Pathfinder - Black Blade Magus

[Jexis]

Hi,
I'm making a lvl 3 Black Blade Magus with an Exotic Manople in a homebrew world and was wondering if I've done anything wrong or if I can make improvements.

Character sheet here -> https://ibb.co/iaQFiG (IMG didn't work)

Notes:
Playing in a homebrew world; Phae is a homebrew language.
High Fantasy Point Buy (+2 racial to Dex).
Age/Height/Weight not rolled, decided by yours truly.
Military Tradition -> Spiral Rapier & Exotic Manople http://www.realmshelps.net/stores/weapons/Manople (approved by DM).
Gifted Adept -> Frostbite.
Ancestral Weapon is for cold iron, all weapons listed are cold iron, trait gave me Spiral Rapier for free (changed by DM, not masterwork).
Subordinate tongue is custom drawback, -2 to checks when interacting with authority (cancels student of philosophy).
Alertness bonus is set to 0 because I don't openly wield my black blade (for now).
DM got rid of Medium Load b/c party is mostly Dex based.
The wishlist is for the DM to know for shopping/loot drops.
Party is: Clone Master Alchemist, Unchained Rogue (2 Weapon Fighting), Brawler, Utility Wizard, LVL 4 NPC Luck Cleric (subject to leave as fitting the story)

Things I'm not changing - Dex/Int base, Manople, Custom Drawback.
Advice: Future feats, equipment, spell selection, magus arcana, party role (deciding between debuffer/burst damager).

I used this guide in creating this character -> http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?423754-Myrrh-Frankincense-and-Steel-Kurald-Galain-s-Guide-to-the-Magus

[Kurald Galain]

I used this guide in creating this character -> http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?423754-Myrrh-Frankincense-and-Steel-Kurald-Galain-s-Guide-to-the-Magus

Yay, I'm famous! :)

Looking over your party makeup you probably want a debuffer, because the alchemist, rogue, and brawler can take care of burst damage. That means that good feats include Enforcer, Rime Spell, and possibly Chilling Amplification. Note that you don't seem to have your human bonus feats yet, and these feats could take precedence over deadly agility. Maybe use the Magical Lineage trait instead of Gifted Adept. Lingering Pain and Disruptive are good arcana to go with this, as is a Cruel or Distracting weapon. Keep a Chill Touch spell handy in case you're facing undead (which are immune to Frostbite). And do not forget defensive spells like Vanish or Defending Bone, you currently don't have any on your list. HTH!

[angelpalm]

Oh yeah your guide is awesome.


I agree though, bladebound and then hexcrafter. Ritual Hex makes you super versatile. And you can really put the hurt on with those save DC's using hexes.

[Jexis]

Yay, I'm famous! :)

Looking over your party makeup you probably want a debuffer, because the alchemist, rogue, and brawler can take care of burst damage. That means that good feats include Enforcer, Rime Spell, and possibly Chilling Amplification. Note that you don't seem to have your human bonus feats yet, and these feats could take precedence over deadly agility. Maybe use the Magical Lineage trait instead of Gifted Adept. Lingering Pain and Disruptive are good arcana to go with this, as is a Cruel or Distracting weapon. Keep a Chill Touch spell handy in case you're facing undead (which are immune to Frostbite). And do not forget defensive spells like Vanish or Defending Bone, you currently don't have any on your list. HTH!

I agree with the debuff choice, tho I doubt our alchemist's ability to DPS (clone master drops bomb damage by a dice tier). I'm not sure what you mean by "human bonus feats"; my extra lvl 1 feat went towards Military Tradition to get proficiency with the manople.
I am interested in this cold based debuff build but fear that ignoring deadly agility would fare poorly against hordes, so I might take the Enforcer and Rime Spell feats at lvl 5, in which case I would take Magical Lineage for Frostbite (pending advice sought below).
My DM ruled that because of the Black Blade's natural enhancement progression that I'd be unable to enchant it.
I'm relying on my 18 (potential 22) AC to keep me alive for now. When I get more spells slots I'll definitely grab them!

Neither I nor my DM fully understand Metamagic; my DM is experienced but he's simply never worked with it before. As I understand it I take the feat, then everyday I can apply it to 1 spell while preparing spells. Does this bonus come back with the Magus spell retrieval or Pearl of Power?

As a side note it's really cool to have you respond to my post. I wasn't going to go magus because it confused me too much but I figured I'd look up a guide and this convinced me to do it.


Oh yeah your guide is awesome.


I agree though, bladebound and then hexcrafter. Ritual Hex makes you super versatile. And you can really put the hurt on with those save DC's using hexes.

Guide IS awesome!
If you're recommending archetype stacking my DM really isn't about it.

[angelpalm]

I mean it's legal to use more than a single archetype if they don't clash. It's not like you are getting something for nothing lol. Dm's these days man.

[Powerdork]

Neither I nor my DM fully understand Metamagic; my DM is experienced but he's simply never worked with it before. As I understand it I take the feat, then everyday I can apply it to 1 spell while preparing spells. Does this bonus come back with the Magus spell retrieval or Pearl of Power?

No, because metamagic can be used freely so long as you pay the cost. The cost is an adjustment to the Effective Spell Slot that's used to power the spell. So, let's say you have magic missile, a 1st-level spell. You want to cast it with Still Spell (a +1 metamagic feat) and Silent Spell (a +1 metamagic feat), so you can silently beat someone up while shackled or something. You total up the adjustment of the feats (+2), apply it to the base spell (1st), and have the slot you need to use to prepare it (3rd).

You can do this multiple times daily. Because metamagic is expensive. (The same number of magic missiles from a 3rd level slot as you'd get from a 1st-level slot?)

Now, the Pathfinder RPG FAQ says that pearls of power work based on slot used (3rd, in our example) rather than true spell level (1st for magic missile). While that isn't what pearls of power say, and it isn't what the rule for metamagic feats says, it's reasonable. Ask your GM.

[ATHATH]

I mean it's legal to use more than a single archetype if they don't clash. It's not like you are getting something for nothing lol. Dm's these days man.
This.

See if you can get a Conductive weapon somehow; Hexcrafter Maguses (Magi) can channel their Hexes through them.

[Jexis]

I mean it's legal to use more than a single archetype if they don't clash. It's not like you are getting something for nothing lol. Dm's these days man.

After much talk (and potential for ez retcon) I've taken on both archetypes. The main issue is that Hexes are an amazing ability while Spell Recall is meh. Getting curses too and being able to take hexes instead of arcana kind of makes the Magus class all awesome abilities, and I play in a party of 6 and people try to encroach as little as possible on others' options. However, since it's a small fix should my DM regret his decision, he allowed me to try it.


No, because metamagic can be used freely so long as you pay the cost. The cost is an adjustment to the Effective Spell Slot that's used to power the spell. So, let's say you have magic missile, a 1st-level spell. You want to cast it with Still Spell (a +1 metamagic feat) and Silent Spell (a +1 metamagic feat), so you can silently beat someone up while shackled or something. You total up the adjustment of the feats (+2), apply it to the base spell (1st), and have the slot you need to use to prepare it (3rd).

You can do this multiple times daily. Because metamagic is expensive. (The same number of magic missiles from a 3rd level slot as you'd get from a 1st-level slot?)

Now, the Pathfinder RPG FAQ says that pearls of power work based on slot used (3rd, in our example) rather than true spell level (1st for magic missile). While that isn't what pearls of power say, and it isn't what the rule for metamagic feats says, it's reasonable. Ask your GM.

Thanks for this explanation! I talked with my DM and he said he'd allow the metamagic to come back as long as I used a pearl of the proper level.


See if you can get a Conductive weapon somehow; Hexcrafter Maguses (Magi) can channel their Hexes through them.

My DM has ruled that, since Black Blades have their own enhancement progression, I am unable to magically enhance it otherwise. Are there spells or other non-enhancement abilities I could use?

[Kurald Galain]

My DM has ruled that, since Black Blades have their own enhancement progression, I am unable to magically enhance it otherwise. Are there spells or other non-enhancement abilities I could use?

Yes, if you're a gnome you can use the arcane pool ability to add conductive. Normally you'd add flaming or keen or something. Or all of the above, given a sufficient level.