TOC:
Introduction
Playtest Group
Prior Impressions (Original Magus)
Revised Magus: Encounter List
Player-Voiced Concerns
Final Impressions
Introduction:
I've been running a Council of Thieves campaign that acquired a Magus (original version) when a new player joined the group during book 3, after the last round of official playtesting closed. He upgraded the character to the new rules when the revised version was released. Impressions of the session follow.
The encounters below are from the Infernal Syndrome.
Group (7th level):
Playtest Magus(v2)
Rogue6/Shadowdancer1
Fighter (Sword-and-board)
Cleric of Desna
Arcane Sorcerer
Prior impressions: For reference, my impressions of the (original) Magus at 6th level were middling at best--the class just had trouble keeping up with other base classes damage or utility wise. The player used spell combat a couple times, then just gave up. The player largely felt forced into the role of a mediocre melee.
*Revised Magus*
Encounters (2 sessions):
1) Roleplaying/Problem solving Encounter
The player was only loosely involved in the roleplaying encounter; things took a turn for the worse. Initiative was called, but the sorcerer pulled out Memory Lapse successfully. The group retreated. The group pulls out a bag of tricks (yes, they had a bag of tricks) and the Magus adds a dash of pyrotechnics to create a cat-astrophic distraction.
Salient point: The Magus had just gotten the revised rules for this encounter, and didn't know he could burn a pool point to prepare pyrotechnics. As a result, he had bought a scroll for this encounter. Subsequently he has stated that he intends to reserve points specifically for spell preparation. More on this later in 'Player voiced concerns'.
2) 4 CR6 Ftrs +1 CR8 Undead
With an arcane pool enhancement, the Magus dealt respectable damage throughout the combat. He otherwise conserved spells and points, leaving him a fair bit behind the fighter in damage, but he out-dps'd the rogue. A Dazzling Display was used VERY effectively on all but the undead foe.
3) Roleplaying Encounter
The Magus succeeded on two knowledge checks, adding information about a relevant spell, and a particular denizen of another plane. Salient point: The Magus used the skill list to good effect. The naturally high Int meant that the player was able to accommodate more skills than 2+int melee types typically have.
4) 1 CR9 Evil Outsider, 3 tough CR6 Evil Outsiders.
The cleric took the cake on this one, Dismissing my Big Bad Monster. The Magus was the star of the subsequent cleanup with the three Evil Outsider Mooks (who had a significant HP each) as he enhanced his scimitar, such that it was not just superior to his comrades' weapons, but also specifically keyed to their weaknesses.
5) 1 CR9 Sorcerer
A third weapon enhancement was used. Spellstrike was used heavily with a whip in this fight to mediocre effect, mostly due to low dice rolls. Things picked up when the Magus used web to limit the sorcerer's mobility, then moved up. He tried to cast something with spell combat, but failed the check. He then used burning hands with spell combat (burning away the web, of course). The player-sorcerer, as an irrelevant side note, used improved counterspell to totally mitigate several lightning bolts, but he ran out of appropriately leveled spells pretty fast.
Player Comments/Concerns:
-The player is still concerned with a lack of variety of attack touch spells for use with spell combat, mostly due to the lack of variety rather than any balance concern.
-He also actively voiced a degree of concern regarding Knowledge pool and Pool Spell, saying he felt like it was taking something from Divine and Sorcerous casters. He agreed that Pool Spell's cost made it appropriately expensive, but Knowledge Pool, on the other hand, was cheap--he intends to now use a few points daily for 'niche' spells he doesn't know but might need. He still is uncomfortable with Improved Pool Spell's 'best-of-both-worlds' capability, and flat disagrees with getting access to the whole wizard spell list ("which even a wizard doesn't get")--although that's 19th level, which this campaign won't reach. As a DM, I actually agree--I wouldn't mind seeing the Knowledge pool and Improved/greater spell pool come back as part of an 'archmagey' base/prestige class, but they don't seem to fit the Gish theme to me, and could potentially cause balance issues (but I haven't seen that reflected yet, obviously).
-The player feels that conserving Arcane Pool points is a facet of playing, but doesn't feel like he has too few--he's pretty happy with the number.
Final Impressions:
The Revised Magus's damage potential seems to be a little lower than other DPS-focused classes (when played in this manner, anyways), but utility seems to make up for that. After the revision, spell combat and spellstrike saw good use, and the weapon was enhanced several times. A full adventuring day's worth of encounters didn't see him run out of pool points, but he did have to conserve; I felt like the number of points available to him was good (opinion alert). The player is pretty happy, and other players don't feel like he's outstripping them.
My concern, and that of the player himself, is the Knowledge Pool/Improved and Greater Pool Spell abilities; the only playtesting input I can provide is that my player intends to use several of his points from now on to prepare spells he thinks he'll need for a day.
If the duration of the playtest is extended, I'll have another session's input this weekend. Otherwise, thanks for the playtest! I'm looking forward to the results!
Fizzlebolt
Could you post the build the magus used, and the eqipment he had?