How can I cast Awaken as a magus?

Question

I've had an animal egg for a while, and now it's about to hatch. The idea came up of having awaken cast on it to make it intelligent, but the party druid and my character don't get along very well, and I'd rather the druid not get the "friendly toward you" benefit of casting the spell. The cost for a scroll is 3,125 gp total, and I could UMD it - but is there a better way for my magus to cast or otherwise get the benefit of awaken?

Answer 1

Not Particularly

Unless it's something you want to be doing a lot of, a scroll + UMD, or getting someone else to cast it for you, are going to be the cheapest and easiest ways of getting the animal awakened.

While it's possible to cast Awaken yourself via shenanigans (a ring of spell storing likely won't cut it due to 'spells the user can cast' line), they generally cost feats, prestige class levels, or other nonsense that is far beyond the 3000gp required to buy the scroll. If you don't have the UMD to activate a 5th-level scroll, that might be an issue, but from your question it sounds like you do, so that is the easiest option in PF as I understand the current rules.

If you're heading down this path, though, you should inform your GM. As it's an egg you've been specifically carrying, it probably came from somewhere notable, and your GM might have plans for it. Not that I am implying those plans conflict or he should fudge things in your benefit - simply that if the egg is plot important, this might cause some npcs to react differently, or reveal some information to the group, or something, which the GM might not have prepped yet, or need to alter now, or so forth. Try to keep your GM in the loop so they can be ready for stuff to happen ahead of time.

Additionally, you may consider your magus asking the druid to cast this as a means of creating some roleplayable situations - where the rivalry is intensified due to a 'child' (who likes one 'parent' due to the spell but is being taken care of by the other 'parent') being part of the relationship between the two characters. Not something you should force, but not something particularly unreasonable to occur, either.

Answer 2

Your options include...

• Sucking it up and asking the Druid to cast the spell. You're still ponying up the two thousand gold, though, since he's not likely to absorb any of the cost for you since you don't get along.

• Scroll and UMD. 1,125 added to the 2k isn't really a huge amount. A +1 weapon and a +1 armor together are 3k+ - if you're high enough level that your Druid has awaken, it shouldn't really be that much. This way is probably best if you want to treat the animal as a cohort or companion of some type, since it makes it like you quite a bit. As a mix of this one and the above, if someone in the party has Scribe Scroll, the Druid can help them make the scroll for half the normal cost (doesn't halve the 2k).

• Watch for opportunities. If you meet a Djinn on good terms, find out if he'll grant you a reasonable wish. If you meet a Dryad - or go to meet a circle of Druids with your party member, for that matter - ask if they're capable and willing. Keep an ear to the ground for rumors about places like the Mana Wastes / Emerald Spire that have effects like you're looking for. This requires some GM buy-in, of course, but it sounds like your GM is already at least interested, from your question. Of course, the GM might appreciate a story hook more than just handing you a random reward...

• An epic quest. Intentionally arrange a meeting with a Djinn with the intention of receiving that wish. Seek out a Dryad or circle of Druids known to have the power to awaken animals, and complete a quest for them. Pick up an ability to control random magic items and hit up Ravenloft a place known to have a deck of many things. If your GM is on the fence, a side-quest might be just the thing to get them fully on-board, which is pretty much required for anything you're doing here.

• Acquire a ring of spell storing. It's 50,000 gold, or 25,000 if someone in your party can make it for it. THEN you'll still pay the 2k for most methods of getting the spell in the ring (unless someone does it for free, per get it randomly or an epic quest). But this way you can cast the spell yourself out of the ring, and get the "it likes you a lot" benefit.

• Just get someone else in the world to cast it. You don't get the friendliness bonus, but spellcasting services are at least a little cheaper (and don't require a skill check) than buying a scroll.