The Sparkling Targe magus has some implied support for using the Shield spell in lieu of an actual shield, via being able to cast shield with their conflux spell or being able to apply the benefits of their Cascade ability to the Shield spell as well.
But the shield spell has a 10 minute hard cooldown after blocking with it, so you can only block 1/encounter with it and you can't raise it again after you've blocked.
It might be just because I'm tired but is there something I'm missing here? It feels like there's an implication in the way some of the features are layed out that "Magus who uses the shield spell instead of a physical shield" is meant to be like... a thing, but it actually seems like a really bad in practice since you can only benefit from your blocking features 1/encounter and doing so locks you out of your raising abilities.
Could be a supplement to using your real shield, since the Shield cantrip scales a bit faster than Sturdy Shield in block value. Could also be an alternative if you have a shield you don't like to block with to save some HP once per fight.
I feel like it would be cool if the Magus had access to feat that lets them use an action to Sustain the Shield spell to extend its duration.
I feel like it would be cool if the Magus had access to feat that lets them use an action to Sustain the Shield spell to extend its duration.
What for? You can just spend an action next turn to re-cast it.
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I feel like it would be cool if the Magus had access to feat that lets them use an action to Sustain the Shield spell to extend its duration.What for? You can just spend an action next turn to re-cast it.
No, no you cannot (well, you can if you don't use the Shield Block reaction, but "you can only re-cast it if you ignore half of the spell" isn't the same)
After you use Shield Block, the spell ends and you can't cast it again for 10 minutes.
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But the spell still ends after the Shield Block. You can't Sustain a Spell that's no longer ongoing.
As far as I understand, you basically want the Magus to ignore the "can't recast" part of the shield spell. I doubt that's going to happen since the spell's hardness scales rather well and it being a once per fight thing is an impotant balancing factor.
If anything, the Magus could be able to recast Shield even after using the reaction but should still be prevented from using Shield Block with it for 10 minutes.
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Also, you don't have to block. You can keep casting it solely for the AC bonus.
Shield is also Vocal component only, so in situations where you are restrained or can't use your physical shield or manipulate actions for one reason or another, it's a pretty nice backup to have !
Shield cantrip hardness scales a little faster than Sturdy Shield (and is free) after the character is lvl 5, so it let them choose with one is better for the situation or as a back up option if your physical shield becomes broken.
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Shield cantrip hardness scales a little faster than Sturdy Shield (and is free) after the character is lvl 5, so it let them choose with one is better for the situation or as a back up option if your physical shield becomes broken.
Not only this, but also, it's essentially a free block that doesn't hurt your shield. Kinda niche, but it's not a bad trick