Many battlemages focus purely on destructive evocations, but some extend their tactical studies to include use of the tried-and-true protection of steel. These armored battlemages learn to move and cast spells in even the most restrictive armors, and have developed new methods to magically enhance their armor.
| Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spellcasting | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Arcane pool, medium armor | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Spellstrike | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Armor mastery +1 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Spell recall | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Bonus feat | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Magus arcana | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Heavy armor, knowledge pool | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Armor mastery +2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Magus arcana | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Improved spell recall | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Bonus feat | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Magus arcana | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Armor mastery +3 (1/2 touch AC) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +4 | +9 | Greater spell combat | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +5 | +9 | Magus arcana | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Counterstrike | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Bonus feat | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Armor mastery +4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Greater spell access | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +12 | True magus | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Class Features
An Armored Battlemage does not gain the Spell Combat and Greater Spell Combat class features.
Arcane Pool
At 1st level, the magus gains a reservoir of mystical arcane energy that he can draw upon to fuel his powers and enhance his weapon. This arcane pool has a number of points equal to 1/2 his magus level (minimum 1) + his Intelligence modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the magus prepares his spells.
An armored battlemage cannot spend points from his arcane pool to enhance weapons. Instead, he can expend 1 point from his arcane pool as a swift action to grant armor he is wearing a +1 Defense Bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 1st, the defense bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. This stacks with any existing defense bonus. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves.
At 1st level, a magus can use this defense bonus to apply an enhancement bonus to the armor class of the armor. This does not stack with any enhancement bonus already possessed by the armor.
At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following armor special abilities: balanced, bitter, fortification (heavy, light, or medium), ghost touch, invulnerability, spell resistance (13, 15, 17, or 19), or spell storing. These special abilities are added to any the armor already has, but duplicates do not stack.
Adding an enhancement bonus or special abilities consumes an amount of defense bonus as normal for those abilities.
The enhancement bonus and special abilities are decided when the arcane pool point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the magus uses this ability. These bonuses do not function if the armor is worn by anyone other than the magus.
A magus can only enhance one suit of armor in this way at one time. If he uses this ability again, the first use immediately ends.
Armor Mastery
At 3rd level, an armored battlemage gains the armor mastery of the fighter with a +1 bonus.
This bonus increases by +1 every 5 levels thereafter (8th, 13th, and 18th).
If the magus has armor mastery from levels in another class, he adds his armor mastery bonus from all such classes together to determine his total bonus.
Heavy Armor
An armored battlemage gains this ability at 7th level instead of 13th.
Expanded Arcane Pool
At 14th level, the armored battlemage can grant his armor the glamered special ability at the cost of a +2 bonus, the slick or shadow special ability at the cost of a +3 bonus, and the greater slick or greater shadow special ability at the cost of a +5 bonus when using his arcane pool.