The next Magus archetype is...

Hey Ross, Thanks for all these thoughts. Taking into account your concerns with *Face of Fear* I have changed it to require a reaction to inflict the disadvantage on fear effects. This isn't quite what you were suggesting but I think it strikes a balance between being an opportunity cost and allowing it to only be useful once a round so I think it works fairly well. Bloodletting Bite is, indeed, a cantrip. I have fixed the text on that. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll take a closer look at Corpse Mask and think about that. I am also concerned with Necromantic Surge though not for the same reasons you are. I am more concerned that it's just pretty darn boring...and maybe forces the necromancy aspect a bit too much? I don't know. Any suggestions for what another feature at that level might do? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Benjamin Huffman

First, the lore is sweet. I love the idea of a bunch of corpse-leading zealots who believe they're the good guys, and may actually be in some cases. It just puts an interesting spin on the perception of death magic users being the bad guys. I really, really like Stygian Aegis. I love the idea of being able to punish big hits against your protected allies, especially if that ally is tanking a boss, but said boss hits your ally for huge damage anyway. But I also love the balance of the saving throw aspect, since such an effect by itself would be too powerful otherwise. Overall, a really well-designed feature. Don't get me wrong, Stygian Enspell is quite cool, too, but Stygian Aegis really sticks out in its awesomeness. Face of Fear is a really cool feature, as well. I feel as though some limit needs to be imposed, however, on the number of times the disadvantage on fear can be used, especially given how many fear effects that the Knight Stygian has access to. Maybe a fixed number of times per short rest, or maybe ChaMod number of times per long rest? For Necromantic Surge, I recognize that the bonuses come from the Wizard's Necromancy Arcane Tradition. However, skeletons and zombies have such low to-hit bonuses that the bonus to damage rolls is almost never noticed, and this is felt increasingly at higher levels, especially if DMs don't use the optional flanking rules (which I don't because I noticed how degenerative it was to combat strategy). What I'm getting at is that I'd really like to see a bonus to attack rolls instead of damage rolls. The spell list is super flavorful, appropriate, and awesome. Aspir is a fascinating spell that is super niche, but could also cripple an enemy spellcaster. I really like that aspect of it. I also like how you gave it to warlocks, which is a class that can make really good use of it against high-level spellcasting foes. In the spell descriptions, I notice Bloodletting Bite is listed as a "1st-level necromancy", but it's listed in the cantrip section and the way its scaling is worded implies that it is indeed a cantrip. That being said, I think the spell itself is really cool, and I love the idea of it for the Knight Stygian. It's probably one of my favorite augmented attack cantrips you've designed. Corpse Mask is awesome, and I really like it, though I feel it should be at least a 2nd-level spell. It is Disguise Self without any of the drawbacks, and some added bonuses. I know the added caveat of it having to be a dead person is a mitigating factor, but the added bonus of the mannerisms more than makes up for that. In addition, it can't be seen through as easily as Disguise Self since it's a physical transformation instead of an illusion. Drain is really cool, too. Not much more to say; it's useful, it's balanced, and I could definitely see myself using it. Overall, I love the flavor and execution, a lot more than I thought I would (I was not one of the apparent droves particularly excited for the idea of a necromancy-based Magus, but you made me a believer), so really great work.

This is really neat! I'm especially intrigued by the spell Corpse Mask—it seems like it offers a lot of awesome infiltration opportunities. :)

Aurora Hope