Different Magical Child variant


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


I really like the idea of having a magical girl-based class, but really the thing has nothing to do with the magical girl genre. I would love to see a different archetype that is more thematically similar. The Summoner's spell list doesn't really make sense, as magical girls don't really summon things, in general. Most of their abilities come from implements they use, or elements or themes that they represent. I can't really think of a magical girl that uses their animal familiar as a combatant or summons creatures and stuff.

EDIT: I know I could just homebrew it, but I'd love to have something official.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Mavrickindigo wrote:

I really like the idea of having a magical girl-based class, but really the thing has nothing to do with the magical girl genre. I would love to see a different archetype that is more thematically similar. The Summoner's spell list doesn't really make sense, as magical girls don't really summon things, in general. Most of their abilities come from implements they use, or elements or themes that they represent. I can't really think of a magical girl that uses their animal familiar as a combatant or summons creatures and stuff.

EDIT: I know I could just homebrew it, but I'd love to have something official.

I think a lot of us are confused as to how this became a pet class. I figured they were always more martial than that. Granted, I do not watch many things that qualify as magical-child genre. Outside homebrewing, the solution is just to dip one level and the go do something else.

Which means you lose a lot of vigilante goodness, but whatever.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

You could go for the Chosen One paladin archetype. I think Inner Sea Intrigue is supposed to contain a feat that lets you have a duat identity without being a Vigilante.


There are a fair number of archetypes that lend themselves well to being a magical girl. Chosen One Paladin, any number of Sorcerer bloodlines, Aldori Swordlord (if done right), etc etc.


Flaming Duck wrote:
Mavrickindigo wrote:

I really like the idea of having a magical girl-based class, but really the thing has nothing to do with the magical girl genre. I would love to see a different archetype that is more thematically similar. The Summoner's spell list doesn't really make sense, as magical girls don't really summon things, in general. Most of their abilities come from implements they use, or elements or themes that they represent. I can't really think of a magical girl that uses their animal familiar as a combatant or summons creatures and stuff.

EDIT: I know I could just homebrew it, but I'd love to have something official.

I think a lot of us are confused as to how this became a pet class. I figured they were always more martial than that. Granted, I do not watch many things that qualify as magical-child genre. Outside homebrewing, the solution is just to dip one level and the go do something else.

Which means you lose a lot of vigilante goodness, but whatever.

Have you never seen something with a "magical girl" in it? Like Card Captor Sakura or even Disney princesses like Cinderella or Snow white?

Liberty's Edge

I'm looking at a number of possibilities for my next character, Simon Chase/Magical Boy Rat Chaser. I've looked at Magical Child, Warlock (works well, pick up Familiar at Level 2), Unchained Summoner, even Carnivalist. My current experiment is Wizard Necromancer of Norgorber. All of these with a Rat Familiar or Eidolon, of course. There are some cool options.

I hope you get your wish though, and the options get expanded. :) Edit: Autocorrect...

Silver Crusade

M1k31 wrote:
Have you never seen something with a "magical girl" in it? Like Card Captor Sakura or even Disney princesses like Cinderella or Snow white?

I'm not sure I'd consider disney princesses magical girls. I mean most of them only have magical things happen around them instead of being the direct source of it.

Sailor Moon, CC Sakura, PMMM, and others seem to be the inspiration, and only some of those have either companions or more rarely, companions that actually help in combat. I'll admit that I don't get a huge magical girl vibe from the archetype myself, and the summoner list feels off. With the magus list, I think it'd better emulate the more combative nature of most magic girls.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

It's an interesting archetype and I sort of like it, but I agree that what it gives you doesn't really match the fluff of much of its supposed source material.

I'm letting a player in my group play a variant that uses the Magus list instead and picks up Mystic Bolt (albeit without piercing bolts and with str to damage) and it feels a lot more... conceptually in line and not problematically powerful either.


Most "familiars" for magical girls in anime act like non-improved familiars for wizards here, they're there to provide the magical ability and give a few bonus in or out of combat. They're not actually fighting most of the time. While it is an iconic part of the magical girl ensemble it is not what you should base a magical girl archetype on.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

My new character is still something of a quandry.

I think that her guide will morph into other simian creature after the monkey, I just have to reserch it more since Herolab has it so mess up.

I have her as Daffodil Daisy Buttercup Chrysanthemum Rhododendron in her Vigilante identity with Clover, and him as Hibiscus Marigold Begonia with Azalea in the social identity.

He/She is a gnome


I am personally thinking that this is how magical girls on Golarion work, giving them their own flavor instead of basing them off of other things.

Also, the other ideas of fluffing magical girls out of other classes is a good idea as well, as really, most magical girls don't really deal with their social identities too much from the dual identity thing, from what I've noticed. It's usually a background element.


Personally if they gave you choice of what spell list you could use at character creation and a choice between a bonded item that lets you transform or a familiar that lets you transform that would have been cool. I also really didn't like that they reduced your skill points and took away perception as a class skill. Though to be honest like many archetypes with interesting concepts like this there just wasn't enough room to really flesh it out.


There's always homebrew.


Dragon78 wrote:
Personally if they gave you choice of what spell list you could use at character creation and a choice between a bonded item that lets you transform or a familiar that lets you transform that would have been cool. I also really didn't like that they reduced your skill points and took away perception as a class skill. Though to be honest like many archetypes with interesting concepts like this there just wasn't enough room to really flesh it out.

I would be down for this. The alchemist list would be ideal for melee girls while other lists would be great for the types that rely on magic more. The bonded item/familiar choice is also good...though with most magical girls they kinda have both and that's not exactly balanced to give to a PC.


Mavrickindigo wrote:

I really like the idea of having a magical girl-based class, but really the thing has nothing to do with the magical girl genre. I would love to see a different archetype that is more thematically similar. The Summoner's spell list doesn't really make sense, as magical girls don't really summon things, in general. Most of their abilities come from implements they use, or elements or themes that they represent. I can't really think of a magical girl that uses their animal familiar as a combatant or summons creatures and stuff.

EDIT: I know I could just homebrew it, but I'd love to have something official.

He-man? I know, why is it called Magical Girl but remember Shee-ra.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She-Ra:_Princess_of_Power

Shee-ra is Prince Adam (He-man)'s sister.
Her horse turns into a winged horse like a Alicorn (because it also has a horn).

Now, Sailor Moon doesn't have a transforming cat (or the cat is lazy and never fights), but she does throw he tiara (which is a talent). Then she gets a magic staff that deals damage.

Now, the spell list doesn't fit her allies: they have elemental powers.

So maybe an archetype for the archetype changing spell list to have elemental spells?

Now, Chained Summoner Synthegist fits magical transformation as well. Really depends on magic girl type we are emulating.


An actual magical class not just an archetype would be cool but what would you call it? Since pathfinder uses a one word name for there classes how about "Senshi" or "Mahou"?


M1k31 wrote:
Flaming Duck wrote:
Mavrickindigo wrote:

I really like the idea of having a magical girl-based class, but really the thing has nothing to do with the magical girl genre. I would love to see a different archetype that is more thematically similar. The Summoner's spell list doesn't really make sense, as magical girls don't really summon things, in general. Most of their abilities come from implements they use, or elements or themes that they represent. I can't really think of a magical girl that uses their animal familiar as a combatant or summons creatures and stuff.

EDIT: I know I could just homebrew it, but I'd love to have something official.

I think a lot of us are confused as to how this became a pet class. I figured they were always more martial than that. Granted, I do not watch many things that qualify as magical-child genre. Outside homebrewing, the solution is just to dip one level and the go do something else.

Which means you lose a lot of vigilante goodness, but whatever.

Have you never seen something with a "magical girl" in it? Like Card Captor Sakura or even Disney princesses like Cinderella or Snow white?

Or any version of Final Fantasy?


Oops meant to say "magical girl class" not just "magical class".


A "Magical Child" with less or even no spellcasting would be nice.
I'm pretty sure He-Man never cast any spells.

Liberty's Edge

Natan Linggod 327 wrote:

A "Magical Child" with less or even no spellcasting would be nice.

I'm pretty sure He-Man never cast any spells.

Well, that's super-easy to House Rule. Let any Vigilante take the Transformation Sequence instead of the regular Vigilante costume-donning.

There, done.


Natan Linggod 327 wrote:

A "Magical Child" with less or even no spellcasting would be nice.

I'm pretty sure He-Man never cast any spells.

Oh gods, He-man really is totally in line with the magical girl thing. And I thought he was ambiguously gay before.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Just another voice to chime in. I'm in a game that tried to be a magical girl campaign, and we had a pretty hard time at that. They don't have much spell variety, they are limited in talents by not being stalker or avenger vigilantes, they are not versatile enough to make an interesting diverse team. Eventually we decided to use multiple classes and a homebrew spell list for Magical Child.

Magical Child as it is does not really fit the flavor of a magical girl. Other than Card Captor Sakura, I can't think of any other "summoner" magical girl, and even she had a greater variety of Magic. Magical girl shows tend to be full of flashy magical blasts, but Magical Child lacks ranged elemental spells. Or Color Spray and other "power of love" illusion spells. Even with a limited spell list there should be some of those.

Somehow it feels more like Paizo wanted a Summoner Vigilante archetype and slapped the magical girl theme after it was done. I also wish there was a more fitting attempt at that


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Most of the magical girls I've seen would come closest to being kineticists. So, this probably should have just been an archetype for kineticist that used the vigilante identity stuff.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / General Discussion / Different Magical Child variant All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in General Discussion