my beloved bloodrager got captured last night and i am looking at maybe making a Magus because they look fun.
i have been reading arcane mark is good with magus and i am trying to understand why. would anyone be able to explain how these are combed together to be something very good, i am just not getting it
In order to understand why arcane mark is good with the magus, you must first understand what the core mechanics of the magus are.
The basic two mechanics in question are Spell Combat and Spellstrike.
I don't know if you need a full summary, but basically spell combat is a mechanic that allows you to both cast a spell and make your full attack. This means you could cast fireball and make two attacks if you were level 8, or cast burning hands and make one attack if you were level 1, as a few examples.
The second ability, spellstrike, allows you to deliver spells with the range of touch(see arcane mark) as a melee basic attack instead of the allotted touch attack. The advantage here is that you get to add your weapon's damage to the normal effects of the spell.
Now, what happens when you combine spellstrike and spell combat is that you get all your basic attacks +1. So if you're level 1, you get two attacks instead of your allotted 1. If you're level 8, you get three attacks instead of your regular 2.
And finally, why this is good with arcane mark: Because it means your ability to use this combination is not limited by your spells per day. Because arcane mark is a cantrip, you can use it whenever you want, essentially giving your character all the benefits of two-weapon fighting. (however this is a comparison, don't misinterpret what I'm saying here).
The rules for touch spells say that on the turn you cast a touch spell, you can deliver it as a melee touch attack as a free action (as opposed to a standard action for normal melee touch attacks). This rule exists so you can cast a touch spell and deliver it on the same turn. Otherwise, it would take two standard actions: one for casting the spell and one for touching someone.
Spellstrike is a passive ability that grants two major benefits:
1) It lets you deliver touch spells through a melee weapon attack
2) When you get a free touch attack from the above rule, you can choose to perform a melee weapon attack instead.
Because of #2, you get a free attack every time you cast a touch spell. Since you can cast cantrips at-will, you can always use spell combat to get a free attack by casting arcane mark.
just to make sure i understand this properly:
i attack, give it a touch spell
then use arcane mark with my offhand means i can attack again
so in essence(assume a 1d8 item, with 1d6 spell)
1d8+1d6 and then a 1d8 ????
You would attack once (or more, if you were higher level), and then can deliver Arcane mark with your weapon, for a "free" weapon attack.
Arcane mark doesn't so any damage on its own, so with your 1d8 weapon it would be
1d8, and another 1d8
(plus any other damage bonus for each attack, like Strength/Power Attack/magic weapon/bard song/etc.)
If you were to use a damaging touch spell, like Shocking Grasp, you would do spell damage once you hit them with your weapon as well, so:
1d8+1d6, then 1d8.
You can also choose to cast the spell after your regular attacks. The only thing you can't do is put the spell in the middle of your regular attacks if you have more than one.
At low levels, being able to make an attack and cast a defensive spell like Shield or Mirror Image can also be really useful, and make you very hard to hit.