outside of carrying capacity, there's no reason to have a 12 Strength, and unless you bump it to 13 Strength for Power Attack (which isn't until 9th level at the earliest), I'd advise against it.
I don't like power attack for this build. The 12 str is for carrying capacity. Not much for anything else. Using it to boost Con, hmmm.
While I can understand having a high Concentration is important for a Magus, I don't think it's worthwhile to ignore the Wayang Spell Hunter trait. My suggestion is to take Reactionary (or go the Adopted route for Unbreakable Hate to maintain Concentration Check bonuses) and Defensive Strategist with your standard traits, and then with your Additional Traits feat, take Wayang Spell Hunter and Magical Lineage, letting you have free Empower or Intensify Shocking Grasps (with combining both simply being a 2nd level spell slot).
Magical Lineage works for all metamagic feats on one spell. It is not connected to one spell and one metamagic feat. I see it as redundant to have wayang spell hunter.
Note that you can qualify for Fighter feats by 10th level, so I would take Weapon Focus at 9th, and then proceed to take Weapon Specialization with your bonus 11th (and take Improved Critical as your base feat). You'll have enough feats to get Maximize by 13th level, and then Spell Perfection by 15th (assuming you play the character for that long).
I think having the Empower Spell Arcana is pointless unless, for example, you want to have an emergency Vampiric Touch for when you get low (and don't want to/can't burn a potion or other consumable), since the Empower Feat lets you already memorize Empowered Shocking Grasps that can be cast as normal anyway; having that one extra Empower for a standard Shocking Grasp slot isn't really worth an Arcana.
I'd suggest bumping your Spell Blending Arcana to 6th (you can retrain it at 7th level for Heroism if you really want that spell, though there are some good 1st and 2nd level Wizard-only spells to consider), and taking a different Arcana at 9th. Suggestions include Hasted Assault (1 Arcane Pool point for Haste for 1 round), Close Range (You can use spells like Enervation with your Spell Combat, which can do a lot more in a combat against a super powerful enemy than...
I could use extra magus arcana for hasted assault at ninth level but I have lots of stuff to use pool points on, I'll consider it though. the empower magus arcana is there to create synergy with the empower metamagic feat. I'll consider all these suggestions and think long about it.
I am shocked precise strike does not work with flamboyant.
While I can understand having a high Concentration is important for a Magus, I don't think it's worthwhile to ignore the Wayang Spell Hunter trait. My suggestion is to take Reactionary (or go the Adopted route for Unbreakable Hate to maintain Concentration Check bonuses) and Defensive Strategist with your standard traits, and then with your Additional Traits feat, take Wayang Spell Hunter and Magical Lineage, letting you have free Empower or Intensify Shocking Grasps (with combining both simply being a 2nd level spell slot).Magical Lineage works for all metamagic feats on one spell. It is not connected to one spell and one metamagic feat. I see it as redundant to have wayang spell hunter.
Magical Lineage reduces the final adjusted spell level by one. So if you have Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp) then an Empowered, Intensified Shocking Grasp Spell will use a 3rd level slot: 1st level spell +2(Empower Spell) +1(Intensified Spell) -1(Magical Lineage). Wayang Spellhunter reduces that by one more level to use a 2nd level slot as Darksol said. Using both for the same spell is common for Magus builds.
Wayang Spell Hunter functions identical to Magical Lineage; the only caveat is that it's only for a spell whose base spell level is level 3 or less.
There is no synergy with the feat and the Arcana outside of what I've stated. If a spell is already Empowered, you can't Double Empower it and hope to get two sets of 50% increases in damage, they won't stack.
Having the Empower feat lets you scribe Empowered Shocking Grasps as 2nd level spells to cast as Standard Actions, and aren't something you can just tack on whenever you feel like it (i.e. spontaneous spellcasting). Having the Arcana gives you a 1/day spontaneous use without casting time or spell level increase, which is pointless because you already spent resources to be able to do so as much as possible, and reduce the cost of that with your de facto spell to a minimum as it is, that this kind of investment is pointless unless it's for something other than your de facto spell.
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Magical Lineage reduces the final adjusted spell level by one. So if you have Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp) then an Empowered, Intensified Shocking Grasp Spell will use a 3rd level slot: 1st level spell +2(Empower Spell) +1(Intensified Spell) -1(Magical Lineage). Wayang Spellhunter reduces that by one more level to use a 2nd level slot as Darksol said. Using both for the same spell is common for Magus builds.While I can understand having a high Concentration is important for a Magus, I don't think it's worthwhile to ignore the Wayang Spell Hunter trait. My suggestion is to take Reactionary (or go the Adopted route for Unbreakable Hate to maintain Concentration Check bonuses) and Defensive Strategist with your standard traits, and then with your Additional Traits feat, take Wayang Spell Hunter and Magical Lineage, letting you have free Empower or Intensify Shocking Grasps (with combining both simply being a 2nd level spell slot).Magical Lineage works for all metamagic feats on one spell. It is not connected to one spell and one metamagic feat. I see it as redundant to have wayang spell hunter.
Now that I have read the trait again, I see what you all were trying to point out. To me it kind of reads both ways though, I'll adjust the build though.
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Wayang Spell Hunter functions identical to Magical Lineage; the only caveat is that it's only for a spell whose base spell level is level 3 or less.
There is no synergy with the feat and the Arcana outside of what I've stated. If a spell is already Empowered, you can't Double Empower it and hope to get two sets of 50% increases in damage, they won't stack.
Having the Empower feat lets you scribe Empowered Shocking Grasps as 2nd level spells to cast as Standard Actions, and aren't something you can just tack on whenever you feel like it (i.e. spontaneous spellcasting). Having the Arcana gives you a 1/day spontaneous use without casting time or spell level increase, which is pointless because you already spent resources to be able to do so as much as possible, and reduce the cost of that with your de facto spell to a minimum as it is, that this kind of investment is pointless unless it's for something other than your de facto spell.
I wouldn't stack both feat and magus arcana of empower on top of one another. I will readjust the build though with arcana deed and flamboyant.
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this is the adjusted build
Defensive Strategist (Religion)
Reactionary (Combat)
These traits are for survival, the first trait keeps my dex till my turn and Reactionary gives a +2 to initiative checks.
Feats
1. weapon finesse
3. extra magus arcana: Arcana deed; Precise strike
5. additional traits: magical lineage (magic)/Wayang spell hunter (Regional)
Bonus feat: Dervish Dance
I would put Dervish dance at third level but that means I don't have a proper feat for the bonus feat at fifth level. Dervish Dance is the only dex to damage feat that I know of that works with spell combat. This is the base of the build. Magical Lineage and Wayang spell hunter is connected to Shocking Grasp and is retrainable to force punch or what not. If that is not what arcana deed is for what can you do with it.
7. Intensive spell
9. Empower spell metamagic feat
11.quickdraw
bonus feat: Improved critical - Scimitar
This is a PFS build. Intensive spell is a must for shocking grasp. Using empower spell and intensive spell to work with magical lineage, Wayang spell hunter and shocking grasp makes Shocking grasp a second level spell and the power curve works great. Spell Blending is there because I can't think of anything else. Quickdraw is there because it is a prerequisite for maximize spell strike at thirteenth level even though I show this build till 11th level. I cant think of anything else better with the bonus feat at eleventh level. If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
Magus arcana
3rd level magus arcana: Flamboyant
6th level magus arcana: arcane accuracy
9th level magus arcana: spell blend – Heroism
Flamboyant is a prerequisite for arcana deed and is luxury in my opinion. I will have to come up with a strategy to use it with so many other ways to use my pool points. Arcane accuracy is much needed for those high AC fights. The ninth level magus arcana will be traded out at 13th level so it is just a standby.
Elf
S 10, d 18, Cn 13, i 16, W 10, Ca 8
20 pt build
Favorite class point to HP. I will increase my dex at fourth and eighth level and con at 12th level.
Basically, everything is adjustable, please post why you would adjust anything. Keep in mind, the whole Idea is to have a Dex magus.
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Precise strike doesn't work since you count as swashbuckler 0 for your magus level. Put Flamboyant as your level 3 extra magus arcana.
where is this errata, I can't find it in a faq-acg.
where is this errata, I can't find it in a faq-acg.Precise strike doesn't work since you count as swashbuckler 0 for your magus level. Put Flamboyant as your level 3 extra magus arcana.
it'd be in the errata document for the book or in any current PDFs or printings of the book
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Defensive Strategist (Religion)
Reactionary (Combat)
These traits are for survival, the first trait keeps my dex till my turn and Reactionary gives a +2 to initiative checks.
Feats
1. weapon finesse
3. Dervish Dance
5. additional traits: magical lineage (magic)/Wayang spell hunter (combat)
Bonus feat: Empower spell metamagic feat
Dervish Dance is the only dex to damage feat that I know of that works with spell combat. This is the base of the build. The trick with empower spell is it works well with magical lineage, Wayang spell hunter and shocking grasp. It makes Shocking grasp a second level spell and the power curve works great. Magical Lineage and Wayang spell hunter is connected to Shocking Grasp and is retrainable to force punch or what not.
7. Intensive spell
9. weapon focus - scimitar
11.quickdraw
bonus feat: Improved critical - Scimitar
This is a PFS build. Intensive spell is a must for shocking grasp. Quickdraw is there because it is a prerequisite for maximize spell strike at thirteenth level even though I show this build till 11th level. I cant think of anything else better with the feat at ninth level and the bonus feat at eleventh level . If you have any better Ideas about any of this please post the strategy behind it.
Magus arcana
3rd level magus arcana: Flamboyant
6th level magus arcana: arcane accuracy
9th level magus arcana: spell blend – Heroism
Flamboyant is a prerequisite for arcana deed and is luxury in my opinion. I will have to come up with a strategy to use it with so many other ways to use my pool points. Arcane accuracy is much needed for those high AC fights. The ninth level magus arcana will be traded out at 13th level so it is just a standby.
Elf
S 10, d 18, Cn 13, i 16, W 10, Ca 8
20 pt build
Favorite class point to HP. I will increase my dex at fourth and eighth level and con at 12th level.
Basically, everything is adjustable, please post why you would adjust anything. Keep in mind, the whole Idea is to have a Dex magus.
where is this errata, I can't find it in a faq-acg.Precise strike doesn't work since you count as swashbuckler 0 for your magus level. Put Flamboyant as your level 3 extra magus arcana.
Arcane Deed (Ex): When a magus takes this arcana, he can pick any one deed from the swashbuckler's deeds class feature, as long as that deed can be used by a swashbuckler of his magus level. The magus can use that deed by using points from his arcane pool as the panache points required for that deed. Even if he gains a panache pool through another means, the magus is not considered to have at least 1 point in his panache pool for the purpose of deeds selected with arcane deed, and his effective swashbuckler level for determining such a deed's effect is 0. A magus can take this arcana multiple times, each time gaining a new deed. The magus must have flamboyant arcana (see below) to select this arcana.
Bolded by me for emphasis.
The placement in the paragraph does seem a little odd. It makes it seem like it is connected to the panache pool. But even if it is only for deeds that require you to have 1 point in your pool - this would be one of those situations. So it seems like precise strike doesn't work on 2 accounts: 1 = No points in pool so no precise strikes, 2 = Count as Swash lvl 0, so you add +0 precise damage on each attack.