Pathfinder 1e: Frigid Grasp

We at Jon Brazer Enterprises are hard at work on the Book of Beasts: Magus Codex, the next entry in the Character Codex Subscription. However, it has become painfully obvious to us that there is a serious lack of touch spells for the class. The class is built around the spellstrike class feature and there are so few official touch spells that we are reusing the same spells over and over again or making excessive use of the close range arcana, wasting some of the spell’s potential. It really is crazy that there are not a plethora of touch spells (particularly in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic) for magi to use.

So when I’m not building new NPCs, I’m creating new spells for them. We’re not using these spells anywhere in the Book of Beasts: Character Codex since those are purely Paizo-created options from the Pathfinder RPG line of books (so no, there aren’t any options utilized from the campaign setting material appearing in this collection either). One I wanted to ask about was frigid grasp. All the first level damage spells I created do something cool to make up for dealing less damage than shocking grasp. When it came to frigid grasp I wasn’t sure if a –2 penalty to Reflex saves was balanced. Should it be –1? I went with –2 because a –1 feels like it should be a cantrip instead of a 1st level spell. However, I am wondering if a cantrip-level penalty would be appropriate with a little less than a typical 1st-level damage spell. Should it be variable, like a 1d3 penalty?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. Also download JBE’s Pathfinder 1e game supplements at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG, the Open Gaming Store, and Paizo.

Frigid Grasp

School evocation [cold]; Level arcanist/sorcerer/wizard 1, bloodrager 1, magus 1, occultist 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature or object touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
Your successful melee touch attack deals 1d4 points of cold damage per caster level (maximum 5d4). Additionally, the target suffers a –2 penalty to Reflex saving throws until the start of your next turn.