Pathfinder Kingmaker Magus Sword Saint Guide
Early game: Buy a +1 Dueling Sword from Hassuf (Capital). Add Keen via your arcane pool at level 5.
You are feat-starved. Follow this strictly.
| Level | Feat | Rationale | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Weapon Finesse | Use Dex for attack rolls. | | 1 (Human Bonus) | Weapon Focus (Dueling Sword) | Required for Sword Saint and Slashing Grace. | | 3 | Slashing Grace | Use Dex for damage with Dueling Sword. You can now ignore Strength entirely. | | 5 | Improved Critical | Double your crit range (19-20 → 17-20). | | 5 (Magus Bonus) | Combat Casting | +4 to cast defensively. Essential for level 1-8. | | 7 | Outflank | +2 attack when flanking. Your ally crits = you get an AoO. | | 9 | Crane Style | Reduces Two-Weapon Fighting penalty for Spell Combat. | | 11 | Dodge | +1 AC. Prerequisite for Crane Wing. | | 11 (Magus Bonus) | Crane Wing | +4 AC vs melee attacks (if hand free). You have no shield. | | 13 | Critical Focus | +4 to confirm critical hits. | | 15 | Blind-Fight | Immunity to gaze attacks and concealment miss chance. | | 17 | Crane Riposte | Free attack when enemy misses you. | | 19 | Seize the Moment | Ally crits = you get an AoO (stacks with Outflank). |
Magus Bonus Feats (Levels 5, 11, 17): Take Combat Casting (5), Crane Wing (11), Empower Spell (17).
Pure Sword Saint 20 is excellent. But if you want more:
Recommendation: Stay pure. Level 20 Sword Saint gets Perfect Strike (max weapon dice) and Weapon Mastery (auto-confirm crits). That’s too good to lose. pathfinder kingmaker magus sword saint guide
Pick one weapon for all Saint abilities. Best options:
Recommended: Estoc — 18-20 crit range + high base damage. Use Effortless Dual-wielding? No — Sword Saint is single weapon.
A. Dex Sword Saint (Focused Crits & Mobility)
B. Str Sword Saint (Hard-Hitting Power)
Level progression notes:
Before diving into builds, understand the trade-offs.
| Feature | Standard Magus | Sword Saint | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Armor | Light/Medium/Shields | None (Canny Defense) | | Weapon | Any | One chosen weapon (Weapon Focus) | | Spellcasting | Full Magus list | Full Magus list -1 spell per level | | Key Bonus | Spell Recall | Canny Defense (INT to AC), Perfect Strike, Iaijutsu | | Critical Hits | Normal | Massive bonuses (Critical Perfection) |
The Golden Rule: The Sword Saint adds his Intelligence modifier to Armor Class (up to his Magus level) while wearing no armor and not using a shield. This means you will dump Strength (if using Finesse), max Dexterity, and pump Intelligence as your secondary stat.
The Weapon: You must choose one weapon at level 1. You cannot change it. The entire build revolves around making that single weapon crit as often and as hard as possible.
So you want to play a Sword Saint. You want to be the magical equivalent of a master duelist. No clunky armor, no oversized weapons, just you, a single blade, and the perfect strike. Early game: Buy a +1 Dueling Sword from Hassuf (Capital)
Good choice. The Sword Saint is arguably the strongest single-target nuker and AC tank in the game.
But it’s also easy to build wrong. Let’s fix that.
You get Arcana at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18. Choose these:
Avoid: Prescient Attack (you have Shatter Defenses), Spell Shield (your AC is high enough), Hasted Assault (you can cast Haste).