Still Not Done With PF1: The Martial Arcanist Archetype for Pathfinder First Edition (Patreon)

It all began with a typo, "Pathfinder Fist Edition." Then I thought about that a little, and listed some options beyond that being an Oops, All Monks campaign.

And, no shock, people wondered how I'd make an unarmed combat archetype for the gunslinger which is, like it says on the tin, focused on guns. But deeds are actually a fascinating class of options, and grit can be a lot of fun, and neither of those sets of rules needs to be locked behind adding guns you your feudal fantasy.

Now, I am beginning to think of this campaign idea as Punchfinder. So I wrote up the The Ki-Slinger (Gunsligned Archetype). And I plan to do more. Starting... NOW!

A Punching Arcanist?!Creating melee-focused archetypes for some classes is really interesting as a design challenge. The arcanist, for example, is a full arcane spellcaster drawing on sorcerer and wizard concepts. Full arcane spellcasters are the least capable of doing well in hand-to-hand combat using just hand-to-hand options. They also often need to fill roles for a group that are very different from hth functions. So how do you design an arcanist archetype who not only can get in someone's face to punch them, but WANTS to, without removing their utility to the group?

Presenting, the Martial Arcanist.

(The martial arcanist is also sometimes called a Fist Mage. Art by warmtail.)

Martial Arcanist (Arcanist Archetype)Unlike most arcanists, your magic is closely tied to your study of unarmed martial arts.

Eldritch Fist (Su): At 1st level the martial arcanist gains its core power, the ability to channel pure arcane energy into one or more melee attacks that gain the power and accuracy of an expert unarmed combatant. There are two ways for the martial arcanist power an eldritch first, but the attack itself is the same in either case (as described below). The first option is to expend a point from their arcane reservoir to turn a single unarmed attack into an eldritch first attack. The second option is to expend an available arcanist spell slot as a move action, allowing the martial arcanist to create a martial reservoir with a number of martial points equal to the level of the spell sacrificed. When the martial arcanist makes an unarmed attack, as a free action they can expend a martial point to turn it into an eldritch fist attack.

When the martial arcanist make an eldritch fist attack, it must be an unarmed attack. They use their caster level in place of their base attack bonus to determine their total attack bonus (but not for any other factor, such as number of attacks gained in a full attack action) of their eldritch fist. The eldritch fist does damage as if they were a monk with a monk level equal to their arcanist level. They may choose to use their Intelligence modifier in place of their Strength modifier when determining the attack bonus of their eldritch fist. They may choose to use their Charisma modifier in place of their Strength modifier when determining the damage of their eldritch fist.

Each time the martial arcanist makes an attack with their eldritch fist, they gain temporary hit points equal to half their class level (minimum 1 temporary hit point) or their Charisma bonus, whichever is higher. These temporary hit points do not stack with each other or any other source of temporary hit points. When an eldritch fist damages a foe with an eldritch fist, the eldritch fist does not provoke attacks of opportunity from spellcasting arcanist spells until after the end of the eldritch fist's next turn.

The martial arcanist's eldritch first also gains a +1 enhancement bonus. For every four levels beyond 1st, the eldritch fist gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. These bonuses stack with existing enhancement bonuses on the martial arcanist's unarmed attacks I(such as from bracers of mighty fists) to a maximum of +5.

At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: defending, dispelling, dispelling burst, disruption, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, shock, shocking burst, or speed. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's base price modifier (see the Magic Weapon Special Ability Descriptions). These properties are added to any the eldritch fist already has, but duplicates do not stack. If the eldritch fist does not have an enhancement bonus from some other source, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided the first time in a round the martial arcanist makes an eldritch fist attack, and cannot be changed until the first time the martial arcanist uses this ability on a subsequent round.

When the martial arcanist uses their eldritch first to make a successful attack with the dispelling or dispelling burst property, they may expend a point from their arcane reservoir as a swift action to fill the property with a dispel magic and immediately discharge it onto the target. If the martial arcanist is 9th level or higher and makes a successful eldritch fist attack with the dispelling burst property, they may do this for a greater dispel magic.

This focus on unarmed combat comes at a cost. The martial arcanist's offensive spells are not as dangerous as those of typical spellcasters. When calculating the save DC of their class spells, the martial arcanist takes a -4 penalty to the final DC value. As a result most martial arcanists avoid offensive spells that allow a saving throw, instead using their magic for augmentation, defense, information, utility, and attacks that require attack rolls.

This ability modifies spellcasting and arcane reservoir, and replaces the arcane exploit gained at 1st level.

Improved Unarmed Strike (Ex): A martial arcanist receives Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.

A martial arcanist does not gain the consume spells class feature at 1st level, but may select it at 3rd level or higher as an arcanist exploit.