Legenday Magus - Preview (Patreon)

This preview document provides all you need to play a Legendary Magus to 10th level. It includes a small selection of Eldritch Tomes and Magus Arcana chosen to let you experience the basics of the class. Want more? You can buy the Legendary Magus at DriveThruRPG.

Role: A legendary magus can serve as a canny member in any adventuring group. Her choice of tome defines how she goes about combat and her arcane knowledge is a welcome addition to travelers. Magus arcana assist the legendary magus both in combat and in social situations, making them a well-rounded companion.

Legendary Class:  While the theme of the magus remains intact, there are a couple key changes to legendary magus. The first is the inclusion of tomes, difficult-to-destroy spellbooks that grant upgrades to a chosen fighting style. Second is arcane potential, a pool that ebbs and flows in combat to fuel arcane techniques that change both spell and weaponcraft. Finally, magus arcana have been given a new list that includes both in and out of combat options.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Dice: d8
Starting Wealth: 4d6 × 10 gp (average 140gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

Class Skills

The magus’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A legendary magus is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. A legendary magus is also proficient with light and medium armor. She may cast magus spells while wearing light or medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a legendary magus wearing heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass legendary magus still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.

Spells: A legendary magus casts arcane spells drawn from the magus spell list. A legendary magus must prepare her spells ahead of time, but unlike a wizard, her spells are not expended when they’re cast. Instead, she can cast any spell that she has prepared consuming a spell slot of the appropriate level, assuming she hasn’t yet used up her spell slots per day for that level.

To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the legendary magus must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level. The saving throw DC against a legendary magus’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the legendary magus’s Intelligence modifier.

A legendary magus can only cast a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Legendary Magus under “Spells per Day.” In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score.

A legendary magus may know any number of spells, but the number she can prepare each day is limited. At 1st level, she can prepare four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells each day. At each new legendary magus level, the number of spells she can prepare each day increases, adding new spell levels as indicated on Table: Legendary Magus Spells Prepared. Unlike the number of spells she can cast per day, the number of spells a legendary magus can prepare each day is not affected by her Intelligence score. Feats and other effects that modify the number of spells known by a spellcaster instead affect the number of spells a legendary magus can prepare.

A legendary magus must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying her spellbook. While studying, the legendary magus decides what spells to prepare and refreshes her available spell slots for the day.

Like a sorcerer, a legendary magus can choose to apply any metamagic feats she knows to a prepared spell as she casts it, with the same increase in casting time (see Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats). However, she may also prepare a spell with any metamagic feats she knows and cast it without increasing casting time like a wizard. She cannot combine these options—a spell prepared with metamagic feats cannot be further modified with another metamagic feat at the time of casting.

A legendary magus must study her tome each day to prepare her spells. She cannot prepare any spell not recorded in her tome except for read magic, which all legendary magi can prepare from memory. A legendary magus begins play with a tome containing all 0-level magus spells plus three 1st-level magus spells of her choice. The magus also selects a number of additional 1st-level magus spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to add to her tome. At each new magus level, she gains two new magus spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on her new legendary magus level) for his spellbook. At any time, a legendary magus can also add spells found in other tomes or spellbooks to her own.

A legendary magus can learn spells from a wizard’s spellbook, just as a wizard can from a legendary magus’s tome. The spells learned must be on the magus spell list, as normal. An alchemist can learn formulae from a legendary magus’s tome, if the spells are also on the alchemist spell list. A legendary magus cannot learn spells from an alchemist.

Cantrips: Legendary magi can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day as noted on Table: Legendary Magus Spells Prepared. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume spell slots. As with her other spells, these spells are not expended when cast.

Eldritch Tome (Su): At 1st level a legendary magus devotes herself to studying a blend of martial and arcane combat that she learns from her tome. A tome’s origin varies between legendary magi, but its composition is not of the natural world. A legendary magus tome has a number of hit points equal to half of the legendary magus’. If the tome is ever destroyed or otherwise separated from its owner, it appears among the legendary magus’ possessions at dawn of the following day. Her tome functions as her spellbook, but also grants additional powers at 1st level, 3rd level, and every 6 levels afterwards. A legendary magus selects her tome when she gains her 1st level of the class. Once this choice has been made it cannot be changed. The eldritch tomes a legendary magus can choose from are found here.

Armaments of the Magi: At 1st level, the legendary magus gains Arcane Strike as a bonus feat, and she may activate her Arcane Strike as a free action at the beginning of each turn.

At 3rd level, the legendary magus gains Riving StrikeACG as a bonus feat. When she uses her Arcane Strike ability with Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike, or Greater Vital Strike, the bonus on damage rolls for Arcane Strike is multiplied by the number of times (two, three, or four) she rolls damage dice for one of those feats. This ability does not stack with other abilities or feats that multiply the damage of Arcane Strike dealt as part of an attack action.

Arcane Potential (Su): At 1st level, a legendary magus learns to harness residual energy from spells she casts, called potential, and can use this stored energy to bolster her abilities in a variety of ways. A legendary magus starts her day with no potential, but can gain potential in the following ways (a legendary magus cannot gain potential from each of these more than once per round and a legendary magus must be in combat to gain potential):

• Channelled Potential: Whenever the legendary magus casts a magus spell she gains one point of potential.
• Lingering Potential: Whenever the legendary magus begins her turn under the effects of a magus spell she cast of 1st level or higher, she gains one point of potential. This spell must be one that affects her directly, not her weapons or equipment.
• Suffered Potential: Whenever the legendary magus takes damage from a spell or spell-like ability, or rolls a saving throw against a harmful spell or spell-like ability, she gains two points of potential.

Her potential goes up or down throughout the day, but usually cannot go higher than her Intelligence modifier (minimum 1), though some feats, abilities, and magic items may affect this maximum. At 3rd level and every three levels afterward, her maximum potential increases by 1. If a legendary magus spends 1 minute or longer outside of combat, she loses all potential she possesses.

Sidebar: What counts as combat?

In regards to Arcane Potential, combat counts as any situation where the legendary magus finds themselves in serious peril, such as a fight, or in a particularly threatening and energetic situation where they might have something to lose, like a chase scene. A legendary magus can never create “fake” combats, like pretending to fight their friend, to maintain their potential. A legendary magus only generates potential in particularly dangerous or exciting situations.

Ultimately, what is defined as a “combat” outside of a fight with monsters is up to the GM.

Potential Techniques (Su): A legendary magus can spend potential to imbue their body and weapons with incredible power.  Each potential technique can only be used once per round. If an ability does not have an associated action listed, using it is a free action which can be done during anyone’s turn.

At 1st level, the legendary magus has access to the following potential techniques:

1 Potential

• Arcane Deflection: As an immediate action when an attack is rolled against the legendary magus or an adjacent ally, the legendary magus can create a miniature projection of force granting herself or her ally a +1 circumstance bonus to AC against the attack for each point of potential spent on this ability. This technique is used after an attack is rolled, but before damage is dealt, allowing it to negate an attack if this technique would cause the attack to miss.
• Focused Concentration: As a swift action, the legendary can select a single creature they can see and gain a +4 bonus to concentration checks against that creature until the beginning of her next turn. This applies to concentration checks as a result of being injured by that creature, affected by its spells, being grappled by that creature, and for casting defensive in that creature’s threatened area.
• Magician’s Assault:  For each point of potential the legendary magus spends on this technique, she gains a +1 circumstance bonus to attack and damage rolls made with weapon attacks until the beginning of her next turn.

2 Potential

• Dimensional Jaunt: As part of a move, withdraw, or charge action the legendary magus can step through space, allowing her to move up to 10 feet per 2 potential spent on this technique to a location she can see. This teleportation can be done at any point during the movement. If this ability is used during a charge, the legendary magus can teleport and then choose the target of their charge.
• Surging Strike: The legendary magus uses their potential to cause their Arcane Strike to surge with power. Her arcane strike deals an additional 1d4 damage of the same type it would normally deal until the beginning of her next turn. This damage increases by 1d4 per 5 class levels she possesses. These additional dice are multiplied as part of Vital Strike using the armaments of the magi ability, but are not multiplied by critical hits.

Spell Combat (Ex): At 2nd level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield her weapons at the same time. As a full-round action, she can make all of her attacks with a one-handed weapon at a –2 penalty, as if she were making a full attack, and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If she casts this spell defensively, she can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to her Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on her concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A legendary magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if she has more than one attack, she cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

Magus Arcana: As she gains levels, a legendary magus learns arcane secrets tailored to her specific way of blending martial puissance and magical skill. Starting at 3rd level, a legendary magus gains one magus arcana. She gains an additional magus arcana for every three levels of legendary magus attained after 3rd level. Unless specifically noted in a magus arcana’s description, a legendary magus cannot select a particular magus arcana more than once. Magus arcana that affect spells can only be used to modify spells from the magus spell list unless otherwise noted.

Combat Casting: At 4th level the legendary magus gains Combat Casting as a bonus feat, and no longer provokes opportunity attacks for casting 0th level magus spells during spell combat.

Bonus Feats: At 5th level, and every three levels thereafter, a legendary magus gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as combat, item creation, or metamagic feats. She must meet the prerequisites for these feats as normal. In addition, a legendary magus counts her total legendary magus level - 4 as her fighter level for the purpose of qualifying for feats.

Spell Recall: At 7th level, the legendary magus can tap in to their arcane potential to cast a spell they have recently expended. As a swift action, the legendary magus can choose a spell they have cast during the current combat and spend a number of points of potential equal to three times its level, allowing them to cast it again this round without requiring or expending a spell slot. The legendary magus can only recall a spell once for each time it is cast, and cannot recall a spell cast through this ability. The legendary magus does not gain a point of potential from casting this spell this round, or by casting it as part of spell combat, through their channelled potential ability. If this spell has a duration longer than instantaneous, its effect ends when her arcane potential empties after combat has ended.

Legendary Combat Casting (Ex): At 7th level, a legendary magus no longer provokes an attack of opportunity when casting a 1st level magus spell during spell combat. At 10th level and every three levels after, this ability extends to the next level of magus spells, to a maximum of 5th level spells at 19th level.

Expanded Potential Techniques (Su): At 8th level, the legendary magus’ ability to spend their potential expands, granting them additional techniques with which to use their potential. The legendary magus gains the following potential techniques:

1 Potential

• Elemental Alteration: Until the beginning of the legendary magus’ next turn, whenever she deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage with an attack or spell, she can choose to deal damage of another of those types instead. This choice must be made before the damage is rolled, and before resistance or immunity is applied.
• Sorcerous Guard: For each point of potential the legendary magus spends on this technique, she gains a +1 circumstance bonus to her Touch AC and saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities until the beginning of her next turn.

2 Potential

• Hastened Metamagic: The legendary magus can add a metamagic feat that she knows to a spell as she casts it without affecting the casting time (though using a higher-level spell slot as normal). She can use this ability to add a metamagic feat to a spell that she prepared using a metamagic feat, although she cannot add the same metamagic feat to a given spell more than once.
• Modulated Range: As part of casting a magus spell, the legendary magus can modulate its range, increasing or decreasing its range by one step. If a spell requires a ranged touch attack and has its range reduced to touch, it now requires a melee touch. If a spell requires a melee touch attack and has its range increased to close, it now requires a ranged touch attack. The steps of range are as follows: Touch -> close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) -> medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) -> long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level). A spell cannot have its range increased beyond long, or reduced beyond touch.
• Rapid Spell Combat: The legendary magus can perform their spell combat as a standard action, casting a single spell and making a only a single attack with their weapon. This ability is treated as spell combat for all purposes (including spell combat’s penalty to attack rolls), is treated as an attack action, and may benefit from Vital Strike, as well as other feats and abilities that affect an attack action.

3 Potential

• Arcane Redoubt: The legendary magus can create a briefly lived wall of force interposed between themselves, or an adjacent ally, and an enemy of their choice. This wall is one inch thick, 5-ft wide, and 5-ft tall. This wall provides the legendary magus, or their ally, with cover from that enemy until the beginning of the legendary magus’ next turn, granting them a +4 bonus to Armor Class and a +2 bonus on Reflex saving throws. If the opponent’s attack misses them by 4 or less, the attack strikes the wall instead. The wall has hardness 10 and 5 hit points per level of the legendary magus. If the shield is destroyed, the wall crumbles away into nothingness. Spells and effects that damage an area deal damage to the wall.
• Shifting Position: As a swift action, the legendary magus can cause their position to shift rapidly between nearby spaces. Until the beginning of her next turn, the legendary magus can treat herself as being in any space adjacent to her when she casts spells, or makes an attack. She is treated as being in the chosen space for all purposes during that action, and then immediately returns to her original space after the action is resolved.

Eldritch Tomes

Tome of the Duelist

Duelist Style

At 1st level, when the legendary magus is wielding a light weapon, or a one-handed melee weapon that allows her to use her Dexterity modifier in place of her Strength modifier for attack rolls (such as a rapier), in one hand while her other hand (or hands, for a legendary magus with multiple limbs) is free, she may use the higher of her Intelligence or Strength modifiers to determine her bonus to weapon damage rolls.

Alacritous Defense (Su)

At 3rd level, when wielding a one handed weapon in one hand while her other hand (or hands) are free, the legendary magus can use their spell combat defensively in one of the following two ways:

The legendary magus can take an additional -2 penalty to her attack rolls when using spell combat to gain concealment (20% miss chance) until the beginning of her next turn.

The legendary magus can use her spell combat defensively, foregoing her weapon attacks to create a wall of blurred steel with her weapon. She does not provoke opportunity attacks when she casts a spell as part of this action (even if the spell makes a ranged attack), and gains a 50% miss chance as if she had total concealment for 1 round. Unlike actual total concealment, this ability does not prevent enemies from targeting the legendary magus normally.

Opponents who cannot see the legendary magus ignore the concealment granted by both of these effects, however not being able to see the legendary magus often imposes penalties of its own.

Biting Alacrity (Su)

At 9th level, whenever a creature within the legendary magus’ reach misses her with an attack due to the concealment granted by her alacritous defense ability, she can spend an attack of opportunity to deal her weapon’s damage to the foe, as if she hit it with an attack. She does not need to make an attack roll when dealing this damage, and this damage cannot critically hit.

Legendary Magus Arcana

Adrenal Potential

Benefit: The thrill of combat fills the legendary magus with a surge of untapped potential. Upon rolling for initiative, the legendary magus gains 1 point of potential. This increases by 1 point at 6th level and every six levels thereafter, to a maximum of 4 points at 18th level.

Cautious Arcana

Benefit: When using spell combat to cast a spell with an area of effect, a legendary magus can exclude a number of squares equal to her Intelligence modifier.

Familiar

Benefit: The legendary magus gains a familiar, using her legendary magus level as her effective wizard level. This familiar follows the rules for familiars presented in the arcane bond wizard class feature.

Lingering Adrenaline

Prerequisite(s) Adrenal potential legendary magus arcana

Benefit: Adrenaline continues to push through the legendary magus’ body, bringing them potential where they might otherwise have had none. At the start of each turn beyond the first, if the legendary magus has no potential she gains 1 point of potential. This potential is gained before potential gains from other sources, such as her lingering potential ability.

Rapid Study

Prerequisite(s) Legendary magus 6

Benefit: The legendary magus has learned to prepare her spells rapidly. She can prepare all of her spells for the day in 15 minutes, rather than 1 hour, and her minimum preparation time is only 1 minute, rather than 15 minutes.

Spell Access

Benefit: The legendary magus has gained access to spells beyond the norm of their training. She learns and places 4 spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list into her spellbook as magus spells of their sorcerer/wizard level. These spells must be of at least 1 level lower than the highest level of spells she can cast. This legendary magus arcana can be selected multiple times. Each time they select 4 new spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list.

OGL and Legal is attached.