Staff Magus, Bladebound Magus

[ThinkMinty]

So, how do these two Magus archetypes play? They look fun, for different reasons.

Bladebound because evil sword is trying to eat you, Staff Magus because a magic user carting around a golfbag of staves on his back is just plain funny.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

With Bladebound remember that the sword is the same alignment as you, but is up to the GM; if anything, the sword is invested in you because literally nobody else can use it. In practice, you will be a bit more stingy with your arcane pool since its smaller, but you are free to have better equipment otherwise because you will never have to purchase magic weapons. Haven't played a staff magus, but you're probably going to be focusing on only one staff, since the only one that really matters is the one with the highest caster level, provided you can actually use the spells in it.

[Psyren]

So, how do these two Magus archetypes play? They look fun, for different reasons.

Bladebound because evil sword is trying to eat you, Staff Magus because a magic user carting around a golfbag of staves on his back is just plain funny.

What's wrong with having lots of staves on your back?? :smallamused:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-du0LZNTPt8U/TovGNlHppcI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Rz9bVzFwSAE/s1600/Mystogan_arrives.png

Anyway, I like Staff Magus, mostly because you can combo with Card Caster to make Gambit, or Hexcrafter for witch-lite.

[grarrrg]

Bladebound is solid and oozes "flavor potential".

Staff Magus is a slight downgrade. While you don't lose any of the "good" abilities, it does put you in a poor place.
Most Magus builds focus on either STR or DEX, neglecting the other.
The DEX route only needs Light Armor and Weapon Finesses it's way to victory.
The STR build relies on being able to cast in Medium/Heavy armor, and piles on the damages.

Staff Magus only ever gets Light Armor, and Staves are not Finessable, so you find yourself fighting between higher STR for offense, and higher DEX for defense (somewhat made up for by the Quarterstaff Defense ability). And while you don't "need" to use a Staff, most of your class features give bonuses if you do use a Staff, so...

Staff Magus make for better 'support' builds, with their ability to recharge staves.


In any case, there are still plenty of worse choices for archetype than Staff Magus.

[Kurald Galain]

So, how do these two Magus archetypes play? They look fun, for different reasons.

Yep. Bladebound is one of the best offensive archetypes; Staff Magus is a good defensive archetype (although weirdly, at low level it doesn't benefit from using a staff). Here's a guide with more info. (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?423754-Myrrh-Frankincense-and-Steel-Kurald-Galain-s-Guide-to-the-Magus)

[Psyren]

Bladebound is solid and oozes "flavor potential".

Staff Magus is a slight downgrade. While you don't lose any of the "good" abilities, it does put you in a poor place.
Most Magus builds focus on either STR or DEX, neglecting the other.
The DEX route only needs Light Armor and Weapon Finesses it's way to victory.
The STR build relies on being able to cast in Medium/Heavy armor, and piles on the damages.

Staff Magus only ever gets Light Armor, and Staves are not Finessable, so you find yourself fighting between higher STR for offense, and higher DEX for defense (somewhat made up for by the Quarterstaff Defense ability). And while you don't "need" to use a Staff, most of your class features give bonuses if you do use a Staff, so...

Staff Magus make for better 'support' builds, with their ability to recharge staves.


In any case, there are still plenty of worse choices for archetype than Staff Magus.

I agree with the MAD issue, though honestly you don't need that much Dex (both a Mithral Chain Shirt or Mithral Breast Plate count as light and have Dex caps anyway), making them a decent Str-Magus option.

[Kurald Galain]

Note that medium armor reduces your speed, and the staff magus's ability does not.

[Psyren]

Note that medium armor reduces your speed, and the staff magus's ability does not.

Which is why I said Mithral:


Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations.

You do still have to be proficient in medium armor though, but by the time that matters you can probably afford the feat or dip.

[Nihilarian]

Looking at it, I notice that the Staff Weapon ability differs from the general recharge mechanic. It says you can only recharge one staff a day, but it doesn't say you can only recharge a staff once a day (so, you should be able to recharge one staff multiple times per day). If your DM lets you get away with that, it's really good. You'll want magus arcana that don't dip into your Arcane Pool - wand wielder is basically a must unless you plan on skipping melee entirely, which I'm not sure is feasible. You'll also want Craft Staff, period. Half off your staves and the ability to get the ones you actually want instead of the ones the DM wants to give you.

Magic staves can also be enchanted as magic weapons (see Staff of Power and Staff of the Hierophant). I'd probably get a staff with a bunch of melee spells and have it enchanted with some good special abilities, and let Staff Weapon give it a decent enhancement bonus (doesn't stack with the +1 you need to get to give a weapon special abilities, but not that big a deal). That would be the melee staff and my other staves would have spells more suitable to ranged combat, or even non-combat spells.

Kind of a late game archetype, though.

[ThinkMinty]

What's wrong with having lots of staves on your back?? :smallamused:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-du0LZNTPt8U/TovGNlHppcI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Rz9bVzFwSAE/s1600/Mystogan_arrives.png

Anyway, I like Staff Magus, mostly because you can combo with Card Caster to make Gambit, or Hexcrafter for witch-lite.

Mystogan was pretty cool, and he actively defies the very notion of pants, so he gets extra credit.

[Psyren]

Looking at it, I notice that the Staff Weapon ability differs from the general recharge mechanic. It says you can only recharge one staff a day, but it doesn't say you can only recharge a staff once a day (so, you should be able to recharge one staff multiple times per day). If your DM lets you get away with that, it's really good. You'll want magus arcana that don't dip into your Arcane Pool - wand wielder is basically a must unless you plan on skipping melee entirely, which I'm not sure is feasible. You'll also want Craft Staff, period. Half off your staves and the ability to get the ones you actually want instead of the ones the DM wants to give you.

Magic staves can also be enchanted as magic weapons (see Staff of Power and Staff of the Hierophant). I'd probably get a staff with a bunch of melee spells and have it enchanted with some good special abilities, and let Staff Weapon give it a decent enhancement bonus (doesn't stack with the +1 you need to get to give a weapon special abilities, but not that big a deal). That would be the melee staff and my other staves would have spells more suitable to ranged combat, or even non-combat spells.

Kind of a late game archetype, though.

To add to this, you can also recharge one of your staves the normal way (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/staves), using spell slots instead of your pool.

Wand Wielder is indeed a good arcana to use with this archetype.

Note that you can power up your staff's enhancement bonus with your arcane pool as well, and this will stack with Staff Weapon.