Hi Everyone. I did a preliminary run of a encounter(that includes a Magus) I plan on running against my players in my Friday game yesterday with another pair of friends not in the game. If I am introducing something untested as what is planned to be a hard encounter (which this is) I always prefer to do a dry run first, to make sure my plan isn't going to result in a party wipe. So if you are in my game, stop reading now, though really it isnt going to give much away besides the encounter itself.
Module/Adventure: This is an encounter in a modified version of the Council of thieves AP (basically I really liked volume 2 and 3 of this AP but preferred to take it off the rails into and out of those two adventures).
Party: Party is level 7 and includes:
A sword and board paladin that shield bashes with two weapon fighting
A super genius time thief that also two weapon fights
An infernal sorcerer that is more or less mobile artillary
An archer based inquisitor
A monk/rogue that specializes in improvised weapons.
Encounter: This included a rapier wielding level 8 Teifling Magus along with 2 bearded devils. The Magus is initially invisible and hiding along with the devils under his command, and they ambush the party as they are on their way to investigate the massive explosion at the mayors mansion. The monsters put this at CR9 but the fact that they are prepped and laying in ambush pushes this closer to 10. For a 5 person level 7 party it should be tough.
How it went.
The magus started off with a scorching ray in the surprise round (making him visible) and had 2 buffs up at the start of the fight. The devils teleported in and amongst the party in the surprise round. After that the magus worked on getting in full attacks (with spell combat) against the party while the devils tried to keep the party from being able to focus on him. He used Arcane Accuracy and Spell Shield several times during the fight. And with 2 allies that were immune to fire damage he got in a good shot with fireball hitting the whole party.
Then end results was a real hard fight with the time thief going unconscious but not dieing thanks to quick action from the paladin. It was definitely a hard fight and really stretched the party, but that was the idea.
Observations: This class is going to have SERIOUS 15 minute workday problems. The majority of its abilities revolve around casting spells or using up spells slots to supplement fighting. But it has a very limited number of spells slots. Between The swift/immediate actions of things like spell shield and arcane accuracy, and Spell combat, in 1 surprise round and 5 rounds of combat and a couple buffs cast pre-combat I had exhausted all but a couple of my 1st level spell slots in one fight with an 8th level character. I dont think the abilities are too powerful or not powerful enough, but with all of them using the Magus' spells for fuel, he runs out quick. Unlike the bard, or the inquisitor (other 6 level casters) who supplement combat with not just spells but other resources (bane, songs etc) the magus is VERY reliant on it's spells slots.
The character had some trouble hitting when he wasnt using spell accuracy but I think part of that comes from the elite array and NPC gear. A player with 20point buy and level appropriate wealth for a pc probably would have had a couple more points higher to hit.
Overall I like it. I am really pleased with spell combat and the feel of it in general. The starting penalty for spell combat (-4) is a little steep for a class that doesn't have a huge to hit to start, and maybe allowing a feat in ultimate magic to mitigate it (possibly instead the improved and greater varieties) like two weapon fighting does may be a good idea. Also with combat casting, the dc for the concentration check wasn't too hard, but he did still fail it on 2 of 5 attempts.
Hi Everyone. I did a preliminary run of a encounter(that includes a Magus) I plan on running against my players in my Friday game yesterday with another pair of friends not in the game. If I am introducing something untested as what is planned to be a hard encounter (which this is) I always prefer to do a dry run first, to make sure my plan isn't going to result in a party wipe. So if you are in my game, stop reading now, though really it isnt going to give much away besides the encounter itself.
Module/Adventure: This is an encounter in a modified version of the Council of thieves AP (basically I really liked volume 2 and 3 of this AP but preferred to take it off the rails into and out of those two adventures).
** spoiler omitted **...
Good stuff--I've also been worried about running out of spell slots. It's what I was trying to tell people who were worried about how many slots the Magus got vis-a-vis the Wizard. I've linked your report up to my thread of actual playtest data here.
A few more notes now that I've thought about the encounter a little more.
I found I was using equal parts battlefield control and damage spells with my Spell Combat attacks. I like the flexibility of the current list but I do think it needs more touch spells. The absence of vampire touch was particularly odd to me but maybe that is simply the avoidance of necro spells?
Either way, I found using spells like web and grease in the midst of attacking was a real asset, particularly for a class that is a little squishy until higher levels. The volume of what it can do (if it makes it's roles) is intriguing. I really do hope the flexibility of the spell list remains (or expands). If it contracts (even if it's just in type of spell and not number of spells) the asset of prepared casting/ a spell book is lost.
So just an update, ran the actual encounter today, pretty much went the way the play test went. Was a fun encounter, and at level 8 the class worked pretty well. Not sure how well it would have worked at lower levels but anyway just wanted to say that what I saw in my play test was confirmed. The combat took 6 rounds and the magus ended with 1 1st level spell left. This class has a minute workday not 15 minute.
Well, given the things you used the magus for, was it a good choice?
I mean, when staging a similar encouter in future, would you go for a Magus oder choose another class or combination of classes?
Definately. I think it played in a way that i havent seen another class play. He was able to keep the party at bay and get involved more then any other class. Spell combat (at level 8 so only two weapon fighting-esc penalties) was a big deal, made a GREAT villain, and could even be a halfway descent solo enemy. I would never have a solo enemy but I think a preped magus could do it.
I was one of the player's in the encounter, TWF fighter, and the fight was a beast. I was at 3/4 hp by the end of the fight and had to forgo my swords for a bow because the darn tiefling was flying. We got lucky because the rogue was able to hit multiple times with sneak attack and I crit hit one about a third of my attacks, but we still had a lot of health repairing after the fight.
At only one level above us, the magus was more mook then BBEG but I still saw him hitting often and casting in the same round. I would suggest what much of the community wants: Magus Arcana needs to be a pool instead of sacking spells. Otherwise I was suitably impressed with the fight.