Spellblade magus - give it a chance, better than bladebound!


Advice


You loose spell strike but that's not that big a deal. If you believe casting is a worthy focus you can now spend on that, if you enjoy buffs, helping your party or just plain blasting its now all yours. No need to be a shocking grasp/frost monkey (and spend your feats more flexibly).

The weapon does force damage (so no DR) that's worth multiple feats. Base is d4 (but river rat trait, power attack and buffs soon add up).

Ignore the 2 weapon thing and cast with your non weaponized buckler hand at will.
Use spell combat for buffs, area control and nukes.

Switch hit at will with one arcana its a 60ft range.

As with the blackblade you now have free cash but also a real arcane pool and free feats as ignore all DR. Better free weapon +s in effect as well. Also extra damage as well as freed to spend those arcane pool +s on extra damage instead of the DR concerns a oily black blade has to cope with.

Plenty of archetypes loose one spell per level - that's basically the real cost (easily bought with pearls of power) and as no DR issues so don't really need to max it but if you bother..
Spellblade makes a
+1 weapon at 1st.
+2 at 4th.
+3 at 7th.
+4 at 10th.
+5 at 13th.

Extra hit is extra damage just look at the damage calculators and extra damage is extra damage so it just keeps adding up.

Thats substantially better then any blackblade or fiend blade.

With the extra enhancement bonus it also covers the puny black blade strike damage boost you can give a black blade without the per day limits a black blade has.
How about a permanent force weapon vs the ability to (for a round) make it a sonic or force weapon for 2 poolpoint out of a weapons max 3...

Force is better than unbreakable AND teleporting to hand is an irrelevance as its part of you.

Oh and no lost arcana at 3rd !!


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I consider spellstrike to be one of the major features of a magus. Losing the ability of channeling a spell via a weapon for a 1 minute duration +1 force *dagger* is not something minor to me.

That said, it is a flavorful archetype. And you get to keep most of your other magus features.


insaneogeddon wrote:
You loose spell strike but that's not that big a deal.

But... That's the reason you play a magus.

Also...:
You don't just lose spellstrike, the force blade comes out weaker than a weapon you can just purchase. Much weaker. It also happens to eat spell slots(one per combat) and action economy(2 swift, give or take if your enhancing and making the weapon), and losing spell strike can actually make your spells weaker because you don't get to use your touch attacks through the weapon using its critical and adding its damage and enhancement bonus.

Its a cool idea to make a weapon out of force, not sure if this is the best execution.

Its sort of an awkward logic that losing spell strikes makes you better at casting because you stop caring about your ability to spell strike, because your just as good at casting as a normal magus really. You aren't gaining powers to be better at spellcasting, while the option to spellstrike was one that could, if you chose to use it, make your spells different and more powerful.


Its a really cool idea for a class, but I just can't see giving up spellstrike for it. I'd go for it if the Archetype gave up an arcana + something else, like a lot of the archetypes.


Thaago wrote:
Its a really cool idea for a class, but I just can't see giving up spellstrike for it. I'd go for it if the Archetype gave up an arcana + something else, like a lot of the archetypes.

They could've made force Anathema an arcana and adjusted the cost to one to a single arcana point. It already functions a lot like an arcana. Probably not a bad houserule really.


Its FAR too good to just be an arcana.

Without spellstrike you just focus on spells (or hexes) more. Avoiding being in melee has some major perks and for hacking up buildings or things NO one can damage .. mirror image and blade up.

Never mind a casters attacks of opportunity are taken FAR more seriously when its DR ignoring damage.

Accursed hex, ability focus and slumber is normally a better use of feats and actions then blowing arcana, wealth, traits, feats on getting into melee to burn slots to chain powerzap things with a poker and hope you beat SR, hit AC and their vulnerable because they were idiotic enough to not know every magus EVER = zappy mcfrosty.

A spellcrafter/hexblade build is also the ultimate unassuming apparently weapon and spell book free assassin without dead giveaway white hair!).
No murder weapon here officer!!


insaneogeddon wrote:
Its FAR too good to just be an arcana.

I know right, weapons are just straight up OP. They don't give those to just anyone! +5 enhancement is pretty hard to get too, totally out of the expectations of a martial in this game. I mean the chart goes up to 10, but normal people get a +1 at best. Good thing this is limited to just being a dagger and eats up action economy and a spell that could've changed the combat dramatically on its own.

insaneogeddon wrote:
Accursed hex, ability focus and slumber is normally a better use of feats and actions then blowing arcana, wealth, traits, feats on getting into melee to burn slots to chain powerzap things with a poker and hope you beat SR, hit AC and their vulnerable because they were idiotic enough to not know every magus EVER = zappy mcfrosty.

but... why not just play a caster then?


insaneogeddon wrote:

Its FAR too good to just be an arcana.

Without spellstrike you just focus on spells (or hexes) more. Avoiding being in melee has some major perks and for hacking up buildings or things NO one can damage .. mirror image and blade up.

Never mind a casters attacks of opportunity are taken FAR more seriously when its DR ignoring damage.

Accursed hex, ability focus and slumber is normally a better use of feats and actions then blowing arcana, wealth, traits, feats on getting into melee to burn slots to chain powerzap things with a poker and hope you beat SR, hit AC and their vulnerable because they were idiotic enough to not know every magus EVER = zappy mcfrosty.

A spellcrafter/hexblade build is also the ultimate unassuming apparently weapon and spell book free assassin without dead giveaway white hair!).
No murder weapon here officer!!

Ummm, thats just nonsensical. You are saying that after taking a melee option that costs spells, focus on spells. Or I could just be a normal Magus who concentrates on spells other than touch spells and not be blowing those spells on a dagger. The reason most people don't do this is because a Magus is a sucky spell caster compared to a full caster, and the spellstrike + offense is really really good.

Also: You are seriously overplaying DR. Magus' can get past a lot of it just with a normal weapon + pool enhancement. Every once in a while you run into stuff you can't get through sure, but its not often.

If you want to be a hexcrafter thats fine - they are a great. But that has nothing to do with this archetype.

[Edit]
Just a thought - could this be a troll thread making fun of the Bladebound thread? If so you gave me a good chuckle.


insaneogeddon wrote:
You loose spell strike but that's not that big a deal. If you believe casting is a worthy focus you can now spend on that, if you enjoy buffs, helping your party or just plain blasting its now all yours. No need to be a shocking grasp/frost monkey (and spend your feats more flexibly).

If that's what you want to do, why not go the Eldritch Knight rout? You can go with a 9 level spell casting class that gets more, and a broader variety of, spells and still do some fighting.


No character gets a slotless/handless force weapon so it is much better than what you can buy.

Some DMs rule temporary enhancements don't count towards DR - like greater magic weapon, arcane pool, inquisitors bane, paladins divine bond as if it does it disagrees with greater magic weapon ruling and defeats the purpose of these classes other ways of getting round dr (spells,smite etc) and so make it all fairly foolish design.

Sometimes you want to be a caster with a weapon. Sometimes you want to wear armour and go melee occasionally while saving your spells for fireballs instead of zappy mcfrosty touch attacks and the hassles of full round actions and melee.

If its just about weapon attacks with booster damage just be an inquisitor with a spell storing weapon, some metamagic and the fervour inquisition for free quickening.

If you want to do some fun arcane blasting, sleep at will, melee to get some jollies its hard to beat. Let full casters and poser magus wanabes do their thing while you use spell combat to embrace the fun of area blasting!


insaneogeddon wrote:
Some DMs rule temporary enhancements don't count towards DR

Well my DM ruled daggers don't kill anyone because they're puny. You need a greatsword. So this thing is pretty useless.

More seriously, houserules dramatically change things. They shouldn't be used in defense of something.


Its not a good at. You loose spellstrike and get an ability that doesn't work well with spell combat. It looks to me like you wouod go through a lot of arcane pool.


If it's obvious, is it still considered trolling?


Lastoth wrote:
If it's obvious, is it still considered trolling?

Its entertainment I think.


I have an NPC villain in my game who's both a Spellblade and Bladebound. In order to make the villain credible as a threat I had to go to a 3rd party splatbook for a spell that give him temporary sneak-attack. At least, on paper he seems like a threat, but since the PCs haven't progressed that far, we'll see how it plays out in game.


MrSin wrote:
insaneogeddon wrote:
Some DMs rule temporary enhancements don't count towards DR

Well my DM ruled daggers don't kill anyone because they're puny. You need a greatsword. So this thing is pretty useless.

More seriously, houserules dramatically change things. They shouldn't be used in defense of something.

Rules as written specify temporary +'s don't effect DR. Its really a DM ruling (and community hopefulness/assumption) to do otherwise.


The only case of temp magic enhancement bonuses not affecting dr is magic weapon spells. Its a specific rupe of the spells overriding the general rule.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Mojorat wrote:
The only case of temp magic enhancement bonuses not affecting dr is magic weapon spells. Its a specific rupe of the spells overriding the general rule.

Where is the ruling located please? Book/page ref. Unless you are referring to MW, Greater.


A bit of a necro here, but I'm reading up on the Magus trying to make sure I understand it well enough and this caught my eye.

What if you're a Spellblade/Hexcrafter with Prehensile hair?

How does TWF look with a Scimmy and Athame while using Spell combat to cast and deliver touch attacks with your hair?

Or what if you forego the Scimmy for an IUS with something like Frostbite?

In Round 1 can you:

#1 Cast Frostbite with hair and touch or strike target, then
#2 Strike target with IUS and deliver another charge of Frostbite as your offhand, and then
#3 Full iterative attack with your Athame (without expending charges)?

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