The Bondblade
Kay stood at the edge of the battlefield, tired and worn from the fierce fighting. She was bloodstained, but only lightly injured, thanks to Kernith. He had sensed that axe-wielding orc behind her while she was still dealing with two of his friends. And he had dealt with them all in a rather spectacular fashion.
"I didn't know you could do that," she said wearily, looking at the three scorched bodies of the fallen orcs.
*Neither did I, but that's hardly the point. We needed help, and we got it. And now I can do it again, if we get into more trouble, and with you that's more than likely...*
"Of course it's the point," she said, with a ghost of a grin. "That could have been useful before now."
*Tisk tisk, in a bad mood today are we?*
"Of course not, now let's get going."
*The rest of the soldiers are looking at you again. You shouldn't talk to me in public, you know, you'll get a worse reputation than you already have.*
"Hardly."
With one quick motion, Kay sheathed her longsword, and turned to walk away from the battlefield.
*When will you get me a proper sheath? This one is so beneath my dignity...*
"When you grow up Kernith! Now no more grumbling, remember my reputation!"
*Humans... honestly...* Kernith replied with a hint of humor in his mental voice.
Bondblades are fighters that have become so attached to a single weapon that it starts to exhibit intelligence, and eventually, other, stranger abilities. Often this occurs after both the potential Bondblade and her chosen weapon have survived a magical attack, and dispatched the troublesome magician. Something about the residual magic seems to bring about the changes in weapon. Bondblades have been known to carry on entire conversations with their blades, and often consider them to be friends and equals, though it often confuses others when the Bondblade insists that they consider a sword's opinion too.
Fighters and Barbarians are the most common Bondblades, with Clerics, Paladins, Rangers, and Rogues also in the ranks. Bards, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards are much less common, and Monk Bondblades are virtually unheard of.
Hit Dice: d10
Requirements:
Craft (Weaponsmithing) - 6 ranks
Feats - Weapon Focus*, Alertness, Quick Draw
BAB - +5
Special - Must have used a single martial or exotic melee masterwork weapon (or a mace, spear or morning star) consistently and primarily** during the last three levels leading up to taking this prestige class.
Special - Must have had an unusual magical occurance happen to them. Examples include: Being the target of a failed spell (often with bizarre side effects), wetting the sword in the blood of a highly magical creature (like a dragon) or another highly magical substance, having the blade experimented on by a magician or magical creature, or any other unusual occurance. DM's discretion. See Gumbo T's post on page two for more suggestions.
Special - The Bondblade must have either created the weapon herself (and if it has magical abilities, she must have created those as well) or repaired the weapon at a Craft check of 25.
*The weapon must be a masterwork martial or exotic melee weapon (or a mace, spear, or morning star). No ranged weapons are allowed due to the close bond that has to form with the weapon during the heat of close battle. (This could be changed at the DM's discretion)
**More than half the battles fought during this time period have to be fought with this weapon for it to be considered primary.
Class Skills: Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis)
Skill Points per Level: 2+Int mod
BAB - As Fighter
Saves - As Fighter
Level-----Special
1st-----Awaken the Blade I, It's a Kind of Magic I
2nd-----Weapon Specialization, Brothers in Arms
3rd-----Awaken the Blade II, Soul of Steel
4th-----It's a Kind of Magic II
5th-----Awaken the Blade III, My One and Only, By Your Side I
6th-----It's a Kind of Magic III
7th-----True Purpose, Got your Back, By Your Side II
8th-----It's a Kind of Magic IV
9th-----I Didn't Know You Could Do That!!, Always Yours
10th----Till Death Do Us Part
Class Features:
Weapons and Armor Specialization: The Bondblade gains no extra weapons or armor specialization.
Awaken the Blade I: During their time together, the weapon and the Bondblade have gone through a lot together. Now the weapon becomes intelligent, communicating by semiempathy (tingling and throbbing). (The weapon gains Int, Wis, and Cha, two at 2d6+7, one at 3d6). It shares the Bondblade's Sense Motive, Listen, and Intuit Direction skills and also her Alertness feat (For checks of these abilities, the Bondblade essentially gets to make them twice, once for her, and once for her sword.) (Note that the alignment of the blade will always be identical to the Bondblade. Also note that the weapon will only communicate and share its abilities with the Bondblade and no other.)
If the weapon is already magical or intelligent, abilities gained do not stack except for the following:
* If a weapon is already magical, it doesn't gain any magical pluses to this class until the given bonus is greater than what the weapon already had. Ex. if a Bondblade has a +2 shortsword, it wouldn only gain part of the abilities from the It's a Kind of Magic I: being able to bypass damage reduction at +3 and becoming a defender at its +2 bonus.
* If the weapon is already intelligent, nothing changes, except for its alignment, if different from the Bondblade, begins to shift toward hers. (SP)
It's a Kind of Magic I: The weapon now becomes a +1 defender (as the class progesses, the defending abilities scales, thus becoming a +3 defender at 3rd level), and is considered +3 for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. (Also +5 hit points to the weapon, see Soul of Steel). Note that only the actual bonus may be used for the defending ability. The damage reduction bonus does not change. (SP)
Weapon Specialization: A Bondblade now gains a +2 to damage with her chosen weapon as per the weapon specialization feat. If the Bondblade already has Weapon Specialization, she gains an additional +1 competence bonus to hit. (EX)
Brothers in Arms: A Bondblade can repair her chosen weapon with confidence, even restoring its magical abilities if they have been drained away. The DCs are normal if the weapon just sustained moderate damage (see Craft skill for DCs), and higher if more damage was sustained. The weapon can always be repaired, as long as the Bondblade has at least a shard of her chosen weapon. If the magical abilities have been drained away, the Bondblade may restore them (as they are extensions of her own spirit). A Craft check must be made at a DC five higher than normal, to prepare the weapon. Then two points of Con and Cha are temporarily drained to restore the weapon's magical abilities.
If, for some reason the blade is destroyed past all ability to recover, like being thrown into a Sphere of Annihilation, the Bondblade immediately loses 200 XP per Bondblade level (Fort DC 20 for half), all class abilities, but still retains all class hit points, saves, and BAB. She essentially becomes a Bondblade without a chosen weapon. If, by some fluke (divine intervention or other) the chosen weapon is returned, all class abilties are returned, but the lost XP still remains lost. (SU)
Awaken the Blade II: The weapon now awakes to empathy, communicating through emotions and urges to the fighter to encourage or discourage certain courses of action. (SP)
Soul of Steel: The weapon draws its own physical strength from being bonded to the Bondblade. Multiply the base hit points for the weapon by four (use Table 8-13, in the PHB). Also, for each It's a Kind of Magic ability gained, add five extra hit points to the total. (But even though the weapon has gained five extra hit points by this time, do not multiply them for this ability).
Because the Bondblade and the weapon begin to share characteristics, not only does the chosen weapon gain more ability to take punishment, like their wielder, but the wielder becomes more like the weapon. A Bondblade gets an extra save against mind-affecting spells, reflecting her bond to an "inanimate object." EX
It's a Kind of Magic II: The weapon now gains a true +3 bonus, and is considered +4 for bypassing damage reduction. (SP)
Awaken the Blade III: Now the weapon awakes to full blown speech. It speaks Common (or whatever the base tongue is for the character) plus one language per point of Intelligence bonus. There is also a 20% chance that the weapon will gain telepathy in addition to speech. If the character has psionic powers, the chance raises to 50%. By now the weapon has a name and a distinct personality. (SP)
My One and Only: Because the weapon and the fighter have been through so much together at this point, the weapon would be extremely insulted if the Bondblade choose to use any weapon but them in melee. If the Bondblade uses any weapon but their chosen, the weapon will sulk (essentially denying the Bondblade access to all class abilities until she apologizes or gives a very good excuse why she couldn't use her chosen weapon). Sulking typically lasts one day per fight where the weapon was denied use, unless the Bondblade makes amends.
By Your Side I: If the weapon and the Bondblade are separated, she can call the weapon back to her hand as a move-equivalent action. The weapon flies in a straight line back to her hand (Max range 30 ft.). If there are any intervening items or beings, the weapon makes an attack at the Bondblade's highest BAB. If this enough to dispatch the obstacle, the weapon continues on, if not, it falls, and the Bondblade may try again next round. Useable 5/day. (SU)
It's a Kind of Magic III: The weapon gains one primary ability from table 8-33 in the DMG. If the Bondblade already has a particular feat or special class ability, reroll. The magic in the weapon awakens an area that the Bondblade has not already explored. (SP)
True Purpose: The weapon has now found its purpose in defending the Bondblade, and will consider communicating to someone who is not the Bondblade if it will help the Bondblade in some way. (I.e. if the Bondblade has been captured and the weapon left behind, it might consider working with a rescue party.)
Also whenever the Bondblade falls to 0 hit points or less, or is the target of a sleep, hold person/monster, or paralyze-type spell, the weapon becomes a dancing weapon. It only dances under those conditions, and cannot be commanded to dance by the Bondblade otherwise.
Got your Back: The weapon now looks out for the Bondblade. She can no longer be flanked. (SP)
By Your Side II: As By Your Side I, except with a range of 60 ft. superceding By Your Side One. Still 5/day. (SU)
It's a Kind of Magic IV: The weapon is now considered to be +5 for purposes of bypassing damage reduction. (SU)
I Didn't Know You Could Do That!!: The weapon now gains one ability from the medium column of table 8-15 Melee Weapon Special abilities in the DMG. If defending or dancing abilities are rolled, ignore them and re-roll. (SU)
Always Yours: Because the weapon and the Bondblade hate to be separated, she learns to hold onto her weapon. She gains a +10 to any attempts to be disarmed. (EX)
Till Death Do Us Part: By now the weapon and the Bondblade are the best of friends, and the way they work together is nearly supernatural. Now the Bondblade can always unerringly tell where her weapon lies, exact direction and approximate distance. In addition both the weapon and the Bondblade can transfer hit points to each other as a move-equivalent action. The weapon may sacrifice no more than half its hit points to heal the Bondblade (and visa-versa for the Bondblade).
When a Bondblade dies, the weapon will explode into shards of metal (or other) that deal 3d6 slashing damage to all within a 20 ft. radius, unless the Bondblade chooses a rather unusual option.
She can choose to enter the weapon, bonding with the spirit of her blade. If this option is chosen, the weapon's Int, Cha, and Wis become the average of the two entities. Thus the weapon becomes an mixture of the two spirits, with all the attendant magical abilites. Weapons passed down this way in a family often have names stretching back through the ages.
"Ah yes, my name, youngling, is Kernith- Kay-Weldor -Jarsen -Illyan -Hardeth -Belbrite -Garvon -Sevzek -Verquy the Bold, but most call me the Icespider."
A family member (or random adventurer) picking up a old Bonded Blade in this fashion (or from a monster's hoard) can become Bondblades, but instead of rolling for the appropriate abilities, the weapon simply reveals them at the appropriate levels, as their trust in the weilder grows.
Roleplaying Notes: The weapon becomes like a cohort. The player should note that while it has the same alignment as the character, and has shared much of the same experiences, differences in opinion or even outright disagreement could and most likely will arise. Arguments between blade and Bondblade are usually quite fun to watch!
Epic Progression:
11th.......
12th.......It's a Kind of Magic V
13th.......
14th.......It's a Kind of Magic VI
15th.......
16th.......It's a Kind of Magic VII
17th.......
18th.......It's a Kind of Magic VIII
19th.......
20th.......It's a Kind of Magic IX
V: +5 actual bonus, +7 for damage reduction purposes
V: Gains one ability from the major column of Table 8-15 in the DMG
VII: +7 actual bonus, +9 for damage reduction purposes
VIII: Gains one ability from table 4-15 in the ELH
IX: +8 actual bonus, +10 for damage reduction purposes
As always comments and constructive criticism appreciated.
Kay stood at the edge of the battlefield, tired and worn from the fierce fighting. She was bloodstained, but only lightly injured, thanks to Kernith. He had sensed that axe-wielding orc behind her while she was still dealing with two of his friends. And he had dealt with them all in a rather spectacular fashion.
"I didn't know you could do that," she said wearily, looking at the three scorched bodies of the fallen orcs.
*Neither did I, but that's hardly the point. We needed help, and we got it. And now I can do it again, if we get into more trouble, and with you that's more than likely...*
"Of course it's the point," she said, with a ghost of a grin. "That could have been useful before now."
*Tisk tisk, in a bad mood today are we?*
"Of course not, now let's get going."
*The rest of the soldiers are looking at you again. You shouldn't talk to me in public, you know, you'll get a worse reputation than you already have.*
"Hardly."
With one quick motion, Kay sheathed her longsword, and turned to walk away from the battlefield.
*When will you get me a proper sheath? This one is so beneath my dignity...*
"When you grow up Kernith! Now no more grumbling, remember my reputation!"
*Humans... honestly...* Kernith replied with a hint of humor in his mental voice.
Bondblades are fighters that have become so attached to a single weapon that it starts to exhibit intelligence, and eventually, other, stranger abilities. Often this occurs after both the potential Bondblade and her chosen weapon have survived a magical attack, and dispatched the troublesome magician. Something about the residual magic seems to bring about the changes in weapon. Bondblades have been known to carry on entire conversations with their blades, and often consider them to be friends and equals, though it often confuses others when the Bondblade insists that they consider a sword's opinion too.
Fighters and Barbarians are the most common Bondblades, with Clerics, Paladins, Rangers, and Rogues also in the ranks. Bards, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards are much less common, and Monk Bondblades are virtually unheard of.
Hit Dice: d10
Requirements:
Craft (Weaponsmithing) - 6 ranks
Feats - Weapon Focus*, Alertness, Quick Draw
BAB - +5
Special - Must have used a single martial or exotic melee masterwork weapon (or a mace, spear or morning star) consistently and primarily** during the last three levels leading up to taking this prestige class.
Special - Must have had an unusual magical occurance happen to them. Examples include: Being the target of a failed spell (often with bizarre side effects), wetting the sword in the blood of a highly magical creature (like a dragon) or another highly magical substance, having the blade experimented on by a magician or magical creature, or any other unusual occurance. DM's discretion. See Gumbo T's post on page two for more suggestions.
Special - The Bondblade must have either created the weapon herself (and if it has magical abilities, she must have created those as well) or repaired the weapon at a Craft check of 25.
*The weapon must be a masterwork martial or exotic melee weapon (or a mace, spear, or morning star). No ranged weapons are allowed due to the close bond that has to form with the weapon during the heat of close battle. (This could be changed at the DM's discretion)
**More than half the battles fought during this time period have to be fought with this weapon for it to be considered primary.
Class Skills: Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis)
Skill Points per Level: 2+Int mod
BAB - As Fighter
Saves - As Fighter
Level-----Special
1st-----Awaken the Blade I, It's a Kind of Magic I
2nd-----Weapon Specialization, Brothers in Arms
3rd-----Awaken the Blade II, Soul of Steel
4th-----It's a Kind of Magic II
5th-----Awaken the Blade III, My One and Only, By Your Side I
6th-----It's a Kind of Magic III
7th-----True Purpose, Got your Back, By Your Side II
8th-----It's a Kind of Magic IV
9th-----I Didn't Know You Could Do That!!, Always Yours
10th----Till Death Do Us Part
Class Features:
Weapons and Armor Specialization: The Bondblade gains no extra weapons or armor specialization.
Awaken the Blade I: During their time together, the weapon and the Bondblade have gone through a lot together. Now the weapon becomes intelligent, communicating by semiempathy (tingling and throbbing). (The weapon gains Int, Wis, and Cha, two at 2d6+7, one at 3d6). It shares the Bondblade's Sense Motive, Listen, and Intuit Direction skills and also her Alertness feat (For checks of these abilities, the Bondblade essentially gets to make them twice, once for her, and once for her sword.) (Note that the alignment of the blade will always be identical to the Bondblade. Also note that the weapon will only communicate and share its abilities with the Bondblade and no other.)
If the weapon is already magical or intelligent, abilities gained do not stack except for the following:
* If a weapon is already magical, it doesn't gain any magical pluses to this class until the given bonus is greater than what the weapon already had. Ex. if a Bondblade has a +2 shortsword, it wouldn only gain part of the abilities from the It's a Kind of Magic I: being able to bypass damage reduction at +3 and becoming a defender at its +2 bonus.
* If the weapon is already intelligent, nothing changes, except for its alignment, if different from the Bondblade, begins to shift toward hers. (SP)
It's a Kind of Magic I: The weapon now becomes a +1 defender (as the class progesses, the defending abilities scales, thus becoming a +3 defender at 3rd level), and is considered +3 for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. (Also +5 hit points to the weapon, see Soul of Steel). Note that only the actual bonus may be used for the defending ability. The damage reduction bonus does not change. (SP)
Weapon Specialization: A Bondblade now gains a +2 to damage with her chosen weapon as per the weapon specialization feat. If the Bondblade already has Weapon Specialization, she gains an additional +1 competence bonus to hit. (EX)
Brothers in Arms: A Bondblade can repair her chosen weapon with confidence, even restoring its magical abilities if they have been drained away. The DCs are normal if the weapon just sustained moderate damage (see Craft skill for DCs), and higher if more damage was sustained. The weapon can always be repaired, as long as the Bondblade has at least a shard of her chosen weapon. If the magical abilities have been drained away, the Bondblade may restore them (as they are extensions of her own spirit). A Craft check must be made at a DC five higher than normal, to prepare the weapon. Then two points of Con and Cha are temporarily drained to restore the weapon's magical abilities.
If, for some reason the blade is destroyed past all ability to recover, like being thrown into a Sphere of Annihilation, the Bondblade immediately loses 200 XP per Bondblade level (Fort DC 20 for half), all class abilities, but still retains all class hit points, saves, and BAB. She essentially becomes a Bondblade without a chosen weapon. If, by some fluke (divine intervention or other) the chosen weapon is returned, all class abilties are returned, but the lost XP still remains lost. (SU)
Awaken the Blade II: The weapon now awakes to empathy, communicating through emotions and urges to the fighter to encourage or discourage certain courses of action. (SP)
Soul of Steel: The weapon draws its own physical strength from being bonded to the Bondblade. Multiply the base hit points for the weapon by four (use Table 8-13, in the PHB). Also, for each It's a Kind of Magic ability gained, add five extra hit points to the total. (But even though the weapon has gained five extra hit points by this time, do not multiply them for this ability).
Because the Bondblade and the weapon begin to share characteristics, not only does the chosen weapon gain more ability to take punishment, like their wielder, but the wielder becomes more like the weapon. A Bondblade gets an extra save against mind-affecting spells, reflecting her bond to an "inanimate object." EX
It's a Kind of Magic II: The weapon now gains a true +3 bonus, and is considered +4 for bypassing damage reduction. (SP)
Awaken the Blade III: Now the weapon awakes to full blown speech. It speaks Common (or whatever the base tongue is for the character) plus one language per point of Intelligence bonus. There is also a 20% chance that the weapon will gain telepathy in addition to speech. If the character has psionic powers, the chance raises to 50%. By now the weapon has a name and a distinct personality. (SP)
My One and Only: Because the weapon and the fighter have been through so much together at this point, the weapon would be extremely insulted if the Bondblade choose to use any weapon but them in melee. If the Bondblade uses any weapon but their chosen, the weapon will sulk (essentially denying the Bondblade access to all class abilities until she apologizes or gives a very good excuse why she couldn't use her chosen weapon). Sulking typically lasts one day per fight where the weapon was denied use, unless the Bondblade makes amends.
By Your Side I: If the weapon and the Bondblade are separated, she can call the weapon back to her hand as a move-equivalent action. The weapon flies in a straight line back to her hand (Max range 30 ft.). If there are any intervening items or beings, the weapon makes an attack at the Bondblade's highest BAB. If this enough to dispatch the obstacle, the weapon continues on, if not, it falls, and the Bondblade may try again next round. Useable 5/day. (SU)
It's a Kind of Magic III: The weapon gains one primary ability from table 8-33 in the DMG. If the Bondblade already has a particular feat or special class ability, reroll. The magic in the weapon awakens an area that the Bondblade has not already explored. (SP)
True Purpose: The weapon has now found its purpose in defending the Bondblade, and will consider communicating to someone who is not the Bondblade if it will help the Bondblade in some way. (I.e. if the Bondblade has been captured and the weapon left behind, it might consider working with a rescue party.)
Also whenever the Bondblade falls to 0 hit points or less, or is the target of a sleep, hold person/monster, or paralyze-type spell, the weapon becomes a dancing weapon. It only dances under those conditions, and cannot be commanded to dance by the Bondblade otherwise.
Got your Back: The weapon now looks out for the Bondblade. She can no longer be flanked. (SP)
By Your Side II: As By Your Side I, except with a range of 60 ft. superceding By Your Side One. Still 5/day. (SU)
It's a Kind of Magic IV: The weapon is now considered to be +5 for purposes of bypassing damage reduction. (SU)
I Didn't Know You Could Do That!!: The weapon now gains one ability from the medium column of table 8-15 Melee Weapon Special abilities in the DMG. If defending or dancing abilities are rolled, ignore them and re-roll. (SU)
Always Yours: Because the weapon and the Bondblade hate to be separated, she learns to hold onto her weapon. She gains a +10 to any attempts to be disarmed. (EX)
Till Death Do Us Part: By now the weapon and the Bondblade are the best of friends, and the way they work together is nearly supernatural. Now the Bondblade can always unerringly tell where her weapon lies, exact direction and approximate distance. In addition both the weapon and the Bondblade can transfer hit points to each other as a move-equivalent action. The weapon may sacrifice no more than half its hit points to heal the Bondblade (and visa-versa for the Bondblade).
When a Bondblade dies, the weapon will explode into shards of metal (or other) that deal 3d6 slashing damage to all within a 20 ft. radius, unless the Bondblade chooses a rather unusual option.
She can choose to enter the weapon, bonding with the spirit of her blade. If this option is chosen, the weapon's Int, Cha, and Wis become the average of the two entities. Thus the weapon becomes an mixture of the two spirits, with all the attendant magical abilites. Weapons passed down this way in a family often have names stretching back through the ages.
"Ah yes, my name, youngling, is Kernith- Kay-Weldor -Jarsen -Illyan -Hardeth -Belbrite -Garvon -Sevzek -Verquy the Bold, but most call me the Icespider."
A family member (or random adventurer) picking up a old Bonded Blade in this fashion (or from a monster's hoard) can become Bondblades, but instead of rolling for the appropriate abilities, the weapon simply reveals them at the appropriate levels, as their trust in the weilder grows.
Roleplaying Notes: The weapon becomes like a cohort. The player should note that while it has the same alignment as the character, and has shared much of the same experiences, differences in opinion or even outright disagreement could and most likely will arise. Arguments between blade and Bondblade are usually quite fun to watch!
Epic Progression:
11th.......
12th.......It's a Kind of Magic V
13th.......
14th.......It's a Kind of Magic VI
15th.......
16th.......It's a Kind of Magic VII
17th.......
18th.......It's a Kind of Magic VIII
19th.......
20th.......It's a Kind of Magic IX
V: +5 actual bonus, +7 for damage reduction purposes
V: Gains one ability from the major column of Table 8-15 in the DMG
VII: +7 actual bonus, +9 for damage reduction purposes
VIII: Gains one ability from table 4-15 in the ELH
IX: +8 actual bonus, +10 for damage reduction purposes
As always comments and constructive criticism appreciated.
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If I wanted something at 20th level, I had to stick an extra level in there somewhere.