PF to 5e- Magus conversion

[Slayer Lord]

What it says on the tin. I've been playing an elf bladebound (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/archetypes/paizo-magus-archetypes/bladebound/)magus (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/magus/)that I really enjoy and have been thinking of converting her. I'm not sure if eldritch knight or bladesinger would be a better fit, or if some kind of multiclassing shenanigans are recommended. Replicating the intelligent black blade seems like it would be the most difficult. I'm not familiar with 5e's intelligent weapon rules.

[Dudewithknives]

Hexblade warlock, pact of the blade.

Take greenflame blade or booming blade.

Pretty much done.

[Boci]

Its a tossup between eldritch knight and hexblade. Eldrtich knight has the casting spells and attack in the same round and is int based, but has a very limited spell selection. Warlocks don't have the best spell-list in terms of variety, but its still better than being stuck with 2 schools, however they have little ability to mix attacking and using non-bonus action spells, and they are charisma based.

And neither of those really has the cast spells through your sword, since the trade off, needing to hit regular AC instead of touch, doesn't exist in 5th ed.

[GreyBlack]

Spoiler alert: There is no quick and dirty method to convert the Magus, because the Magus revolves all around the spell combat and spellstrike abilities. While the Eldritch Knight pulls off the Spell Combat side of things (go Dueling fighting style with nothing in your other hand), the Spellstrike thing is significantly trickier. That said, the Eldritch Knight is probably your best bet for pulling off any sort of meaningful "conversion", but a full conversion might be a bit.... trickier.

So, we'll start by saying D8 HP.
2 skills between athletics, acrobatics, arcana, history and investigation.
Proficiency in all weapons and armor. No shield proficiency.
Saves: Constitution and Intelligence

Paladin spell progression, key off of intelligence. You have a spellbook like a wizard, and learn spells as a wizard does. No, I'm not writing a spell list for you; this is literally all off the top of my head.

Level 1: Arcane Pool: You can imbue your weapon with arcane energies, dealing +1d6 elemental damage per strike and your weapon is counted as magical for 1 minute. You can do this 3+intelligence modifier times per day. This damage improves every 3 levels (level 4, level 7, level 10, etc.)
Level 2: Spell Combat: If you make an attack action, with you can cast a spell with a swift action as long as it only has a casting time of 1 action.
Level 3: Spellstrike: When using spell combat, you can deliver spells with a range of touch with a weapon attack; if you cause a critical hit with the attack, you also cause a critical with the spell.
Level 4: ASI, archetype
Level 5: Extra attack
Level 6: Fighting Style
Level 7: Knowledge Pool: As the PF ability.
Level 8: ASI, Archetype Ability
Level 9: Improved Arcane Pool: You can add 1 additional magical property or elemental damage type to your attacks when using your Arcane Pool ability.
Level 10: Third Attack

That's all I'm theorizing for now; I love the Pathfinder magus and wish there was a better way to play it in 5e. As to archetypes.... maybe make one archetype the Bloodrager, and let them key off the Bloodrager stuff/give them a Bloodrager bloodline and rage ability, or make another the Hexcrafter, maybe the Bladebound?

Actually... maybe I'll actually try my hand at this. Hmmmm....

EDIT: Oh, and if someone criticizes my giving the Magus the third attack.... that's because the Pathfinder magus is literally supposed to be able to get Fighter abilities at half their level, so I figured a good way to mirror that would be to just give the Magus the third attack, but leave off the fourth attack. YMMV.

[Grod_The_Giant]

It's a bit scattered. Hexblade has the flavor. Eldritch Knight can cast a cantrip and attack; Valor Bard can cast an actual spell and attack. Swords Bard can use their weapons as focuses. Mix and match as needed?

[thoroughlyS]

Could you give a brief description of your character so we can understand what conversion might work best? What does she do most often in and out of combat? What features do you want to keep most? What level is she? Is she going to be in a game of that level, or something else? What was the character's backstory?

[tieren]

Improved pact weapon invocation allows a blade lock to use pact weapon as a focus, maddening hex and relentless hex could give some spell like effects with your weapon attacking, hellish rebuke on a reaction can also add some magicking to your blading.

I'm thinking hex blade works best.

[Wintorn]

So, we'll start by saying D8 HP.
2 skills between athletics, acrobatics, arcana, history and investigation.
Proficiency in all weapons and armor. No shield proficiency.
Saves: Constitution and Intelligence

Paladin spell progression, key off of intelligence. You have a spellbook like a wizard, and learn spells as a wizard does. No, I'm not writing a spell list for you; this is literally all off the top of my head.

Level 1: Arcane Pool: You can imbue your weapon with arcane energies, dealing +1d6 elemental damage per strike and your weapon is counted as magical for 1 minute. You can do this 3+intelligence modifier times per day. This damage improves every 3 levels (level 4, level 7, level 10, etc.)
Level 2: Spell Combat: If you make an attack action, with you can cast a spell with a swift action as long as it only has a casting time of 1 action.
Level 3: Spellstrike: When using spell combat, you can deliver spells with a range of touch with a weapon attack; if you cause a critical hit with the attack, you also cause a critical with the spell.
Level 4: ASI, archetype
Level 5: Extra attack
Level 6: Fighting Style
Level 7: Knowledge Pool: As the PF ability.
Level 8: ASI, Archetype Ability
Level 9: Improved Arcane Pool: You can add 1 additional magical property or elemental damage type to your attacks when using your Arcane Pool ability.
Level 10: Third Attack

That's all I'm theorizing for now; I love the Pathfinder magus and wish there was a better way to play it in 5e. As to archetypes.... maybe make one archetype the Bloodrager, and let them key off the Bloodrager stuff/give them a Bloodrager bloodline and rage ability, or make another the Hexcrafter, maybe the Bladebound?

Actually... maybe I'll actually try my hand at this. Hmmmm....

EDIT: Oh, and if someone criticizes my giving the Magus the third attack.... that's because the Pathfinder magus is literally supposed to be able to get Fighter abilities at half their level, so I figured a good way to mirror that would be to just give the Magus the third attack, but leave off the fourth attack. YMMV.

Seems a bit too high power for 5e should be a little more tame.
Level 1: Fighting style and cantrips
Level 2: Spellcasting and a slightly nerfed arcane pool
Level 3: Archetype feature
Level 4: ASI
Level 5: Extra attack
Level 6: Spell combat (bonus action, not swift action)
Level 7: Knowledge pool (don't know what that is, but I'll trust you on it)
Level 8: ASI, Archetype feature
Level 9: Nothing, because third level spells
Level 10: Not extra attack, at least, not before fighters get theirs. Maybe at level 15 or so? Put spellstrike here.

[GreyBlack]

Seems a bit too high power for 5e should be a little more tame.
Level 1: Fighting style and cantrips
Level 2: Spellcasting and a slightly nerfed arcane pool
Level 3: Archetype feature
Level 4: ASI
Level 5: Extra attack
Level 6: Spell combat (bonus action, not swift action)
Level 7: Knowledge pool (don't know what that is, but I'll trust you on it)
Level 8: ASI, Archetype feature
Level 9: Nothing, because third level spells
Level 10: Not extra attack, at least, not before fighters get theirs. Maybe at level 15 or so? Put spellstrike here.

Big reason that spell combat and spell strike have to be early is because it's what the class is designed around; anyone in this edition of D&D can get some form of spellcasting, so what separates magi from bladesingers is that integral ability to blend the two together seamlessly. I would put Arcane Pool later rather than spellstrike or spell combat, if not get rid of Arcane pool altogether to get that ability early.

As to knowledge pool...


when a magus prepares his magus spells, he can decide to expend 1 or more points from his arcane pool, up to his Intelligence bonus. For each point he expends, he can treat any one spell from the magus spell list as if it were in his spellbook and can prepare that spell as normal that day. If he does not cast spells prepared in this way before the next time he prepares spells, he loses those spells. He can also cast spells added in this way using his spell recall ability, but only until he prepares spells again.

[Serafina]

Either your homebrew something, or you have a choice of several classes depending on what exactly you want to do.

Eldritch Knight is your pick if you want to be tougher and do more weapon attacks, at the cost of spellcasting. You'll get to cast a Cantrip (which are good and powerful) and make an attack at 7th level, and cast a spell and make an attack at 15th level.

Bladesinger Wizard is your pick if you want to focus on spellcasting, with your sword being for defense and as an alternate method of dealing damage.

Multiclass Hexblade/Abjurer Wizard is actually another really good option for a melee Wizard. Two levels in Hexblade to grab the Armor of Agathys spell, and the Armor of Shadows Invocation. Then you level as an Abjurer Wizard - you protect yourself with an Arcane Ward that you can recharge after every combat, and that'll make your Armor of Agathys (which damages enemies that hit you) last much longer. Getting into melee and using the Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade Cantrips works really well with this.


If you were to homebrew a class, I'd do it like this
- use the same spell progression as Paladin and Ranger, which is the medium spell progression in 5E
- just use the Wizard spell list, unless you want to heavily customize things it works fine
- use Spellbook casting like the Wizard, but only give out Ritual Casting at slightly higher level
- give out Cantrips, unlike for Paladins and Rangers. Give them right at 1st level.

- Light Armor, no shield, with better proficiencies from certain archetypes
- D10 HD, appropriate for a frontline character like this
- 2 skill proficiencies
- Intelligence and Constitution saving throws. Con-saves are must-haves for casters anyway, especially frontline ones

- Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade work fine for early-level Spell Combat, so no need to give out the feature right away
- at 5th level, gain the ability to make a melee attack as a bonus action whenever you use your action to cast a non-cantrip spell. Also, you don't have disadvantage when you use ranged spells in melee range. Don't give out Extra Attack at 5th level, this is the feature you get in lieu of it.
- give out Arcane Pool at 2nd level. Make it (Int modifier) uses per long rest, and at some higher level you regain on short rest. Can be spent on various effects:

- bonus action to make weapon magical for 1 minute and do 2-4 (scaling as you level) points of extra elemental damage
- reaction to get advantage on one Concentration-check
- uses based on archetypes
- Ritual Casting around 7th or 8th level. Archetypes might throw in rituals from other classes. Also, short-action Arcane Pool regain
- at 10th level, ability to spend a reaction to disrupt the spellcasting of an enemy spellcaster
- at 14th level, ability to spend a use of Arcane Pool to use any cantrip that must be used with a weapon attack (Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade) when using the 5th-level feature
- at 18th level, resistance to spell damage or something?
- some appropriate capstone

- archetypes get abilities at 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 15th level
- one archetype for the "Strength-Magus" that hands out better armor proficiencies, and maybe allows stuff like spending arcane pool to topple enemies over
- one archetype for a "Mage Hunter Magus", with some anti-magic features
- one archetype for the Bladebound Magus. Honestly, Black Blades don't do much that a normal magical item doesn't do, so the weapon being intelligent is mostly a roleplay-element. Maybe give the blade a choice of Arcana, History, Nature or Religion skill proficiency. Other than that, auto-scaling bonus to hit and damage covers a lot of the mechanical advantages, so the rest can be ribbon features like "your blade can fly on it's own, but not attack while it does" or "it can teleport to your location".

[Malifice]

Hexblade Warlock [blade pact] gets my vote as well.

Thirsting blade, Improved Pact weapon, Lifedrinker, Eldritch smite as your invocations. No more than 12 levels is needed (6th level spells, 3/ smites per short rest, all the above invocations).

For the other 8 levels, Take levels in Bladesinger Wizard, Eldritch knight Fighter or Valor/ Swords Bard.