Previously Flying Pincushion was publishing under d20pfsrd.com Publishing and while there they put out two Into the Breach series books covering the Magus and the Summoner. The Summoner was the first and while its original iteration was kind of lackluster but imaginative the revision and eratta made things much better. Unfortunately the Magus book did not get the same treatment and that was too bad because I really didn't like that book. Fortunately under their own banner Flying Pincushion released a new Magus book following their current styles and format.
At the beginning I'm immediately met with a bit of disappointment. Going through the archetypes I notice a lot of rules language that is either missing information that's needed to fully function, is drastically non-standard to the point archetypes with similar changes don't have the same rules language or don't seem like they would work in the context of what the game actually does.
For example; I really like the Mistblade, an archetype that makes illusionary doubles, despite missing crucial information on what save or skill check is required to disbelieve it, since whether or not it provides a flanking bonus depends on whether or not the opponent is aware that it is an illusion. It also implies that the doubles can be destroyed but no way to destroy them. One ability that makes them capable of dealing damage probably solves this problem and it can go away with a slight bit of houseruling but I hate having to do eratta work when it comes to player information.
There's also a habit of pricing abilities that use the arcane pool or arcane pool equivalent after the whole thing is described which isn't erroneous just a bit irritating.
Then there's minor things like "[Magus Archetype] gains one or more evolution points" where the 'or more' part throws me for a loop. Also minor is one archetype with abilities that function on a per combat basis which really irks me.
But it's not all bad news. Plenty of the archetypes function fine
I like the Fate's Edge. Its pretty precise when it comes to rules language and it has some neat abilities. It loses the enhancement bonus and gets a sort of future vision state that buffs it and allows it to use some other abilities. I absolutely love the Force Bulwark, an archetype that specializes in making force barriers. I even like the archetypes that have some kind of rules language that I don't like. You get a magus that can turn into a giant, teleport, create clones and so on, and really not that many are affected by undesirable rules language. The archetypes are imaginative and have strong ties to their themes. Not just that but they are actual themes not just ways to push a boring old magus that has a slight tweak.
The only ones that I really frown on are the elemental ones. There are two fire-themed archetypes here and while they do some cool stuff one. Then there is the Elemental Champion. The Elemental Champion is stable but relatively boring. It doesn't really solve the problem I have with elemental themed magi, in that its hard to find good touch spells for all the elements. But i could be suffering from being spoiled by other options. With other third party classes I have more than a mouthful of elemental themed gishes and even when just accounting for Paizo options there's plenty of ways to go elemental. This one just isn't doing it for me.
Following the archetypes are two new prestige classes. One is a magus/alchemist mix that specifically requires the Hummunculist Alchemist archetype. I'm not esactly a fan as it suffers from a bit of rules language I don't like for it's bomb-spellstrike and it was not exciting to me but it's otherwise functional for what it is. The other is a more nimbly magus. Rules language is still an obstacle. There's an obvious shortcut to what it does that the class doesn't take which makes the whole thing a little more difficult to understand. Its not one hundred percent functional but rules as intended is very clear.
We get one new feat that is a metamagic feat that interacts with fire spells. (Again with the fire)
Before OGL credits we have five new spells. All of them are pretty nice. There's a duo of, for lack of better terms, lightsaber spells that create a beam of energy that I really like. I especially like the one that causes weapons to burrow into a target's body.
This one I'm conflicted about. In most of the options the rules as intended is very easy to get and I really like the archetype options, the writers did an excellent job thinking outside the box and bringing to the table archetypes that matter and grant a new play experience. It is miles ahead of it's predecessor in every way. But on the other hand there are plenty of niggling rules weirdness making some abilities difficult to fully grasp without GM oversight, and some rules language that makes an ability non-functional as its written. I'll probably have to give this three out of five stars. It may creep up to a 4 star if you're perfectly fine with making additional clarifications but I personally feel like it's at 3 stars.
You can find this over on Paizo.com here.
No comments:
Post a Comment