Suggestion: Something a Bit More Interesting During Latter Levels


Round 3: Revised Magus Discussion

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So I realized when we were discussing PrC options for the Magus that there isn't much of interest after level 11 for the Magus. Some people might want Heavy Armor, but it's not a big draw for Dex builds or anyone else that wants to maintain 30' base speed. Let me get one thing out of the way, though. I love the Magus and it will be my next PC. This thread isn't meant to bash the Magus at all.

Looking at other comparable classes after level 11, the Inquisitor gets better Judgments and more of them, Greater Bane, Exploit Weakness, Third Judgment, and Slayer. The Bard gets better at all the big buffs he rocks, Inspire Heroics, and Frightening Tune.

The Magus needs something to keep people in the class after level 11 or 12 in my opinion. Something around level 14 or 15, probably. Early enough to get in the AP's but late enough that it can be pretty powerful. Right now I feel like it hearkens back a bit to 3.5 when eventually everything got a PrC. Certainly not as bad as it was but it's just the feeling I get.

I don't know what it should be. Maybe an increase in damage caps for low level spells? Something that would make Shocking Grasp and Ultimate Magic touch spells from the level 1-2 lists good again in the latter levels.

Thanks for reading.


If all the Metamagic Arcanas used Arcane Pool points instead of being usable only once per day, getting more and more Arcana Pool points could be a good motivation for staying a Magus.


Building your Pool and collecting Arcanas, as it stands, are really the only reasons to stay Magus. Many of the later abilities of the class are either situational at best, or completely uninteresting little enhancements to cool abilities you gained in the early levels. It simply lacks any pizazz.

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Maerimydra wrote:
If all the Metamagic Arcanas used Arcane Pool points instead of being usable only once per day, getting more and more Arcana Pool points could be a good motivation for staying a Magus.

Maybe, but at the slow rate that they are added, the 4-6 levels you get in an AP after 11 aren't going to add that many points and, depending on how you cost the extra uses of metamagic, maybe only one or two more metamagics during those levels.


Maerimydra wrote:
If all the Metamagic Arcanas used Arcane Pool points instead of being usable only once per day, getting more and more Arcana Pool points could be a good motivation for staying a Magus.

This, or at least say "usable 1/day plus 1 additional time every X levels".


Simple (my thoughts only) at the same level you get heavy armour, you also get 'spell cleave' or 'spell wind'. This allows you to use cleave with spellstrike and have the spell affect the second target as well.
It would work with spring attack as well (though it might already, not sure yet) and whirlwind attack

Counterstrike should let you interrupt the caster.

True Magus is not that bad...


IMO the big thing of the Magus was the promise of casting Arcane Spells while wearing a Full plate.

As you said it is useless for high Dex builds and not desirable for med Dex builds that would prefer to wear Breastplates.
I still think that Heavy armor should also increase the Max Dex while wearing light armor.

Dark Archive

Perhaps improve upon Greater Spellstrike by removing the -2 penalty. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes a difference. Also, throwing in some aspects of Armor Training around level 10 might be nice touch. Could keep the every 4 levels progression, but put normal speed in plate at around level 15-16.


Spell combat requires a full round action to perform, so spring attack is out for that tactic, unless you stored a spellstrike from a previous round. Whirlwind attack might be allowed as it is a full round action. Whether or not that is a legal combination I'm not sure.


Mirrel the Marvelous wrote:
Spell combat requires a full round action to perform, so spring attack is out for that tactic, unless you stored a spellstrike from a previous round. Whirlwind attack might be allowed as it is a full round action. Whether or not that is a legal combination I'm not sure.

It's not. You can't do two full-round actions in a single round without some gimmick behind it (generally, spells and class features that allow you to do so).

Spell strike is "a full round action that lets you perform a full attack and cast a standard-action spell".

I agree with the lack of attractiveness of the class past Improved Pool. A magus 11/whatever is likely going to have more interesting class features, often even compensating for possible loss of caster levels. Heck, a bland boring eldritch knight will only lose 1 caster level to gain bab, hp and the same number of feats, even without spell critical.

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