Myrrh, Frankincense, and Steel: Kurald Galain's Guide to the Magus

[Ellrin]

Hmm. I picked up Evil Eye on my 6th level hexcrafter when I leveled up last session (staying away from swift action stuff because I took the Path of War Martial Training feats). I haven't been able to fully combo the two abilities, but the level 5 feat to get a stance (which debuffs nearby enemy's saves) has been worth it. Should I have picked up something else? I picked Evil Eye for its versatility. Is Misfortune better?

Yes, since the Magus doesn't have actions to spare on Cackle (and therefore EE's main appeal, i.e. that it works even on a successful save, doesn't really help you).

Also, if you're not a Bladebound, look into getting a Conductive weapon.

The one thing I like about Evil Eye on a magus more than Misfortune is that you can spam it on the same enemy—if misfortune fails, that's it, you have to move on.

That said, a magus should really have better things to do than spamming standard action debuffs on a single enemy, so I get why that's not too much of a factor.

[Kurald Galain]

Why would I get conductive, to conduct the hexes through?

Precisely.

[ChaosShadow00x]

Hey, I was perusing through my spells. Last night we got into some combat and I discovered I really, really like tripping things. This made me turn and look a little more into Blade Lash... Of which I now have a question about.

It's a touch spell... Does that mean I get to spellstrike it? And would it do damage? Or would the spellstrike merely be the trip attack?

Basically, I'm wondering if it turns my weapon into a 20ft ranged attack for a round. If so, Blade Lash is pretty awesome.

[Kurald Galain]

Blade Lash... Of which I now have a question about.

It's a touch spell... Does that mean I get to spellstrike it? And would it do damage? Or would the spellstrike merely be the trip attack?

Well here's the thing, spellstrike replaces "the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell", and Blade Lash doesn't have one of those, so that wouldn't work.

On the other hand, if you deliver another touch spell (e.g. Shocking Grasp), then you could deliver that through a trip maneuver, and if the trip hits then you'll deal shocking damage too. If not, you'll hold the charge. You just need another way to get reach.

[TiaC]

So I just found a very nice combo for magi.

Either dip a level of Wizard or VMC into Wizard, and pick the void school. Now, take School Strike. If you want to use a weapon other than unarmed strikes, you will also need Ascetic Style and Combat Stamina.

The point of all this is that your first hit every round now applies a penalty equal to half of your caster level to your target's saves and AC for that round. Now all those debuffs that had DCs too low to care about become much more appealing and your iterative attacks become much more likely to hit. In addition, the penalty improves things for your team as well.

[zook1shoe]

Have you seen the Armbands of the Golden Serpent? It allows your touch spells (melee and ranged) not provoke when cast in melee combat. Ranged still trigger if you make the attack with them.

[Kurald Galain]

The point of all this is that your first hit every round now applies a penalty equal to half of your caster level to your target's saves and AC for that round. Now all those debuffs that had DCs too low to care about become much more appealing and your iterative attacks become much more likely to hit. In addition, the penalty improves things for your team as well.

Well, you'd have to VMC wizard, otherwise the penalty is not going to be worth it. It works, but given the sheer feat cost it's probably easier to use the frostbite + rime + enforcer stack combo.

Have you seen the Armbands of the Golden Serpent? It allows your touch spells (melee and ranged) not provoke when cast in melee combat. Ranged still trigger if you make the attack with them.

That's a nice item; however by the time you can afford that, your concentration check should be high enough that you can cast defensively with no problem.

[Ellrin]

Well, you'd have to VMC wizard, otherwise the penalty is not going to be worth it. It works, but given the sheer feat cost it's probably easier to use the frostbite + rime + enforcer stack combo.


That's a nice item; however by the time you can afford that, your concentration check should be high enough that you can cast defensively with no problem.

I've tried going through the math on concentration checks a few times and it seems like it doesn't pan out very reliably, even at higher levels. What am I missing?

[Kurald Galain]

I've tried going through the math on concentration checks a few times and it seems like it doesn't pan out very reliably, even at higher levels. What am I missing?

What you're missing is that you do it with your lower-level spells. For instance, an 8th level Magus has about an 85% chance of casting a 1st level spell defensively. You use your third-level spells either when you're not threatened, or when you have Mirror Image up. If all else fails, def-cast a cantrip for a 95% chance at a free spellstrike attack.

[TiaC]

Well, you'd have to VMC wizard, otherwise the penalty is not going to be worth it. It works, but given the sheer feat cost it's probably easier to use the frostbite + rime + enforcer stack combo.

You don't actually need to VMC, because Reveal Weakness scales off caster level, not class level.

[Kurald Galain]

You don't actually need to VMC, because Reveal Weakness scales off caster level, not class level.

That's not going to fly with most GMs, as it pretty obviously means caster level from your wizard class. A class guide should aim at commonsensical interpretations, not "yeah but technically..." loopholes.

[soulwhisper]

Hi buddy, could I translate your guide into Chinese and re-post it to a Chinese TRPG site?

PS. Link is not allowed for me. so google goddessfantasy, you will find it.
PS2. Also, i would like to build a TWF-style magus(mainly dex), any suggestions? Mindblade, Kensai, Eldritch Scion, which is better considering this?

[Ellrin]

Hi buddy, could I translate your guide into Chinese and re-post it to a Chinese TRPG site?

PS. Link is not allowed for me. so google goddessfantasy, you will find it.
PS2. Also, i would like to build a TWF-style magus(mainly dex), any suggestions? Mindblade, Kensai, Eldritch Scion, which is better considering this?

TWF Magus is probably one of the most difficult to build, since you need a fair number of feats to pull it off and juggling multiple weapons and keeping a hand free for spellcasting is pretty difficult. The easiest way to pull it off is probably with a double weapon, so you can free up a hand for a round of casting without actually dropping your weapon—a Staff Magus might not be bad for that. You could also use the Quick Draw feat, a quickdraw shield, and use TWF with shield bashing to have a free hand on the fly.

If 3PP is allowed, there are some feats that'll let you sheathe your weapon as a free action (Weapon Juggle being my favorite) or shield bash with a buckler, and there's a third party Magus archetype built around TWF, as well, though you lose out on Spell Combat until level 8 as well as getting one less daily spell of each level, which is really rough at low levels, not to mention its version of spell combat only works while two-weapon fighting, so if there's a lot of disarming or sundering in the campaign, you could pretty easily get crippled.

[Serafina]

The easiest way would be to play a Kasatha, who are multi-armed.
They're also a pretty powerful race (+2 AC, Perception- and Stealth-proficiency, all jumps count as running jumps, no ability score penalties), and perhaps more importantly they're aliens to Golarion. So they might not be allowed in your game.
But with having four arms, you could easily wield two weapons - or even more, though the benefit is low - and still use spell combat, and you could also wield metamagic rods with ease later on.

[Kurald Galain]

From the adventurer's armory 2, added Spring-loaded Scroll Case, Ring of Balanced Grip, Wildblood Concoction. The aquatic campaign guide has nothing particularly useful to the Magus.

Hi buddy, could I translate your guide into Chinese and re-post it to a Chinese TRPG site?

Yes, no problem. Please PM me a link (to the guide, not to the site the guide is on somewhere), I think you can PM links.

PS2. Also, i would like to build a TWF-style magus(mainly dex), any suggestions? Mindblade, Kensai, Eldritch Scion, which is better considering this?

The first question is "why". TWF gives you an extra attack at a -2 penalty, whereas Spell Combat with any touch spell already does that for you. Attacking with a weapon, the same weapon again, and a spell is simply better than attacking with a weapon and then with another weapon.

Mindblade is your best bet, assuming your GM lets you use both of its weapons in spell combat (the wording is not clear on whether this is allowed). Alternatively, use the various polymorph spells on your list to turn into something with extra attacks and/or extra limbs.

[Raxxius]

On selectable weapons for crit fishers.

Another weapon not currently on the list is the wakizashi with path of war feats.

A d6 18/20 light weapon which is both slashing and Piercing as damage type, it needs an exotic weapon proficiency, it's not great but it's not bad for Tengu and Half-elves as a light weapon, it can be finessed with no shenanigans. It also has Deadly as a trait but I don't find that useful in general.

What pushes it up for low level effectiveness is Daisho Expertise. Here you can get weapon finesse and a damage die bump at level, giving you a 1d8 18/20 light weapon. Daisho Expertise works as finesse so you can get deadly agility/slashing grace for dex to damage.

Overall providing you have the exotic weapon proficiency for free it's the same feat requirements but a statistically superior weapon to the rapier, has a few advantages over the scimitar (damage type choice, light means it can be used when grappled and works with piranha strike) but can't gain the two handed bonuses.

So I think it's worth a spot in the weapon choices, all be it as a situational one depending on allowed feats.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

That Daisho Expertise feat also works with katanas. I don't see why you would use the knife when you can use the sword instead.

[Raxxius]

That Daisho Expertise feat also works with katanas. I don't see why you would use the knife when you can use the sword instead.

Wakizashi: Light, slashing/piercing

Katana: Slashing only, on average 1 extra damage, can be two handed for extra damage/powerattack if you have strength


It's not as straightforward as it seems, while slashing/piercing isn't great, it can be useful. And light allows for piranha strike meaning you don't need 13 strength for powerattack.

Also can be used to hit your opponent if you're grappled. Now this might just be DMs but I've been grappled a lot as a dex based character.

Like I say, it's not the standout choice but the Katana doesn't have to be the exclusive exotic choice.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

You're forgetting the other part of Daisho Expertise, the damage dice bump. 1d6>1d8 for medium wakizashis, and 1d8>2d6 for medium katanas. Though I was not accounting for pirahna strike. But Deadly Strike should be on the table if you're using this feat at all, and two-handing a one-handed dex weapon has been made possible with the new errata.

[Raxxius]

You're forgetting the other part of Daisho Expertise, the damage dice bump. 1d6>1d8 for medium wakizashis, and 1d8>2d6 for medium katanas. Though I was not accounting for pirahna strike. But Deadly Strike should be on the table if you're using this feat at all, and two-handing a one-handed dex weapon has been made possible with the new errata.

1D10 for katana surely?

[Ellrin]

1D10 for katana surely?

Judging by the language used, I would agree with that being RAW here.

Increase the damage die of katanas and wakizashi you wield by one die step.

If the damage were going up as if you were increasing in size by one step, that would suggest 1d8 -> 2d6; but it specifically refers to increasing the damage die by one step. Since the relevant Paizo FAQ relating to increasing damage based on size differentiates between steps in increasing size and steps on the included damage dice chart, I would say that the RAW should suggest going up a single step on that chart, not in effective size.

[g51503john]

Hi~ I have a optimized question about the arcane spell failure chance(SFC) to ask. I currently play a bladebound/kensai in a AP campaign, there is any way to let me wear chain shirt(or any better armor) with 5% or 0% SFC?

The celestial armor be made of mithral which only have 5% SFC, but my DM doesn't allow that specific magic armor can be made of special material. The arcane armor training feat cost a swift action, but magus really needs a swift action, besides kensai doesn't have the light armor proficiency.

I don't consider still metamagic rod, because it only have 3 times, but in my experience, in the battle of the day to cast the spell with somatic component is far more than three times.

BTW, my DM doesn't allow 3pp resource neither. So.... this question may be too strict or ask too much, sorry.

[khadgar567]

Hi~ I have a optimized question about the arcane spell failure chance(SFC) to ask. I currently play a bladebound/kensai in a AP campaign, there is any way to let me wear chain shirt(or any better armor) with 5% or 0% SFC?

The celestial armor be made of mithral which only have 5% SFC, but my DM doesn't allow that specific magic armor can be made of special material. The arcane armor training feat cost a swift action, but magus really needs a swift action, besides kensai doesn't have the light armor proficiency.

I don't consider still metamagic rod, because it only have 3 times, but in my experience, in the battle of the day to cast the spell with somatic component is far more than three times.

BTW, my DM doesn't allow 3pp resource either. So.... this question may be too strict or ask too much, sorry.

dex or str and whats your race since adventure armory might have what you want which is drow silk bodysuit.

[Kurald Galain]

Hi~ I have a optimized question about the arcane spell failure chance(SFC) to ask. I currently play a bladebound/kensai in a AP campaign, there is any way to let me wear chain shirt(or any better armor) with 5% or 0% SFC?

The straightforward answer is the Mage Armor spell, either from a wand and UMD, or from the Spell Blending arcana.

[Cieyrin]

Hi~ I have a optimized question about the arcane spell failure chance(SFC) to ask. I currently play a bladebound/kensai in a AP campaign, there is any way to let me wear chain shirt(or any better armor) with 5% or 0% SFC?

The celestial armor be made of mithral which only have 5% SFC, but my DM doesn't allow that specific magic armor can be made of special material. The arcane armor training feat cost a swift action, but magus really needs a swift action, besides kensai doesn't have the light armor proficiency.

I don't consider still metamagic rod, because it only have 3 times, but in my experience, in the battle of the day to cast the spell with somatic component is far more than three times.

BTW, my DM doesn't allow 3pp resource either. So.... this question may be too strict or ask too much, sorry.

My go-to for Kensai is Silken Ceremonial Armor. Given the lack of Light Armor Proficiency, ACP also matters and Silken Ceremonial has both no ACP and no ASF. Being a Kensai also means having good Dex and Int for AC and Max Dex is an important factor, which Silken Ceremonial also fulfills by having no Max Dex.

[g51503john]

My magus is dex build and race is tiefling, I currently use mage armor potion, I mentioned chain shirt before because it can be enhance further, either enhancement bonus or special ability(such as Spell Storing).

[nerious]

What about the spell Sense Vitals from wizard?It gives you 1/3cl sneak attack up to 5d6.
With the feat Sap Adept and Sap Master,it can make tons of damage and never worry about energy resistance.

[Kurald Galain]

What about the spell Sense Vitals from wizard?

Well, you can't use temporary spell effects as the prereq for feats, so using Frostbite is a better deal. Cold resistance is not all that common (and if it is, use a different spell; that's what knowledge skills are for).

[nerious]

Well, you can't use temporary spell effects as the prereq for feats, so using Frostbite is a better deal. Cold resistance is not all that common (and if it is, use a different spell; that's what knowledge skills are for).

Oh,I forgot it.
But there are some monsters with kinds of energy resistance,which is tough for magus.SR is another trouble。
And Sense Vitals itself is not a bad deal. At lv15,it gives you 5d6 SA,17.5 on average,while Frostbite gives 18.5.
Besides,I think it's fair to dip rouge or something and pick up Sap Adept for some damage bounce.

[Ellrin]

Oh,I forgot it.
But there are some monsters with kinds of energy resistance,which is tough for magus.SR is another trouble。
And Sense Vitals itself is not a bad deal. At lv15,it gives you 5d6 SA,17.5 on average,while Frostbite gives 18.5.
Besides,I think it's fair to dip rouge or something and pick up Sap Adept for some damage bounce.

There's a couple rather significant advantages to frostbite at level 15 beyond that average +1 damage, assuming you're facing enemies without cold resistance.

First, the minimum possible damage frostbite will do at level 15 is 16 damage; compare that to the ~30% chance that a 5d6 sneak attack has of doing 15 or less damage, and the merely ~15% chance that sneak attack has of doing more damage than frostbite's maximum of 21.

Second, sneak attacks are much harder to reliably set up. You can sink more resources (WBL, feats, daily spells, etc.) into making them easier, but at some point you reach a state of diminishing returns, and even then it's just not as reliable as frostbite, which requires precisely zero investment beyond using the spell to perform reliably in every situation that doesn't involve a cold-resistant/immune enemy.

I could see a build being channeled into a sneak attack, using a vivisectionist dip or VMC rogue to qualify for SA-dependent feats, but I don't think it'd really compare all too favorably to a reasonably optimized DPR build that doesn't give up resources to attach SA to a magus chassis.