Handbook of Erotic Fantasy: Power Spikes (Patreon)

You ever have one of those moments when your character build “turns on” in a big way? Maybe you got a key feat. Maybe you picked up a new class ability, snagged some crazy item, or got that uber spell combo to finally go off. When it happens for the first time though, you definitely sit up and take notice. Sliding a tentative hand down the length of your character sheet, a thing made unfamiliar by exciting new possibility, you may find yourself eying the party pecking order with an appraising eye. 

You see, when someone experiences a power spike, the constellation of PC dynamics can’t help but shift in response. Such impressive character endowments demand attention, positively throbbing with a need to be unleashed. Whether or not this is comfortable for everyone in the party is another question. 

This mess happened in my party once upon a time. It was my megadungeon campaign, and the character in question also happened to be a magus. Dude was heavily Dex-shifted, which meant that for the duration of levels one and two he was a gish pretending to be an archer. Levels in the megadungeon are long, and XP progresses on the slow track. That meant that everyone had months worth of game time to cement their opinion of our magus. He was the dude who cast occasionally useful spells, but mostly stood in the back and plunked away with his longbow. 

“I have a d8 hit die,” he explained. “My Con is mediocre.” He was playing the waiting game.

It all changed when third level rolled around. Dervish dance finally came online, and that meant that Mr. Magus could finally begin playing for keeps. Shifting from a “try to survive the early levels” playstyle to a full-on melee striker, shocking grasp-empowered crits became a regular occurrence rather than a once-in-a-while burst. And as you might glean from the slightly-pained expression on Inquisitor’s face, such role-reversals aren’t easy on the rest of the party. 

If you’re not familiar, levels 3-5 are huge for this kind of magus build. Dropping a 12d6 + Dex crit at 5th level before anyone else can manage so much as an iterative attack, and then casually announcing “I make my second attack” thanks to spellstrike, it can begin to get downright discouraging for Greatsword Dude. Things even out quickly from 6th level on, but there’s no denying that those sudden pyrotechnics can rock socks and raise eyebrows in the early levels.  

So never fear, Inquisitor! I’m sure that you’ll regain your top spot as the group’s dominatrix in another couple of levels. Or failing that, you can always just head to Adventure 2D: Hot Springs of the Gratuitous Nymph. I hear those healing waters fix all kinds of transmutations. And besides, who wouldn’t want to play through the sequel to Temple of Elemental Libido?