But any allies buffs are also blocked.
The 3 items thing is not that meaningful when shoulders only has one non-CoR item that is really worth giving up a CoR (Lesser Displacement, potentially wings of flying), one is the same ring slot and the other is a fixed price enchantment.
Have them buff pre-combat and lower your SR every turn. Buffing in combat is also bad play as it wastes the most important turns. Not to mention combat doesn't last long enough to justify using buff then buff then buff while your allies die to/solve the encounter.
(Now I am forced to play Devil's Advocate because I sounded too srs... :|
Where are you getting the cost of illusion part of the ring equivalent from?)
You should provide us with alternative(s) to our cloak and body slots that are good enough for us to really pay 130k extra for that super ring. I haven't found anything decent, that is not replaceable by spells.
Well if you have access to spells that can do all those effects anyway I don't see the point in looking for magical items. Just use those and save even more money!
A prime example of useless ring actually. Spell resistence is actually a negative and outside of glamoring your weapons (effectless mechanically) you can get items that provide the same effect cheaper (25,000 cloak+25,000 ring+2,700 fixed price armor ability).
Ring of deflection +5 - 50,000
"cloak of resistance" - 25,000Spell Resistance 22 - 36,000+ (estimated based on armor)
glamor effect - 2,700 (armor)
glamor effect weapon - 2,700+ (weapon(s))
The resistance bonus will be in an alternate slot and added to an existing enchantment which will increase (double) it's price.
Spell resistance will also be in an alternate slot and added to an existing enchantment, price is extrapolated from the armor quality using a +6 enhancement for 21 SR (double). It would probably be 42,000 gold or so for SR 22.
glamored is 2,700 for any armor and has no stacking issues, weapons are not commonly efected though and can affect all your weapons, estimating it at least the same price, but I guess it should be a bit more expensive really.
Now I am not sure the spell resistance is worth all that but the rest is roughly worth 110,000 gold by estimation and in my opinion not a bad investment.
Btw I like using sequester on small bonded objects like rings, lvl 7 for wizards but lasts 1 day/level.
"When cast, this spell prevents divination spells from detecting or locating the target and also renders the affected target invisible (as the invisibility spell). The spell does not prevent the subject from being discovered through tactile means or through the use of devices. Creatures affected by sequester become comatose and are effectively in a state of suspended animation until the spell ends."
(Spell Resistance is +10k/point of SR over 12; minimum 13. SR 22 is 100,000k. On armour there will have to be a minimum +1 enhancement bonus already, so it's at least a second enhancement. The price is therefore 50% more = 150K.
And what book is the glamour effect from?)
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It's a trade-off, to be sure. If you wear a ring on each finger, with your bonded one un-enhanced, you can play a deadly guessing game with your attacker; an elf wizard with a bonded rapier could potentially help out in melee, especially at low levels (but would open yourself up to getting sundered and disarmed more often); daggers can be made the sturdiest if you're worried about enemy wizards with familiars casting Shatter over and over again when you can't counterspell them; but my favourite would usually be the wand, if only because you can use it to repeatedly cast your most commonly-cast spell without using up any slots.
While I agree that most people who could sunder the bonded object would be more likely to go for the wizard himself, it'd be more dangerous if you have a clever recurring antagonist or rival group with a wizard who shouts stuff like, "Break his wand!" or "Steal her ring!"
It'd be an awful lot of work for that sweet extra spell slot, but especially when you have that blessed book stitched into your undies, it'll be worth it.
Rings can't be stolen, and if you're really paranoid Fortifying Stones are inexpensive. On the other hand, a GM might interpret resources spent protecting the object as an invitation to destroy it.
I honestly don't think most wizards need to worry about a ring getting sundered unless the GM is out to get them. OP's 18-entry "spell tax" indicates he is indeed super-paranoid. If your GM is out to get you, and in that situation no defense is ever enough.
Personally, I intend to get a Ring of Invisiblity as my bonded item for PFS. Sure, I could just cast it, but this way I can be invisible all the time.
Rings can't be stolen, and if you're really paranoid Fortifying Stones are inexpensive. On the other hand, a GM might interpret resources spent protecting the object as an invitation to destroy it.
This is true... very, very true
I honestly don't think most wizards need to worry about a ring getting sundered unless the GM is out to get them. OP's 18-entry "spell tax" indicates he is indeed super-paranoid. If your GM is out to get you, and in that situation no defense is ever enough.
again very, very true.
Personally, I intend to get a Ring of Invisiblity as my bonded item for PFS. Sure, I could just cast it, but this way I can be invisible all the time.
I love this idea...
I don't get the concept behind your concern. It sounds like you're playing a very confrontational style of game where your DM is out to get you. Seems very unappealing to me.
I feel that taking a bonded item has very little risk (after all if a melee bruiser is toe to toe with me he could probably just gak me vice breaking my focus) and love the flavor of using a wand like I'm in Hogwarts or an amulet like Dr. Strange. The ability to magically enchant your items without the feets actually make staves an inserting choice as it gives the player an excellent opportunity to custom build a Staff of Awesome exactly the way he wants it at a lower level than staves can normally be crafted.
Edit: Also I'd chat with your DM about how non-obvious your arcane bond can be. Personally I like having my bond glow brightly and channeling my SFX through it when I cast spells is fun.
I'm with you on this one, I even put a talking skull on the end of my staff that continually abuses everyone in draconic. My toon is also very dangerous so if you want to get within range to take it out of my hands you've probably got a whole other world of hurt going on for you to worry about too :)
Huh... I have a player who has a Half-Angel/Half-Demon amulet who complements the party in celestial and insults their foes in infernal/abyssal. We actually made it intelligent after a time. Now it functions as if using antagonize. much to the casters dismay.
I say the more cinematic/thematic the better.
I see rings are hands down the best. Don't have to take them off, hard to lose, hard to steal, not generally a target.
Agreed. Rings are EASILY concealable (little lead paint on the outside helps mask the magical aura, it is easy to cover that part of your hand with a glove or bandage so the ring cannot even be directly seen, etc) and make some pretty excellent magic items in general.
Plus it is realy hard to remove a ring from someone. They are just not easy to get to, target in combat or take without someone knowing it.
And you can make them out of nearly any metal so they can be resilient and since they are so tiny they are relatively cheap due to low material cost.
I see rings are hands down the best. Don't have to take them off, hard to lose, hard to steal, not generally a target.Agreed. Rings are EASILY concealable (little lead paint on the outside helps mask the magical aura, it is easy to cover that part of your hand with a glove or bandage so the ring cannot even be directly seen, etc) and make some pretty excellent magic items in general.
Plus it is realy hard to remove a ring from someone. They are just not easy to get to, target in combat or take without someone knowing it.
And you can make them out of nearly any metal so they can be resilient and since they are so tiny they are relatively cheap due to low material cost.
When possible I make mine adamantine bands. Though I have them made as though they aren't high quality with superficial scratches and such. Also magic aura is a must if that sort of thing is a concern.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Personally I prefer taking a ring as a bonded object with a mwk cane(club) to trick people into thinking his cane is the bonded object.
This. Heck, Rey carries a masterwork club, a spellbook and a spell component pouch. (He's a sorcerer)
Now personally, I think *any* item should be 'presented' The ring is on your 'spellcasting hand' the amulet must be visible not buried under 8 layers of cloth, etc. Not so much for 'GMs to target' but to keep it equal to the staff/wand/weapon choice. My pet peeve of the mechanic is what others have said, why would you not use the ring/amulet for all the advantages they bring?
Design aside
honestly its still better to get a familiar even though you lose out on levels. bonded object is to much of a liability.
I go so far as to carry around an intricately carved, but otherwise mundane cane/staff/etc. I use minor effects like prestidigitation to make the "runes" glow and such when I want the item to look more magical.
It's an easy 1st level trick for misdirection.
In regard to the OP dislike of familiars based that they are gimped due to their abilities being based around the wizard level, I have to disagree as most of the important stats such as HD, HP, and saves use the character level.
As for the best bonded object, I'm partial to the suggestion of a spiked gauntlet.
Wow, I come back from a long slumber and this thread still has life in it? I know my words are brilliant but I am a little surprised to see that I am still inspiring people.
OP's 18-entry "spell tax" indicates he is indeed super-paranoid. If your GM is out to get you, and in that situation no defense is ever enough.
what I actually did is went through the spell list and noted anything that could obviously be used to protect one's B/O. Not so much paranoia as basic theorycraft, but they don't need to know that.
Agreed. Rings are EASILY concealable (little lead paint on the outside helps mask the magical aura, it is easy to cover that part of your hand with a glove or bandage so the ring cannot even be directly seen, etc) and make some pretty excellent magic items in general.
Your willing to wear a poisonous metal directly on your skin covered with a bandage and they call me paranoid?
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It seems to me that there are 3 concerns to address here:
1) The vulnerability of the item
2) Keeping your hands free
3) Getting a free limited item creation feat
These three issues are all situation dependent. Some questions to ask:
What kind of character are you playing?
• If you are a spell cannon, your risk of getting a weapon sundered is minimal – if you are in melee combat your job is to get OUT of melee combat, not stand there waiving your weapon. In this case probably the best choices from an offensive point of view are dagger (for the dagger of dueling) or staff (for the staff of awesomeness). Obviously if you have a plan to take one of these feats for your build, don’t take that kind of item. – you can already make it.
• If you are playing a melee character/Gish, probably a weapon is a bad choice – sundering is just too big a risk.
• If you want to go arcane trickster, free hands matter a lot – probably a ring is a good way to go.
• Since the best craft feat in the game is craft wondrous items, you probably want to take this feat, and therefore you don’t want to take an amulet – it’s wasting a free enchantment ability, and has no benefit over a ring from a game mechanic point of view.
• The wand is probably a good choice if you don’t really expect the game to last past about 10th level or so. Being able to enchant wand is a nice perk for low level play, at higher levels it’s a waste – staff is a much better choice.
All of this said, we can focus on 3 choices:
Ring
Dagger/Gauntlet
Staff
Other considerations:
• What other item creation feats are available in the party? If your priest is taking craft arms and armor, then a weapon is a bad choice – you can use your friend to build the dagger of dueling. Most players don’t want craft ring – rings just aren’t that versatile. So again the ring is a good choice here. If anyone in the party is planning to take the craft a staff feat, it’s probably you.
• How easy does your DM make it to craft items using NPC’s? If he makes it easy then the only consideration here is cost – so how soon do you want to have the cool enchantments on your item?
• Is your DM out to get you? If so, take a ring. Dagger/Gauntlet is not a bad choice, but staffs are just too easy a target. Keep in mind though that if your DM wants to take your item, he’s probably going to find a way to take it.
• OK, so with all this considered, here is the “full munchkin” choice – Note that all the above logic applies to this item as well:
Mithril spiked buckler.
This gives you 0% spell failure, and a shield that you can enchant up to +5 AC points (granting a total +6 shield bonus to AC), it can be animated as well (freeing a hand for 4 rounds at a time), add energy resistance, Spell Resistance and determination abilities to it. On TOP of the dueling weapon property and any other weapon qualities you might wish for.
This item is so good, that all by itself it justifies a wizard taking the craft arms and armor feat. Unfortunately, it’s so munchkin that some DM’s will target it’s destruction out of spite.