Touch/Reach Optimizing Build Ideas

Question

This is an odd question, but one I'd like to ask. I'm building a char for a very unusual campaign. A resource we're allowed to use is the Eberron/Pathfinder conversion, so I'm playing a Daelkyr Half-Blood that uses a Tentacle Whip Symbiont (functions as a +1 Scorpion Whip with several additional bonuses) as its weapon.

The game is gestalt, and we're at level 10 (and Mythic Tier 1, I'm going Trickster). I'm taking Swashbuckler (Mysterious Avenger) so that I can have tons of combat utility with my 15 foot whip for one side of my gestalt.

For the other side of my gestalt, however, I'd like to play around with an odd ability of the Whip Symbiont.

This Symbiont gives literally all the feats you could want on a weapon just by using it...

  Improved Proficiency (Ex): When the tentacle whip is worn, the host is considered to have Agile Maneuvers, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (scorpion whip), Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Improved Steal and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats, but only as they apply to using the tentacle whip. These benefits stack, as per usual, with the weapon qualities of a scorpion whip (like disarm and trip).

The big factor, however, is that I can use this 15 ft. creature-weapon to channel any of my touch attacks. One class I have been considering is using Dread, but being unfamiliar with it in play I'm not certain that will be the best choice.

That leads to the core of this question, namely...

If you were building to maximize touch-attacks and/or 15ft reach and the subsequent advantages, what build would you use?

Factors relevant to build:

• Charisma as a key ability score
• About 75k Gold to work with
• Psionics allowed/favored by campaign

Answer 1

I'm running a gestalt game.

From my perspective, a Magus (Eldritch Scion archetype for charisma) / sorcerer would be neat.

Spell Combat and Arcane strike can work with your weapon, because it's treated as a scorpion whip : ((Exotic) Light Melee Weapon).

Technically (Wizard/Magus) is very nice (abilities stack well), the same would be true with this build. I would do a Int build, but your choice. You can replace the sorcerer with the appropriate psionic.

MAgus is best because of the two abilities :

Spell Combat (Ex) At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

And

Spellstrike (Su)

At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the effects of the spell. If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon’s critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals ×2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.

See FAQ at right for more information.

You'll need to work the gestalt minutia, but in my opinion, touch attacks are the bread and butter of the Magus and they are incredibly broken at doing it, if your DM let you use the full spellcasting class spells (sorcerer) with the magus aforementioned abilities.

In my game, I do.