Questions about the bonded weapon for a bard (arcane duelist)

[blargney the second]

I'm playing in a Dark Sun game using Pathfinder with the E6 variant, and my bard is working his way through 4th level right now. I just took a closer look at the stuff I'll get if I make it to 5th level. It's all pretty easy to understand, except for the arcane bond ability that I'll get as an arcane duelist.

I've got a few questions about the bonded weapon:
1) Acquisition. ("begin play with one at no cost") Do I just get a brand new masterwork weapon from thin air (or magic!) when I acquire the ability, even though I'm not at 1st level? Believe me, this would be a big deal in our Dark Sun game.

2) Material. ("Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material.") In a setting where steel weapons are extremely rare and coveted, what substance is the bonded weapon made with? For that matter, I'm not 1st level. :-/

3) Casting. ("If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell.") Do I seriously have to have my weapon unsheathed, in my hand, and ready to attack in order to cast spells? That seems awkward at parties. If I leave the weapon sheathed, would putting my hand on the hilt suffice?

Naturally, I'll be asking my DM about this. I just wanted to solicit some advice here to see if I'm understanding this all properly.
-blarg

 

[DogBackward]

1) and 2) Talk to your DM about a mini-quest. You could do it over eMail between sessions. Find a long-lost relic, an ancient family heirloom, or something like that. Maybe, as a bard, you've earned the patronage of some noble or another who gifts it to you. By 5th level in an E6 game, even a masterwork steel weapon wouldn't be too much for a Darksun game. The main point being, look for some useful and interesting story-based way to gain the sword, and just assume that it happens in the background.

3) You have to have it "in hand", so yes, having it sheathed and in your belt would work just fine, as long as you have a hand on it. It's not uncommon for warrior types to keep a hand on their weapon, though people might eventually notice that you always touch your blade just before something mystical happens. Which is one of the drawbacks to balance the usefulness of the Bonded Item. Although, to be honest, the Bonded Item is much less useful for classes that cast spontaneously. But you still get to enchant it as if you had the feat, so that's useful, especially in Darksun.

 

[Tovec]

Just my two cents but here's a go.

1) Acquisition. ("begin play with one at no cost") Do I just get a brand new masterwork weapon from thin air (or magic!) when I acquire the ability, even though I'm not at 1st level? Believe me, this would be a big deal in our Dark Sun game.

I'm fairly sure "begin with no cost" means the price of the item doesn't come out of your gold, especially at first level this would ruin some people. I like the "side-quest" idea.

2) Material. ("Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material.") In a setting where steel weapons are extremely rare and coveted, what substance is the bonded weapon made with? For that matter, I'm not 1st level. :-/

I'm not overly familiar with Dark Sun, so forgive me, but can't it be made from bone or something?

3) Casting. ("If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell.") Do I seriously have to have my weapon unsheathed, in my hand, and ready to attack in order to cast spells? That seems awkward at parties. If I leave the weapon sheathed, would putting my hand on the hilt suffice?

It is part of the "you shall not pass"-ness of having a bonded item - say a staff. Which brings me to my suggestion, a staff. You just have to have it in your hands, where would you "sheath" a staff?

It is too bad it can't be a ring, medallion or other objects like regular bonds - stupid duelist..

Naturally, I'll be asking my DM about this. I just wanted to solicit some advice here to see if I'm understanding this all properly.
-blarg

You more or less are understanding it correctly, or at least as well as me
Yes ABSOLUTELY talk with your DM and figure out what to do. Dark Sun is a very explicit setting and it will have bigger consequences than regular games. A friend of mine had similar issues when dealing with this while sailing in the middle of an ocean.

 

[Wik]

Fun fact for anyone who is thinking of running a Dark Sun campaign: Do it, but prepared to rewrite half of the rules to do so. Also, just when you think you're done, a side case appears.

As the DM in question, I figure I'll post my rulings here, and let people pick them apart for holes. I'm nice like that.

1) Acquisition. ("begin play with one at no cost") Do I just get a brand new masterwork weapon from thin air (or magic!) when I acquire the ability, even though I'm not at 1st level? Believe me, this would be a big deal in our Dark Sun game.

That is a big deal, especially the masterwork part. I'm going to say that this does not apply in our game, and that you can choose to bond with any single item, that you already have in your possession.

Justification: Weapons in my campaign are expensive, and the group, at 4th level, has yet to have even a masterwork item. The intent of this rule is to have only weapons that are slightly better than average be the recipient of this rule, and also to take up a slot that could otherwise be spent on a magic item.

In my campaign, magic items are rare (there are about three in the party so far? If that?), so there's less issue with item slots, and no weapon has a magical attack bonus, so this masterwork bonus issue is less of an issue.

Letting a PC acquire an item out of thin air is a bad idea in the campaign. Especially an item that would be the equivalent of a magical masterwork longsword - easily the best item the group has encountered yet.

2) Material. ("Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material.") In a setting where steel weapons are extremely rare and coveted, what substance is the bonded weapon made with? For that matter, I'm not 1st level. :-/

We can waive that rule. You're never going to have the chance to make it out of adamantine or cold iron, and I don't think the game really cares too much if it's made out of bone. For that matter, I don't really mind if you use your obsidian longsword for the purposes of this... in fact, it would kind of make sense, as it's already a minor magic item that your bard's been carrying around for a while in-game.

3) Casting. ("If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell.") Do I seriously have to have my weapon unsheathed, in my hand, and ready to attack in order to cast spells? That seems awkward at parties. If I leave the weapon sheathed, would putting my hand on the hilt suffice?

The way I read it, you're kind of screwed here. From the SRD:

If the object is an amulet or ring, it must be worn to have effect, while staves, wands, and weapons must be wielded. 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.

That suggests you need to be holding the thing in your hand. However, I think this is a case where the original intent no longer applies with your variation. Because the original rule is implying that the weapon is a dagger or a sling or staff (or something else a wizard would carry), while you're using it with a sword, and, thankfully, don't want to be shooting lightning bolts out of it like a frickin' power ranger.

So a compromise. You need to be touching your item to cast spells, and the hand that you are using to do so is not used in the casting process. Basically, you touch your blade with one hand, and cast with the other. This has almost the same mechanical effect, without having the stupid visual effect of you waving your sword in the air any time you wanna do something cool.

 

[blargney the second]

A thought just occurred to me: if the bonded item is a spiked shield, can I enhance it as both a weapon and a shield?