NullInternet
2016-12-29, 11:58 PM
So I've been looking over the Magus recently, and noticed that there wasn't an archetype that traded out Spell Combat (all four versions of it, including True Magus). I then realized that there also wasn't an archetype that granted an arcane school to the magus, and so I figured that it would be easy enough to just replace spell combat with that. So now, here we are.
School Aspirant
Most magi are known for their ability to fight with sword and spell simultaneously. However, some of their brethren chose to forgo that duality in favor of a greater understanding of one particular school of magic. These school aspirants can prepare more spells per day than typical magi, at the cost of restricted access.
Arcane School
A school aspirant can choose to specialize in one school of magic, gaining additional spells and powers based on that school. This choice must be made at 1st level, and once made, it cannot be changed. A school aspirant cannot select the universalist school.
A school aspirant must select two other schools as his opposition schools, representing knowledge sacrificed in one area of arcane lore to gain mastery in another. A school aspirant who prepares spells from his opposition schools must use two spell slots of that level to prepare the spell. For example, a school aspirant with evocation as an opposition school must expend two of his available 3rd-level spell slots to prepare a fireball. In addition, a school aspirant takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks made when crafting a magic item that has a spell from one of his opposition schools as a prerequisite.
Each arcane school gives the school aspirant a number of school powers. His effective wizard level for these powers is equal to his magus level. In addition, school aspirants receive an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a school aspirant can prepare a spell from his specialty school in that slot. This spell must be in the school aspirant's spellbook. A school aspirant can select a spell modified by a metamagic feat to prepare in his school slot, but it uses up a higher-level spell slot.
This ability replaces spell combat and improved spell combat.
First, the main point of this archetype is to grant the wizard's arcane school class feature to the magus, allowing a magus to use certain school powers that normally would be ineffective for a wizard (e.g. Dazing Touch, Grave Touch, basically any power that requires you to enter melee). Additionally, magi who want to wield two-handed weapons (or maybe even one weapon in each hand) can trade out a set of class features that basically do nothing for them for another set of class features that might be a little more useful (Prescience comes to mind).
School Multiplicity (Su)
At 14th level, a school aspirant can cast two spells from his specialty school as a full-round action. Both spells must be of the same school, be at least one level below the highest-level magus spell he can cast, and have a casting time of 1 standard action or less. This ability replaces greater spell combat.
By this point, a magus with this archetype should already be preparing more than a few spells from their specialty school. This just lets them cast more of them each round, at the cost of endurance. The school, spell level, and casting time limits should all keep this ability from getting anywhere near broken.
School Potency (Su)
At 20th level, a school aspirant has become especially skilled in casting spells from his specialty school. Whenever he casts a spell from his specialty school, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the caster level check to overcome spell resistance and increases the DC to resist the spell by +2. In addition, when using the school multiplicity ability, one of the spells may be of the highest magus spell level he can cast. This ability replaces true magus.
The last ability of this archetype is essentially a clone of True Magus except that the magus only needs to cast a spell from his specialty school, and two of that ability's benefits apply at the same time. Nothing more to say beyond that, honestly.
Magus Arcana
The following magus arcana complement the school aspirant archetype: rod mastery (UC), quicken magic (UM), spell blending (UM), and wand mastery (UM).
School Aspirant
Most magi are known for their ability to fight with sword and spell simultaneously. However, some of their brethren chose to forgo that duality in favor of a greater understanding of one particular school of magic. These school aspirants can prepare more spells per day than typical magi, at the cost of restricted access.
Arcane School
A school aspirant can choose to specialize in one school of magic, gaining additional spells and powers based on that school. This choice must be made at 1st level, and once made, it cannot be changed. A school aspirant cannot select the universalist school.
A school aspirant must select two other schools as his opposition schools, representing knowledge sacrificed in one area of arcane lore to gain mastery in another. A school aspirant who prepares spells from his opposition schools must use two spell slots of that level to prepare the spell. For example, a school aspirant with evocation as an opposition school must expend two of his available 3rd-level spell slots to prepare a fireball. In addition, a school aspirant takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks made when crafting a magic item that has a spell from one of his opposition schools as a prerequisite.
Each arcane school gives the school aspirant a number of school powers. His effective wizard level for these powers is equal to his magus level. In addition, school aspirants receive an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a school aspirant can prepare a spell from his specialty school in that slot. This spell must be in the school aspirant's spellbook. A school aspirant can select a spell modified by a metamagic feat to prepare in his school slot, but it uses up a higher-level spell slot.
This ability replaces spell combat and improved spell combat.
First, the main point of this archetype is to grant the wizard's arcane school class feature to the magus, allowing a magus to use certain school powers that normally would be ineffective for a wizard (e.g. Dazing Touch, Grave Touch, basically any power that requires you to enter melee). Additionally, magi who want to wield two-handed weapons (or maybe even one weapon in each hand) can trade out a set of class features that basically do nothing for them for another set of class features that might be a little more useful (Prescience comes to mind).
School Multiplicity (Su)
At 14th level, a school aspirant can cast two spells from his specialty school as a full-round action. Both spells must be of the same school, be at least one level below the highest-level magus spell he can cast, and have a casting time of 1 standard action or less. This ability replaces greater spell combat.
By this point, a magus with this archetype should already be preparing more than a few spells from their specialty school. This just lets them cast more of them each round, at the cost of endurance. The school, spell level, and casting time limits should all keep this ability from getting anywhere near broken.
School Potency (Su)
At 20th level, a school aspirant has become especially skilled in casting spells from his specialty school. Whenever he casts a spell from his specialty school, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the caster level check to overcome spell resistance and increases the DC to resist the spell by +2. In addition, when using the school multiplicity ability, one of the spells may be of the highest magus spell level he can cast. This ability replaces true magus.
The last ability of this archetype is essentially a clone of True Magus except that the magus only needs to cast a spell from his specialty school, and two of that ability's benefits apply at the same time. Nothing more to say beyond that, honestly.
Magus Arcana
The following magus arcana complement the school aspirant archetype: rod mastery (UC), quicken magic (UM), spell blending (UM), and wand mastery (UM).