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So after reading the Magus Playtest and several of the threads regarding ideas on how to alter it, I thought about how the ability would look like if you tried incorporating it with the old idea of having the Magus use a stance as part of their spellstrike.
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Striking Spell Stance [2 Actions]
You enter a stance which allows you alter a spell to combine it with a martial attack. While in Striking Spell Stance, your melee Strikes gain the fortune trait and you gain access to the following ability.Spellstrike [Free Action]
Trigger: You hit a target with a melee Strike while in Striking Spell Stance.You exit Striking Spell Stance and Cast a Spell that can target one creature or object as a free action. Instead of casting the spell as normal, you deliver the spell through your weapon (or body for an unarmed attack) and the spell only affects the target you hit.
If the spell requires a spell attack roll, use the same dice result as the triggering attack while applying the spell attack's modifiers to determine if the spell hits and do not increase your multiple attack penalty until after both the Strike and spell attack roll.
If the spell requires a saving throw, the target rolls their saving throw as normal but takes a -2 penalty if the triggering attack was a critical hit.
Buffs:
Nerfs:
Reasoning:
Working off the existing Playtest ability allows the Magus Synthesis to easily be applied to entering the stance. Using a stance also allows the Magus to be more flexible about when/how they trigger unleashing a spell through their attack. Additionally, seeing the attack roll before deciding on what spell to use makes it much less likely to "waste" your major class-defining ability with limited spell slots. Finally, it provides some benefit over just casting+attacking since you can enter the stance while out of range and discharge later in combat + you get to see the dice roll you'd use for any spell attack rolls before deciding to use those spells, practically guaranteeing a hit.
Overall, this is my first idea since reading through everything before getting my group together to see how much we can Playtest before the deadline, so I'd love to hear what other people think.
So after reading the Magus Playtest and several of the threads regarding ideas on how to alter it, I thought about how the ability would look like if you tried incorporating it with the old idea of having the Magus use a stance as part of their spellstrike.
.Striking Spell Stance [2 Actions]
You enter a stance which allows you alter a spell to combine it with a martial attack. While in Striking Spell Stance, your melee Strikes gain the fortune trait and you gain access to the following ability.Spellstrike [Free Action]
Trigger: You hit a target with a melee Strike while in Striking Spell Stance.You exit Striking Spell Stance and Cast a Spell that can target one creature or object as a free action. Instead of casting the spell as normal, you deliver the spell through your weapon (or body for an unarmed attack) and the spell only affects the target you hit.
If the spell requires a spell attack roll, use the same dice result as the triggering attack while applying the spell attack's modifiers to determine if the spell hits and do not increase your multiple attack penalty until after both the Strike and spell attack roll.
If the spell requires a saving throw, the target rolls their saving throw as normal but takes a -2 penalty if the triggering attack was a critical hit.
Buffs:
Using a stance allows the ability to extend beyond 2 rounds without causing the spell to fizzle if you keep rolling bad and don't hit anything or the enemy movements / battle terrain make it unrealistic to attack the following round.
Using the dice result of the triggering attack for spell attack rolls should help with the perceived issue of rolling twice.
Don't have to use Spellstike and exit the stance if your attack ends up hitting something that will likely die from just the attack and doesn't need Spellstrike.
Deciding what spell to cast after you hit (& see the dice result) allows you to use Cantrips and/or Save spells on Strikes where...
Really like this.
This would give us the ability to actually make the slots count while also preventing True Strike spamming, which seems to be a concern for those that do not favor that route
Would be nice if while in the stance things like energized strikes and magus potency activated.
Yeah, I was wondering about including a minor passive effect while in the stance rather than just entry/exit. While I dislike Magus Potency (ABP exists & makes this redundant during many levels, as does simply buying proper expected equipment), a variation of energized strikes could be really handy.
If you wanted to nerf the power of selecting a spell after seeing dice result and make the stance a bit more like the current version, energized strikes/bespell weapon could be a good baseline for enhancing your strike based on the stored spell. Maybe something like this:
Striking Spell Stance [2 Actions]
You enter a stance which allows you alter a spell to combine it with a martial attack. When entering Striking Spell Stance, Cast a Spell that requires two or less actions and can target one creature or object. Instead of casting the spell as normal, you place its magic into one melee weapon you’re wielding or into your body to use with an unarmed attack.While in Striking Spell Stance, you gain access to the Spellstrike action. Additionally, your melee Strikes while in Striking Spell Stance gain the fortune trait and deal 1 additional damage of a type depending on the school of the spell you cast while entering Striking Spell Stance.
• Abjuration force damage
• Conjuration or Transmutation same type as the weapon
• Divination, Enchantment, or Illusion mental damage
• Evocation a type the spell dealt, or force damage if the spell didn’t deal damage
• Necromancy negative damage---
Spellstrike [Free Action]
Trigger: You hit a target with a melee Strike while in Striking Spell Stance.You exit Striking Spell Stance and the spell casted while entering Striking Spell Stance is discharged, affecting only the target you hit.
If the spell requires a spell attack roll, use the same dice result as the triggering attack while applying the spell attack's modifiers to determine if the spell hits and do not increase your multiple attack penalty until after both the Strike and spell attack roll.
If the spell requires a saving throw, the target rolls their saving throw as normal but takes a -2 penalty if the triggering attack was a critical hit.
I really like stances in general. I'd love it if Magus incorporated one.