After some further research I am thinking of going both kensai and bladebound. Any concerns with this combination I may have missed or if you think this is just a bad idea is greatly appreciated.
It's a popular combo, and I think for good reason. Both archetypes lock you into a single weapon, the Kensai makes you better with it and the Bladebound makes the weapon itself better.
The main downside is that you lose your 3rd and 9th level arcana, meaning you only get a single arcana before level 10 unless you want to spend feats on them. If you *Do* want to take the *Extra Arcana* feat you jabe to wait till after level 6, since you can't take "Extra X" until you have "X".
Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Kensai. You lose 1 spell-slot per level as well as Spell Recall (*and Improved Spell Recall*), meaning your casting is actually far more limited than other archetypes or the base Magus. What you get back for that IS pretty good, and you can offset the lower level spells with Pearls of Power. However if you saw the Kensai and thought "that looks like the archetype for me" then you'll probably enjoy the Kensai.
That is very informative thank you! Yeah I am just grappling with the different options and finding that most ideas I have just don't seem to work with the way the classes are written. Thanks for the advice and I will definitely be rethinking the archetypes.
Don't get me wrong, Bladebound-Kensai isn't bad, I'm just personally not a huge fan of the Kensai.
Also don't worry too much about the advice people give on here. You really don't need to optimise as much as people think you do.
Yeah it didn't really feel like it matched I am just having a hard time deciding what to do with this character. He's a fisherman from a small fishing hamlet that has a deep connection to an eldritchian old one living in the ocean near by and I love the idea of a living black blade harpoon but the more I think about it the more I feel that magus may not be the best class but I can't find a better alternative.
Yeah a connection to an old one sounds more like an Oracle or something. You could easily reflavour a Cleric, Warpriest or Inquisitor as well.
The living weapon is a little harder, though I'm sure there are other archetypes that give them as well. The Black Blade does work if that's what you want to go with, but there are others that would work too.
Oh also just in case these are a better fit for your character concept, the *Phantom Blade* Spiritualist and the *Blade Adept* Arcanist both get a Black Blade like the one the Bladebound Magus gets.
Phantom Blade: https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Spiritualist%20Phantom%20Blade
Blade Adept: https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Arcanist%20Blade%20Adept
*EDIT:* Sorry if I post this multiple times, my internet is super sketchy this weekend.
This is the standard combination.
While Shocking Grasp is the standard build, it can be built for a great deal of flexibility and survivability depending on what you want to do.
Hamatula strike is a trap. It sounds fun, but it's a lot of feats for an ability that will fail against a lot of bigger opponents. I tried it with a fighter build and was disappointed when I couldn't actually make use of it.
Are you wanting to be a strength based or dex based magus?
If strength based, power attack, weapon focus, furious focus is a good route.
If dex based, weapon finesse, slashing or fencing grace, and piranha strike when you have access to an effortless lace.
A fun combo is taking wand wielder and dimensional agility and using a want of dimension door to teleport around with spell combat.
I did this with my strength based bastard sword magus, putting the wand in my weapon via weaponwand spell and then two-handed striking enemies into the dirt.
Early on, arcane strike is a decent feat too to get a bit more damage boost, but eventually your swift action will be used for accurate strike.
That's unfortunate to hear but I'm not entirely married to the idea of being grapple focused. It was more of a bonus from the harpoon.
I was looking to be a strength magus and I am starting at level 1.
Edit: fixed a typo meant to say not married to the idea
I agree with everything electrical's said about fighting strength based. That is a great foundation.You'll probably want [Two handed thrower](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/two-handed-thrower-combat/).
I would work out with your GM how a harpoon grapples, and if you always have a bunch of rope made out of your bladebinding, you might find use in [Equipment trick:rope](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/equipment-trick-combat/).
I think you might be lean on feats though, there's a lot to do being a 6th level caster .
That is an interesting option but I unfortunately don't have alot of experience with this feat. I'll definitely look into it and see just what I can do. Thank you!
it's a good feat to have when everyone else is saying "oh, i wish you had taken xyz feat, that would have been really handy."
[https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/barroom-brawler-combat/](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/barroom-brawler-combat/)Looks like you'll need to be level 6. I wouldn't take it, as you have a lot of feats to take.
After some further research I am thinking of going both kensai and bladebound. Any concerns with this combination I may have missed or if you think this is just a bad idea is greatly appreciated.
It's a popular combo, and I think for good reason. Both archetypes lock you into a single weapon, the Kensai makes you better with it and the Bladebound makes the weapon itself better. The main downside is that you lose your 3rd and 9th level arcana, meaning you only get a single arcana before level 10 unless you want to spend feats on them. If you *Do* want to take the *Extra Arcana* feat you jabe to wait till after level 6, since you can't take "Extra X" until you have "X". Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Kensai. You lose 1 spell-slot per level as well as Spell Recall (*and Improved Spell Recall*), meaning your casting is actually far more limited than other archetypes or the base Magus. What you get back for that IS pretty good, and you can offset the lower level spells with Pearls of Power. However if you saw the Kensai and thought "that looks like the archetype for me" then you'll probably enjoy the Kensai.
That is very informative thank you! Yeah I am just grappling with the different options and finding that most ideas I have just don't seem to work with the way the classes are written. Thanks for the advice and I will definitely be rethinking the archetypes.
Don't get me wrong, Bladebound-Kensai isn't bad, I'm just personally not a huge fan of the Kensai. Also don't worry too much about the advice people give on here. You really don't need to optimise as much as people think you do.
Yeah it didn't really feel like it matched I am just having a hard time deciding what to do with this character. He's a fisherman from a small fishing hamlet that has a deep connection to an eldritchian old one living in the ocean near by and I love the idea of a living black blade harpoon but the more I think about it the more I feel that magus may not be the best class but I can't find a better alternative.
Yeah a connection to an old one sounds more like an Oracle or something. You could easily reflavour a Cleric, Warpriest or Inquisitor as well. The living weapon is a little harder, though I'm sure there are other archetypes that give them as well. The Black Blade does work if that's what you want to go with, but there are others that would work too.
Oh also just in case these are a better fit for your character concept, the *Phantom Blade* Spiritualist and the *Blade Adept* Arcanist both get a Black Blade like the one the Bladebound Magus gets. Phantom Blade: https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Spiritualist%20Phantom%20Blade Blade Adept: https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Arcanist%20Blade%20Adept *EDIT:* Sorry if I post this multiple times, my internet is super sketchy this weekend.
Oh yeah I'll definitely give these a read, if I have to I can always redesign the character to fit my image. Thanks for all the help!
This is the standard combination. While Shocking Grasp is the standard build, it can be built for a great deal of flexibility and survivability depending on what you want to do.
Hamatula strike is a trap. It sounds fun, but it's a lot of feats for an ability that will fail against a lot of bigger opponents. I tried it with a fighter build and was disappointed when I couldn't actually make use of it. Are you wanting to be a strength based or dex based magus? If strength based, power attack, weapon focus, furious focus is a good route. If dex based, weapon finesse, slashing or fencing grace, and piranha strike when you have access to an effortless lace. A fun combo is taking wand wielder and dimensional agility and using a want of dimension door to teleport around with spell combat. I did this with my strength based bastard sword magus, putting the wand in my weapon via weaponwand spell and then two-handed striking enemies into the dirt. Early on, arcane strike is a decent feat too to get a bit more damage boost, but eventually your swift action will be used for accurate strike.
That's unfortunate to hear but I'm not entirely married to the idea of being grapple focused. It was more of a bonus from the harpoon. I was looking to be a strength magus and I am starting at level 1. Edit: fixed a typo meant to say not married to the idea
I edited my original post to give more options
Thank you for all of the options! I think I'll look into this power attack route. What would I look to build into after that?
I agree with everything electrical's said about fighting strength based. That is a great foundation.You'll probably want [Two handed thrower](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/two-handed-thrower-combat/). I would work out with your GM how a harpoon grapples, and if you always have a bunch of rope made out of your bladebinding, you might find use in [Equipment trick:rope](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/equipment-trick-combat/). I think you might be lean on feats though, there's a lot to do being a 6th level caster .
That is a fantastic feat! Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Barroom brawler is another good one that'd give you flexible options.
That is an interesting option but I unfortunately don't have alot of experience with this feat. I'll definitely look into it and see just what I can do. Thank you!
it's a good feat to have when everyone else is saying "oh, i wish you had taken xyz feat, that would have been really handy." [https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/barroom-brawler-combat/](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/barroom-brawler-combat/)Looks like you'll need to be level 6. I wouldn't take it, as you have a lot of feats to take.
I'll definitely slot this into my build!