Magus / Phalanx Soldier and polearm

FAQ
Can a magus use spellstrike to cast a touch spell, move, and make a melee attack with a weapon to deliver the touch spell, all in the same round?

Yes. Other than deploying the spell with a melee weapon attack instead of a melee touch attack, the magus spellstrike ability doesn’t change the normal rules for using touch spells in combat. So, just like casting a touch spell, a magus could use spellstrike to cast a touch spell, take a move toward an enemy, then (as a free action) make a melee attack with his weapon to deliver the spell.

On a related topic, the magus touching his held weapon doesn’t count as “touching anything or anyone” when determining if he discharges the spell. A magus could even use the spellstrike ability, miss with his melee attack to deliver the spell, be disarmed by an opponent (or drop the weapon voluntarily, for whatever reason), and still be holding the charge in his hand, just like a normal spellcaster. Furthermore, the weaponless magus could pick up a weapon (even that same weapon) with that hand without automatically discharging the spell, and then attempt to use the weapon to deliver the spell. However, if the magus touches anything other than a weapon with that hand (such as retrieving a potion), that discharges the spell as normal.

Basically, the spellstrike gives the magus more options when it comes to delivering touch spells; it’s not supposed to make it more difficult for the magus to use touch spells.

FAQ
If I cast a spell that allows multiple touch attacks, can I deliver all of those spell touches through my weapon?

Yes. For example, if you cast chill touch (which allows multiple touch attacks), you could use spellstrike to cast and deliver the spell through your weapon, and in later weapon attacks you could use your weapon to deliver the remaining spell touch attacks (one spell touch attack per weapon attack).

If you have multiple attacks per round with that weapon (such as from having a BAB of +6 or higher), you can use the weapon to deliver multiple spell touch attacks per round, so long as you have uses of that spell touch attack remaining.

For example, if you are an 8th-level magus (BAB +6/+1) and you cast chill touch, you have up to 8 uses of that spell touch attack. If you make two weapon attacks in a round, you can deliver two spell touch attacks per round (one for each successful weapon attack).

Magus:

Spellstrike (Su)
[See FAQ]
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.

Phalanx Soldier:
Phalanx Fighting (Ex)
At 3rd level, when a phalanx soldier wields a shield, he can use any polearm or spear of his size as a one-handed weapon.
This ability replaces Armor Training 1.

Why would these not work together? Obviously shields have an arcane spell failure chance with Magi that needs to be taken into account, but the ability can be used.

Buckler: This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it. You can also use your shield arm to wield a weapon (whether you are using an off-hand weapon or using your off hand to help wield a two-handed weapon), but you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls while doing so. This penalty stacks with those that may apply for fighting with your off hand and for fighting with two weapons. In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can cast a spell with somatic components using your shield arm, but you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn. You can't make a shield bash with a buckler.

....

Shield, Light; Wooden or Steel: You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A light shield's weight lets you carry other items in that hand, although you cannot use weapons with it.

.....

Shield, Heavy; Wooden or Steel: You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A heavy shield is so heavy that you can't use your shield hand for anything else.

Somatic (S): A somatic component is a measured and precise movement of the hand. You must have at least one hand free to provide a somatic component.

With a shield and a weapon you don't have a free hand.

"With a buckler, if you use the hand to cast the spell, you stop using the buckler"

This is not how Spellstrike works, you use the hand holding the weapon to cast the spell.

"With a buckler, if you use the hand to cast the spell, you stop using the buckler"

This is not how Spellstrike works, you use the hand holding the weapon to cast the spell.

Where have you dreamed that?

You use the weapon to deliver the spell, but that don't change how you cast it.

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.

"a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this 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."

A Magus can use Spellstrike in concert with Spell Combat so one spell is cast with his free hand, & the other is cast with his weapon hand (the spell he uses for Spellstrike).

With a buckler, if you use the hand to cast the spell, you stop using the buckler.

That is not what the buckler entry says.

It says you lose the shield bonus from the buckler if you use the hand to cast a spell, but it doesn't stop being an equiped shield just because you are casting a spell.

That's like saying that my penalties to attack and my armor check from the Tower shield go away, if I lose my shield's AC bonus because I was hit with a Pilum. The shield doesn't stop being equipped just because you lose the AC bonuses.

As written, I do think the Phalanx Soldier and the Magus abilities work together, provided the Magus has an equiped buckler.

If you can use 3rd party material just take this magus arcana.

Enruned Shield (Su)
Benefit: The magus may expend a point from his arcane pool to scribe a rune of power on a shield with which the magus is proficient. While the rune is in place, the magus can use the hand holding that shield to complete somatic components of magus spells he casts, and is considered to have that hand free for purposes of spell combat. The rune lasts 10 minutes per level.

This work!

Herolab allow me to take 3 levels of phalanx fighter and then go magus and use his ability with a polearm

I take Spire Defender archetipe... i gains prficency with Fauchard... thats' an amazing weapon to use... 18-20 crit (15-20 with magus weapon enchant "keen") , reach and trip! And gain dodge and combact expertise without loosing nothing!

Of course.. you loose 3 magus level and caster level... but it's a nice build for a heavy hitting tanking magus!

Hi Forcy

Forcy wrote:

This work!

Herolab allow me to take 3 levels of phalanx fighter and then go magus and use his ability with a polearm

I take Spire Defender archetipe... i gains prficency with Fauchard... thats' an amazing weapon to use... 18-20 crit (15-20 with magus weapon enchant "keen") , reach and trip! And gain dodge and combact expertise without loosing nothing!

Of course.. you loose 3 magus level and caster level... but it's a nice build for a heavy hitting tanking magus!

Hi Forcy

Have you tried the feat "Bladed Brush" with herolab?
Then you can skip the 3 level dip. But Glaive is better for a debuff build due to poor crit. range. Kensai/bladebound archtype could be cool.
Bladed Brush

Just a note that if you're playing in PFS or Golarion you have to worship Shelyn in order to use that feat.

Magus:

Spellstrike (Su)
[See FAQ]
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.

Phalanx Soldier:
Phalanx Fighting (Ex)
At 3rd level, when a phalanx soldier wields a shield, he can use any polearm or spear of his size as a one-handed weapon.
This ability replaces Armor Training 1.

Why would these not work together? Obviously shields have an arcane spell failure chance with Magi that needs to be taken into account, but the ability can be used.

I may have to come back one earlier statements, but since the character has a shield in his left hand, this is not compatible with Magus spell combat that actually requires the other hand to be free so he can dast spells... I guess that strapping on a buckler counts as using a shield (though this may be an abuse of RAI)... but a serious, full sized shield, definitely encumbers the hand and does not allow spellcasting of any sort.

My previous comment justifying how Spellstrike works while wielding a shield was incorrect, this is how it works.

"he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack."

This can be a two-handed weapon.
How do we know that it can be a two-handed weapon?
Because it doesn't say that it can't be, that's how the rules work.
"any weapon he is wielding".

This means that a Magus does not require one of his or her hands to be free in order to use Spellstrike, this means that he or she can have a free hand while using a one-handed weapon & USE that other hand for another purpose that DOES NOT have to involve casting the spell for use with Spellstrike. Where did you dream up that requirement Diego Rossi?

What about the clawhand shield from ACG that expressly allows using it for somatic components?

As per me, would work, it's obviously made for the very purpose.

Quote:

With a buckler, if you use the hand to cast the spell, you stop using the buckler.

That is not what the buckler entry says.

It says you lose the shield bonus from the buckler if you use the hand to cast a spell, but it doesn't stop being an equiped shield just because you are casting a spell.

That's like saying that my penalties to attack and my armor check from the Tower shield go away, if I lose my shield's AC bonus because I was hit with a Pilum. The shield doesn't stop being equipped just because you lose the AC bonuses.

As written, I do think the Phalanx Soldier and the Magus abilities work together, provided the Magus has an equiped buckler.

Equipped is not the same thing as wielded.

"a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this 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."

A Magus can use Spellstrike in concert with Spell Combat so one spell is cast with his free hand, & the other is cast with his weapon hand (the spell he uses for Spellstrike).

Wait, now your magus can cast 2 (not quickened, not swift) spells in one round using spell combat and spellstrike?

Read what you cited, it don't say anything like that.

My previous comment justifying how Spellstrike works while wielding a shield was incorrect, this is how it works.

"he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack."

This can be a two-handed weapon.
How do we know that it can be a two-handed weapon?
Because it doesn't say that it can't be, that's how the rules work.
"any weapon he is wielding".

This means that a Magus does not require one of his or her hands to be free in order to use Spellstrike, this means that he or she can have a free hand while using a one-handed weapon & USE that other hand for another purpose that DOES NOT have to involve casting the spell for use with Spellstrike. Where did you dream up that requirement Diego Rossi?

Unless an ability say that it change how something work, it don't change it.

As per me, would work, it's obviously made for the very purpose.

It work fine with spellstrike, phalanx fighter and a polearm (and other combos, too).

It don't work with spell combat.

Spell Combat (Ex):... 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.

Spell combat don't care only about the ability to use the somatic components, it care about having a free hand, too.

Hey Diego Rossi, what does this mean?

"If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks."

Referring to Spellstrike.

Equipped is not the same thing as wielded.

Wielded is equipped + in use.

Shields can be wielded without being donned. And donned is word you are talking about, here. Likewise, you can have a free hand with a buckler that is donned.

I do otherwise agree that equiped and wielded are different things.

What about the clawhand shield from ACG that expressly allows using it for somatic components?

Not finding that one in Advanced Class Guide. Page Reference? Not doubting you, just sounds interesting.

The Sideromancer wrote:

What about the clawhand shield from ACG that expressly allows using it for somatic components?

Not finding that one in Advanced Class Guide. Page Reference? Not doubting you, just sounds interesting.

Here it is on the PRD. My hard copy has it on page 211, but I also have the notorious first printing.

Klorox wrote:

As per me, would work, it's obviously made for the very purpose.

It work fine with spellstrike, phalanx fighter and a polearm (and other combos, too).

It don't work with spell combat.

PRD wrote:

Spell Combat (Ex):... 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.

Spell combat don't care only about the ability to use the somatic components, it care about having a free hand, too.

point to you sir