Tangent101 |
I've noticed several encounters in RotRL have enchanted Arcane Bonds. The thing is, these are also listed as treasure... which runs contrary to the very nature of the Arcane Bond.
Arcane Bonds cannot be used by anyone but the Wizard who holds the Bond, and when the Wizard dies, the magic fades from the Bonded Item, leaving just a mastercraft staff.
Was this intentional, with the magic not intended to be used by the players? Or are these enchanted items that then became a Bonded Item (which I believe retains its magic even if the Bond is removed)?
Or have Arcane Bonds been altered with a FAQ, and I just have older rules? ^^;;
Digital Mystic |
Remember that a caster can enchant his own bonded items even if he / she does not have the needed Item Craft ability (as long as they are the appropriate level). I assume that these items were enchanted normally by their holders, and even after their death causes the bond to fade, the enchants remain.
Cthulhudrew |
I had a similar question about whether an enchanted arcane bonded item should count against an NPCs Wealth By Level since it shouldn't function for anyone else if he's killed, but never got a definitive answer.
EDIT: And also, this:
A wizard can add additional magic abilities to his bonded object as if he has the required item creation feats and if he meets the level prerequisites of the feat. For example, a wizard with a bonded dagger must be at least 5th level to add magic abilities to the dagger (see the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat in Feats). If the bonded object is a wand, it loses its wand abilities when its last charge is consumed, but it is not destroyed and it retains all of its bonded object properties and can be used to craft a new wand. The magic properties of a bonded object, including any magic abilities added to the object, only function for the wizard who owns it. If a bonded object's owner dies, or the item is replaced, the object reverts to being an ordinary masterwork item of the appropriate type.
Tangent101 |
It almost feels like the AP/module writers went "this would be a fantastic magic item to give that wizard! But I only have so much space in the AP, so adding info on a familiar would take too long. I know, I'll make his weapon/nifty staff/ring/whatever a Bonded Item!" without realizing this rule... or the fact this basically eliminates a magic item.
Mind you, it's an effective method of ensuring the players don't get a hold of a powerful magic item - just claim the item is Bonded, and will not work for anyone but the wizard in question. However, the fact that a wizard can take a preexisting magic item and make it their Bonded Item confuses things further. Is that wizard's Mithral Staff a previously magical item that was then Bonded, or was it crafted by the wizard himself and thus evaporates into a mere masterwork quarterstaff once the wizard is dead?
Latrecis |
Slightly off topic but if a wizard with a bonded object that has added magical properties dies, the item reverts to a masterwork item with no magic right? Then if the wizard is subsequently raised or resurrected, he can take the item as his bonded object (through the appropriate process) if desired but any investment of money, etc. in adding the magical properties is lost and if such features are desired the wizard has to start over. Correct?
Tangent101 |
By the letter of the rules, yes. That said, if a wizard was hit by either a Breath of Life spell, or if a Raise Dead was enacted within a day of death, I'd say the Bonded Item regains its abilities. I mean, otherwise you're punishing wizards who choose to craft a weapon or the like for their Bonded Item. And this gets especially nasty at higher levels - if someone actually went and turned their bonded Staff into a Staff of Power, and then died for one round, should they be penalized (and out of a hundred thousand gold) because of bad luck?
(In short - yes, you are correct. I just house-rule exceptions in seeing my player with a Bonded Item didn't realize that before he started enchanting his repeating crossbow with endless ammunition and the like.)
Digital Mystic |
Now... what if instead of enchanting the bonded item themselves... they have someone else enchant the bonded item? Someone with the magic item creation feat and everything. It would cost the same effectively. Would the item keep the enchants and be useable by anyone (as far as the enchants are concerned? Presumably so right?
Latrecis |
I suspect we have entered the undiscovered portion of the rules where there may not be a RAW answer. (Yes, that was a challenge to prove me wrong!)
My view would be the origin of the bonded object matters. If at 1st level the wizard had a ring as his bonded object and later added magic to it (especially if he leveraged the rule not requiring him to have the actual crafting feat!) the object would lose all magic with the wizard's death. On the other hand if the wizard found a dagger of venom and made it his bonded object, it would remain a dagger of venom after the wizard's death. This of course produces Tangent101's original question - how do we know which type a particular treasure item is?
My answer: unless I have a specific reason to believe otherwise I just ignore bonded objects for wizards at least as regards their possessions after death and assume magic items are just magic items. Unless of course I have some reason to not want the pc's to have such an item. But I do that very rarely - it strikes me as unfair to have an enemy use an item on the pc's and then deny it to the pc's if/when the enemy is defeated. There's a measure of murdehobo thinking there but it's a core precept in the game - defeat enemies and get their stuff.
Avatar Unknown |
A wizard can designate an existing magic item as his bonded item. This functions in the same way as replacing a lost or destroyed item except that the new magic item retains its abilities while gaining the benefits and drawbacks of becoming a bonded item.
I would assume this was the case for any bonded item listed as treasure (that caveat is left out of the description, and by what is strictly written cannot be more than inferred), and that after the wizard's death the item reverts to its original status as a magic item before it was bonded (minus any charges that may have been used, of course). Furthermore, one would be safe in assuming that any wizard that has the needed feats to add magic to his bonded item could in effect create a new item and then bond that. Of course, then if the item is stolen, then it can be used against him (while a normal item that has then been improved could not, at least not to full effect). If the bonded item is [bold]NOT[/bold] listed as treasure, then I would assume it was specifically the first type.
...
Woof, the grammar on that was obnoxious... That being said, as a GM, make it a judgement call. Is the NPC paranoid and likely to worry about the item? More carefree/arrogant/whatever and likely to not worry about it? Is it a significant boost for the PCs over their current gear (I wouldn't bother giving them an extra magic item they are just going to sell off. It takes the fun out of giving treasure...)
Huh. would this make the answer to the original question: Yes, all of the above?