Holy Weapon (1625)
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Sanctify is a Paladin Base spell that allows a paladin to bond with a given weapon, sanctifying it and giving it a few additional abilities depending on the properties of the weapon bonded.
Procedure
To bond to a weapon, find a holy place, kneel down, and CAST at your weapon. If the weapon is not already sanctified, you must first cast Consecrate (1604) on it to prepare the weapon. To remove a bond, instead CHANNEL at the weapon. A bonded weapon is unswingable by anyone other than the paladin bonded to it. Bonding to a new weapon will sever your connection with the old one, but it will remain unswingable until the next time the paladin touches it.
The maximum attainable bonding level increases with further spell training the in Paladin Base; the first bonding level is available upon learning Sanctify, and an additional bonding level is unlocked for each Paladin Base rank up to 1629. The paladin must retain this training to sustain the bond level.
To actually increase the bonding level, the Paladin must use the weapon in combat. Presuming Sanctify functions under the same mechanics as Weapon Bonding for Warriors, it was shown that the bond is increased after Rank# * 100 same-level kills (SLKs). Knowledge of Sanctify and 100 SLKs achieves the first rank; 26 Paladin Base ranks and an additional 200 SLKs achieves the second rank; and so on up to 29 Paladin Base ranks and 500 additional SLKs for the fifth rank. As a summation, in total 1500 SLKs are required to fully bond to a weapon; however, note that SLKs are not counted without the proper Spell Research training.
Sanctify Benefits
Bonding to a weapon gives a bonus to maneuvers that utilize the weapon and increase the paladin's effectiveness and defense against Combat Maneuvers while using the weapon. Additionally, the weapon acts as an enhancive item. These benefits increase as the rank of bonding increases with the weapon.
At the first bonding level, the weapon will gain Consecrate (1604) flares, but only if the weapon does not already possess flares or weighting.
At the third bonding level, the weapon will be capable of accepting a spell from the paladin to be triggered later before an attack with BESEECH. The spells that the weapon can accept depend on a variety of factors, including which sphere of magic the spell comes from, if it is a spell the paladin knows, the level of bonding the paladin has with the weapon, and the number of ranks the paladin possesses in Spiritual Lore, Summoning (seed 2 of the summation chart).
At the final bonding level, level 5, the weapon gains the ability to return to the paladin when disarmed or thrown.
CASTing 1625 at the weapon will check the current bond.
| Bonding Level | CML bonus | STR/WIS bonus | Special | Description | Paladin Base | Same Level Kills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | +0 | +0 | Weapon is holy | You are bonded with the steel flail, but you feel that the connection is largely untested. | 25 | 0 |
| 1 | +2 | +1 | Grants the bonded weapon Consecrate flares | The connection is still fresh and new. | 25 | 100 |
| 2 | +4 | +2 | None | You feel that your connection is strong. | 26 | 200 |
| 3 | +6 | +3 | Allows a spell to be imbued into the bonded weapon | It is a tried and true friend. | 27 | 300 |
| 4 | +8 | +4 | None | It is almost an extension of your own body. | 28 | 400 |
| 5 | +10 | +5 | The weapon will return to the Paladin's hand when disarmed or thrown | There is no doubt of the pure spiritual connection you share with it. | 29 | 500 |
Infusing a Spell to a Bonded Weapon
To infuse a spell to a bonded weapon, simply prepare the spell, then use the INFUSE (verb) on the weapon. Spells known by the paladin, or that can be known by the paladin count as the spell level of the spell being placed into the bonded weapon. In the case of spells known by the paladin, multiple charges can be infused, as the bonded weapon can hold a baseline of 25 mana; the mana will be infused at the time of imbuing and not activation. Spells can also be infused for a single use from scrolls. Spiritual spells that cannot be learned by the paladin (such as from the Major Spiritual spell circle) count as 1.25× the spell's level. Hybrid spells that are semi-spiritual in nature, such as spells from the Sorcerer Base circle, count as 1.5× the spell's level. Spells that are not spiritual in nature count as double their spell level. The infusion process will accept any spell that falls within the level range of the bonded weapon's ability to hold. That maximum level is the following:
Therefore, with bonding level 5 and 9 ranks of Spiritual Lore, Summoning, a paladin could infuse a 15th level spell (e.g. Divine Strike (1615)) into the weapon. In order to infuse a spell such as Bind (214), which counts as a level 18 spell, the paladin would need a level 5 bond with his weapon and would need 27 ranks of Spiritual Lore, Summoning, and a scroll to cast the spell from. Pain (711) could be used if the paladin has 20 ranks of Spiritual Lore, Summoning. It should be noted, with a fully bonded weapon, only native spells, and no lore training, a Paladin can only infuse Pious Trial (1602) and Unbalance (110).
To trigger the flare, BESEECH the weapon, and it will preemptively flare before the next attack.
Spiritual Lore, Summoning
In addition to increasing the maximum spell level that can be infused, the mana capacity of the bonded weapon is increased by +1 per rank of Spirit Summoning.
Messaging
Bonding with a weapon:
You gesture at WEAPON. As you call upon the power of DEITY, a [deity-dependent] shaft of light suddenly envelops your WEAPON. Tendrils of energy begin to flow out of it and wrap themselves around you, as if surrounding you in an ethereal embrace. Your awareness of your surroundings fade as you begin to experience visions of the WEAPON from its moment of creation to the present. After a brief moment, your vision returns to normal. The shaft of light and tendrils of energy are gone, but somehow you still feel a lingering bond between you and the WEAPON. Silvery tendrils rise up from your WEAPON and quickly dissipate. Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
If you forget to Consecrate (1604) the weapon prior to bonding with it:
You gesture at WEAPON. A dim shaft of light surrounds the WEAPON, but seems to have no effect on it. Perhaps the weapon should be first cleansed of impurities. Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
Each time the bonding level increases, the following is reported along with the creature's death message:
You feel your spiritual bond with your WEAPON strengthen.
First unbonding cast:
You channel at WEAPON You focus your concentration on undoing the spiritual bond between you and the WEAPON. As your magic begins to penetrate the star, you encounter a strange resistance from within it. You attempt to overcome it, but the power of your spell fades away too soon. You think that you might be able to overcome it with another attempt.
Unbonding:
You channel at WEAPON. This time you are prepared for the resistance within the WEAPON and you manage to quickly overcome it. You feel the remnants of the spiritual bond between you and the WEAPON quickly fade away. Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.