Infusing Variety into the Magus


Round 1: Magus

Shadow Lodge

One of the things I love in our games is that newer APG classes like the Inquisitor and Witch, in their signature class abilities, present a good option for roleplay - while in the heat of combat.

By this I mean the Inquisitor can appeal to their deity when they use their judgement and switch it around during a climatic battle, beseeching their god for protection from harm in 1 round, while in the next asking for retribution. The witch, while using a ward hex in one round can move to giving someone a dirty look in the next via the evil eye. The players at the table love getting into character.

The magus strikes me as a class that can reward creative characters and provide a combat-oriented roleplay outlet at the same time.

Basically, rework spellstrike so that a magus can spontaneously lose ANY prepared spell to power a spellstike. Depending on the spell they lose, the effect of the spellstrike varies.

Upside: You don't need to go to something dull like an 'arcane pool' which is only a raw number to keep track of. Also, you don't have to allocate half of your already scarce spell slots to touch spells.

Basically, you'd have a section for spellstrike that tells you depending on the spell you lose, what happens. You can activate your spellstrike by giving up a spell as a move action to power your next standard action attack.

N is the level of the spell spontaneously sacrificed.

Evocation [fire]: Your weapon gains the flaming property, doing +Nd4 fire damage for N rounds on successful hits.

Abjuration: Your weapon provides extra defenses, granting +N to AC for N rounds.

Necromancy: Your weapon drains strength when it hits for the next N rounds, draining N strength per hit.

Transmutation: Your weapon gains +N to hit for the next N rounds

Enchantment: A non-lethal attack by your weapon, if it hits, can put the target to sleep for N rounds if they fail a DC10+Int+N Will Save.

Divination: By holding your weapon, you gain a +N insight bonus on one of the following types of checks for N rounds: Survival, Perception, Spellcraft or concentration checks.

The outcome - hopefully - is a chance for a player to really describe how their False Life spell (if it was on their list) becomes a strength-draining effect, or to describe how their True Strike spell suddenly helps them find water in the desert using their rapier as a diving rod.

Plus, it rewards variety in spell preparation - which IMO - is always a good thing.


Interesting idea. It may actually work.

Sovereign Court

Even if spellstrike does not incorperate them versions of these would make good arcana.

Shadow Lodge

As I slept on these, I really liked the idea of this being part of the core class - whether as the benefit of spellstrike, or the benefit of arcane weapon (granted at level 1).

The idea would be magus arcana could actually help a magus specialize and become more distinguished from another magus in the field. Someone who specializes in sacrificing abjurations could distinguish himself from someone who is a generalist, or someone who sacrifices divinations.

For example, some magus arcana could be:

Journeyman of Fire
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice an evocation[fire] spell into your weapon, the damage dice is increased to 1d6 and lasts an extra number of rounds equal to your Int modifier.

Master of Fire
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice an evocation[fire] spell into your weapon, in addition to it's regular effect, a successful hit against a creature can burst nearby creatures into flames, causing splash damage equal to the minimum damage rolled against the primary target. The magus is excluded from this effect.

Journeyman of Defense
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice an abjuration spell into your weapon, the AC bonus increases by +2 and lasts and extra number of rounds equal to your Int modifier.

Master of Defense
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice an abjuration spell into your weapon, the AC bonus gained counts towards your touch AC. You also receive this bonus to your CMD against combat maneuvers.

Journeyman of Insight
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice a divination spell into your weapon, instead of gaining a bonus to a skill check, you can instead gain the ability to detect invisible creatures as per the spell See Invisibility for a number of minutes equal to the sacrificed spell.

Master of Insight
When you use your spellstrike ability to sacrifice a divination spell into your weapon, instead of gaining any other effect, you can instead choose to gain the benefit of Clairaudience-Clairvoyance for a number of rounds equal to the sacrificed spell.

Shadow Lodge

Ah, I forgot to add that while the spontaneous sacrificing is meant to make it feel like there's more variety to the magus, there was another element to try to fix the low-level "I can do stuff in one 3-round fight, then I'm a commoner for the day" issue.

Specifically, a 1st-level magus would have this ability:

Arcane Reserve - a magus can choose to power an ability that would normally consume a spell instead by using some of their arcane reserve. They can do this a number of times per day equal to their Int modifier. The magus selects a cantrip that they could cast an unlimited number of times per day to power this ability. Once used, that cantrip can no longer be cast until the magus rests again. When using this ability, it functions as if a 1st level spell was sacrificed.

What this would allow most magus in the level 1-3 range to accomplish is to take one of their 3 cantrips, give it up the rest of the day, and get something interesting to do when they'd otherwise be bored. The numerical gain isn't substantial (+1d4 damage for 1 round; +1 on a skill check; +1 to AC for 1 round) it's at least fun to make a decision and get something.

Plus, this would allow cantrips like Detect Magic (+1 to a skill for giving up a divination) or Mage Hand (+1 to an attack for giving up a transmutation) to do something interesting - even if it's just once a day.

The net result would be a 1st level magus that feels like he has "5 magus things a day he could do."

A magus arcana could even enhance the Arcane Reserve ability to no longer consume the cantrip, and instead be usable 3+Int times per day.


Well that sounds pretty interesting although the str drain is overpowered. If you sacrifice a hypothetical 6. lvl necromancy spell and take a full-attack and hit 4 times you deal 24 points of permanent strength damage... in one round Oo. Allow a save and reduce the str drain or time it lasts.
Im not sure if the enchantment effect isn't to strong either maybe the target could get a cumulative +5 bonus for the next save against the effect and become temporary immune against it after 4 hits or something.

Your Arcane Reserve would be one attempt to overcome the weakness at lower levels.

I think your ideas might have some potential and if like mad alchemist said as arcanas

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