Feats are the universal customization across all classes. Tides of War is our feat line and our /X feats are about making multi classing work well. 3.5 did this all the time and while we prefer pathfinder we like to keep multiclassing on the table.
Product Availability
Fulfilled immediately.
Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at
store@paizo.com.
First of all, a big thanks to Flying Pincushion for the review copy.
The Tides of War series from Flying Pincushion has had a huge upswing and a huge downswing making this one a bit of a gamble but with high rewards. Lets see where the pendulum swings in this installment where we get some multiclass enabling Magus feats.
Now I'm not stranger to multiclassing feats. Rogue Genius Games did a book a while back with a bunch of them, some poaching class features while others actually required you multiclass. Here out of the six pages of the pdf, as with the previous Tides of War, we get only a few pages of content. For this one it's two, or more two and a half.
Some of the feats let you use your arcane pool in new ways that interact with class features from another class. You can use your arcane pool to reduce the penalty of mutagens, issue extra challenges, get more rounds of Bardic Performance/Raging Song, or get more Rage.
You can also spellstrike from outside your spell list. get benefits from killing targets of your smite or favored enemy, re-target Hex targets,
One of the more interesting ones is one that lets you spend arcane points when using a Kinetic Blade to use your hit die as your caster level for the spell.
For the most part these feats definitely do some enabling. They are simple and to the point but actually do quite a bit to make multiclassing with a Magus viable. Best of all they are written very clearly and there's a variety of ways that they help. For feats you get some hefty bonuses but really you'd have to because in all honesty some of the class combinations aren't that great and multiclassing in Pathfinder can be kind of a bust in the first place. I'd give this a full 5 out of 5 stars. It does its job and does it well and in a short amount of time. Besides that you also get some actual incentive to mix the classes more without a single trap option in the mix. Bravo.
This installment of the Tides of War-series clocks in at 6 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 3 pages of content, so let's take a look!
As the first pages of introductory fluff clarifies, this pdf is intended to provide feats that facilitate a magus' means of multicassing synergy - so what do the feats do?
-Arcane Brew: The alchemist crossover feat allows you to spend arcane points as part of casting your spell or attacking to ignore penalties imposed on Intelligence or Strength by mutagens or cognatogens, respectively. Solid, functional, no complaints.
-Arcane Challenge: 1/day, spend 2 points from the arcane pool to get +1 challenge; alternatively, spend 1 point change challenge target. Cool, flexible, no complaints.
-Arcane Performance: After preparing spells, spend up to 1/2 magus level arcane points to gain +3 rounds of bardic performance or raging song for that day per point spent. Nice! Also, 1/day, expend 4 rounds of bardic performance or raging song to regain 1 point for the arcane pool.
-Arcane Rage: After preparing spells, spend up to 1/2 magus level arcane points to gain +3 rounds of rage or bloodrage for that day per point spent. Also, 1/day, expend 4 rounds of rage or bloodrage to regain 1 point for the arcane pool. Interesting - the increased potency would make this a superior trade-off when compared to the previous feat, but base class layout and multiclass-interaction isn't as strong. Comes out as balanced.
-Blood of the Magi: If the 1st level bloodline power has a limited number of uses per day, spend 1 point of the arcane pool as a swift action to regain 1 such daily use. Nice!
-Cantrip Combatant: When using spellstrike or spell combat, you may cast any cantrip with a casting time of 1 standard action in conjunction, not only those from the magus spell-list.
-Focused Smite: Also get +4 to concentration when casting defensively while adjacent to the target of the smite and to concentration-checks prompted by the target of the smite. 1/day regain 1 arcane pool point when defeating the target of the smite. Nice!
-Focused Favoritism: Gain favored enemy bonus to concentration-checks versus one chosen favored enemy. This bonus only applies when casting defensively or adjacent to the target. 1/day regain 1 point of the arcane pool when defeating a favored enemy. May be chosen multiple times, with each new choice applying to a different favored enemy.
-Link Diversion: Gain +4 to concentration while adjacent to your eidolon or phantasm and an enemy. Smooth one! Avoids exploit via melee caveat - NICE!!
-Persistent Hexing: Expend 1 point from the arcane pool as part of using a single-target hex to try to affect the target, even though it has already saved versus that hex within the last 24 hours. May be used 1/2 magus level times per day.
-Spellstrike Infusion: When you accept burn for the kinetic blade infusion to execute spell combat or spellstrike, you can expend 1 point of arcane pool to treat your HD as CL for the spell cast. Nice one!
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good on both formal and rules-language levels. Layout adheres to Flying Pincushion Games' two-column full-color standard and the pdf sports nice full-color stock art. The pdf has minimalist bookmarks, but more is not required at this level of brevity.
Frank Gori's Magus-multiclassing-feats are a return to form for the series after the rather problematic installment on volley archery feats. The feats in this humble pdf are smooth, balanced, lack means to easily abuse them and enhance the multiclass synergy of the magus, in particular for class-combos that would usually be more problematic...and what more can you ask of such a brief little pdf? Granted, I would have loved to see a feat or two more, but what's here works rather well. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars - for one buck most certainly a nice array of feats.
Endzeitgeist out.
Snap Judgement Review: Tides of War: Magus/X Feats
Snap Judgement Review: This review is based on multiple read throughs not actual gameplay.
Disclaimer: This copy was obtained as a free review copy.
This small PDF purports to help Magus multiclass. I love mixing classes or finding the exact way for character conception, without "tactical dipping". So I was very excited when I got this.
After reading it, the excitement stood. The book does exactly what is says on the tin. Great collection of feats to help multiclassing for the Magus. If the rest of the "X-feats" books are of this quality I am sold for the series.
The two worries with multiclassing enhancement is that they are too weak, in which case why bother, or too strong, where you can't use them. In reading this a few times, I didn't see any that really jumped out at me as unusable.
The book may not be a huge book, but it sets out for a modest achievement, and fulfills that perfectly. 5 Stars.
This is a good starting product for those wishing to have their magus dip its toes in the waters of other classes. Admittedly I was afraid that this product was just going to be nothing but "X levels of magus counts as levels in (insert class name here) for ability Y" but was pleasantly surprised to find they put some thought into this. Most of the abilities herein offer either thematic boosts to concentration checks when used with other class abilities or allows the magus to spend arcane points for things like rounds of bloodrage/rage (or vice versa but in a creative and balanced fashion).
The only thing from holding this back for a full 5 star review is that I feel that more could be done here to expand the intended function of these feats, since they are a band-aid for the problem of multiclassing. things like the barbarian/bloodrager one allowing specifically the casting of spells for spell combat would have been appreciated to offset the cost of multiclassing more.
To sum up
I enjoyed this product and found it balanced and functional, but I feel the multiclass gap could have further mitigated with these feats. For a step below perfection I give this a 4.5 star review rounded up to 5.
As always, three free copies up for grabs in exchange for an honest review. (yeah I know, breaking the bank on free PDF's, that 3 x $.99 could have bought me one and a half coffees, ;) )
As always, three free copies up for grabs in exchange for an honest review. (yeah I know, breaking the bank on free PDF's, that 3 x $.99 could have bought me one and a half coffees, ;) )
That means it saves the people who get the free copies the money to buy the coffee to assist them in writing the review! It works out that way XD
Uh, I'm still in the middle of writing about the new magus Into the Breach but I'd be up for one. It would take me a bit though, I have one more requested review after Into the Breach the Magus so I'd have to review it after New Paths: The Trickster. You can check out my review pile on the sidebar of my blog.
Lord Mhoram and christos, if you would be so kind as to send me via PM your email address you wish the reviewer copies sent to, I will get those out ASAP. Mal, I have your email, your copy is on the way now.
Just to make sure credit goes where credit is due, David S, McCrae is the sole feat smith here, all I did was make them into the form of a book. But thank you to all the reviewers for the shiny words, and there are more of these to come, as it looks like they are to be a companion book fixture to our Into the Breach series!