What about the band?


Round 1: Magus


Seems to me that no one has yet bothered looking at the Magus in relation to the other new classes. So I'm going to waste your time doing that, though not on a level-by-level basis, I have too much work for that.

I'll focus on the newest comparable classes, the Alchemist (Not technically an arcane caster, but close enough), the Inquisitor (A divine caster, but with many similarities) and the Summoner (the damage kid in the pack).

Let's start out with first level:

The Magus gets the ability to cast Cantrips, and take the advantage out of a touch spell.
Now on average he's probably using a longsword, so with some 16 str, he does d8+3 damage with a +3 hit, and can add a touch spell if he casts it first, then holds it until he hits someone with his sword. He can use light armour, so his AC will be somewhere between 14 and 19, depending on dex, which is somewhat average for a light melee class.

Compared, the Alchemyst get a skill bonus (Alchemy), a dependable damage ability (Bomb, lvl+int/day), two bonus feats (Brew potion, Throw anything), and a melee booster (mutagen).
To go against the archtype I'd use a heavy mace, which brings me to the same level of base damage (d8), but since I wouldn't go for str, as much as I'd lobby for Dex, my average would be lower. That is until I take my mutagen. Let's say I have 12 str, that brings me to 16 when on mutagen, and it lasts a nifty 10 min per level. So it brings me to the same hit and damage level as the Magus (+3, d8+3). On top of this, I have a nice load of bombs, and about the same level of armour (14-19), probably higher than the Magus, since I focus on dex). And I even get more Skill Points and more spells to chose from.

Equals: They both get the same number of "Spells per day", same HD, 2 good saves (though they differ slightly). They both get a spellbook in some form and can thus both learn their entire spell list over time.

Concerns: The Magus and the Alchemist have roughly the same melee abilities at this level, but the Alchemist is awarded 2 bonus feats, a skills bonus, and a nifty ranged attack that he can boost at later levels. Besides that, he also get a personal boost ability that roughly equals an Amulet of Natural Armour +2 AND a stat item +4, for 10 min.
The Magus only get an attack ability that actually lower the effektiveness of his touch spells (since they lose the "touch" quality). Besides that, all he has to show for his efforts is Cantrips, which hardly makes up for anything the Alchemist gets.

Offsets: The only thing that makes it up a little for the Magus at this level is his Martial weapons proficiency. And that seems rather unfair since his basic weapon will most likely do the same die damage as the Alchemists (d8).

I'll return with a look at the other levels later, for now I must go to work.

Enjoy your crunching ;)

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