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So reading through the discussion about items to boost spell attack rolls got me thinking about an idea for an Archetype. This is Fully admitted to be half baked, and suggestions, or observations of clear imbalance are welcome and encouraged.
A lot of spell slingers originate from Nex, but can arise in Arcadia. They are magic wielders who are masters at slinging magic fast, hard, and targeting enemy spell casters.
Spell Slinger Dedication
Uncommon, unless you are Nexian
Prerequisite: The ability to cast at least one spell with the attack trait.
You have learned to make a Slinger's Focus. these usually take the form of specially shaped wand-like items, but could also be rings, or other magical foci. You have put the runes on it necessary to let your magic fly straight and true. this Slinger's Focus requires attunement. While attuned you gain a +1 Item bonus to Spell attack rolls, but your Spell save DC gains an Item penalty of -2. Weapon Potency runes can be applied to your Slinger's Focus and their Item bonus will be applied to your spell attack roll. (Should the penalty to Spell save DC grow with potency runes?)
Further Feats would be things like letting you roll your magic tradition (Arcana, religion, occultism, nature) for initiative.
Casting AOE and save spells as attack spells.
Allowing you to pick up attack spells from other tradtions.
Getting a limited ability to lower the action cost of a spell.
Maybe a special set of feats that let you bond your focus with or turn it into a spell or staff or scroll case letting you use it's ability with those spells.
Using your tradition’s skill for initiative I think is a great way to implement the quick-draw aspect of a spell slinger for sure. However, I also think that being able to add item bonuses to your spell attacks, while also still having access to Shadow Signet and sure strike, would allow a caster to dramatically outdo even a Sniper Gunslinger in accuracy. Perhaps a class could do this with the appropriate (and severe) tradeoffs, but I don’t think altering the math on spell attack rolls works for an archetype.
Despite this, I think there’s merit to an archetype that’s all about making casters feel a little faster. Using your tradition’s skill for initiative like you mention, teleporting a short distance after you Cast a Spell, reactions to more readily counterspell or Ready a spell, and perhaps a bit of later-game action compression for cantrips could all lend themselves to a caster archetype that’d feel able to do many more quick actions than a non-spell slinger caster. There have been many moments where I wish my caster got to do two or even three different basic actions instead of one, especially on a Witch where I was often wanted to Sustain, Command my familiar, and do something else, and I’d gladly take an archetype to facilitate that.
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Can't martial get Sure Strike as well? Through ancestry feats, archetypes, or other methods?
Further I would simply find a way to word it so that it wouldn't stack with Shadow Signet, specify that attack spells targeting an enemy's Armor Class. Using the present progressive tense would make it clear that this wouldn't stack with Shadow signet.
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This is a random Idea that popped into my head that was bouncing around so much I had to put it on here. It's creation for creation's sake.
An evolution of the turning into single target idea I can think of is Maybe,
"Convert Spell" you may cast a damage dealing spell spell that normally requires a saving throw using an attack roll instead. It will only effect the one target you roll an attack roll against, no matter how many it effected before. Use your level of success of your attack roll, instead of their saving throw
"Compress Spell" If you use convert spell on a spell that normally has a an area of effect and deals damage. Expend one additional Spell slot of the next lowest level, and you may add damage dies equal to the cone length/5, the radius of the blast or emanation/5, or the line length/5.
The idea of that evolution is you are pouring the full power of the spell into a single target.
Martial classes can indeed access sure strike, but that requires taking feats and/or using magic items, which makes it a bigger investment to get the spell in lesser amounts than simply preparing it from your spellbook or adding it to your repertoire. Additionally, a single Strike is generally not as strong as a damage spell fired using one of your top-rank spell slots, so the effect is usually reduced, though this obviously changes when applying this to Strike feats and effects like Spellstrike.
It's also for a similar reason that I wouldn't be hugely in favor of converting saves to attack rolls, or AoE spells to single-target spells in order to concentrate their damage: if you want to, you already can be an incredibly powerful blaster, including when dealing single-target damage with AoE spells, and this is even more true now with the remastered Imperial Sorcerer. The main drawback of most blaster casters isn't that they don't deal enough damage, but that their damage comes from a limited number of top-rank slots per day: once they run out (which is arguably fairly difficult to do as a Sorcerer), they cease to be a blaster. If you want your archetype to accommodate blasting, it might be worth considering having it give blaster more consistency through fallback options, rather than buffing the ceiling of damage blasters can apply.
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"Slinger's Flex" You throw your magic so ready it boils at the surface palapable to all around, but especially other mages. When rolling intimidation, you may use your spell casting modifier instead of charisma, if it is different. If the (or a) target you are attempting to demoralize is a spell caster you gain a +1 to the intimidation roll. You do not take the language penalty for not sharing a language in either case. The demoralize action may lose the auditory trait, but does gain the concentration and magic trait.
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Convert spell I would have as a spell shape option, with "Compress Spell" as a once per hour addition to Convert Spell.
"Speed cast" Reduce the number of action used to cast a spell by one action to a minimum of 1 action. The spell then gains the "finisher" trait.
Penetrate magical defenses: if a target you cast an attack spell on would have resistance, immunity, or otherwise reduce the damage because of a spell effect or magical defenses, as a free action you may expend a second spell slot of no more than two ranks lower than your max, to perform a counter act check with the creature's CR as the level of the counteract check. If you succeed, your damage ignores half their resistance or other mitigation (rounded up). If they were immune, treat that as resistance equal to their CR. if you Critically succeed your damage ignores ALL of their resistance or immunity.
Isn't Penetrate Magical Defenses essentially Overwhelming Energy as a free action and with a spell slot cost? The finisher trait is also specific to the Swashbuckler and panache, so I imagine the intent is to do something else here with the speed cast spellshape being suggested here.
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So, I didn't think Finisher was so specific to Swashbuckler, you're right. I only meant you can't take another attack action after it.
And yes, very similar to Overwhelming energy, but I like the cost and the skill as it allows for even immunities to be overcome, and it is specific to magical defenses.