Magus and touch spells


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


I've been building a magus, and there doesnt seem to be that many spells that are terribly useful with spellstrike. I've checked walter's guide, and there seems to be 3 "useful" ones: Frigid touch, schocking grasp, and vampiric touch. Is there anything interesting I'm missing?


I think you've about got it.

A Hexcrafter can get Bestow Curse (and cast non-Touch spells with the [Curse] descriptor with it as well), and a Samsaran should be able to grab some spells from other lists, but that's about it I think.

Shadow Lodge

Those are pretty much the best touch spells that a magus gets. There is also corrosive touch which is less damage than shocking grasp but does acid which won't be as resistable. The thing is, if you just use metamagic feats on those three spells you wind up with a really nice spell (Like an empowered&Intensified Shocking grasp or just one or the other on vampiric touch). Hexcrafter is a nice archetype for getting better spells.


The Close Range arcana lets you use ray spells that require a ranged touch attack at melee range with spellstrike. It could open up your options.


Arcane Mark is a cantrip that allows for abuse with spell combat letting you get extra attacks.
Brand, which is available to Hexcrafters, is a cantrip that actually does 1 point of damage.
With the Close Range arcana you can actually deliver Ray of Frost using spellstrike, allowing for spammable d3 damage die to use with a free attack from spell combat.

Chill Touch is also a spell, though not a very powerful one, being necromancy makes it nice for Hexcrafters.

Scarab Sages

Use Spell Blending to grab wizard spells.

Touch of Fatigue and Calcific Touch are both decent.

Grand Lodge

Touch of idiocy could also be useful.

Scarab Sages

Quite a few nice touch spells for wizards, the magus just has to decide which ones he really wants.


frostbite! Very important.


you can get the cantrips/orizons via two world magic if you're willing to miss out on magical lineage.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

People need to get in their heads that the Magus is more than just "touch" spells. He's a War Wizard with some very handy crowd pleasing spells to look into like "Fire Snake" (Which is one of those reasons to get the "Empower Arcana".


When I played a magus about half the spells I cast (at least when not counting detect magic) have been touch spells.
I often used magic missile, expeditous retreat, grease, burning hands, color spray, ablative armor, brow gasher and some more in addition to the "standard" touch spells. There have been other spells wich I used. Those listed are only the often used spells.
(I only played the magus till level 6 because when he died his second death I let him rest in paece. That's why I don't have any higher level spell in the list.)


My magus is only 4th-level at the moment, though I'm currently engaging in a lot of planning/theorycrafting regarding the class.

I don't think the magus really needs to worry about touch spells outside of the one or two he plans to use with spellstrike. Other than that, his spell list can allow him a lot of freedom to do other things such as blast, battlefield control and increased mobility.

If you look over the magus spell list--while you can't compete with a wizard--it is nevertheless surprisingly versatile, granting you plenty of non-direct damage options such as black tentacles, gaseous form, haste, ray of enfeeblement, wall of iron, etc. And plenty of blast spells as well. I absolutely plan on packing at least one intensified fireball once 4th-level spells open up. :)

The reality is, the magus doesn't really need more than a couple good touch spells to work with spellstrike and Spell Combat, and (aside, arguably, from a missing cantrip,) he has them. :)

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