PF 1e: Tarfoot

Not long ago, I mentioned that while working on Book of Beasts: Magus Codex, I noticed there are far too few touch spells. Now that that supplement is with the editors, I am writing new spells designed with the magus class in mind. All of these spells are touch spells. Previously I showed off the level 1 spell frigid grasp. This time I’m sharing a level 2 spell named tarfoot.

When creating tarfoot, I looked at slow and ask how I could make it more advantageous for a magus. Obviously, reducing the range to touch came first. Next was to make it available earlier than 7th level. The solution there was to make it a 2nd level spell. To accomplish I had to turn the power down just a little (since the power was already reduced by making it a touch spell). Reducing the versatility was a good start so I cut the possibility of losing the target’s attack. Losing the move action entirely was to powerful, so I cut the speed by an amount that would hurt. Even that, however, seemed an excessive reduction in power for a second level spell. So I added in the loss of the 5-foot step.

It was this last change, however, that I like best. Slow is a transmutation spell, magicly affecting the body and making it resistable to normal saving throws. By switching it to conjuration, the magic is creating something, and that something is what is holding the target back. That allowed me to play with the way to bypass this spell in a fun and memorable way.

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Tarfoot

School conjuration (creation); Level arcanist/sorcerer/wizard 2, bard/skald 2, bloodrager 2, magus 2, occultist 2, psychic 2, spiritualist 2, summoner 2, unchained summoner 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a snail shell)
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw see text; Spell Resistance yes
Black sticky goo covers the target’s feet, reducing its base land speed–as well as burrow and climb speed if the target has either of these speeds–to half their normal; armor and encumbrance reduce the target’s speed as if the target’s speed is unchanged, reducing it after the speed is halved (to a minimum of 0). Additionally, the target cannot take a 5-foot step while under the effects of this spell. As a standard action, the target can attempt to escape this with either a CMB check or an Escape Artist check. CMD in this case equals the saving throw DC for this spell. A successful check ends this spell.