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A while back, I posted a class on here called the Scion: starting from the Magus and as a thought exercise on how to design the class differently, that class ended up being an anti-Magus in many respects, using the framework of a martial-caster hybrid to do the opposite of what the class is known for. This class began from the same starting point: I was thinking about the Magus, and how the class could be done differently, except this concept ended up becoming what I would call a "hyper-Magus," an idealized version of the class that takes what it's known for to the extreme. Because it makes heavy changes, sacrifices, and tradeoffs, I again preferred to present this as its own separate class, rather than as a Magus rework.
Without further ado: introducing the Spellblade. If the document doesn't format properly on your display, which is likely to happen if you're viewing it on mobile or a browser that's not Chrome, you can find the PDF for the brew here. Here's a few more details about the class, which includes some gameplay elements you'll likely recognize with some key differences:
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* For starters, let's talk about what this class doesn't have: unlike the Magus, they don't have freeform spellcasting, they don't have Arcane Cascade, they don't have focus spells, and they don't have studious spells. Their baseline features are, in this respect, much sparser, but more concentrated, though many of these benefits, as well as mechanics you'd find in the Magus's hybrid studies, can be found in the Spellblade's feats.
* What this class does have, however, is Battlecast, an ability analogous to the Magus's Spellstrike. In addition to letting you use your Strike's attack roll for your attack spells, you also get to use your attack roll for save spells, granting improved synergy with a huge range of offensive spells. The class features a sidebar for how to handle spells with powerful critical effects like slow and synesthesia and rein them in.
* Though the class lacks freeform spellcasting, they instead have spellcraft spells, spells made exclusively to be used with their Battlecast. For quite a few levels, you only have one spellcraft spell slot to use for your Battlecast, though as a Spellblade you have the unique ability to prepare your spellcraft spells in-between encounters, allowing you to use those spells without worrying about daily attrition. As you increase in level, you unlock additional spellcraft spells, though you can never prepare the same spellcraft spell more than once at a time.
* Rather than require a recharge, using Battlecast makes you overloaded: this is a condition unique to the Spellblade that prevents you from using Battlecasts, and that you can reduce with attacks based on your degree of success. The more powerful the spell you use, the higher your overload condition becomes, making cantrip Battlecasts much easier to recharge than slot spell Battlecasts.
* The Spellblade features dozens of feats, many of which give you magical combat techniques to use in-between Battlecasts. Several of these feats are hybrid actions, allowing you to use either a Strike or a Battlecast as part of the activity. If you Battlecast with those actions, you become even more overloaded, making for even more intense bursts of power that are more difficult to recover from.
* Finally, the Spellblade has one of four spellbound arts to choose from: these are your subclasses which define the tradition of spells you can Battlecast with, and grant a benefit that makes those spells easier to use: the Soul Sculpting spellbound art, for instance, gives you access to occult spells and lets you bypass immunity to the mental trait when you Battlecast.
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Though the Spellblade may appear similar to the Magus, in my playtesting experience they ended up playing very differently: as a Spellblade, you'll have plenty of different ways of combining Strike and spell thanks to your expanded synergy and feats, and many of your turns will have you deciding whether to use a cantrip for a faster recharge, a slot spell for a more intense effect, or a hybrid feat for additional utility or mobility, all for a sliding scale of burst versus recovery speed. Though you won't have daily spells to use freely nor the benefits of a hybrid study by default, the Spellblade has many things to do even when not Battlecasting, and has a smooth action economy that lets them always attempt something useful, with room to incorporate many more skills in combat in addition to Strikes. Depending on how you choose to build, you can choose to gain a bit of more conventional wave casting, additional ways to blend magic into your attacks, and even unlock new playstyles, such as the ability to infuse spells into alchemical bombs. Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy!
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