I realize this is well outside the playtest window but I don't get to game with regular group as often I'd like anymore so I wasn't able to run a live Magus until recently.
I will be posting the party stat blocks when I can get a hold of their sheets. The important points of the party are as follows:
• 4d6 drop lowest stats (we all got lucky with solid ranges of 15 to 12, nothing stellar but nothing crippling)
• Starting at Level 1 (Magus Starting Gold/Age?)
• Elf Cleric
• Human Monk
• Elf Magus (me)
What follows is a crosspost from another forum with more intelligible after analysis. Enjoy what was probably the most humiliating game of D&D or Pathfinder I have played in almost 15 years of gaming....
Well okay, skipping the world detail the party began at 1st level, an Elf Cleric, a Monk, and me the Elf Magus. This is rare as parties are typically all human or me as odd gnome out 50% of the time. The party was basically hired to clear a caven of Kobolds. Now we didn't have to kill them just get them to leave.
Perhaps in an over display of bravado my Magus tries to Intimidate them into leaving. Taking a minute to shout our demands into the cave (low roll). With no response we proceed inside. At the first pocket caven the group sport the first kobold trap and walks around it. Here is where it gets bad. The two kobolds waiting in abush in that pocket nail my Magus with sling shots, with one criticaling, the Magus is down to 1 hp (high damage rolls, we tend to play open rolls so we all saw).
In the rounds, I believe it took almost a minute (10 rounds) to bring down two kobolds. Rolls were bad and we did try to take every advantage, I even began throwing cantrip ray attacks in desperation. The Magus and Monk Hp yo-yoed thanks to the cleric only rolling 1s and 2s on channel energy (noticing a bad luck trend here?). Finally we get a lucky streak and they go down. At this point we debate, press on or fall back. Taking stock the cleric still had enough healing to keep us going despite the bad luck star we seem to be operating under, so we press on.
Entering the next cave we get a persceprion warning about more kobolds so I cast Shield (for just that extra bit of AC), stepping around we again attempt to convince them to leave without slaughter, this effort is compounded by the presence of whelps (childeren). No go and we're attacked.
Bad luck persist but for all sides with us going a few rounds of pure miss. This has gone form frustrating to almost comical. Then the worst luck strikes. Our cleric gets hit twice, one high rolled critical and drops (-4 HP). In a mad scramble me (Magus) and Monk were left facing a single kobold. I left the Monk to try and stall it while I stabilized the cleric. That took two rounds with more missing.
Knowing my luck was not going to cut it even with a ranged touch I fell back on Daze. Normally I don't like this cantrip because it takes your action for a small chance to take away a foes action. However with the Magus 2nd level ability I saw some possibilities.
So I cast Daze, and it worked, but the Monk missed. Daze, Monk miss. Daze, Monk miss. DAZE, Monk MISS! (I think the Tetris god has a twin brother). Again almost a minute of game time as I keep the Kobold daze locked and the Monk keeps missing. I think this is perhaps the first time combat ran faster then real time.
Finally it is done with yet another level down to clear in the cave. At this point we follow an ancient elven warrior proverb, it sounds better in elvish I swear.
"Run away, come back, and burn the place down."
So we limped back to the nearby village and lick our wounds and ready ourselves to have another go (which will be another post later).
Part 2
That hope was not to be when we descended to the next level. As we rounded the corner into the largest cavern we'd seen in the place we were all hit by a Sleep spell (spellcraft told us so) from the Kobold shaman. I guess he failed his knowledge(local) because 2 of the 3 party members were elves and thus immune to it. The Monk made his save. Advantage the party for once .
Battle was on, us vs the shaman and his two remaining bodyguards. The Monk and myself rushed to engage body guards unfortunately for me it seems that the insults and aspersions I had throw at the party clerics ancestor gods were still haunting me (Did I mention that last time? I don't think I did, my Magus is quite the practical secularist... for now... considering how much positive energy has been channeled into him from the Cleric that my change soon.). However the Monk is luckier and puts his target down. A very lucky sling stone from the Cleric puts my target down.
Now it's just the shaman to deal with. At this point if your eyes haven't flicked ahead you may wish to pause and discuss among yourselves what misfortune is about to befall the group....
Ready with your answers?
On its turn the shaman shifts slightly and then raised both hands fingers pointed right at us and... Royal Rainbow! Both the Monk and my Magus got hit by color spray and failed our saves. We were down, unconscious, stunned, blinded, and totally out of the fight. This left the Cleric to save the day. He and the shaman traded sling stones and crossbow bolts for close to forty seconds of in-game time before the cleric managed to score some hits.
Ya the fight was done the kobolds who hadn't take the warning to clear out were... uh... dead at last. Only they weren't all dead. The two whelps were still alive. While the Monk and the Cleric were searching the big room I decided I was going to scare them and chase them out of the cave, I didn't want to kill them myself after all. Well it worked but as so much else this escapade it backfired. The whelps ran passed my Magus but in doing so ran right over the trigger for a pit trap, a 10 ft. by 10 ft. pit trap, part of which I was standing on as well. Of course I failed the reflex save and down I and the whelps went.
As my character was falling I decided he was going to have a change in his overall alignment and attitude. He had started out Chaotic Good and had wanted to give the Kobolds a fair chance to leave the cave without blood shed. After all a dragon was going to be taking up residence shortly so it's not like they could have stayed in the cave anyways. But every time he tried to show mercy or respect their right to live as sentient creatures it backfired hideously. As his head connected with the floor of the pit it became clear, "stop going out your way to help other creatures" was the clear message. *Crack* -4 HP, CG -> CN.
End Adventure 1: "We came, we saw, we got stoned by kobolds."
"Today's Experiment... Failed!!!" -Excel Saga
Next time on This Bumbling Magus, "Refuge in Refuse! Can I make a Headdress out of that?"
Part 3
My magus spent the first day in town restocking on supplies, a few potions of magical healing, a wand of more healing for our cleric (hope that appeases his gods ), and some materials so I could begin scribing scrolls as we travel (I love the revisions to the item creation rules, if a scroll or potion is 250 gp or less it can be made in 2 hours. During travel days you can spend 4 hours during the various stops and rests to craft 2 hours worth of items, so 1 scroll of 250 gp per day of non-combat travel )
Meanwhile the Cleric and Monk tracked down the scholar so we could continue on our next stage of the journey. As such things go for heroes things are never as simple as just paying for a map. The Scolar didn't know the actual location of the city but knew of a tome in bowels of city sewer . (First getting K.O.ed by Kobolds now a trek through a sewer, this is not what heroic adventuring of a sword swing magus was supposed to be.)
The party reconvened at the entrance. Both elves (cleric and magus) complained bitterly the smell (recall elves have a +2 to perception which is sight, sound, taste, touch and smell in Pathfinder) with many disparaging remarks about human waste management practices. Given the choice of wading through the flowing gutter or making our way slowly along a ledge, we opted for the ledge. However it wasn't long before we set upon by a trio of dog sized rats. Following the misfortune of the kobolds things started looking better for party. All except the Magus, who's rat found a gap in his chainshirt and inflicted a savage bite (plus the attendant fortitude save which was failed and is likely going to create much pain in the sessions to come).
A furious melee commenced to beat back the rats. The Monk downed his quickly, followed in short order by the cleric dispatching his rat. Meanwhile the magus swung repeatedly and futilely, finally getting assistance from the Monk and the Cleric in dispatching the rat. Much disheartened the Magus continues to lead the party forward only to encounter the next obstacle.
With elven sense overwhelmed by putrefaction we didn't notice the swarm of rats until it was almost upon us. The party began to retreat from the chittering horde as we considered our supplies and options. In a bout of collective creativity the Magus and Monk devised a Molotov cocktail from an oil flask and cloth, while the Cleric peppered the rats with sing stones. In desperation the Monk lit the fuse before the Magus could hand it to him, as the Monk had demonstrated far more robust luck at this point. This left the Magus to throw, which almost ended in disaster if not for some extraordinary last minute luck (read GM Fiat giving us Action points, an optional pool of d6s that can be rolled to increase a save, attack, or skill roll). Under a followup barrage of stones and a few cantrips the swarm dispersed and the adventures... avoided taking deep lung fulls of air in relief.
Following the scholar's map of the warren we soon discovered what the rats had been fleeing. A large reptile with massive jaws and thick powerful tail lunged erupted from the muck. However luck finally turned as it failed to snap its jaws on the Magus. Again battle erupted between the ledge bound party and a creature from sludge. Pelted by fists and stones the reptile (crocodile) swung its tail and snapped at the Magus without success. In a heretofore undemonstrated mastery of the longsword the Magus stabbed the creature in its open mouth, putting an end to fight but leaving the Magus's sword stuck through the creatures head (At long last, a two-handed confirmed critical with the sword my Magus had been swing about like a fool). At the Monks insistence the creature was wrangled up onto the walkway in the hopes it could be retrieved later. Something about making robes out of it.
Much heartened by the parties seeming turn of fortune we continued, finding a stairway which lead down into a long abandoned twisting passageway. At the end we found a thick wood door untouched by the rot and moisture one would expect. It was assumed the door was magically warded in some fashion, yet it failed to respond for distant magical nudging (open/close). Not wishing to abandon the hunt and back track to hire a suitably skilled expert, the Monk and the Magus decided to bravely face whatever cures awaited them. Putting their shoulders into it they rammed the door... and almost dislocated their joints when the door failed to yield. A subsequent paired kick brought better results from the stubborn lock but a brought gout of magical flame which singed both adventures.
Slightly charred but triumphant the party began to judiciously plunder the now open library vault until they came across the tome they were to fetch. Resting alone on a lectern, in the center of the room, surrounded by a faded circle of runes. Taking a cue from the ominous positioning the party prepared itself. When ready the Monk quickly stanched the book from its resting spot and stuffed it into his pack. As he turned to run a pentagram under the tome flared with red light. In the next moment the lectern was engulfed in a mass of molten flesh stubby half-formed limbs and barely recognizable face.
In horror the Monk just managed to dodge the creatures grasp and made a dash for the exit. Cleric also retreated into the corridor but not without a parting sling stone. Unfazed and possibly over confident in his recent success the Magus took a moment to Shield himself and then stepped up to bar the creatures path. Apparently of simple mind the creature took the bait and attacked Magus, only to be thwarted by magical shield. Still wary the Monk returned and loaded a crossbow to fire, while the Cleric continued to pepper the mound with stones, and the Magus hacked with sword (to everyones happy surprise finding his target). The Flesh creature again tried to bat the Magus out of its way but again was thwarted.
A followup of stone and bolt put further pain to the creature. In a fit of deviousness the Magus deliberately gave it an opening (Attack of Opportunity) as he charged his hand for a Shocking Grasp. Again the combination of magic shield and armor blunted the creatures attack, and it was reduced to a puddle of steaming goo by the electric touch.
Victorious the party returned to the surface, lugging their reptile prize as well. While the Magus went of with some quickly hired towns folk to negotiate skinning of the lizard (robes and accessories for the monk, and a crocodile headdress for the Magus), the Monk and Cleric returned to the scholar. Unfortunately they found his shop ransacked and no sign of the employer of the moment. A quick investigation of the shop was cut short by the town guard who were not deceived by the fanciful tales both adventures tried to spin about being in the shop. They were sure to and in irons until a final more believable lie was presented by the cleric and only cost them one of the old books we salvaged from the library.
Not so long a yarn.
An important build note, I did not take Combat Casting but instead Scribe Scroll. So I do not have that +4 everyone considers critical for a successful Magus.
In keeping an eye to playtesting the, aside from the outright abysmal luck it was fairly fun to play a more combat focused partial caster. Bards were my most played class in 3.5 so I'm used to oddities of a light armor 3/4 caster although I haven't played a caster in live game since Pathfinder was released.
One thing I wanted to try were the at-will cantrips I never would have before. Flare, Daze, and a ranged touch damage spell as backup. My other draw was using cantrips in combination with Spell Combat... which will have to wait a few weeks for the next game at 2nd level.
Spellstrike was a pointlessly cool ability. I never got a chance to use it despite keeping a Shocking Grasp in reserve in a slot that could have gone to something more valuable... like more Shield. The problem was that tactically I never had a good chance to precast it and hold the charge. The one time I had a reasonable opportunity, I hit with the touch attack so wasn't able to try using my normal attack with it. As written it's a difficult ability to use. I'm not going to precast and hold a touch spell when my better survival option is to cast shield at the start of combat and the move into melee. After that I need to disengage, cast defensively, or risk an AoO. The chance of losing an action and possibly the spell aren't in a low level characters favor. I took a risk in play based on a few attacks of not getting to risk the AoO over my low chances of defensive casting. I gambled and casting Shocking Grasp like that worked that time. I can see how at mid levels there would be more opportunity use it with more slots and longer lasting defensive buffs... but it feels like a flashy extravagance at lower levels that sucks actions and spells away from more vital actions.
The d8 HD even with a 12 Con did not give the Magus much in the way of a cushion while up in the front line. I was not unprepared for this given the melee bard I once played, but it is still a bit of a rollercoster. It would have been nice to have a Temporary HP buff spell on the Magus life. I also draw parallels with the Psionic Warrior who uses powers much the same way to help cover low HP and AC. A first level spell that gave even 2 extra HP would have made my list in place of Enlarge Person. Without a low level HP buff spell it doesn't feel as "natural" as moving into melee should for this class. I could have taken the extra HP for favored class but that seemed like a drop in the bucket of hurt that was going to come... I also like more skilled characters generally.
Daze locking, repeatedly picking on a single foe with a weak will save, was surprisingly effective use of my action while my luck was being consistently bad. Once I get Spell Combat I feel confident in taking a -4 and the forced -2 concentration check every so often to attack and cast daze at the same time. Although given how I managed to pull off Shocking Grasp with the risked AoO it would be nice to have the option of risking the AoO over making the check, especially without Combat Casting the AoO may sometimes be the less risky option.
I just read that these penalties may be reduced to -2 and no concentration penalty. That works even better add feels much more on concept. If I had that version of Spell Combat at 1st level I would have cast far more cantrips in combat instead of just missing with my longsword. With my luck at the time I likely would have failed at both, but it would have felt like I was doing more.
As I start play for 2nd level I may take advantage of a memorized arcane caster's option to not prepare all my spells at once and leave some gaps to fill in those 15 minute spurts. Especially once I've filled the survival critical spells (Shield, Daze) and have some free. That needs to be made clear in the Magus entry because I can see rule-lawyer hard cases disputing the Magus's ability to use that important option.
I really did/do like playing the Magus. It's different enough right now to the PsiWarrior of 3.5 to be interesting... but it could stand to move a little closer. The likely upcoming change in Spell Combat should do that. I really want to see an expanded spell list. Again I'll have the party statblocks up later today I dont even have my sheet on hand at the moment.
