Kensai + Bladebound Magus?

[Palanan]

I'm about to start my first Pathfinder campaign as GM, and I have a player who wants to stack the Kensai and Bladebound archetypes onto a magus.

I've recently played a plain-vanilla magus and loved it, but I don't have a feel for the power level of a Kensai/Bladebound combo. We're starting at first level, so Bladebound won't be an issue just yet, but is there anything I should watch out for once that comes online?

[Secret Wizard]

This combination is only more powerful than a regular Magus if you allow your players to rest between every fight.

What both archetypes do is remove sustain in exchange for power.

Kensai loses Spell Recall (the rest of the features are pretty much aesthetic) but gains the ability to deal max damage criticals.

Meanwhile, the Bladebound doesn't have to enchant his weapon (which, truth be told, is only a true benefit on low gold campaigns) and gets some nice perks -- at the exchange of a slightly reduced Arcane Pool.

When this is combination super strong? When you let the party fight a dude, the Kensai/Bladebound burns all of his damage on a single dude, and then you let them take a nap.

[Geddy2112]

This combination is only more powerful than a regular Magus if you allow your players to rest between every fight.

What both archetypes do is remove sustain in exchange for power.

Kensai loses Spell Recall (the rest of the features are pretty much aesthetic) but gains the ability to deal max damage criticals.

Meanwhile, the Bladebound doesn't have to enchant his weapon (which, truth be told, is only a true benefit on low gold campaigns) and gets some nice perks -- at the exchange of a slightly reduced Arcane Pool.

When this is combination super strong? When you let the party fight a dude, the Kensai/Bladebound burns all of his damage on a single dude, and then you let them take a nap.

Second this 100%. Avoid solo BBEG's that the bladebound kensai can novacharge and blast into oblivion. At low levels the build is significantly weaker, with fewer spells, less arcane pool, no armor/magic AC items so either having to use strength and high dex, being more MAD, or dex to damage eating feats and skill ranks for dervish dance.

Since the black blade is intelligent, it can rebel and turn the user towards other paths-you should not use this to punish the player or keep them in line, but it is something they should keep in mind is the will of the blade.

[Kurald Galain]

We're starting at first level, so Bladebound won't be an issue just yet, but is there anything I should watch out for once that comes online?
Not really. If anything, this is slightly weaker than a regular Magus. The main thing for you is the intelligent weapon at level 3. Which is pretty awesome, and at that point it becomes stronger than a regular Magus. The kensai part doesn't really add anything until level nine.


Kensai loses Spell Recall (the rest of the features are pretty much aesthetic) but gains the ability to deal max damage criticals.
Ah, not quite. Kensai gets diminished spellcasting which costs him a lot of spell power, and gains nothing much until level 9, at which point his damage goes through the roof (doing max damage on a crit is not a big deal, critting more often is a big deal).

Obviously he can still do four fights per day with ease.

Here's a Magus guide (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?423754-Myrrh-Frankincense-and-Steel-Kurald-Galain-s-Guide-to-the-Magus) with more info.

[Kurald Galain]

The issue with NOVA charging lies in the regular Magus, not the BB and kensai.

Simply put, scimitar + keen enchantment (available at level 5) + Shocking Grasp + intensify spell = nasty damage. Kensai doesn't help with that (until level 9, when it becomes easier to crit), Bladebound doesn't help with that either (except by making the weapon cheaper).

Whether or not this is a problem depends on the power level of the rest of the party. If you want to deal with this as the GM, first realize that putting one bad guy against a party of five is generally going to be a cakewalk; and second realize that a Magus probably doesn't have the greatest defenses or saves or hit points. If you want to avoid this as the GM, simply tell the player he can't use Shocking Grasp, or can't use Intensify Spell. The Magus has plenty of tricks and powers without that.

[Palanan]

Okay, thanks for the feedback on this.

I'm very ambivalent about the Bladebound archetype, because I hate intelligent weapons. By itself that's just a personal gripe, but I'd be concerned about potential issues with a player who would want the weapon to behave like a cohort rather than an independent mind.

[NightbringerGGZ]

The weapon doesn't gain feats, it can't move itself and it has a limited number of skills. In terms of being a cohort it's basically just there for flavor. If your player finds some cheese with the blade, remember that you can use the blade's Ego and tension between the two characters.

I've played a Bladebound/Kensai with a Strength/Int build and a Katana. The build does plenty of damage and can chew through mooks and bosses. That being said, you have very limited spells per day and the arcane pool is basically just enough to add enhancement bonuses to your attacks. If you make sure your player has 3-4 challenging fights between each rest period then you won't need to worry about your player going nova.

One thing to watch out for is how many Pearls of Power your player buys. With a bunch of those he can spam Shocking Grasps all day.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

If you don't like intelligent weapons, why even consider the Bladebound? The black blade is the draw of the archetype. And it pretty much IS a cohort; it's working with the magus for a reason, and they have the same alignment.

[CharonsHelper]

Kensai is actually a bit weak at level 1 due to their lack of armor. (Though they can wear ceremonial armor or some such for 1 AC.) But as they level they will eventually have an AC nearly as high as a monk's, especially if they go with a Dervish Dance build so that they can jack up their DEX. (pretty standard for a magus)

But other than that, it's not all that different from a normal magus.

[Psyren]

If you don't like intelligent weapons, why even consider the Bladebound? The black blade is the draw of the archetype. And it pretty much IS a cohort; it's working with the magus for a reason, and they have the same alignment.

However, that doesn't make it an automaton/doormat that will agree with the player's every action. See "Aspects of Control" (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCampaign/campaignSystems/companions.html) in Ultimate Campaign pg. 140. The GM can make the relationship more antagonistic/less cooperative if he/she desires.