In this week’s update for Paths of Magic, we’re looking at new and improved magic items! This post will be a bit shorter than the others, given the nature of magic items is pretty straight-forward and doesn’t need a lot of explanation.
Staves, by Bryon Oshiro
Paths of Magic adds both metamagic rods and staves to the mix, neither of which were included in our previous books. There are five metamagic rods, one for each of the new feats in the book (those being Metallic, Volcanic, Reinforced, Beastlord, and Twilight Spell). We’ve also added in a dozen new staves for spellcasters, each of which has at least one new spell from Paths of Magic. The golemancer’s staff, for example, gives a large number of spells for controlling constructs, while the unnerving aberrant beacon gives spells centered around eldritch powers, including the ability to summon the spawn of Yog-Sothoth!
Like the previous books in the Path series, Paths of Magic includes weapon/armor properties, unique weapons and armor, rings, and wondrous items; all of the items from the previous books are returning and many have been updated for better balance or pricing (a lot of the early items, especially in Path of Shadows, were too expensive for most players to consider purchasing).
There’s also more unique weapon and armor properties which can help certain build ideas work a bit better. The brutal weapon property, for example, multiplies your weapon’s enhancement bonus to damage when using Vital Strike feats, which should help even the score a bit (Vital Strike users could use the help, believe me). Each new weapon and armor property in the book also has a unique piece of equipment that uses that property in some way, all of which have their own artwork to bring them to life. One of my favorite new weapons is the ocularius, a flail that’s covered in glass eyes. Not only does it work as a focus for divination spells like scrying, but when it scores a critical hit against a creature you can steal its extraordinary senses (like lifesense or tremorsense)!
The majority of the new wondrous items and rings are tailored to the new classes in Paths of Magic, with each class having a couple of unique items and/or weapon and armor properties for their use only. The shaper’s fold, for example, can boost the effect of the shaper’s ability to see magic and also lets them seem ethereal/incorporeal creature across planes. The armiger’s pauldron is a new variant of the cloak of resistance for the vanguard, which lets them grant their construct companion their own saving throw bonus a few times per day for when it really counts.
As a send off, here’s a couple of the new equipment properties you’ll find in Paths of Magic, which should open some interesting new options for players. See you all next week!
FETTERING (+2 Armor Property)
Armor with the fettering property is wrapped in numerous chains and shackles which latch onto nearby creatures. The wearer adds the armor’s enhancement bonus as a competence bonus to his CMB when attempting a grapple and as a bonus to his CMD against an opponent’s attempts to escape his grapples (be that by a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check).
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Cost +2 bonus; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, animate objects, chain gang*
BLACKOUT (+2 Weapon Property)
Blackout weapons are used by assassins and scoundrels to strike down foes while remaining concealed. Attacks with a blackout weapon can deal sneak attack damage (if the wielder has it) to a creature with concealment or total concealment. Additionally, the first time each round a blackout weapon strikes a creature, it must make a DC 14 Will save or lose the benefits of its low-light vision, darkvision, and see in darkness abilities for 1d4 rounds, if they have them. The duration does not stack. A creature that succeeds on its save is immune to this effect from a particular blackout weapon for 1 minute.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Cost +2 bonus; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, sensory deprivation*