The Magus

"In the mists of time, before Atlantis rose . . . Gath of Baal was imprisoned by the Horned Helmet and transformed into the Death Dealer, a creature of supernatural skill in battle – against whom nothing could stand."

Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, 1988, Frank Frazetta, James R. Silke

Designer’s Forward: A version of this class previously appeared as the Deathdealer, in response to an impromptu contest on the Autarch forums. I wanted a less specific, more flexible version of that class, and the Magus is the result.

Prime Requisite: CON, INT

Requirements: None

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum Level: 14

Long have humans sought to follow in the path of the elven spellsword, combining arcane and fighting expertise into a unified whole. None have succeeded as broadly as the elves, but human magi have succeeded in their own focused way, as arcane archers, dark knights, deathdealers, eldritch knights, fiendblades and psychic warriors.

At first level, magi hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. Like fighters, they advance in attack throws by two points every three levels of experience. However, like mages, they advance in saving throws by two points every six levels of experience. Magi are limited to fighting with the weapons taught by their school. All magi are trained by a school of spell and weapon craft. Judges are encouraged to create schools specific to their campaign setting. Otherwise, when a magus is created, select a school for the character from the Magus Schools table below. Write down the allowed weapons and special abilities of the school. Each school teaches the use of a selection of weapons, one or more special abilities at 1st level or later, and four proficiency selections which are added to the Magus Proficiency List as potential class proficiency choices. A magus may only wear chain mail or lighter armor. They may fight wielding a weapon and shield, wielding a two-handed weapon, or wielding a weapon in each hand. Magi increase their base damage roll from their choice of either melee or missile attacks by +1 at 1st level and by an additional +1 at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th level. The magus must choose which type of attack will receive the damage bonus at 1st level, and may not change the choice as he advances.

Magus Schools

School	Weapons	Special Abilities	Proficiency List
Arcane Archer	all missile weapons and any one-handed melee weapons	4th level: sharpness once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round, 10th level: spell storing as a ruinguard, except a spell may be cast into a missile	Elven Bloodline, Mystic Aura, Passing Without Trace, Precise Shooting
Dark Knight	battle axe, dagger, flail, great axe, mace, morning star, short sword, sword, two-handed sword, whip	4th level: bestow curse once per day; each use takes 1 round, 10th level: bane once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round	Ambushing, Combat Trickery (incapacitate), Familiar, Quiet Magic
Deathdealer	axes, daggers and swords	4th level: chimerical force, once per day; each use takes 1 round, 10th level: death healing as a ruinguard	Black Lore, Elementalism, Illusion Resistance, Mystic Aura
Eldritch Knight	battle axe, flail, lance, mace, morning star, pole arm, spear, sword, two-handed sword, war hammer	4th level: the character may select any one class proficiency, 10th level: the character may select any one class proficiency	Combat Trickery (disarm), Elementalism, Familiar, Loremastery
Fiendblade	axes, daggers and swords	7th level: all creatures summoned by the character gain +1 hp per Hit Die, 9th level: the character may select any one class proficiency, 13th level: summon infernal powers as a warlock	Berserkergang, Familiar, Kin-Slaying, Soothsaying
Psychic Warrior	dagger, dart, flail, hand axe, longbow, mace, pole arm, spear, staff, sword	4th level: swift sword once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round, 10th level: fly once per day; each use takes 1 round	Combat Trickery (wrestle), Martial Training, Prophecy, Unarmed Fighting

Magi rely upon their arcane defense. At 1st level, the character gains a +2 bonus to AC and decreases the damage from any non-magical attacks by 1 point per die. At 7th level, this protection increases to +4 AC and 2 points per die. At 13th level, the protection increases to +6 AC and 3 points per die. The damage reduction is applied per die. Damage can be reduced to 0, but not less than 0, on each die. The AC bonus from arcane defense stacks with potions of invulnerability, rings of protection, and similar effects, but does not stack with armor. Attacks from monsters of 5 HD or more are considered magical attacks due to the monster’s ferocity.

A magus's arcane focus provides a +1 bonus to attack throws, proficiency throws, saving throws, and initiative rolls for 1 turn (10 minutes), once per day per level of experience. The magus may focus without expending an action.

Magi may use any magic item usable by fighters or mages. Beginning at 6th level, magi may cast arcane spells as an arcane caster of 5 levels lower. Starting at 10th level, magi may begin to research spells, scribe scrolls, and brew potions. When a magus reaches 14th level, he is able to create more powerful magic items such as weapons, rings, and staffs.

When a magus reaches 5th level, his battlefield prowess inspires those who follow him. Any henchmen and mercenaries hired by the magus gain a +1 bonus to their morale score whenever he personally leads them. This bonus stacks with any modifiers from the magus’s Charisma or proficiencies.

When a magus reaches 9th level, he can attract men from far and wide by constructing his own arcane academy. When the magus establishes his academy, 1d4+1x10 0th level mercenaries and 1d6 magi of 1st-3rd level will serve him. If hired, they must be paid standard rates for mercenaries. Magi’ academies are otherwise identical to fighters’ castles, as detailed in the Campaign chapter of the ACKS Rulebook.

Magus Proficiency List (24 + 4 = 28): Acrobatics, Alertness, Battle Magic, Blind Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (force back, knock down, overrun, sunder), Command, Dungeon Bashing, Endurance, Fighting Style, Gambling, Intimidation, Manual of Arms, Military Strategy, Riding, Running, Skirmishing, Swashbuckling, Unflappable Casting, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus

Experience	Level	Title	Hit Dice	Damage Bonus	Special Abilities	1	2	3	4	5
0	1		1d4	+1	Arcane defense, arcane focus
3,000	2		2d4	+1
6,000	3		3d4	+2
12,000	4		4d4	+2
24,000	5		5d4	+2	Battlefield prowess
48,000	6	Magus	6d4	+3		1
95,000	7	Magus	7d4	+3		2
190,000	8	Magus	8d4	+3		2	1
340,000	9	Lord Magus	9d4	+4	Arcane academy	2	2
490,000	10	Lord Magus, 10th lvl	9d4+1*	+4	Magic research (minor)	2	2	1
640,000	11	Lord Magus, 11th lvl	9d4+2*	+4		2	2	2
790,000	12	Lord Magus, 12th lvl	9d4+3*	+5		3	2	2	1
940,000	13	Lord Magus, 13th lvl	9d4+4*	+5		3	3	2	2
1,090,000	14	Grand Magus, 14th lvl	9d4+5*	+5	Magic research	3	3	3	2	1

*Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored

Custom Class Build Information

Hit Dice	Fighting	Thievery	Divine	Arcane
0	2	0	0	2

Reduce armor selection from Unrestricted to Broad for 1 custom power

Reduce weapon selection from Unrestricted to Broad for 1 custom power

Reduce weapon selection from Broad to Narrow for 2 custom powers

Eliminate fighter damage bonus (melee or missile) for 1 custom power

Exchange casting at 1/2 class level for Class level –5

XP Calculation: 0 + 1000 + 750 + 1250 = 3000 at 2nd level