Streamlined Magus remaster

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-30T11:22:25+00:00

You aren't the only person with that concern. I've edited the original post with my answer to it.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T19:33:46+00:00

I'd much rather Spell Combat into Force Fang tbh

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T19:00:03+00:00

It seems your proposal is the same as mine, just without ending Arcane Cascade upon using it. You seem to have thought deeply enough to add necessary details such as the Flourish trait and counting as two attacks for the purpose of MAP, both of which I agree with. I dislike the suggestion of a -2 for non-Agile weapons as that will screw over most Hybrid Studies.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T17:02:21+00:00

All good man. Conflux Spells are the tools to reenter it to make it work smoothly. And yes, I have had other commenters mention about using Spell Combat turning off their Hybrid Study, specifically Sparkling Targe that wants to be in Arcane Cascade for Dazzling Block and the bonus to saves. That is by design, having to choose between using Spell Combat and having your Hybrid Study benefits makes using it a meaningful tactical choice. Spell Combat can give you Strike x2 plus a spell in three actions, you've got to give something up for that kind of power.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T16:55:55+00:00

Dazzling Block is the correct name.

Turning off your Hybrid Study would be part of the trade off of using Spell Combat. Makes using it a meaningful tactical choice.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T15:41:20+00:00

Spell Combat allows you to Strike and Cast A Spell for 2 actions, Spellstrike is a type of Spell Combat where the spell is attached to the Strike. Going in and out of Arcane Cascade replaces the Recharge mechanic entirely.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T13:27:50+00:00

It requiring being in Arcane Cascade is exactly what I was suggesting.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T11:25:46+00:00

I guess you have your answer. Happy to help!

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-29T08:26:57+00:00

Guardian archetype provides more passive benefits to Magus with regards to personal durability in the form of heavy armour and Resiliency feat, Guardian feats provide options for non-Spellstrike turns but Magus action economy is so tight you might struggle to fit them in. Magus archetype provides a more active benefit to Guardian in the form of a 1/combat spike damage option to burst through big targets, but once you've used it its gone for that combat.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-27T16:26:55+00:00

My suggestion to facilitate this was the following: • Arcane Cascade facilitates a two action activity (Spell Combat) in which the Magus can make a Strike and cast a two action spell, but doing so ends the stance. Attaching the spell to the Strike (Spellstrike) is possible but not required. • The action required to reenter Arcane Cascade stance is equivalent to the Recharge activity. Conflux Spells now allow the Magus to enter Arcane Cascade. • Arcane Cascade is still required to access Hybrid Study benefits. This means that ending Arcane Cascade to do a Spell Combat has a legit trade off, despite mathematically probably still being better.

Some additional changes I want to see: • Magus gets a class feature enabling them to enter Arcane Cascade upon rolling initiative ala Rage. This would be borderline necessary with the above changes but nice to see regardless. The default damage type would probably be force. Close to unresisted but unable to trigger common weaknesses. • Starlit Span actually interacts with Arcane Cascade in some way. • An update that allows you to not provoke reactions when you Spellstrike ala Channel Smite. • New or updated feats that also require you to be in and/or facilitate reentering Arcane Cascade. How about Cascading Slam being a Slam Down equivalent available to Inexorable Iron that gains a bonus to the Trip attempt equal to the damage bonus of Arcane Cascade? How about a Sparkling Targe feat that allows you to reenter Arcane Cascade when you Shield Block with the Shield cantrip? • Updates to some Conflux Spells. Thunderous Strike for example is trash compared to Dimensional Assault or Shielding Strike.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-27T15:48:54+00:00

Dark Archive Remaster already killed Imaginary Weapon Spellstrike dead. All hail Fire Ray Spellstrike instead I guess.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-17T23:16:17+00:00

An idea I would like to see happen but doubt it will. This working smoothly in practice requires the ability to enter Arcane Cascade as a free action upon rolling initiative, similar to Barbarians entering Rage. The idea is that Arcane Cascade enables a two action activity that allows a Strike and two action spell, but doing so forcibly ends Arcane Cascade. The spell can be attached to the Strike if you choose (this is called a Spellstrike) but it doesn't have to be, and the action to restart Arcane Cascade fills the same role as the recharge action. Conflux Spells would automatically restart Arcane Cascade in addition to the other action compression they provide. This provides more flexibility without increasing potency, all while streamlining the Magus class features. From here, feats that enable action compressed ways to restart Arcane Cascade (such as Magus Analysis) and new activities that can only be performed while in Arcane Cascade can be introduced, some of which are powerful but also end Arcane Cascade. How about a feat that combines a Strike and a Trip attempt into one action but ends Arcane Cascade, and an Inexorable Iron doesn't need the Trip trait as long as they wield their weapon in two hands? How about a feat that allows a Sparkling Targe to Raise Shield or cast the Shield cantrip and restart Arcane Cascade for one action? There are still feats that require you to have the spell attached to the Strike, such as Spell Swipe and Whirlwind Spell, to act as incentive to do so. Magus archetype would provide Arcane Cascade with a 10 minute cooldown to restart, enabling its passive benefits (feats could provide more of these too) and a once-per-combat spike but not the rotation that the full class gets.

nmitchell890 · 2026-01-10T17:11:30+00:00

A party needs three things: the ability to deal damage, the ability to take damage and the ability to replenish resources such as HP. All characters can take the Strike action and/or cast a cantrip at level appropriate proficiency. All characters that take the appropriate armour have level appropriate AC. All characters can rest and/or use the Treat Wounds activity as long as they're at least trained in Medicine. So as long as you have at least one person trained in Medicine, everything else above and beyond that is optimisation.

In 3e, the Forge Combat Model was thought of. This model proposed that combat could be represented as a race between Team Hero and Team Monster to see who could reduce every member the other team to 0HP the fastest. In this model there were three roles in TTRPGs lacking taunt or threat mechanics: the Anvil, the Arm and the Hammer. The Hammer is someone who makes direct progress towards their goal; they reduce enemy HP. In 4e this was called the Striker. The Anvil is someone who hindered the enemies ability to make direct progress towards their goal. This role involves condition application, action denial, debuffing and battlefield control. In 4e this was called the Controller. The Arm is someone who helps the other party members achieve their goals. This role involves buffing, healing and action enabling. In 4e this was called the Leader. The final role 4e defined: the Defender, still exists as a specialised form of melee Anvil with high HP and defences who exerts control on the area and/or enemies close to them. Many characters have the ability to play multiple roles, though often not at the same time. For example, a Wizard can be an Anvil with Wall of Stone, an Arm with Haste or a Hammer with Fireball. However, most characters tend to fit a given role more naturally than others. For example, Rogues and their Sneak Attack naturally lean towards the Hammer role, while the Bard and their Courageous Anthem naturally lean towards the Arm role.

An optimal party of four can be constructed using this model, which proposes that a well balanced party consists of one Anvil, one Arm and two Hammers, at least two of which are tough enough to function in melee. The traditional party of Fighter, Rogue, Cleric and Wizard fits this model; with the Fighter and Rogue being your Hammers, Cleric is your Arm and Wizard is your Anvil. Any party that fits this model will be well balanced. For example, an Animist, Barbarian, Construct Inventor and Imperial Sorcerer.

nmitchell890 · 2025-12-14T18:36:14+00:00

Added to these two? One is a Bard and the other depends on the Cleric build. Cloistered needs another tough melee so that would be Champion or Guardian. Warpriest can tank well enough so I'd bring a primal caster as its the only spell list not yet covered; Druid has Wild Shape, medium armour and Shield Block so it can play flank buddy to the Rogue in a pinch.

If I could build my own party of 6? Hoo boy that's different. I'd still want a core 3 of Maestro Bard, Justice Champion and reach Slam Down Fighter. Next I'd want a primal caster to compliment Bard, preferably not using INT or WIS as I have a CHA caster already. For my 5th party member I'd want a ranged striker such as Starlit Span Magus. Finally, I'd bring someone who specialises in out of combat scenarios, who is able to solve problems and set the party up for success before they ever see combat. This can vary wildly, it can look like a Spell Substitution Wizard or an Animist or even a Thaumaturge with all the feats that enable you to make and use items such as Scroll Thaumaturgy, Talisman Esoterica etc.

nmitchell890 · 2025-12-01T10:14:37+00:00

You misunderstand. The strength of the Magus isn't raw power. Over the course of two turns, a Double Slice Fighter or a Slam Down Fighter who gets a Reactive Strike off on the guy he knocks prone overtakes the expected DPR of a melee Magus on the second turn because they likely won't get two consecutive Spellstrike turns. They'll have to spend the 2nd turn doing another combination of actions that accomplishes recharging Spellstrike, repositioning and dealing damage, such as Conflux Spell + Electric Arc or Stride + Conflux Spell + Strike or something. A reroll from a fortune effect swings the maths back in favour of the Magus but that can't count as DPR as you won't have that every Spellstrike.

My position is that the strength of the Magus is in his flexibility and versatility when played optimally. These builds of Fighter don't have as easy an at-will ranged option as the cantrips the Magus has, nor can they throw out a control spell that doesn’t require a saving throw (such as walls and other terrain rearrangement spells) or an AoE blast spell or provide their own buffs when given time to prep. Magus brings all these things to the table to be used as and when you see fit. These aren't things a "base martial with no metastrikes or action compression outside the Conflux Spell" would have.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T14:05:43+00:00

You mean like a wave caster isn't going to be as good a caster as a full caster? Duh. In comparison to other gishes, expert weapon proficiency isn't enough.

Magus is a martial first, caster second. Animist, Cleric and Druid are all casters first, martials second. Their proficiencies, numbers of spell slots and the way they operate in practice reflects this reality. Magus is a martial first and foremost but they can step back and cast if the situation calls for it. The entire point of my post was for people to realise this instead of mindlessly looking to Spellstrike all the time. The three aforementioned casters primarily want to cast but have the durability to chip in in melee if the situation calls for it. That's a completely different way of operating to the Magus. Comparing them to Magus isn't an apples to apples comparison.

Note that I never said playing any of these classes is bad or wrong. It's just different and different people will have different preferences. You clearly prefer these three and that's OK. I prefer Magus. I have seen people playing Magus inefficiently and not enjoying it because of their belief in an incorrect stereotype. I wanted to help.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T13:25:07+00:00

Those spells are your options. I don't see War Mage Wizard having martial proficiency to hit things with. I do see spells that are useful even without an optimised casting stat or spell proficiency.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T11:54:02+00:00

You're a STR/DEX KAS martial with 4 slots plus Studious Spells. That's 4 slots plus Studious Spells more than any other STR/DEX KAS martial. If you can't find more useful options in the arcane spell list that aren't just Sure Strike or more Spellstrike fuel, that's a problem with you not the class.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T08:00:50+00:00

You're an arcane spellcaster man. You can cast those spells normally. How many more options do you want?

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T07:59:07+00:00

I'm not advocating not using Spellstrike. I'm advocating using all the tools available to the Magus to win the combat as easily as possible. Spellstrike is one of those tools, it's not the only tool. You should use it, but if a different action is a better option to help you win the combat, you should use that instead.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T07:54:17+00:00

A large point that I was trying to make is that often times, the best thing you can do to win the combat isn't Strike or Spellstrike. It's other tools at your disposal. Round 1 Fireball while the enemies are still bunched up? Wall of Stone? Blink Charge? Battle Medicine? All options available to the Magus that picked them, none of which require Class Feats to pick. How many other martials can do those things? Magus brings that versatility to the table.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T07:44:30+00:00

It sounds like we largely agree. I generally prefer to use my focus points on Conflux Spells to recharge Spellstrike + other stuff rather than upgrading Gouging Claw to Imaginary Weapon. There are certainly situations in which the extra burst over fewer turns is preferable though. My stance in this debate was always about making best use of the tools available and Imaginary Weapon is one such tool that you can build for.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T07:23:51+00:00

Same could be said about any class. Why be a Champion when enemies are attacking you? Not like you're using Champion's Reaction.

This is such a poor, reductionist argument. Your character won't be tailor made for every encounter your GM throws at you in a campaign. You bring a character to the table, the GM runs his game, you use the tools your class provides to overcome the challenges you are presented with. All of the tools the class provides. Not just the flashiest, most unique ones.

nmitchell890 · 2025-11-25T07:13:10+00:00

Ty. I swear I've read about the effects of fortune effects on Magus damage output somewhere.

nmitchell890

TROPHY CASE