Steg's page

Spell Sponge is from the new Animal Archive, it's a feat your familiar can take.

Whenever your master targets you with a harmless spell with a target of “you,” the spell's duration is doubled as if modified by the Extend Spell metamagic feat. This does not affect spells with a duration of concentration, instantaneous, or permanent, or spells already modified by Extend Spell.

When it says harmless spell, does that mean a spell that actually says "harmless" in the saving throw or spell resistance line? Or does it mean any spell that's not harmful?

The only spells I can find that only have "You" in the target and also actually say "harmless" are Animal Aspect and Greater Animal Aspect.

There's a handful more spells that actually say "harmless" and have "You" in the target line, but it's target "you and 1 ally" or "you or creature touched" and so on. (Freedom of Movement, Invisibility, Greater Invisibility, Wind Walk, Find the Path, Hidden Speech, Tireless Pursuers, Battlemind Link, Sharesister) Do these spells work with the feat?

I'll be controlling a character with a breath weapon (5-foot cone) and I don't know how that works.

Is it a single 5' square? Is it three squares?

If the creature has a reach of 0 ft. does the square it's in get hit by the breath weapon? If so, can it choose not to?

Lets say I have 22 fame. If I went to the shop to purchase a +2 Longsword, it would cost me 8,315 gold. I cannot buy this item since my fame score limits my Maximum Item Cost to 8,000 gp.

If I buy a +1 Longsword for 2,315 gold, then later want to have it upgraded to a +2 Longsword, it would cost me 6,000 gold to do so. Can I do this with my fame at 22 (limit 8,000 gold) or do I need fame 27 in order to increase my gold limit above the final price of the item (8,315)?

How does this apply to an Arcane Bond? Lets say I received a free masterwork longsword as my bonded item. I can add magic abilities to it as if I had the required item creation feats, and if I meet the level prerequisites of the feat. So at level 5 I would qualify for the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat. The PFS FAQ says I can now upgrade my bonded longsword for the cost value of the final item as listed in the item's statblock.

Does this cost value allow incremental upgrades? Meaning upgrading a +1 Longsword into a +2 Longsword costs me a total of 3,000 gold? Or do I have to pay the full 4,000 gold which is what it would cost to enchant a masterwork longsword into a +2 longsword?

How much fame does a wizard require to upgrade his bonded +1 Longsword into a +2 Longsword?

13 fame? That's Max Item Cost 3,000 gp, which is what the wizard is actually paying. (Assuming the cost value includes incremental upgrades)
18 fame? That's Max Item Cost 5,250 gp, which exceeds the total cost of enchanting an existing masterwork longsword into a +2 longsword (4,000 gp).
22 fame? That's Max Item Cost 8,000 which is the total price of enchanting an existing masterwork longsword into a +2 longsword.
27 fame? That's Max Item Cost 11,750 which exceeds the price to outright buy a standard +2 longsword (8,315).

Lastly, the PFS FAQ on upgrading an Arcane Bond references "the magic item upgrading FAQ" which I am unable to find.

With the new changes for PFS, GMs are assumed to have access to all hardcover rulebooks. However, the PRD is now a legal resource.

Would the crack paizo web team consider making available a downloadable version of the PRD? Just flat HTML files that could be copied to a laptop or tablet or whatever. They would load much faster than PDFs, and would be easy to search.

I'm sure there would be some overhead, perhaps in updating the downloadable files when the real PRD is changed, and probably fixing some of the navigation elements to work when not run from the actual site. But it would be a great boon to those of us with access to low-end devices and no network connection.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I remember being able to view PFS events in a calendar format. I would have thought it was under the "Find Events in Your Area" link on the PFS page, but that just makes a giant vertical list broken up by region. I was positive there used to be a way to view a normal calendar of events, but now I can't find it.

Also, the "About Pathfinder Society" link in the top grey bar while in the PFS section loads an empty page. The header and sidebar stuff is there, but no content.

The Skirnir Magus Archetype gains an Arcane Bond (Su) shield at 1st level. The Wizard Arcane Bond (Ex or Sp) grants a masterwork version of that item.

So I get a free Masterwork Heavy Steel Shield. The Masterwork property only applies to ACP, not to shield bash attacks: "An enhancement bonus on a shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but the shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right."

So, if I want to have it enchanted with a +1 enhancement bonus to hit and damage (like a normal +1 weapon) do I just pay 2,000 gp, or do I have to pay the difference in cost of the armor masterwork (150) and the weapon masterwork (300)? Or the full 300 for weapon masterwork? The Arcane Bond FAQ says "the cost value of the final item as listed in the item's statblock" but I'm not sure how that works with weaponizing a shield.

What about shield spikes? Table: Armor and Shields lists them as costing "+10 gp". Do you have to purchase a "Spiked Shield" costing (shieldcost+10gp) or can the spikes be purchased at any time and added to an existing shield? Can I buy Masterwork Shield Spikes for 310 gp and stick them on my arcane bond, turning it into a Masterwork Spiked Masterwork Heavy Steel Shield?

I think it would be easier to treat the spikes as the weapon, meaning I have to buy MW spikes (310gp) then enchant them like any other weapon, while I can enchant my existing MW shield as armor. But I'd like to have this all sorted out before I bushwack my next GM.

Is it legal to have a PFS character with only one trait? The only traits available in the three core assumption documents are the faction traits in the Guide to PFS OP. Since those are all Campaign traits, you cannot choose more than one.

If another player at the table has a physical copy of the book, a name-watermarked Paizo PDF, or a printout from the actual Paizo PDF, is that sufficient to utilize an additional resource?

Is a photocopy/xerox of the actual hardcover book acceptable? (Not the entire book, just the relevant portion, like printing certain pages from the PDF)

If sharing material is not allowed, and a character is not legal due to the lack of additional material, can the character be 'fixed' or should it be shelved as-is until the relevant resource is acquired?

Lastly, was an official decision ever made regarding applying GM chronicle sheets out of order? Specifically Michael Brock's post on GM Credit. The new guide isn't out yet, but if we knew the intent, that could possibly make certain characters (like mine) legal enough to play.

Thanks for your time.