The Magus is a class supplement for Draw Steel. Inspired by Final Fantasy's Blue Mage, study and copy your enemies' magic abilities and more!
Also available: A 3rd Level Adventure introducing an otherworldly new solo monster and new Magus allies!
THE MAGUS is a digital-only third party supplement for MCDM Productions' heroic fantasy TTRPG Draw Steel, introducing a brand new class, featuring over 90 heroic abilities based on a wide range of monsters and bosses you may face on your adventures. Also included is a collection of new complications, retainers, rivals and other character creation options such as perks, titles and treasures.
Also in development is FIENDS OF TWO WORLDS - a 3rd-level adventure introducing 2 unique Magus allies and a brand new solo monster.
Many third party classes in the works seek to fill the wizard-shaped hole in Draw Steel's class lineup, but the Magus takes a unique approach inspired by various literary works and videogames alike to bring you a flavorful spellcaster class that embraces the weirdness of the Timescape.
The vast majority of the class is already complete up to Level 10, and is in the midst of playtesting. If you're interested, you can play the class right now using the links to the Level 1 Preview below!
Every Magus gains new heroic abilities by studying the monsters they fight, meaning your growing compendium of spells is shaped by the trajectory of your adventure, making each Magus unique. Additionally, 3 base subclasses introduce more exciting variability:
The Occultist can research their foes quickly, can react rapidly to incoming attacks, and can trade their notes with other occultists during a respite to gain abilities from monsters they've never seen before.
The Witch can hex their foes to mark them as the Witch's plaything, a subject of the Witch's harassment and torment that enables a host of triggered actions and additional effects.
The Alchemist can invoke random effects alongside their heroic abilities that can either buff them and their allies, or harm them. They can also use their heroic abilities off-turn with added risk.
This 3rd level adventure takes heroes through an average of 10 victories, and introduces new Magus allies alongside a brand new solo monster to defeat, and a colorful collection of preexisting Timescape creatures. While heroes of any class can play this adventure, this is also an ideal spot to introduce a heroic Magus should you choose!
Battle with Hobgoblin mystics, a torrent of unbound Undead and a ghastly Boggart
Negotiate with the people of Scir-upon-Wode to acquire additional resources and save the villagers from traipsing into mortal danger
Make allies with local hunters and occultist apprentices
Survive the perils of the Occultist's Blue Tower through excitingMontage Tests and puzzles
Face off against a brand new solo monster - the Dreadnought
A Village in Peril
Welcome to the small forest village of Scir-upon-Wode, home to a rich cultural tradition of hunting and forestry known as Elgendelving - that is, venturing into the nearby Elgenwode to uncover its secrets and delicacies and enjoy its exotic charms. You arrive in the weeks approaching the village's annual Goose Fayre, a mundane but large trading festival that brings thousands trafficking geese from the gens of Graid to be sold. The fayre is a cornerstone of Scir-upon-Wode's economy. Unfortunately for the village, the fayre is about to be disrupted by the recent string of otherworldly monster incursions the village has suffered.
Solve the Mystery, Save the Village
Nobody knows why these strange and dangerous creatures have been threatening the village as of late - they certainly haven't come from the wode - but many of the villagers have a theory. On the edge of town sits the Blue Tower, home to a magus known by the name Lapis and her young apprentice Atra. They are known for their peculiar experiments and expertise on monsters, leaving the town questioning if they brought these besieging monsters to their doorsteps.
Is Lapis really to blame? Why are these monsters assaulting the village and where do they come from? And will the village be saved before the long-awaited Goose Fayre begins? You decide.
The Magus is inspired by a whole host of fictional spellcasters across literature and gaming. Chief among them, the class is inspired by the works of British author Joseph Delaney (including The Spook's Apprentice) and the Blue Mage from the Final Fantasy series.
Other prominent influences include DC's Hellblazer, Marvel's Taskmaster, Kevin Levin from Ben 10, Mega Man, and Ravenloft's Ezmerelda d'Avenir.
For the adventure, prominent inspirations include the folklore of Robin Hood (owing to Lead Designer Adam's origins in Nottingham), The Spook's Apprentice and the adjoining Wardstone Chronicles, and miscellaneous British folklore.
The core class, 3 subclasses, assorted rewards and character options, and the adventure are already mostly complete, subject to final playtesting.
Layout Concept by Jonas Tintenseher ✦ Design and Content Not Final
The Silent Student by Matilda White
In addition to paying our ardent writers, the funds raised by this crowdfunder with go towards further and more rigorous playtesting, making the layout look the best it can, as well as to commission more artwork for both the core supplement and the adventure, including:
Cover art for both supplements
Spot art such as the Magus' tools, abilities and monsters
Treasure illustrations
An illustration of the Dreadnought, our adventure's original boss monster
A landscape of Scir-upon-Wode, the Robin Hood-inspired setting for our 3rd level adventure
While The Magus is already a complete product, we have lots of ideas to push the project even further if the demand is there.
£2000 - More art
With more funds, we'll be able to commission more artto further enhance the book, including:
Portraits and token art for both the occult apprentice Atra and forest hunter retainer Chirrup
Additional artwork of new featured monsters
We'll also include example character bios for Magus retainers that you can drop right into your games!
£2500 - New subclass
One of the following additional subclasses, voted on by you:
Astromancer: An expert on the cosmology of the Timescape and the fundamentals of reality. A spellcaster who uses absurd science to exert control over reality.
Teratovore: An expert of culinary magic, gaining the abilities of the creatures they consume. Able to prepare hearty meals for the adventuring party to provide additional buffs depending on the ingredients
£3000 - New subclass
If we reach this stretch goal, you'll get both the Astromancer and Teratovore.
£3500+ - Even more art
After this, our priority becomes making the book look as good as it possibly can be, commissioning even more art such as full body art for key NPCs, and art for our retainer characters.
£4500 - Hire a developer for class Codex implementation
Implementing a class of our scale with 90+ new abilities into the Codex is no meagre feat, and doesn't come cheap. If we can hit this very ambitious stretch goal, we can guarantee we will hire a developer to make Codex implementation a reality, and make the module available to all backers receiving the class supplement.
If we don't hit this very loft goal, we will still keep Codex implementation on our minds as a long term goal as soon as it becomes affordable and feasible.
We are excited to share that we have partnered with the wonderful Echolocation to bring you an exciting promotion.
If you pledge to support both "The Magus" AND "Kick Some Glass!" on BackerKit, and both projects fund, you'll receive free additional game content from both campaigns, you will receive an additional addon for each project for no additional cost.
Kick Some Glass! is a collection of gameplay options for both Directors and players, centered around a new Upper Worlds setting: the glass planet Silica-14. It features:
Lore for a new Silica-14 setting
Four new monster bands: the Churners, the Silicates, the Silislime, and the Sunpiercers
The Silicateancestry: a translucent, photosynthetic people made entirely of glass
A 3rd level Glass Dragon solo
And more!
What do I get?
If you pledge for both campaigns, and we both fund, you will receive the Glass Grimoire addon, providing new heroic abilities available to Magus heroes who encounter the silicate Churners, Silislimes, Sunpiercers and Glass Dragon. These abilities weaponize blinding light, magical fractals of glass, and scorching hot torrents of molten glass, giving you even more ways to customize your Magus. Backers of both will also receive an exclusive magical artifact of Echo's design!
If you're interested, make sure you back both this project and "Kick Some Glass!"
September 2026 - Right Now! The Magus First Echelon class preview is available for free now for your perusal.
October 2026 - The Crowdfunding Campaign Ends Higher tier backers will gain instant access to playtest materials for the Magus class via Google Docs as well as access to the brand new Aah! Books Discord server's exclusive Magus Backer channel for periodic updates and previews.
Supplement Release All backers will receive their digital items no later than Q2 of 2027 to allow time for thorough playtesting including of any additional stretch goal subclasses. Those who missed the opportunity to back will be able to acquire the core Magus supplement and the quest on itch.io.
Stretch goal funded subclasses will enter development as soon as the crowdfunder ends, as applicable, and we aim to have them released by Q4 2027.
Future Aah! Books plans to use leftover revenue to invest in future projects, such as continuations to Leo Hojnowski's adventure Keep on the Road War, new monsters, magical items and perhaps even more new classes. We also want to continue to create new Magus abilities for the exciting new monsters that emerge after this project's release.
There is minimal risk in terms of fulfilment as the bulk of designing is already complete and the main remaining tasks are quality assurance and playtesting, layout and art. This product is a digital-only release so will not experience any printing and shipping related problems.
"The Magus" Design Director: Adam Hunt "Fiends of Two Worlds" Design Directors: Adam Hunt & Leo Hojnowski Designers: Gemma Rowe, John Devlin, Leo Hojnowski Illustration and Design: Adam Hunt, Matilda White, Serominn, Sleepylildruid
48% of The Magus - A Draw Steel Wizard Class, Adventure and More! backers also backed this project.
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Echolocation