1st level arcane spell Magic Missle requires 1 action. 1st level arcane spell Mage Armor requires 2 actions. Therefore it appears an arcane caster could cast Mage Armor and Magic Missle in the same turn using 3 actions. Am I missing something?
Are there any other spells that require just one action?
Feels not quite right.
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You can, sure. There aren't many spells that are one action, but doing something like casting a 2 action spell followed by a 1 action shield cantrip is fairly common. I wouldn't expect to see that done with 1 action magic missle very often, though, since your number of missles is tied to number of actions spent on the spell.
I don't see what the problem is?
Shield is a one action spell. Guidance is as well, Heal/Harm have one action variants. I'm sure there's more. There's nothing wrong with multiple spells per round.
You'll almost never want to use the 1-action magic missile though.
Spells w/ 1-action casting time are inferior to others exactly because they can be cast with full 2-action spell in the same round. That doesn't make them bad spells, since being 1-action is like being Quickened in PF1. I look for 1-action spells, especially Focus Spells.
Similarly w/ variable action spells. The 1-action version will be inferior enough that you usually want to take 2 or 3 actions unless you're casting alongside a 2-action spell (and need to!) or are spamming 3 of them (like many people suggest doing w/ 1-action Harm). To me, doing so seems a large drain on resources so I'd save it for emergencies.
As for Magic Missile, the Evoker's Force Bolt Focus Spell is effectively a 1-action Magic Missile (lame) except it's automatically Heightened (yay) and is a renewable resource (yay). Not that you'll have many spare actions nor should you build around it, but it's a nice zero-MAP, zero-save, 1-action add on.
Most 1-Action Spells are that way by necessity, as they are buffs that can apply to yourself. Or they are relatively innocuous.
Guidance
Message
All Composition Cantrips
Shield
True Strike
That kind of thing.
All Reaction Spells are technically 1 Action as well.
If you include focus spells, then there are probably a ton of them that are one action.
Elemental toss, for example, is one action. For when you want to throw in just that liiiiitttttlle bit extra blast on your elemental sorcerer. it can be nice for finishing things off after you toss out a fireball.
You'll almost never want to use the 1-action magic missile though.
It’s a great third action if e.g you just cast a 2 action spell that triggered an Orc’s ferocity, and they are going next. This is of course more palatable if you are an Evoker and effectively get 1 action Magic Missile as a focus power. It’s also a fine thing to do with a lower level spell slot once you are a higher level blaster. Definitely depends on how often the DM will hint that the monster is teetering at the brink... But yeah, in general if you are casting MM you will often spend all three actions on it.
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Why stop at 2 spells if you have 3 actions?
Magic Missile was already mentioned as a possible 1 action spell. So in principle you could burn 3 spell slots and cast three individual spells.
While this might sound insane - here is the (fabricated) true story of the wizard Schuchtern and how he saved himself from certain doom through quick thinking and quick casting of three (individual) magic missile spells.
Poor Schuchtern - he hadn't taken a single scratch yet - but he was still doomed. The last Fireball should have taken out the last of the enemies - alas - through sheer ferocity the orc warrior refused to go down. He had drawn his battle axe and followed Schuchtern all the way on the narrow ledge.
In front of him an orc warrior - badly wounded - but refusing to go down. Behind him a fall of 300 feet. To one side a wall of rock, to the other a fall as well.
Schuchtern should have remembered a featherfall in the morning - but foolishly he had opted for 3 more spells of Magic Missile. He knew the orc was able to disrupt his first spell. He also knew that whatever spell he cast second would just trigger another bout of ferocity.
But a simple orc wouldn't be the end of Schuchtern - as long as he still had his brain to outsmart the enemy. The first casting of magic missile never hit the target as it got disrupted as expected. The second casting still didn't fell the warrior as his ferocity kept him upright. But the orc went down finally when Schuchtern cast his third and last spellslot.
And he had another day to tell the story.
I admit, this situation is more then a little bit engineered. But I was looking for a situation where casting three individual spells of Magic Missile would be superior to a single casting.
Why stop at 2 spells if you have 3 actions?
Magic Missile was already mentioned as a possible 1 action spell. So in principle you could burn 3 spell slots and cast three individual spells.
While this might sound insane - here is the (fabricated) true story of the wizard Schuchtern and how he saved himself from certain doom through quick thinking and quick casting of three (individual) magic missile spells.
Poor Schuchtern - he hadn't taken a single scratch yet - but he was still doomed. The last Fireball should have taken out the last of the enemies - alas - through sheer ferocity the orc warrior refused to go down. He had drawn his battle axe and followed Schuchtern all the way on the narrow ledge.
In front of him an orc warrior - badly wounded - but refusing to go down. Behind him a fall of 300 feet. To one side a wall of rock, to the other a fall as well.
Schuchtern should have remembered a featherfall in the morning - but foolishly he had opted for 3 more spells of Magic Missile. He knew the orc was able to disrupt his first spell. He also knew that whatever spell he cast second would just trigger another bout of ferocity.
But a simple orc wouldn't be the end of Schuchtern - as long as he still had his brain to outsmart the enemy. The first casting of magic missile never hit the target as it got disrupted as expected. The second casting still didn't fell the warrior as his ferocity kept him upright. But the orc went down finally when Schuchtern cast his third and last spellslot.
And he had another day to tell the story.
I admit, this situation is more then a little bit engineered. But I was looking for a situation where casting three individual spells of Magic Missile would be superior to a single casting.
Ha! Great example and I enjoyed the story!
Jump is a great 1 action spell that lets you move farther than a move action in any direction, without concern for difficult terrain. It can be a real life save, and work almost as well as a saved against slow spell at wasting enemy actions if they aren't super fast/capable of flying or leaping. It is also a great way to trigger bespell weapon. 1 action magic missile might be worth it to trigger bespell weapon as well for a MC fighter/wizard.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I am having some "edition shock". Loved the narrative by Thod btw. :-)