(PF) Magus (Kensai)... Of a Different Flavor.

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

So, I was looking at the Kensai (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/archetypes/paizo---magus-archetypes/kensai) Magus last night. I am interested in making one, but with less "eastern mystic swordmaster" and more "western magic using fencer".

Basically, i want to take Dervish Dance, and re-flavor the scimitar as a sabre/saber (whichever spelling you prefer) and make the character as armor-less fencing swordsman, who uses magic to augment his otherwise less than excellent combat ability.

Here is a proposed build...

20 point buy, Human

STR 10
DEX 16(18)
CON 12
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 8

traits:
magical lineage: shocking grasp
wayang spellhunter: shocking grasp

1 Finesse
1 Arcane Strike
(1) Weapon Focus: scimitar (sabre)
3 Dervish Dance
5 Intensified Spell
7 Weapon Specialization: scimitar (sabre)
9 Improved Critical
11 Extra Arcana
13 Lunge
15 Toughness

Magus Arcana:
3 Arcane Accuracy
6 Spell Shield
9 X
12 Spell Blending
15 Arcana Edge/Ghost Blade??

Magus Feats:
5 Combat Reflexes
11 Quicken Spell

Spells:
1: Color Spray, Expeditious Retreat, Grease, Obscuring Mist, Ray of Enfeeblement, Vanish

2: Bears Endurance, Cat's Grace, Frigid Touch, Glitterdust, Mirror Image, Pyrotechnics, Web, Scorching Ray (Maybe)

3: Fly, Force Hook Charge, Haste, Keen Edge, Ray of Exhaustion, Vampiric Touch, Slow, Stinking Cloud

4: Black Tentacles, Dimension Door, Invisibility, Greater, Stone Skin, Ice Storm

5: Cloudkill, Corrosive Consumption, Overland Flight, Teleport, Wall of Force, Wall of Stone


Obviously I will spend quite a bit of money on DEX and INT boosting items, seeing as that I don't wear armor, and that's where all my AC comes from, as well as damage and bonus spells: Definitely necessary since Kensai loses one spell/level.

So yeah... IF anyone has any advice, insight, or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Thanks guys!

[jaybird]

Instead of Toughness, why not take Spell Perfection? Lets you add one metamagic feat for free to one spell you pick when you take the feat. I'm sure you can think of a use for, say, automatically Quickened Dimension Door.

[GreenZ]

I actually had a very similar character concept except she was an Aldori Swordswoman flavored Bladebound/Kensai Magus. I'll go through some things I noticed as I played her.

As far as spells go, I notice that you have plenty of 'shocking grasp' feats and traits but no shocking grasp... which would work perfectly if you took the Greater Spell Specialization (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/greater-spell-specialization) line with your Magus as I did; enabling me to not only utilize Shocking Grasp without preparing it at 13th level but also enabling me to boost Shocking Grasp by two levels with Spell Specialization (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/spell-specialization) until I could switch it to another spell at level 10 when an Intensified Shocking Grasp was doing maximum damage.

I never actually managed to take Spell Perfection, as it required 3 meta-magic feats (which I didn't really want to take) and only applied to a single spell. A Lesser Meta-magic Rod has a similar effect but on more spells since most of your already limited spells are 3rd or lower level anyways.


As far as Arcana goes, my most often used and all time favorite is Reflection (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/magus-arcana/paizo---magus-arcana/reflection-su); it takes a ton of Arcane Pool Points to use but screws over the BBEG's day when combined with a good Reflex Save and a Ring of Evasion. Area of effect? Can't touch this. Targeted effect? Reflected.

Another rather good one is Bane Blade (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/magus-arcana/paizo---magus-arcana/bane-blade-su), which temporarily turns you into an Inquisitor but with cooler spells.


Due to the fact that I had to spend no money on neither armor (due to Kensai) nor weapons (due to Bladebound) I always kept almost every low level spell I'd ever need on a wand. Wand of Mount, Wand of Truestrike, Wand of Silent Image, Wand of Jump, Wand of Grease, Ect.

This, along with no longer needing to prepare Shocking Grasp, meant I spent my few lower level spell slots on multiple copies of Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Vanish, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Force Hook Charge, and Fireball. Basically, if you won't need to full attack with it, it doesn't require your caster level to work well, and it can work on a wand; get it on a wand.

As a Kensai you have fewer spell slots and it is pretty harsh loosing Spell Recall, so you need to get the most out of the few spells you can prepare.

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

Yeah, no shocking grasp was a an oversight of mine, oops.

I figured since i was still paying for a weapon, but no armor, I would invest in a ring of wizardy ASAP, so as to get plenty of Shocking Grasps.

What other metamig feats should I swap for other feats? Any spells or other feats that I missed?

Thanks all!

[jaybird]

Empower is pretty good for straight damage - better then Maximize.

Toppling is stupidly good with Magic Missile - how would you like to make a trip against 5 enemies with a level 2 spell?

[Novawurmson]

Empower is pretty good for straight damage - better then Maximize.

Toppling is stupidly good with Magic Missile - how would you like to make a trip against 5 enemies with a level 2 spell?

That doesn't...it doesn't...but there has to be...

Wat.

That totally works, doesn't it (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/toppling-spell-metamagic)?

[Daftendirekt]

Toppling is stupidly good with Magic Missile - how would you like to make a trip against 5 enemies with a level 2 spell?

Oh, that's good. I'm sticking that on my magus I'm currently playing.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Empower is pretty good for straight damage - better then Maximize.

Toppling is stupidly good with Magic Missile - how would you like to make a trip against 5 enemies with a level 2 spell?

Yoink.

And thanks, nice combo! :smallbiggrin:

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

Gaha, that combo is stupid good... Gonna have to use that sometime... WOW.

[Novawurmson]

Well, to be fair, it's only a trip attempt, not an auto-trip; plenty of things are immune to trip (flyers, limbless creatures) or resistant to trip (quadrupeds).

Still, that's a pretty brutal for a combo that can be started at level 3. Makes your second-level spell slots useful for some time, I'd imagine.

[grarrrg]

Another rather good one is Bane Blade (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/magus-arcana/paizo---magus-arcana/bane-blade-su), which temporarily turns you into an Inquisitor but with cooler spells.

Bane is nice, but the "Magus 15" requirement is a pain.

[watchwood]

I'm playing a vanilla Magus in a couple campaigns. If you take Craft Wonderous and make yourself a bunch of pearls of power, the limited spell slots almost become a non-issue. It also means you only spend 35% as much as normal on wonderous items, with the proper rules abuse, which gives you a massive increase to your effective power level.

Given your limited slots, Pearls of power will be cheaper on a per-slot basis then the rings of wizardry even without making them yourself.

(Items attuned to a specific class or alignment have their costs reduced by 30%)

Also, I'm partial to Wave of Mutilation and Song of Arcane Triumpth as damage outputting arcanas. Ghost Blade is handy as well.

[jaybird]

(Items attuned to a specific class or alignment have their costs reduced by 30%)

...huh? :smallconfused:

[Andvare]

Well, to be fair, it's only a trip attempt, not an auto-trip; plenty of things are immune to trip (flyers, limbless creatures) or resistant to trip (quadrupeds).

Still, that's a pretty brutal for a combo that can be started at level 3. Makes your second-level spell slots useful for some time, I'd imagine.


It can be started at first level. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/magic-traits/magical-lineage)

[Drelua]

Blade Barrier is starting to look like some pretty good battlefield control...

[watchwood]

...huh? :smallconfused:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items#TOC-Magic-Item-Gold-Piece-Values

Read the section on other considerations.

[jaybird]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items#TOC-Magic-Item-Gold-Piece-Values

Read the section on other considerations.

...:smalleek:

I feel like if I tried that, my GM would murder me. I'm already the highest optimization member of the group by a fair margin...

Actually, in our Evil campaign...I should totally do that and not tell my party. They give me 50% of the item cost for me to craft it, I keep 20% of the item cost myself :smallamused:

[watchwood]

My GM's allow it. My group is fairly by-the-book, and I give all my allies substantial discounts when I have the down time to work on something for one of them. :P

[jaybird]

Yeah, my GM's already nerfed Black Tentacles and expresses extreme displeasure at the fact that I'm basically a Conjuration specialist with a Fighter-plus as a class feature...the fact that the other party members (with the exception of the Gunslinger) are extraordinarily low-op doesn't help.