Ancestral Weapon

About Ancestral Weapon
Spend Type	Tiered, Exclusive
About	Through this spend, your PC comes into possession of an ancestral weapon. The weapon does not need to be tied to his or her ancestors, though it is a weapon with a history--one which your PC will unlock over time. If you aren't sure how weapons work in Pathfinder, check out our tutorial: How Magic Armor and Weapons Work in PF. Advancing in this spend also lets you enchant your weapon as though you possessed the appropriate crafting feat. That is, you're only charged half the market cost. Due to the way Ancestral Weapon works, it is one of the exclusive spends which if you change your mind down the road, it may absolutely not be swapped to a different spend, refunded, or otherwise. We don't support changing an exclusive spend generally; however, due to the inherit complications and investment in the Ancestral spend, it is impossible to do so with this type and no exceptions may be made.

Before proceeding with this spend, please read How Magic Armor and Weapons Work in PF
and Magic Item Crafting. The PRD wording is slightly murky in both areas.

Ancestral Weapon Spends

Exclusive Spends
Tier	Benefit	Cost
The Story Begins (Tier One)	You unlock a weapon's potential for greatness. Choose a weapon you own. So long as the weapon is capable of receiving enchantments, this weapon becomes your ancestral weapon, bound to you. You will unlock its abilities through pursuit of this spend. Purchase of this tier applies the masterwork quality to an existing weapon.	15 RPP
Tier Two	You begin to forge a deeper, more personal bond with your weapon. You may enchant your weapon as though you were a 3rd level caster. (How enchanting weapons and armor works). However, you do not need to have caster levels to create this enhancement. You pay only half the market cost in gold, just as a crafter would. In addition, your begin to feel the inklings of your weapon's personality. Assign an alignment to your weapon within one axis of yours. At this time, you should begin to think about your weapon's purpose, though this will have time to develop.	15 RPP
Tier Three	Your weapon's personality begins to exercert itself. As a side benefit, your weapon's attacks are considered to be of this alignment for DR purposes. For example, if you possess a LG weapon (its alignment must be within one step of yours), you may choose for its damage to be treated either as lawful, or good (choose one, may not be changed). In addition, you may enchant your weapon as though you were a 6th level caster. (How enchanting weapons and armor works).	10 RPP
Tier Four	Your weapon begins to show the first signs of sentience. It gains basic intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of 10, as well as the ability to communicate emotionally with you so long as the two of you are touching. For example, you might feel its anger, sorrow, or elation, just as it might feel the reverse. Your item also gains a purpose, as per the Special Purpose rules under intelligent items. You'll contact staff to work this out in a way that works with your character's story. Your item also gains a basic ego score based on its total worth (see PRD). This number will increase over time based on abilities you add to it, so be sure and track it. Your item also gains the speech ability for free, even if you wish it wouldn't. Finally, should you choose to spend 500g, it gains the ability to cast one 0 level spell at will, an unlimited number of times per day.	10 RPP
Tier Five	One of your weapon's ability scores increases by 2, and so long as you continue to develop your bond, you may unlock a limited number of abilities. In addition, you may purchase an ability from the Intelligent Item Powers list of up to 1,200g. However, doing so will only cost you half of this. Note also that these spends may increase your item's ego. You may enchant your weapon as though you were a 9th level caster.	10 RPP
Tier Six	One of your weapon's ability scores increases by 2. You may enchant your weapon as though you were a 12th level caster.	10 RPP
Tier Seven	One of your weapon's ability scores increases by 2. So long as you continue to develop your bond, you may also unlock a limited number of abilities. You may purchase any two intelligent item abilities of up to 5,000g, or one ability of up to 10,000g. However, you pay half price for each. Note also that these spends may increase your item's ego. You may enchant your weapon as though you were a 15th level caster.	10 RPP
Tier Eight	So long as you continue to develop your bond, you may unlock a limited number of abilities. You may purchase any one ability of up to 35,000g. Alternately, you may purchase two abilities of up to 10,000g. However, you only pay half price for each. Note also that these spends may increase your item's ego.	10 RPP

Descriptions

Ancestral Weapon

Through this spend, your PC comes into possession of an ancestral weapon. The weapon does not need to be tied to his or her ancestors, though it is a weapon with a history--one which your PC will unlock over time. When the table below refers to enchantment or costs, it is referring to your ancestral item.

Ancestral is an exclusive spend. That is, these spends require time and involvement on behalf of your character. That means, a character may only have one exclusive spend active at a time.

Ancestral weapons may be enchanted only by their owners. As your bond increases, you'll be able to add an increasingly powerful number of abilities to your weapon. To do so takes the normal amount of time as per the PF item enchantment rules. However, you'll only pay half the market cost, and are automagically assumed to succeed on all rolls, even if you have no requisite craft or spellcraft skill. For example, the market cost of adding a basic +1 to a weapon is 2,000. This means you would pay 1,000. This price does not quarter with crafting feats. Instead, it allows you to bypass the need for the feats, caster level, spells, skill checks, and similar crafting requirements.

Progression in this spend unlocks both the ability to assign greater enchantments, but also to add abilities unique to intelligent items. It also grants a number of abilities for free.

Personalities and Purpose

Ancestral weapons must possess a purpose, as per the Intelligent Item ruleset. In addition, PCs are encouraged to roll on the Quirks Table to help flesh out their weapons.

Ancestral Staves

Instead of a weapon, a spellcaster may choose to gain the services of an ancestral staff. Such a staff is often a hallmark of his or her work, and among a number of wizards, is considered something of a badge of pride. If he or she chooses this option, then the following changes occur.

First, he or she does not gain the ability to enchant the staff as a weapon, though it is still a masterwork object. He or she receives all other abilities the Tiers grant, such as summoning and the ability to apply the unique, Intelligent Item abilities at-cost. In addition, at Tier 5, he or she effectively gains the Craft Staff feat as regards the staff. He or she is assumed to automagically succeed at all rolls involving enchanting the staff.

If the caster personally possesses the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, he or she may choose to enchant it as a weapon as well, though must abide by the Tier enchantment limits. In addition, normal enchantment stacking costs must apply. For example, if a wizard owns an ancestral staff that's enchanted as a Fire Staff, then adding weapon enchantments later would incur a 50% cost increase, as per PF rules.

For balance purposes, though the staff is intelligent, it is unable to expend charges on its own...though it is certainly willing to express to the caster when it's low. Probably in colorful language.