Bonded Focus

An arcane spellcaster who takes the Arcane Bond feat can craft a special arcane focus to enhance their arcane spellcasting ability. Such bonded foci can take the form of an amulet, ring, staff, wand, or weapon. Regardless of its form, the bonded focus is always a masterwork item. (Rather than creating a new item, a spellcaster can choose to imbue an existing masterwork item to become a bonded focus, but only non-magical masterwork items can be so imbued.)

A bonded focus also grants special abilities to its master, as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when you wear or hold your bonded focus.

Levels of different arcane spellcasting classes stack for the purpose of determining any staff abilities that depend on the master’s level.

You cannot use item creation feats to add additional abilities to your bonded focus. Normal crafting methods are not compatible with the arcane bond.

Bonded Focus Basics

All bonded foci have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master’s combined level in classes that grant or progress arcane spellcasting, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative. Use the following statistics for a bonded focus, regardless of its actual item type.

Hit Points

The bonded focus has one-half the master’s total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down.

Hardness

Regardless of the material it’s crafted from, the bonded focus begins with 10 hardness, reducing the amount of damage it takes from almost any source. Its hardness increases with the master’s level.

Break DC

The bonded focus is tough and resilient, giving it a break DC equal to 25 + the master’s level.

Sapience

A bonded focus is an Intelligent Item. It gains Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores as indicated on the table. It also gains an Ego score, determined as normal for an intelligent item. This last score should not come into play very often—a bonded focus is completely loyal to its master, unless its master radically changes alignment or one or the other is affected by some strange compulsion.

Senses

A bonded focus can see and hear in a 60-foot radius as if it were a creature. It does not normally make Perception checks separately from its master, but its master gains the benefit of the Alertness feat while wielding the focus.

Empathic Link (Su)

The master has an empathic link with his bonded focus out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the focus’ senses, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his focus does.

Telepathy with Master (Su)

If the master is 5th level or higher, a bonded focus and the master can communicate telepathically as long as they are within 100 feet of one another. Other creatures cannot communicate with the master or the focus using this telepathy.

Bonded Focus Ability

At 3rd level and every 6 levels thereafter (9th and 15th), your bonded focus gains one special ability based on the type of object it is. Each time your bonded focus gains such an ability, you may select one option from the list for that type of item. In addition, you can select an option from the Universal list, regardless of the form your bonded focus takes.

Amulet/Ring

• Component Storage: Your bonded focus gains an extradimensional space which holds spell components. You gain the benefits of the Eschew Materials feat while wearing your bonded focus.
• Favorite Spell: When you select this ability, select one arcane spell you know (or have recorded in your spellbook) and can cast. As long as you wear your bonded focus, you gain a +1 arcane bonus to caster level and save DC when casting the chosen spell. You can select this ability multiple times. You must select a different spell each time.
• Skill Enhancement: You gain a +3 arcane bonus to one skill of your choice. You can select this ability multiple times. You must select a different skill each time.
• Spell Knowledge: Choose one spell from your class spell list with a spell level up to one less than the highest level arcane spell you can cast. While wearing your bonded focus, you treat this spell as a spell known. If you are not a spontaneous spellcaster with limited spells known, you cannot select this ability.
• Spell Versatility: Once per day, you can use your bonded focus to cast any arcane spell recorded in your spellbook with a spell level equal to or lower than the highest level wizard spell you can cast. This spell cannot be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities and cannot be from a banned school. This spell does not consume any spell slots, and the spell need not be one you have prepared. If you do not use a spellbook, you cannot select this ability.

Staff/Wand

• Spell Knowledge: Choose one spell from your class spell list with a spell level up to one less than the highest level arcane spell you can cast. While wearing your bonded focus, you treat this spell as a spell known. If you are not a spontaneous spellcaster with limited spells known, you cannot select this ability.
• Spell Versatility: Once per day, you can use your bonded focus to cast any arcane spell recorded in your spellbook with a spell level equal to or lower than the highest level wizard spell you can cast. This does not consume any spell slots, and the spell need not be one you have prepared. If you do not use a spellbook, you cannot select this ability.
• Wand Casting: You transform your bonded focus into a spell trigger item, charging it with a single spell you know (or have recorded in your spellbook) and can cast. The chosen spell must be 5th-level or lower and cannot be changed once selected. Your bonded focus gains 10 charges when you select this ability. Casting the spell in your bonded focus functions as a magical staff, using your ability score, feats, and abilities to set the save DC and your caster level. Casting the a spell consumes a single charge from your bonded focus. You can recharge your bonded focus in the same manner as recharging a staff. You can select this ability multiple times. You must select a different spell each time, and all spells use the same set of 10 charges.
• Wand Recharge: Each day when you regain your spell slots, your bonded focus automatically regains a single charge. You must have selected the Wand Casting ability to select this ability. You may still recharge your bonded focus as normal, regaining up to two charges per day.

Weapon

• Arcane Warfare: You may use your key ability modifier for attack rolls with your bonded focus in place of your Strength or Dexterity. This has no effect on damage rolls.
• Combat Casting: You may cast spells with somatic components while wielding your bonded focus as if the hand holding it were empty. In addition, you gain a +2 arcane bonus on concentration checks made to cast defensively while you wield your bonded focus.
• Combat Focus: You gain a +1 arcane bonus to attack and damage rolls made with your bonded focus. You may select this option multiple times, and the bonuses stack.
• Enhanced Enchantment: When casting a spell which targets your bonded focus (such as magic weapon), you gain a +1 arcane bonus to your caster level.
• Weapon Bonus: Your bonded focus gains a +2 Weapon Bonus, which you may assign as if you were crafting a magic weapon. You may select this option multiple times, and the benefit stacks. Each time your bonded focus gains this ability, you may completely change what effects are granted by the weapon bonus.

Universal

• Improved Senses: Your bonded focus improves its senses in one of the following ways. You may select this ability multiple times, gaining a different improvement each time.
  • It gains the ability to speak aloud and knows all languages that its masters knows. It can also read these languages.
  • It gains Darkvision and Blindsense out to 60 feet.
  • The range of its normal vision and hearing increases to 100 feet. (This does not Darkvision or Blindsense.)
• Increased Sapience: You increase one mental ability score of your bonded focus by 4 and the other two ability scores by 2. These are permanent increases to the ability score, not a bonus.
• Intelligent Item Power: Your bonded focus gains any one Intelligent Item Power of your choice with a +1 Ego Modifier, except that it cannot gain any ability related to a special purpose unless you also have the Special Purpose ability. You may select this option multiple times. You select a different power each time. If you are at least 11th level, you can select powers with a +2 Ego Modifier or less when your bonded focus gains this ability.
• Purpose: Your bonded focus gains a special purpose as defined by you and may gain Dedicated Powers using the Intelligent Item Power ability.
• Self-Propulsion: As a standard action, you can touch your bonded focus and will it to form spidery, ethereal legs that grant it a land speed of 30 feet and a climb speed of 20 feet. The legs fade into nothingness after one day (or sooner, if you desire). While this ability is active, your bonded focus gains a Strength score of 1 and a Dexterity score of 12.