[RPG] Can a magus with a high BAB cast two spells or attack and cast, with their full attack action

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Suppose you are a level 10 Magus or something similar. (Something with a decent BAB progression and spellcasting abilities) When you hit +6/+1, can you cast a spell, then attack, vice-versa, or simply case two spells? Everywhere I look I can't get a clear answer.

Best Answer

No, you cannot. Casting is a standard action, and no matter what you only get 1 standard action per round. Multiple attacks due to high BAB changes your attack from a standard action to a full round action.

You can, however, take the feat Quicken Spell so that you cast one spell as a standard action and one as a swift action, but you still only get one standard action.

But - A Magus gets his attacks as free actions when he casts a touch attack spell

Specific to your class, is the Spell Combat ability and the Spellstrike ability. While these abilities do let you cast a spell to augment your attack actions, you are still required to choose a standard action attack or a full round attack (you don't have to perform more than a single melee and touch attack, but you spend a full round doing it either way) and you cannot cast the spell between attacks if you get more than one.

From Spell Combat:

A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

This allows the Magus to use his touch attack in addition to his melee attack as a full round action. If he has additional attacks due to high BAB, he gets those during this full round as well.

From Spellstrike:

At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack

Spellstrike allows you to apply the touch attacks to your melee attacks and on a free melee attack that round (and on BAB bonus attacks if the spell has multiple attacks) and even on subsequent rounds if the touch attack spell has more uses than you can expend in one round. (disclaimer, this statement is based off of the D20PFSRD FAQ, and may not be considered RAW canon)

You can even have both active at the same time and still attack. (note that you are applying both abilities to a single spell cast, not casting two spells)

If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon’s critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals ×2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.

Also of note, you can make a five foot step during a full round attack, meaning you can cast your spell using Spell Combat, (casting defensively if you are threatened) attack, move 5 feet, and attack again.

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