MAGUS CLASS GUIDE (Part 2) - Pathfinder 2e

[@Nonat1s]

I messed up a few things here! (Thank you comments for pointing them out!) 1. Your spellstrike is recharged after using ANY conflux spell that costs at least 1 action, so Force Fang is MUCH better than I originally though! 2. Cascading Ray's Spell Attack is at the same bonus as the spellstrike that caused it, making this feat freaking insanely powerful.

[@MySqueezingArm]

It takes a man to admit their mistakes. Thank you sir

[@zabetakis15]

Depending on type of play, Emergency Targe is borderline broken compared to most defensive reactions like the Rogue's Nimble dodge that has as a trigger "A creature targets you". Emergency Targe has as a trigger "An enemy hits you", so if the GM says "Does a 24 hit?" and you have 23 AC, you can say "It normally would but now it doesn't." Also there is nothing that states you can't use a magic item with Spellstrike as long as you use the "Cast a Spell" action. Which makes your statement about Striker's Scroll correct. However, I believe Striker's Scroll was mainly made for the Inexorable Iron and the Sparkling Targe Magus. Regarding the part where you talk about Cascading Ray. No amount of time goes by between your turns. Your third action in a turn with the first action on your next turn, have the same time between them as your first action and your second action in a turn. There just has to be a point where other people take their turns between your endless combos to do their stuff at the same time. Keep up the good work my man. Love your videos, love your energy. Peace

[@ezrafaulk3076]

I don't think Paizo means *including* the magus themselves when they mention the spell strike doing splash damage; it's *entirely possible* to have a splash go in every direction *away* from the tool and the tool wielder *making* the splash. I think *that's* what they mean; the splash does damage to every creature within the splash area *but* the magus making the splash.

[@KalaamNozalys]

@@zabetakis15 Scroll also let's you prepare the scroll ahead of time instead of having to pull it out of your belt or bag mid-combat.

[@12thLevelSithLord]

@@zabetakis15 I believe the swashbuckler has a similar reaction, where they can only use their Nimble Dodge esque ability if it would make a difference.

[@Dareon0]

Spirit Sheath: "Is that a longsword in your pants or are you just happy to see me?" Passes check: "That's a longsword."

[@Frog_Wizard801]

Well played

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Por que no los dos?

[@KalaamNozalys]

There is one thing I absolutely love thematically in the Magus' mechanics, it's the end result of Arcane Cascade. When it's active, by combining your martial prowess (weapon specialization) and magical abilities (casting a spell to enter the cascade) your damage on strikes with a weapon become superior to a Fighter (legendary weapon specialization). You become equal to a specialist by merging your two different skills into something greater. And I love that. To explain: a fighter at level 20 with greater weapon specialization and legendary proficiency in a weapon gets a flat +8 on every strike. A magus of the same level, being only Master, gets +6 from specialization. But with the stance on, you get a flat +3 (that can be of the weapon's damage type) for a +9 on each strike. It's small, but I just love this detail.

[@HenshinFanatic]

Ah, but that Fighter also has Level+8 for Legendary Proficiency on the attack roll vs. the Magus' Level+6 with Master Proficiency so the fighter is 10% more likely to critically hit thanks to the Target Value + 10 = Critical Success rule, and even on a natural 1 will still likely get a normal success since they can devote less Ability Score Improvements to mental stats only really caring about Wisdom for Will Saves.

[@abandonmentissues1887]

Additionally if your a laughing shadow magus and you have distracting spellstrike that damage goes up even further being (6 + 7 from laughing shadow plus your spellstrike modifiers so plus an additional 9-10 getting a total of plus 22-23 damage if my math is correct)

[@lugh.i]

Nonat, Force Fang is one of the best 2nd level feats. Remember all conflux spells recharge your Spellstrike, so, one focus point for insta-damage and recharging spellstrike is amazing.

[@something9105]

Wouldn't Force Fang trigger reactions if you have to use it in melee?

[@camerondyer4859]

^this. He is completely right. Still hard for me not to take expansive instead though lol

[@lunaris6096]

@@something9105 so does spellstrike since it also includes casting a spell

[@criminalmatrix6]

@@something9105 sure but so does spellstrike most the time because you are casting the spells into your weapon.

[@lugh.i]

@@something9105 Yeah, but what the rest above me said.

[@Atrianpaul]

all conflux spell recharge your spellstrik (even if not writed on the spell it expresed on the spell strike feature)

[@cz1822]

Note: you cannot hide a great sword with Spirit Sheathe. The feat has a maximum bulk of 1, and a great sword is bulk 2

[@williammclyr3330]

But you can hide a bastard sword, which is greater greatsword

[@tristanmitchell1242]

@@williammclyr3330 Technically, a "Greatsword" is supposed to be a two-handed sword (referring to hilt length), while a "Bastard Sword" is supposed to be a hand-and-a-half sword (basically the IRL form of the Versatile trait). So it is a Lesser Greatsword, not a Greater Greatsword. A Greater Greatsword would be something like the Buster Sword from FF7, or a Daiklave from Exalted.

[@williammclyr3330]

@@tristanmitchell1242 I was referring to the fact that bastard sword is overall much better weapon in pf2e than greatsword

[@moekitsune]

​@@williammclyr3330IIRC the bastard sword is 4gp while the greatsword is 2gp which might allow you to buy some extra equipment

[@williammclyr3330]

@@moekitsune this is irrelevant after first few levels.

[@discoverybg31]

The spell attack roll for cascading ray is at the same multiple attack penalty as the spellstrike, not at the additional -5. This also resolves your issue for the next round ray.

[@kyleflanagan963]

Cascading Ray specifically says that it makes the attack at the same Multiple Attack Penalty as the Spellstrike it's being triggered by.

[@robertgreen6858]

Arcane Shroud is not until end of next turn, its end of next turn or spells duration, whichever is longer. So if you cast a 1 minute duration spell the arcane shroud spell lasts for a minute.

[@procrastinatinggamer]

Runic Impression being self-only may also be because it’s a 2e adaptation of a 1e Magus class feature. In 1e they had a pool of points called an Arcane Pool and one of the uses for it was imbuing weapon enhancements into your weapon temporarily, like granting it the flaming property on the fly.

[@lugh.i]

Distracting Spellstrike is "meh", but not really because of what you said. Remember Laughing Shadow gets more damage when you attack a flat-footed enemy, so it's a nice damage and accuracy boost and adds another action to the already action efficient Spellstrike. The problem is it depends on your Deception and, as a magus, you're not gonna have a lot of boosts to spare for CHA, as you'll need STR/DEX to fight, some INT for your spells and CON to survive.

[@katsumaeda5615]

So you can actually dump int as a Laughing Shadow magus because most spells don't actually add your int mod to damage. To make your damage more consistent, you can take an innate spell from one of those two elf feats as a half-elf and innate spells always key off of cha instead of your casting ability. So you can just go 18 dex/str and 16 cha.

[@noname-do5wo]

@@katsumaeda5615 you could but that will really hurt your round to round damage (when you use cantrips and such) because you are pushed to be a Dex Magus for laughing shadow and you not adding much into to your cantrips, while it might be good at higher levels your early game will suck

[@katsumaeda5615]

@@noname-do5wo you can totally go str magus. The movement speed bonus you get from running light/no armor is not an amazing benefit which is the primary incentive to doing that. Yeah, positioning for flanking is helped by a high dex as well, but there's almost no reason not to go str if you prefer that. And as I said before, you can add your Cha to damage on your one damage cantrip.

[@lugh.i]

@@katsumaeda5615 Yeah, not a bad idea.

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Don't need Int

[@Ezekieru]

Aside from the Conflux spell stuff people has already pointed out (Force Fang is fantastic, btw), Cascading Ray does not suffer a -5 to MAP after Spellstrike, 'cause the description of the feat says to "use the same MAP as the Strike" for Cascading Ray. It's a lot better than what is said here.

[@acdcguy18]

I hope when you're looking at Dimensional Disappearance (27:27), you're taking into account that Dimensional Assault requires you to be in range of a creature in order to cast it.

[@aventuraenlafogata649]

The quickened action can't be used to Spellstrike, because Spellstrike is an activity. Hasted Assault requires you to use the action to Strike (basic action), it does not allow you to use an activity that contains a Strike. More info in: Subordinate Actions, Core Rulebook 462 --- On another note, you can Dispelling Strike with your no lethal fists and just knock out those poor NPCs

[@AlcarinKitsune]

Wait, for real? Than Supreme Spellstrike doesn't actually allow you to Spellstrike with the quickened action it gives?

[@aventuraenlafogata649]

@@AlcarinKitsune surprisingly... No. It clearly states that you can strike or recharge spellstrike, you can't use it as part of the spellstrike itself. It's still a pretty amazing feat

[@prattdespain5994]

Arcane shroud lasts until the end of your next turn or the spell duration whichever is LONGER. Use it to give yourself heroism for 10 minutes, not one turn. Seems more powerful than you thought.

[@platyclysm4633]

I’m certain someone else has thought of this or brought this up already, but: Lunging Spellstrike, Expansive Spellstrike and Whirlwind Spellstrike. With a 10th level spell, your pick really… you spin your staff around in a 55-foot radius and attack every enemy therein. Then, from somewhere in that massive area, say wherever the BBEG may be standing among this horde of enemies, there is a smaller but still incredibly intense explosion of energy. Twisting Tree Bunker Buster/Nuke Magus will absolutely be my next high level PC.

[@pangolimazul6055]

You can't, both Lunging Spellstrike and Whirlwind Spellstrike are separate activitues,not alterarions to the spellstrike,so they can't be combined

[@shrimpisdelicious]

One of the things I like about the Spell Swipe feat is that it encourages you to make an Axe Magus.

[@austinobst8989]

Or polearm magus with a sweep weapon

[@larrywilliams6116]

I prefer the machete it has sweep and deadly.

[@KalaamNozalys]

Careful ! Cascading Ray uses the Spellstrike's MAP. So you only have to deal with your lower proficiency (which more or less make it equivalent with a strike with an agile weapon)

[@oatsen1618]

I think distracting spellstrike is better than you think. With it, you can feint (increasing hit and potentially critical chance) then recharge spellstrike and do it again with your last action. Or move then do the combo. Or recall knowledge.

[@austinobst8989]

It's a free feint everytime you spellstrike. Great action economy

[@12thLevelSithLord]

I'm way more into a free feint every round than a +3-6 damage that happens only sometimes.

[@4freeedom]

wtf, the "turn to camera and say a random name" bit at 2:00 was finally my name and actually scared the fuck out of me for a second lmao

[@guardianfail8067]

I think you’re sleeping on Fused staff. I created a Lv 5 staff using the rules in SoM. So now, at lv 8, I have 4 extra level 1 spellslotd for my spell strikes. Came in handy on a recent dungeon we did.

[@tristanmitchell1242]

If you are using a ranged Magus, you can use Fireball and the like, since your target might be farther away.

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Staff Magi can cook after a bit.

[@joshuahendershot196]

For the purposes of Striker's Scroll, I just double checked a Talisman takes 10 minutes to affix, unless you have the crafting skill feat Rapid Affixture, which makes it take 1 Minute instead, or a Three Action Activity if you're Legendary in Crafting so if you really wanted to do that either you(or an ally with both prerequisites of the skill feat and legendary in crafting) could spend their entire turn affixing a scroll to your weapon in combat.

[@BobHerzog1962]

The main point of picking Force Fang is to get an early 2nd Focus point, if your base conflux spell is very good.

[@kellerharris2593]

I like the idea of being a Starlit Span Magus who uses a blunderbuss with Striker's Scroll, and instead of wrapping the blunderbuss with the scroll, you wrap up the shot pellets in the scroll and jam it down the barrel of the gun

[@stonehermo6531]

For magus gunslingers, force fang would be a great way to stay ahead of reload economy while recharging the spellshot

[@MakenaForest]

i know it doesnt matter to the video, and i already have secrets of magic so the rest of the video is kinda just me invalidating my own purchase, but "ladies, gentlemen, enbies" got a subscription. thank you for being one of like 3 ive found so far to actually acknowledge us in a non-negative way.

[@Xani13]

Okay this two part guide series has taken the Magus class from "something I am considering to play to see how long I can put up with it" to "OMG *HOW* have I slept on this class for so long!?"

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Using FA I played a Magus Luchador, taking Wrestling feats and I was Never unhappy!

[@natanoj16]

I still want to play a Magus in Extinction Curse and be a sword Swallower with the Spirit Sheath

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Sounds very cool!

[@DonkeyDoormatDrive]

RAW You should be able to Cascading Ray using the consecutive turns so long as you don't take any reactions or triggered free actions in between as those are kinds of actions. Your last action reference and next action reference do NOT change or become invalid between turns.

[@mjdragonmaster6559]

Also it's not "6 seconds go by" before your next turn starts, a round happens over the course of 6 seconds and what happens in your turn is what you do in that time. In game your turns happen right after each other, it'd be weird for you to just be standing around for that long.

[@edreppert3091]

@@mjdragonmaster6559 Agree. From another system (Harnmaster) "This is a crisis resolution system that can be used whenever action sequencing is critical. The GM switches to the combat system whenever it seems appropriate to resolve action in “time ticks” of ten seconds." Also "A round, lasts ten (10) seconds, but this should not be taken too literally - ten seconds is only an average. Some rounds last longer, some less. In the final analysis it does not matter how long actions last. What matters is the order in which events occur: Does this character get the spell off before being cut down by the broadsword?"😎

[@dnominic]

Not sure where you're getting this RAW from but Logan Banner on How It's Played confirmed that any "Your last action" abilities only count within the same turn, whether it's metamagic or a monster's ability.

[@yanimustapha4506]

As someone who invested in deception and distracting spellstrike with assurance in deception, feinting often means more chances to critical hit like a fighter.

[@Blizz3112]

Its not only that, the whole build is focused in dealing additional damage while enemies are flat-footed...

[@Jason-ji8ql]

I applaud the opening joke. It felt surprisingly accurate 😅

[@Ultra_DuDu]

I'll take Strike Scroll with my Rogue. He will have a lot of proficiency in Arcane and crafting so it might be fun to use scrolls as a kind of expensive high-damage ammo for his spellstrike. Now I just have to find the space for it...

[@Protagonistish]

After having played level 10-12 as a sparkling targe magus, i believe there may a great gain from force fang. The sparkling targe conflux spell shielding strike is quite awkward as a magus. Using it after you spellstrike you get to raise shield and attack at a -10 penalty, which is not much better than just raising shield (Aside from the fact that you recharge spellstrike). If you use it in a round where your spellstrike is down and you have all 3 actions, you have the choice of recharging spell strike with shielding strike, and then doing spellstrike at -5, which is worse than just recharging and doing spellstrike. An other alternative is Arcane Countermeasure - which is very situational, and only works against spell effects - even at level 10-12 encounters, there are a surprisingly few encounters where that makes a difference - and we just fought a litch. In that encounter i resisted 0 damage from arcane countermeasure. Another alternative is runic impression, but since it does not stack with runes, and you are already able to target weaknesses efficiently, and since runic impression does not affect golem weaknesses, it seems a worse option for magus than Arcane Countermeasure. As a result i believe i may change my level 8 feat choice from arcane countermeasure to force fang, when i get the opportunity. Building the sparkling targe character less tanky than i do, you could choose it at level 2, and have access to spells swipe at level 8 or something similar. But for me, gaining the sentinel dedication at level 2 is key to being the main damage soaker - while still pushing out massive damage with spellstrike.

[@Atrianpaul]

the actions gained be the quickened condition can't be used on activities so... you couldn't use it for spellstrike (the monk is the only one that I remember that gain the quickened condition for stride, leap or privide 1 of two action on high jump or long jump)

[@evilsbane2112]

"I don't know how you stop players like this without crazy high level npcs." So, this can always be a problem at tables, but I find the answer is you don't in game. It is very much an out of game thing. "Hey, we don't really run that type of game here, sure you can get away with it, but the person did see your face, or saw you there so it is going to hurt the parties reputation. Also even if you get away with it, you will certainly be throwing the balance of the game off."

[@12thLevelSithLord]

Agreed. The way to deal with players trying to abuse a thing is rarely to engage in counter abuse, it's to handle it out of game.

[@anthonyellison5998]

I’m honestly a little disappointed they didn’t do more with scrolls for magus. Something like letting you attach scrolls to multiple weapons if they have the thrown property, or letting you use scrolls when using one handed weapons for spellstrike. Just something to use scrolls in some fashion, like they did with thaumaturge and talisman’s. I just love scrolls as an idea and wanted something more

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

I really like the hanging little spell scrolls off of items. (Ofuda?) I think you can attach them to Melee, and Thrown, as well as ammo.?

[@lebombjames3911]

14:48, Scrolls are activated with the Cast a Spell activity, so I don't know why you *can't* just use it as part of your Spellstrike, hands allowing.

[@Bhrymm]

Though spellstrike is a combined activity that specifically isn't "Cast a spell". Hence why most metamagic doesn't normally work with it. I don't know how it would work

[@lebombjames3911]

@@Bhrymm Metamagic doesn't work because your next action isn't Cast a Spell, it's Spellstrike. Spellstrike does include its own "nested" Cast a Spell. Honestly, Spellstrike could use a few clarifications and FAQs to clear things up (or maybe erratas to make it not provoke AoO pls Paizo)

[@Bhrymm]

​@@lebombjames3911 yeah, I mean I agree that you should be able to use a scroll with it, just its worded weirdly. Also, Spellstrike doesn't provoke AoO. It doesn't have the manipulate trait

[@12thLevelSithLord]

@@Bhrymm The Cast a Spell action you use during a Spellstrike does, though.

[@TrippyTheShroom]

Magus looks like a blast to play.

[@darc3vil]

Yes it counts as a strike . So can spellstrike, regain your spell strike and enter arcane cascade in one turn

[@aventuraenlafogata649]

If you are talking about the quickened action, that's not how it works. Subordinate actions on page 462 explains it

[@macsusmusic]

Just a note, I think you misread the Cascading Ray Feat. It says "Make a spell attack roll against the new target's AC, AT THE SAME MULTIPLE ATTACK PENALTY AS THE STRIKE." So it does not increase your MAP. I'm fairly confident that Paizo worded the requirement the way they did to be more lenient so the Cascading Ray functions identically to the Arcane Cascade stance.

[@justincampbell5987]

If you have natural attacks you can still spellstrike with unarmed attacks without taking arcane fists. My crocodilian lizardfolk twisted tree magus says so

[@Parker8752]

So, for expansive spell strike, you can absolutely be outside of the range of a fireball - you can use ranged weapons for spell strike, so you can go ahead and snipe an enemy with a fireball.

[@Nonat1s]

Forgot about Starlit Span! That's an excellent point!

[@gm9460]

What about twisting tree with the crazy reach ?

[@LoredanSunstrider]

37:53 Weird or Horrid Whilting are awesome on this

[@Dareon0]

Cascading Ray is even better as it says in it that it uses the same multiple attack penalty as the triggering strike, so you most likely will not take a -5 to it.

[@ColdNapalm42]

Preternatural parry isn't the same as nimble dodge. Nimble dodge lasts for one attack, preternatural parry lasts until the start of your turn...which is in effect +2 to AC and saves for EVERYTHING other than AoO.

[@austin80112]

Cascading ray is at the same MAP as the strike, so the point about waiting until the next turn when MAP resets is a bit of a moot one. It's a very good feat.

[@imreborbas9029]

Spell swipe seems nice since it reduces the chance that you waste the spell slot since you get to use it if either attack hits.

[@robertgreen6858]

Also with arcane shroud you also get to go into arcane cascade. So it doesn't effect your action economy which is nice.

[@SuikoRyos]

Force Fang is a Conflux Spell. ALL Conflux Spells recharge your Spellstrike.

[@SuikoRyos]

Also, Cascading Ray states that it uses the same MAP as the triggering Strike. So if your Spellstrike was at -0, your Cascading Ray would also be at -0.

[@grimasialander7183]

I just realized that Riven is a Magus with a Soul Forger dedication.

[@zenvariety9383]

Would be cool if you have a Magus create armor that grants him or her immunity against certain types of damage or at least resistances.

[@noname-do5wo]

You could use soul forger architype for that

[@willbrashear]

Decided to Orc half ifirit to play with fireball spell strikes... in the reign of winter campaign... just wait for my horrid wilting spell strike...

[@something9105]

I'm pretty sure Force Fang recharges spellstrike. I don't think it's great either though

[@jonahmanuel1628]

Friendship over with bladesingers, best friends with magus now

[@rickbau7476]

a magus video on my birthday, i like it

[@jasonpcrawfordauthor]

Yes! Was waiting for this!

[@slykins2006]

Force Fang does recharge your Spellstrike. All Conflux spells recharge it. It is part of the Conflux rules

[@PyroMancer2k]

Spirit Sheath seems like a waste of a Feat when you can just buy Sleeves of Storing. It's what my Alchemist uses to carry all those items he crafts every day. Lunging Spellstrike + Fireball = WIN ;) Magus, "Don't worry, I'll beat the devil out the villagers." Magus uses Dispelling Spellstrike.

[@kyleflanagan963]

Wait, Force Fang doesn't recharge Spellstrike? I thought any Magus Focus spell recharges Spellstrike?

[@camerontaylor612]

You're right, i expect he just missed that in the Spellstrike rules

[@biotechhazard2742]

30:59 - 31:08 You forgot to mention that the necromancy school part of Sustaining Steel also states you can change the damage type from Arcane Cascade to positive if you wish. And will not mindblown it can come in handy when dealing with undead/negative healing creatures that it also mentions. But yeah like i said last time the magus has bin refined sinds the playtest and I really like the playstyle variety of the magus's Hybrid Studies and there feats. Inexorable Iron being the two handed weapon magus with some focus on aoe damage & self-healing (besides Capture Magic I think Expansive Spellstrike work well going into Arcane Cascade and follwing up with Devastating Spellstrike next turn to add to the aoe damage or feats like Cascade Countermeasure for more tankiness), Laughing Shadow being a unarmored one handed (kinda like Sword Saint in kingmaker) or unarmed magus that also focuses on mobility & stealth, Sparkling Targe being a sword and board or (sinds: Shield Bash, Shield Boss and Shield Spikes are melee attacks) a shieldstrike magus that focuses on defense/damage mitigation, Starlit Span of course being the spell archer but can be a weapon throwning (or a guns with guns and gears) magus with some focus on visibility and finally Twisting Tree being a staff wieling magus and will diverse magic dus has some focuses on attacking multiple enemies (especially with Lunging Spellstrike that is giving me Ruyi Jingu Bang vibes).

[@thecourtjester1410]

28:51 wukong is that you?

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Add in Mythic feats, and Wu Kong lives! LOL

[@arcanjosna]

A F****** love you, Nonat 1s!

[@breadknightrg3077]

God I love these guides

[@testprime4248]

get 2 weapons, once you run out of spell slots you get the backup weapon and you attack with another spell strike. Is cool.

[@theactorsdungeon3898]

Oye! More cool classes to add to that list of cool classes I want to try out 😅

[@mneoct]

don't know how often you read comments on "old" videos, but this video is missing on the Class Guides (PF2) playlist.

[@Nonat1s]

I read comments all the time! Thank you! I will fix it right away!

[@couver73]

Now that I'm thinking about it, Nonat kinda has a point about the quickened condition. Can you use that additional action alongside any of your normal actions to take 2-action or 3-action activities that meet that action's requirements? Spellstrike is a prime example, as it says you make a Strike as part of it (though it also says you Cast a Spell, so kinda wonky). An easier example is Fighter's Sudden Charge. If you are effected by Haste, can you use Sudden Charge by supplementing that additional action? If so, quickened is POTENT in the right hands.

[@castrochris94]

Interesting how your opinion changes from magus to ranger when talking about bonuses gained from knowledge feats

[@g_vost]

you may be able to work with your dm with this, but i think a target that was unaware of your spirit-sheathed weapon is flat-footed against your draw attack, sort of like an auto-feint. like they were expecting to engage with a brawler, and they are caught off-guard by a blade

[@KalaamNozalys]

Whirlwind Spell with Chain Lightning (with Expansive Spellstrike) will be hilarious.

[@SirShawn-qb2fk]

Imagine putting a great sword in your prison wallet using spirit sheath and then someone dispells the magic on you

[@Atrianpaul]

two thing... the map after spellstrike is -10 (it count as two attacs).... second cascading ray is say " Make the spell attack rool against the new target's AC, at the same multiple attack penalty as the Strike" that mean 1 of 2 thing.. a) you ray go out with 0 pentalty cuz your strike on the spellstrke has no penalty (if was your first activity of the round) or b) they put redundat text to emphasize the -10 attack penalty.... I more incline to beleave that is the option a... but I could be wrong

[@Crazyhands777]

Since this book came out I've wanted to make bow magus with Fireball. :) Maybe I'll add other stuff like sleep and wall of fire.

[@Nanitefox]

That opening joke was way too funny

[@shawncasey2973]

Dimensional DIssapearance is Shacco! Now I just need jack in the boxes!

[@geraldeuton2419]

Whirlwind spell strike with the feat that makes your staff up to 55 ft... Sure you need some haste effect but you could hit tons of targets...

[@HenshinFanatic]

Lunging Spellstrike is a seperate 2-Action activity, meaning you implicitly can't combine them. Even with Supreme Spellstrike that only let's you use the bonus action for a normal, basic, Spellstrike, not any of the improved versions that are distinct activities from your Magus feats.

[@barashino2582]

And here I thought fireball dealt cold damage thank you for correcting me

[@Nonat1s]

Common misconception.

[@willswanson1840]

This video is a real ephipany -- the feats of the magi

[@DareToWonder]

MAgus has a lot of synergy with the investigator archtype.

[@SpoonHurler]

Pathfinder PD: We got another dead innkeeper... should we try to round up the Magi again, Chief?

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

Just "The usual suspects"...?

[@kamencraftbrasil4367]

Arcane shroud is better than you think, the duration of the effect is until the next turn or it's normal duration, WHICHEVER IS LONGER.

[@Nonat1s]

WAIT IT SAID WHICHEVER IS LONGER!?!?

[@kamencraftbrasil4367]

@@Nonat1s YES!

[@Argol228]

Expansive spellstrike is a trap option. your casting stat is likely to be behind the curve, more so at later levels.

[@austinobst8989]

Consider that ranged magus's can change the source and direction of cone and line spells from their target. Being able to precisely maneuver area effects like that is enough of a gimmick for a decent class option, even if it not as good as a wizard.

[@HistorysRaven]

All in favor of changing the name of Raise a Tome to "Read or Die"?

[@WobblezTheWeird]

lunging spell strike makes fireball spellstrikes good

[@derplecornucopia5912]

Spirit Sheith only allows 1 Bulk weapons. That rules out most weapons for the two-handed magus. So hammer space can't hold a hammer.

[@Zahnpuppy]

Why doesn't force fang recharge your spell strike? Is it not a conflux?

[@indieplaysob5333]

Partys low, know I only have 1 option against the BBEG Spellstrike a fireball>>>fall unconscious to it making a volatile solution fall out of my spirit sheath exploding for more AOE damage. DIe horribly but also take out BBEG. Nonat-Magus players are VERY selfish. Feels Magus man.

[@davidecolucci6260]

Whirlwind spell with the lengthened staff?

[@austinobst8989]

They are separate activities, so no

[@NRMRKL]

@@austinobst8989 True, but even a normal reach weapon would still allow you to hit more targets with the whirlwind, correct?

[@OMartinez91]

Imagine the BBEG was a bibliophile and the Magus uses a book as a shield...

[@dangercat8919]

Good review. Its May-jus, though.

[@NRMRKL]

I thought it was an abbreviated form of "Mother Goose" - Ma' Goose.

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

I use Moo-Gus! LOL

[@spiritB0mber]

idk if i can make it through the video with MAG-US this many times

[@Manolaros13]

A bit of topic here, though why there's not a Ranger 101 video? I'd really love to hear your thoughts about the Ranger and your analysis of the feats and all! Love the content!!

[@Nonat1s]

Don't you worry! It's coming! There's just SOOOO much new content coming out in these few months, so I've gotta devote all of my video time to covering it! We'll get back to the base stuff someday lol

[@Manolaros13]

I know right?! I'm really excited for the Gunslinger to come out!! Looking forward to see all the new content and hear your thoughts on it!! 😊

[@cheezeofages]

Arcane Fists is not a requirement to play a fist magus. It is a trap option. It's one of the most lackluster feats in Pathfinder in the class it's in. You don't get a level 1 class feat slot since you cast spells, so this is competing with all the level 1 and 2 options. What do you get from it? - 1d4 from the unarmed strike everyone gets is boosted to 1d6. Which mathematically is an increase in *average* damage of 1 per weapon die. - The ability to not take a penalty for making the attack lethal. Which you can get with a gauntlet or the Guns & Gears knuckle dusters or black powder knuckle dusters. Your fist being non-lethal also will only rarely make a difference anyway, especially if you spellstrike. - Magical, which you will have for sure regardless through potency runes before it matters if you are fist focused. - A critical specialization that scales off Class DC, which you don't have or progress in and if they errata it to off Spell DC will still scale poorly and lock you into INT builds to get it. So this doesn't matter. It will never land unless you use some option that replaces or enhances the crit effect of your brawling attacks. So in summary you spend a hotly contested feat slot to get +1 average damage per weapon die. You are far better served getting a boosted unarmed strike from heritage (many of which don't have the nonlethal trait) or archetype. In the grand scheme of things there is no reason to take this unless you are a martial of another class that wants fists and spells and doesn't unlock brawling crit specialization perpetually (for example a rogue only gets crit spec on flat-footed targets). The magus itself gets basically nothing from it unless they errata in a full Class DC progression. And yes. These points do in fact draw attention to the fact that the sample Arcane Fist user in the book itself gains absolutely nothing from taking this feat since they are a clawed catfolk.

[@austinobst8989]

Eh, yeah anyone could be a goblin, catfolk or lizardfolk for natural attacks, but for anyone else arcane fist is not bad. Consider that laughing shadow magus could use their attacking hand as their free hand for their abilities, allowing your other hand to have something like a shield or scroll.

[@cheezeofages]

@ No I didn't miss that. It is literally third on the list. You get the magical trait the second you get potency runes. Which you will have well before it's relevant if you are fist focused. And sure you could spend your ancestry feat getting +1 average damage, easily attained and irrelevant lethal status on your fists, magical on your attacks before it's relevant that you'll get anyway for free through normal gear progression, and later access a crit effect you can't use. Or you could gain a familiar, have a boost Recall Knowledge that recharges your Spellstrike, the ability to boost Recall Knowledge while raising a book as a shield, or any of the many other more meaningful level 1 human feats. So +1 point of average damage or a pet that can be configured in a bunch of ways such as recharging focus or innate spells for you or give it the ability to talk and Skilled with a relevant Lore skill that the party could use but lacks at a bonus equal to your level + your INT, making sure to pick a narrow but still useful Lore so the check is easier. Or any number of other things.

[@cheezeofages]

@@austinobst8989 Any laughing shadow magus can do that though. Everyone has a 1d4 unarmed attack that can easily be lethal and magical almost immediately. The damage difference isn't worth a feat slot over everything else you could take in that slot. You are looking at it in a vacuum. Look at it comparing to everything else you could take in the level 2 slot where you have to take it normally. Including archetypes because if you aren't using Free Archetype taking this also delays taking an archetype.

[@austinobst8989]

@@cheezeofages that's true, but even a small increase in damage adds up over time. It's a consistent benefit. A trap option is something that is rarely beneficial or too niche to be overall useful. Probably not the best option for most characters, but a usable one. Especially for humans.

[@discoverybg31]

Spirit Sheath, aka how Highlander the Series got immortals their weapons.

[@tomchristoffer]

can't use great weapons with spirit sheath unfortunately as they're 2 bulk

[@brutusthecat6044]

I'm really sad you can't combine lunging spellstrike with whirlwind spell, a 9th level magic missile would have been fun

[@mattankrom]

Shout out to the Enbys!

[@JacksonOwex]

Isn't "choose a target within your reach" the same thing as "or within the reach of a melee weapon you're wielding"?

[@alexzimmerschied4700]

Does recharging your spell strike count as a hostile action? If it does, doesn't that mean dimensional assault would lose the invisibility effect?

[@spider0804]

Really depends on how you recharge it.