Hello everyone i am playing a new campaign soon and i am playing a ratfolk (or mouse folk using ratfolk stats) magus, so he will be a dex based build but i am struggling to find stuff that will allow him to attack and damage with dex.
Bonus points the world is quite a dark spooky setting and we are playing witcher esc character and they all use longswords, so if there is a way to damage and hit with dex using a long sword that will be a great help.
as we are starting this new campaign we are starting at LV3
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The two standard ways of doing this are the Dervish Dance feat and an Agile weapon. Alternatively, use the Deadly Agility feat from Path of War (if allowed) or the pre-errata versions of Slashing Grace or Fencing Grace, the former of which works with a longsword.
Alternatively, focus your build on debuffs, on mobility, or on damage via the Frostbite spell. Dex to damage is a very good ability, but it is not essential.
thanks for the tips but the only problem with Dervish Dance is you need a perform (dance skill) and you dont get one as a magus
You can take ranks in non-class skills, you just don't get the +3 to skill checks if you do so. Are you planning to roll perform (dance) a lot?
honestly i forgot you can do that but no i would only use it for the feat hahaha
Since you are playing a ratfolk wielding a longsword, you have no easy way to get Dex to damage at 1st level.
An Inspired Blade Swashbuckler can get Dex to damage at 1st level, but only with a rapier.
Otherwise, you are stuck with the feat chain of Weapon Focus (Longsword) --> Weapon Finesse --> Slashing Grace. Obviously, you would want to go with classes that grant appropriate bonus feats to have Slashing Grace by 2nd or 3rd level.
The use of longsword makes it pretty feat intensive. You need slashing grace, which is a 3 feat investment if i remember correctly. Finesse, focus longsword, and slashing grace.
Scimitar is in general a more combat optimal choice for magus as you can dex to damage with just finesse and dervish dance and the improved crit range makes you crit far more often with the spells you deliver through the weapon.
The problem with fencing grace and slashing grace is that per the FAQ/errata they don't work with spell combat. Dervish dance never got the errata so still works.
Another option is dance of chains. Orcs very feat intensive and does require a discussion with your GM as to whether or not a "two handed weapon" wielded in 1 hand counts as a 1 handed weapon for spell combat. If it does you get extra reach which is pretty sweet plus the dex to damage, but you do miss out on the crit range.
But the longsword is not a finessable weapon.
So you'd have to find a way around that first.
It also requires a level in Swashbuckler or a class with a similar ability to Swashbuckler Finesse to cause Slashing Grace to grant you Dex to the attack -- sorry I forgot about that bit.
But I lost track of the fact that you also want to be a Magus and thus presumably use spell combat as you attack with a longsword with Dex to attack and damage. I can't think of any way to do that.
...quite a dark spooky setting and we are playing witcher esc character and they all use longswords...
I don't get it. Why does a dark and spooky setting equal longswords?
...quite a dark spooky setting and we are playing witcher esc character and they all use longswords...I don't get it. Why does a dark and spooky setting equal longswords?
I'm guessing it's the Witchers who use straight one-handed swords, i.e. longswords.
In PF of course there's also the Aldori dueling sword which is basically a finessable (and so slashing grace-able) longsword.
A fried of mine plays a dex based magus (Kensai archetype) with a Katana as well as weapon finesse, agile and effortless lace and he got a absurd ac while dealing a lot of damage. Took some time to get the build running though (goldwise for agile enchantment).
The wakizashi would only be 1 damage lower than the katana for an almost identical feature. I don't think it is worth paying an effortless lace, unless in later games when it amounts to cost not that much compared to overall budget.
Compared to agile (10000gp), an effortless lace is quite cheap (2500), and whit it you can get dex to attack, so its the first to buy anyway.
There is no other legal way of getting dex to damage with spell combat than either dervish dance or a weapon finesse with agile. But I dont know why à witcher setting wouldnt work with à scimitar (or a short Sword); I am pretty sure I saw some scimitar un thé witcher, juste not on Gérald.
I am also starting a dex based magus, although more focused on transmutation spells and natural attacks, but you Can check thé post I started about it (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42rz8?Magus-Eldritch-Scion-Transmorgifist).