| Adamarh |
Hi,
This thread is linked to another one concerning a UC eidolon. I made a separate thread so that if someone has the same question as me, it’s easier to find.
The story feat Magical Enigma lets you treat one class feature (one bloodline power, eidolon evolutions, one revelation, phantom abilities, spirit animal, or a witch’s familiar) as if you were 1 level higher or as if your INT, WIS, or CHA were 2 higher, for the purpose of that feature’s effects.
Here is how I think it works for each option. For eidolons, the difference between chained and unchained doesn’t change much here, since it mainly depends on evolutions, and those don’t differ that much between the two versions.
ONE bloodline power :
It only affects ONE power. For example, if you select the Draconic bloodline (Claws), you can choose between:
- Increase level: you gain the effects one level earlier. For example, the claws become magical at level 4 instead of 5, and the damage increases at level 6 instead of 7, etc.
- Increase CHA: you can use the claws for a number of rounds equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier + 1 (since +2 CHA = +1 modifier).
eidolon evolutions :
This one is a bit strange, since it says eidolon evolutionS, which might imply that it affects ALL chosen evolutions. Since these abilities don’t scale with ability scores, it would always be the effective class level that increases.
For example, with the Resistance evolution, you would gain resistance 10 at level 4 instead of 5, then resistance 15 at level 9 instead of 10.
Additionally, since it increases your effective level for evolutions, it might also count toward evolution requirements. That would mean a summoner could take the Large evolution at level 7 instead of 8.
ONE revelation :
Same logic as bloodline powers. For example, with the Winter mystery:
- Icy Skin → cold resistance 10 at level 4 instead of 5, and 20 at level 10 instead of 11.
- Ice Shape → usable 3 + CHA mod + 1 times.
It doesn’t allow you to select a revelation with a level requirement earlier, since you must already have the class feature when taking Magical Enigma. Also, most revelations are gained at the same levels as their requirements (often 7th or 11th), so this wouldn’t change much anyway.
phantom abilities :
The only effect I can think of is increasing the scaling effects described in the emotional focus. For example, with Remorse: Aura of Regret at 6th, Keening at 11th, and Utter Misery at 16th.
However, most of these scale based on the phantom’s HD and Charisma rather than the spiritualist’s level, so there may not be much benefit here if I understand the feat correctly.
spirit animal :
I’ve never played a shaman, so I might be missing something. Since it’s technically a familiar, increasing the effective level would give you a level 6 familiar at level 5.
If you choose the ability score increase, it might not change much, except for some spirit-specific abilities. For example, the Ancestors spirit lets the familiar “speak and understand a number of bonus languages equal to the shaman’s Charisma bonus,” so this would just grant +1 language… which feels pretty underwhelming.
witch’s familiar (not sure why this is only witch/shaman and not wizard):
Same as spirit animal, except that nothing scales with ability scores, so you would only take the effective level increase ( a level 2 familiar at level 1).
That’s how I understand it. Can you tell me if I got it right, or if I completely misunderstood something?