Bonded objects and familiars. Are they balanced?

[Nikosandros]

Yesterday I introduced Pathfinder to one of my groups and the player who created a wizard wondered about the arcane bond class feature.

I tend to agree with him that receiving one bonus spell per day (of any allowed level) seems rather better than the benefits granted by a familiar. It is true that the bonded object can become a liability, but realistically how often in actual play will a wizard be without it?

 

[does not compute]

I don't think it is too powerful. A familiar grants +2 Save, +3 Skill or +3 hp. Additionally, the familiar can be used as a scout, and, with some investment, even has some use in combat. The Sorceress in our group once used her familiar to contact our cleric and get him to help us. Didn't work out oo well, because he didn't recognize the animal and tried to chase it out of the temple.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Korvosa City Guard "All those entering the castle must leave their weapons behind. No blades. No daggers of any kind. Sir, excuse me, you are a wizard are you not? Your familiar may accompany you, but you will have to leave your bound object behind. Queen's orders I'm afraid. I understand it helps you cast spells, but in the castle you are under the protection of the Queen's guard and will not need to be casting spells. It will be here for you when you return."

 

[frankthedm]

If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object worn or in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell. The DC for this check is equal to 20 + the spell's level.

The bonded item eats a slot and is a notable liability. The familiar is now the default "No hassle" feature since you can leave the critter at home or ritually sacrifice it with no extra costs or detriments.

If a bonded object is damaged, it is restored to full hit points the next time the wizard prepares his spells. If the object of an arcane bond is lost or destroyed, it can be replaced after 1 week in a special ritual that costs 200 gp per wizard level plus the cost of the masterwork item. This ritual takes 8 hours to complete. Items replaced in this way do not possess any of the additional enchantments of the previous bonded item. 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

The bonded item option is the stronger one, but comes with some baggage.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Korvosa City Guard "All those entering the castle must leave their weapons behind. No blades. No daggers of any kind. Sir, excuse me, you are a wizard are you not? Your familiar may accompany you, but you will have to leave your bound object behind. Queen's orders I'm afraid. I understand it helps you cast spells, but in the castle you are under the protection of the Queen's guard and will not need to be casting spells. It will be here for you when you return."

Wizard: Surely you wouldn't force an old man to part with his walking stick?

 

[does not compute]

You can't expect every town guard to be a bunch of gullible horse people...

 

[dmccoy1693]

Wizard: Surely you wouldn't force an old man to part with his walking stick?

Sorry Sir, Queen's orders. I'm going to have to deny you entry if you do not obey.

 

[Xendria]

First, if this is the Queen of even a semi-large kingdom I'm sure she would have a personal guard that includes at least some adepts that can use detect magic. Honestly, depending on the strength of the kingdom, I'd expect a decent repertoire divination spells at her disposal. And knowing that she is expecting and audience, she would have those resources at the ready to check the party. This could also show how honest/paranoid the party is if the guards don't outright state that they can detect the items or lies.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Particularly at low levels, the kind of baggage a bonded object comes with is manageable. There are certainly some RBDMs who might make the wizard leave his staff outside, though it occurs to me that a glove of storing might make a good investment for just such a purpose, and the wizard could always choose the ring or amulet option to work around that (though yes, at the cost of an item slot).

On the other hand, a free spell is a pretty important resource to have access to at 1st level, and at later levels, your spellcraft should begin to get to the level that you can make the DC for casting without your item fairly easily. Familars have always felt a bit superfluous to me, unless the player really goes out of his way to use them well. The bonded object have a clear use for any tactically-minded player.

And after all, your wizard shouldn't be in melee in the first place, so that bonded item in the weapon slot is probably in a pretty safe place.

 

[EroGaki]

Sorry Sir, Queen's orders. I'm going to have to deny you entry if you do not obey.

"Well, if the Queen wants something from me, she can come find me in the inn."