[PF] Sneak-attacking Magus build idea

[Zubrowka74]

I was searching for new ways to use Vanish / Invisibility with a Magus I'm playing. One idea was to use it to charge and get a spellstrike in with several boni. Denying the AC bonus led me to SA, SA to multiclassing with Rogue.

So I began working on a build, using a DEX based Magus a chassis because, you know, Rogue. My intent was adding just a few level of Rogue. I was looking if there was any worthy archetypes and stumbled upon the Skulking Slayer (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/core-races/half-orc/skulking-slayer-rogue-half-orc). It got me thinking, why do I need the Magus to be DEX based again?

I switched to a STR based magus and here's what I got, the 20 pts buy SA Magus prototype.

Half-Orc Magus 6 / Rogue 3 (Skulking Slayer)
STR 18 DEX 12 CON 13 INT 16 WIS 8 CHA 7

Traits: Magical Knack, Adopted (Half-elf, Elven Reflex)

01 Magus Spell Combat, Arcane Pool (2), Power Attack
02 Rogue (Skulking Slayer) Sneak Attack 1d6
03 Magus Spellstrike, Cleave
04 Rogue Surprise Follow-Through, +1 CON
05 Rogue Sneak Attack 2d6 (2d8 two handed), Toughness
06 Magus Arcane Accuracy +3
07 Magus Spell Recall, Great Cleave
08 Magus Weapon Focus (No-dachi)
09 Magus Intensify Spell

Notable spells : Vanish, Shocking Grasp, Frigid Touch, Invisibility

This is from memory as I don't have access to the actual build from where I'm posting. I'll edit later.

The idea is to cast Vanish / Invisibility at a distance, then Shocking Grasp / Frigid Touch, charge with power attach and get a few bonus. SS Rogue 2 gets Surprise follow-through as a talent, basically getting SA on a cleave attack. SS Rogue 3 gets you d8 for SA as long as your using THW, in this case a nodachi with cool crit potential.

Did I miss something?

Should I push for more rogue levels? How about PrCs? Arcane Trickster?

[Ethereal Gears]

I saw a crazy magus/rogue (or ninja?)/arcane trickster build up on Zenith Games that looked quite fun, though it was really late-level before it began to develop into bonafide viability. Skulking Slayer is arguably one of the best rogue archetypes out there for pure damage, so that's well enough. I see nothing wrong with your basic setup. I'm just curious, though, as I'm not great at number crunching...will those few added SA dice make up for losing all them spell levels and effective caster levels? I'm not saying it's not, nor am I presuming this is meant to be a super-optimized build. I'm just curious, as I've been wanting to create a rogueish magus character myself in the future.

[Zubrowka74]

I saw a crazy magus/rogue (or ninja?)/arcane trickster build up on Zenith Games that looked quite fun, though it was really late-level before it began to develop into bonafide viability. Skulking Slayer is arguably one of the best rogue archetypes out there for pure damage, so that's well enough. I see nothing wrong with your basic setup. I'm just curious, though, as I'm not great at number crunching...will those few added SA dice make up for losing all them spell levels and effective caster levels? I'm not saying it's not, nor am I presuming this is meant to be a super-optimized build. I'm just curious, as I've been wanting to create a rogueish magus character myself in the future.

Well, this is just a starting point. I wan't to mess around and see if this is potable or not. I'll try different options and crunch the number to see if I can get any good out of it. PF devs are fond of single class progression and Magus is already working as-is. I just want to see how far I can push this trick without the build becoming a one trick pony. Anyhow, spellcasting always opens up options.