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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Secrets of Magic / Book of Unlimited Magic / Soulforged Armaments

Binding an Armament

Source Secrets of Magic pg. 232 1.1
You bind an armament—a weapon, shield, or suit of armor—to your soul when you select the Soulforger Dedication feat. This represents performing a special ritual to do so. You can choose an item you own to make soulforged or spontaneously manifest an item with a form drawn from your spiritual essence. In the latter case, you choose the form, selecting a mundane weapon, shield, or armor of level 1 or lower, either common or one to which you have access. An existing armament is deconstructed and then recreated with the substance of your soul binding it together, which changes the appearance to match the state of your soul. It might have a perfect surface and gleam in the faintest light if you have a noble soul or have a twisting, chaotic shape if your soul is wracked with turmoil. This appearance can change based on your actions. Most soulforgers also choose a unique name for their armament.

Traits: A soulforged armament is always magical. If it doesn't otherwise have any traits that make it magical, it gains the magical and evocation traits if it's a weapon or the magical and abjuration traits if it's a shield or armor.

Extradimensional Storage: The armament is stored in an extradimensional space when not in use, and you can Manifest it to summon it into your hands or onto your body. A soulforged armament can be Dropped, Disarmed, or otherwise removed from you, but its soulforged abilities don't function for anyone else, and you can Dismiss the manifestation to return the items to the extradimensional space no matter where the items are. If you die or choose to pass ownership of a soulforged armament to a successor, it loses any soulforged abilities; violating the spirit of the soulforged bond by selling the item tends to have disastrous results. There might be special techniques or rituals by which a determined foe can break your bond with a soulforged item, but otherwise, your ability to Dismiss and Manifest it essentially means it can't be stolen.

Essence Power: Choose one essence power for your soulforged armament. You can bring the essence power forth once per day by tapping into the armament's essence form deep in your soul; essence powers can be found here. You also choose a soulbond—a cause true to your soul that links you and your armament. Going against this cause can give your armament a soulbond corruption that hinders you even while the armament isn't manifested.

Special Armament Types

Specific Items

You can turn a specific item into your armament, such as a flame tongue or sturdy shield, though some unusual or special items can't be bonded, such as cursed items, artifacts, and intelligent items, in addition to other story-specific items at the GM's discretion. Bonding a specific item follows the standard procedure for upgrading or reshaping your armament.

Ammunition

If a soulforged weapon requires ammunition, that ammunition appears with the weapon when you Manifest it. You can choose the way it appears, such as in a magical quiver that appears on your body, or simply floating in the air where you can pluck it to load or shoot your weapon. The form doesn't change how many or what type of actions reloading takes or any other functions of the ammunition. If you want anything other than basic ammunition for your weapon (such as a sleep arrow), you must attain and carry that ammunition separately.

Dual Weapons

You can choose two one-handed weapons you want to wield simultaneously as your soulforged weapons. When you Manifest Soulforged Armament, both weapons appear. Because they're a pair, you must Manifest them together, having two hands free to do so, and Dismiss them simultaneously as well. The essence power applies to both weapons, so they share benefits like the new damage type and status bonus to damage from planar pain. However, you get any effects the bond grants you only once, as the dual weapons function as a single armament. For instance, if your essence power is healing grace, you can cast one heal spell when you manifest the essence form of your dual weapons, not two.

Attached Weapons

An attached weapon (such as a shield boss or shield spikes) brings the item it's attached to with it when manifested or Dismissed. Manifest Soulforged Armament uses the item the weapon is attached to for its Requirements, so a shield boss would require you to have a hand free to hold the shield. If you have Soul Arsenal, you could have a soulforged weapon attached to a soulforged shield. These items work normally for Soul Arsenal, except that you can neither Manifest nor Dismiss one without the other.