Is it possible to have two arcane bonds?

[elglanto simpatico]

Hello there.

I realized that a sorcerer x/wizard y with the arcane bloodline could have two arcane bonds. Same with a magician bard x/wizard y or magician bard x/sorcerer y. Is there somewhere a rule which says that a character cannot have two arcane bonds?

Thanks for your help.

[DM_Blake]

I am aware of no such rule. Usually duplicate class abilities stack, if it makes sense to stack them, such as a rogue/ninja stacking his Sneak Attack dice from both classes.

So I am fairly sure you could get two Arcane Bonds by doing this.

Personally, I think you might be giving up a whole lot of power for little return, but maybe it's worth it.

Rules aside, as a GM, I wouldn't allow two of the same kinds of bonds, so no two familiars, and no two bonded items, but having a familiar and a bonded item, that I would allow - but this is me, not RAW.

[Bizbag]

PRG 73:
"At 1st level, you gain an arcane bond, as a wizard equal to your sorcerer level. Your sorcerer levels stack with any wizard levels you possess when
determining the powers of your familiar or bonded object. This ability does not allow you to have both a familiar and a bonded item."

So a Sorc/Wiz, no, they do not get 2.

APG 82: "At 5th level, a magician gains the arcane bond ability as a wizard. He may not choose a familiar or a weapon as a bonded item. This ability replaces lore master."

It doesn't say you cannot have a second one, so you may very well be able to get it that way. The levels would not stack.

A word of caution, though. It does say "As a wizard", as opposed to the Witch entry of the same book, which uses the language "A witch uses her level as her effective wizard level". This could be read to mean that your ability is not a Bard ability that works the same way, it's the Wizard ability, which would not stack with other, existing Wizard abilities. Given the more terse descriptions offered in the APG Archetype guides, this is more likely the case.

So, what are the results of these combinations?

Wiz/Sorc: 1 Arcane Bond, levels stack
Wiz/Bard: 1 Arcane Bond, highest level applies
Bard/Sorc: 1 Arcane Bond, levels stack.

Edit:

Quote:

rogue/ninja

Ooh! Ooh! Nitpick time!

"A character who takes a level in an alternate class can never take a level in its associated class—a samurai cannot also be a cavalier, and vice versa."

But yeah, Sneak Attack from two valid sources stack. They almost always say so specifically, though.

[The Quite-big-but-not-BIG Bad]

Heh... I was wondering about this a few hours ago. In a lot of cases it's mentioned that the levels stack for the arcane bond. So if you have two classes with a familiar, you get one stronger familiar instead of two weaker ones.
The Arcane Bloodline RAW specifies that you cannot get two Arcane Bonds with it, although the wording is slightly ambiguous about it IMHO.

With the witch it gets really weird, as the Witch Familiar ability benefits from the familiar feature from other classes but RAW not the other way around.

I'd really like a FAQ or Errata on this because it's all a bit ambiguous to me.

Anyway... I don't think having both is unbalanced, so I wouldn't have a problem with spending a feat like Eldritch Heritage to get a familiar for a wizard with a bonded object.