Hand of the Apprentice

[Isiah.AT]

I want to start off by pointing out that this is a power and as such is considered a spell. It is also scaleable from 1 to 10 automatically as all powers are and because it is listed at level 1, it is not considered a cantrip.

With that being said, with the way I am reading it, magic striker affects the weapon being used and reach increases the range of this spell to 60 feet and the other metamagic feats affect it. Further, if the weapon has any runes in it that affect attack or damage, they would still function as if a normal strike was made with said weapon. It is also an unlimited use option as no spell point cost is listed.

It seems to scale just fine due to limited range and the fact that you are picking the worst attack after calculating bonuses.

[Blave]

- Magical Striker activates when you finish casting a spell and grants you its bonus for your next attack after the fact. Casting Hand of the Apprentice includes making the attack roll and arguably isn't finished until the weapon has returned to your hand.

- It's not unlmited. The feat granting the power reads "You gain the hand of the apprentice universalist power (see page 228). You gain a pool of Spell Points you can spend to cast universalist powers. You can cast a universalist power that you have only by spending Spell Points, not by using spell slots." The only thing missing is the information how many Spell Points you need to use the power.

- Reach and other meta magic should in fact work with powers, as far as I can tell.

- Weapon runes work normally and apply all their affects on using the power.

- The power doesn't scale at all*. You need to get a better weapon if you want to improve the power. Not sure that's worth it.

*Well, its level increases, making it harder to counter, but the effect stays the same.

[Isiah.AT]

I think that part needs clarity about if it cost spell points, it is too vague as it is missing spell point cost possibly meaning it is at will. If it does have a coat, then the power is worthless and you might as well as use cantrips. Yes you have to invest in runes and other feats to scale the damage.

"Like cantrips, powers automatically use the highest level of spell you can cast from the class that gave you the powers. Unlike a cantrip, a power has a minimum level." Pg 193

You are right about Arcane Striker. With that being said, it isn't worth taking if you are a pure caster.