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I have a few questions about some interactions. I have ideas but I'm just going to present the case and I'd like to hear your insights.
The character: Cleric 1, Trickery and Travel Domains/Magus 6, Broad Study Arcana/Mystic Theurge 10. The race will need an appropriate SLA to round off entry reqs for the prestige class.
By now you might see where we're going.
Using Spell Synthesis in conjunction with Spell Combat enabled through Broad Study. Specifically, when combined with Spellstrike.
How would you run it?
Are there any clarifications(required?) for casting two touch spells using the Theurge's capstone?
Any feedback is welcome. I'd like to see what people think.
Are there any clarifications(required?) for casting two touch spells using the Theurge's capstone?
Spellstrike is not an issue. It activates whenever the magus casts a spell with range "touch", so if you cast two spells the ability activates twice.
The better question is whether spell synthesis works with spell combat. The spell synthesis ability lets you "cast two spells using a single action". Since the spellcasting component of spell combat is not an action in and of itself, but rather a subcomponent of a full-round action, it's unclear whether these two abilities work together. I'd argue that they do, but it's vague enough that I'd clear this with your GM. That said, the ability can only be used once per day and it's really not any better than the "Quickened Magic" arcana, which any magus can get two levels earlier than you're getting the mystic theurge capstone.
My biggest concern with this build is the number of class features you're giving up. Forget the poor hit dice and BAB (which are painful in their own right), the mystic theurge simply lacks class features to make up for the ones you're losing out on. Magus in particular has some awesome class features, many of which stop progressing when you choose to multi-class.
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Hmmm. I disagree. Spell combat says you can cast a standard action casting time or less spell as part of your full attack action. The Mystic theurge capstone says basically that you can cast 2 equal time casting spells with the same action you use to cast one of them. Spell combat per se is a full round action. Spell synthesis is an action that has the time of the spells you cast. While spellstrike is not an issue spell combat is its own kind of action, that I don't see how to combine with spell synthesis. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see them combine.
'Spell Combat' is a special full-round action.
'Spell Synthesis' refers to the 'Cast a spell' action that is mostly a standard action.
Both are two different actions and they dont interact with each other.
'Spell Strike' in combination with 'Broad Study' and 'Spell Synthesis' should work. If you cast two touch spells with 'Spell Synthesis' you get two free attacks. With the mentioned abilitiy combination you can do this attacks with your weapon.
I believe there is a problem with how it's supposed to function, especially considering the rules for Touch spells:
If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.
Using your Spell Synthesis ability, let's say you're casting Inflict Wounds + Shocking Grasp (Lightning Death?). When you cast the first Touch spell, then proceed to follow with the other, the first one dissipates, because even though you are casting two spells with the same action, you're still casting another spell.
That being said, it's not broken to allow it to work, especially considering it's 1/day, and your spell casting abilities regarding you Cleric and Magus subjects are crap when it gets to those higher levels. However, RAW, your combination wouldn't work due to the mechanics of touch spells.
Yeah, I don't think PFS or RAW would allow it.
Personally, I'd have no problem with it in a home game.
Spell synthesis is a su ability it requires a standard action.
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I'm really much more curious about the interactions between the abilities than I am the level of power or who'd let it into their game.
I agree with Darksoul that two touch spells could not be used together.
Any other input on the abilities? Mojorat brought up a good point about the Spell Synthesis requiring a separate action that can't be used in conjunction with Spell Combat. Someone else want to weigh in on that one? I'm not sure the case is that cut and dry myself...
Spell Combat is its own Full-Round Action as far as I can tell, meaning the two are mutually exclusive, in both action economy and stackability (in terms of multiple Touch spells active on one character). In other words, you'd have to use Spell Synthesis, and waste a round before you can use Spell Combat.
In regards to Spellstrike, I'd say it is plausible, since Spellstrike only requires a Free Touch Attack from a Touch spell that you cast, though again, only one Touch spell would be active at any time, and that is the only attack you would make in that round, since you already used a Standard Action to cast 2 spells in that same Standard Action.
Not all supernatural abilities are standard actions. Spell Synthesis just says it uses "one action" to cast 2 spells. It says that both spells must have the same casting time, which could both be immediate actions, for instance, or whatever. Important part is that it doesn't define the action type.
Spell Combat says that you can cast any spell with casting time of 1 standard action as part of the full-round action. Spell Synthesis would just let you cast 2 spells in place of that one spell, with whatever action it is to cast a spell as part of that full-round action. Again, Spell Synthesis doesn't doesn't specify the action it would take, just that both spells would need to take that same action.
As for the Spell Synthesis touch attack problem, that affects all Mystic Theurges. It could be argued that they are cast simultaneously as part of the same action and hence get around the "cast another spell" wording. The wording of "Holding a Charge" says that you lose the touch spell if you cast any other spell, not just another touch spell. It seems like an oversight in the class in general as it doesn't seem in spirit with the theme of the class.
When I first saw "Cranking it up to 11" I imagined a Bard with Int 7, Wis 7, maxed out Perform (Strings) and Craft (Spandex). *Sigh*
Supernatural Abilities are assumed to require a Standard Action to activate unless specified otherwise. The Combat Chart is proof of this.
It could, but the book doesn't say you're combining those spell effects into a single spell to cast. You just cast 2 different spells with the same action type 1/day. Whether that's intended is open to interpretation, but RAW doesn't exactly support the claim, since you're still casting another spell at the time when you cast the first spell, meaning the effects of the second spell would supersede the first.