Combining Ancestral Relic and Item Familiars

[Crake]

Is this possible? Is this a good idea? Or should I just get one of them and be done with it? Or perhaps simply get two separate items?

To give some background on my character, I'm making a beguiler in an upcoming game and I'm considering taking these two feats at level 3/6 to have a runestaff-like item that I can UMD. Thinking about it though, at the rate that which the ancestral relic opens up in terms of GP value, the item familiar might go up in price too quickly to allow the ancestral relic to be of any use.

Has anyone else got any experience with handling something like this?

[unseenmage]

From what I've read it's considered sub-par compared to just taking the Item Familiar.

For fun I combined Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm), Ancestral Relic (BoED), Least Legacy (WoL), and Truebond (DMG2), and made it an Intelligent Magic Item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/intelligentItems.htm) all on a custom built Caryatid Column construct.

It's a fun experiment right up until you try to figure out how a construct created by a player is supposed to benefit from the xp effect of the Item Familiar.

Additionally, you could add the Flying weapon enhancement from Magic of Faerun with making it an Intelligent Magic item and ask your DM if it gains feats.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

It's not a good idea at all.

You can upgrade your Item Familiar as though you possessed all the necessary feats, and you can have someone else in the party help out with spell and caster level prerequisites if necessary. Everything on it beyond the initial item worth at least 2,000 gp is upgraded yourself at 1/2 gp cost and 1/25 xp cost per standard item creation rules. You can even put intelligent item properties on it, among other benefits. Making it an Ancestral Relic is only going to put a gp limit on its magical properties, which can seriously hinder what you add to it.

If you have the feats to spare for both, then make them two separate items. Your Ancestral Relic can be upgraded by sacrificing all the junk loot your party would have sold for half price. Buy it all out of the party's treasure pool for that price, you'll even get a split of that gold back so in a party of four you only pay 3/8 cost for the upgrades you put into your relic. Make the relic an item you'll want to gradually and constantly upgrade and change, considering you can even remove existing properties to put their value toward something different, so make it a primary weapon or a Runestaff. Your Item Familiar should be something you'll never lose, my preferred choice is a ring as that's easiest to protect by wearing a glove or gauntlet over it.

[Clistenes]

It shouldn't be a problem if you speak with your DM and convince him to keep track of both set of enhancements separatedly. You are burning two feats to get them after all, and the main benefit is flavour, you deserve some leeway.

And anyway, the feats aren't so game-breaking: The Ancestral Relic just gets normal enhancements at a reduced price, but it has its own in-built gp limit, and Item Familiar's abilities and spell-like powers aren't game breaking (permanent Deathwatch and Detect Evil and Improved Evasion, for example, isn't going to break the game when there are reality-r*ping Wizards hurling spells around).

[Crake]

It shouldn't be a problem if you speak with your DM and convince him to keep track of both set of enhancements separatedly. You are burning two feats to get them after all, and the main benefit is flavour, you deserve some leeway.

And anyway, the feats aren't so game-breaking: The Ancestral Relic just gets normal enhancements at a reduced price, but it has its own in-built gp limit, and Item Familiar's abilities and spell-like powers aren't game breaking (permanent Deathwatch and Detect Evil and Improved Evasion, for example, isn't going to break the game when there are reality-r*ping Wizards hurling spells around).

That is how I was imagining it would work actually. Also, how does one go about getting improved evasion on an item familiar?

[Clistenes]

That is how I was imagining it would work actually. Also, how does one go about getting improved evasion on an item familiar?

My bad, I was wrong about that. You can pick Improved Initiative or Evasion as an Epic Intelligent Item's Primary Powers, but not Improved Evasion.

Epic Intelligent Item's Primary Powers are about as powerful as Non-Epic Intelligent Item Lesser Powers, so I think you should be allowed to pick one of those instead of a Lesser Power:


Non-Epic Intelligent Item Lesser Powers: (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/intelligentItems.htm)

Intelligent Item Lesser Powers d% Lesser Power Base Price Modifier
01-05 Item can bless its allies 3/day +1,000 gp
06-10 Item can use faerie fire 3/day +1,100 gp
11-13 Item can cast minor image 1/day +2,200 gp
14-20 Item has deathwatch continually active +2,700 gp
21-25 Item can use detect magic at will +3,600 gp
26-31 Item has 10 ranks in Intimidate +5,000 gp
32-33 Item has 10 ranks in Decipher Script +5,000 gp
34-36 Item has 10 ranks in Knowledge (choose category) +5,000 gp
37-40 Item has 10 ranks in Search +5,000 gp
41-45 Item has 10 ranks in Spot +5,000 gp
46-50 Item has 10 ranks in Listen +5,000 gp
51-54 Item has 10 ranks in Spellcraft +5,000 gp
55-60 Item has 10 ranks in Sense Motive +5,000 gp
61-66 Item has 10 ranks in Bluff +5,000 gp
67-72 Item has 10 ranks in Diplomacy +5,000 gp
73-77 Item can cast major image 1/day +5,400 gp
78-80 Item can cast darkness 3/day +6,500 gp
81-83 Item can use hold person on an enemy 3/day +6,500 gp
84-86 Item can activate zone of truth 3/day +6,500 gp
87-89 Item can use daze monster 3/day +6,500 gp
90-95 Item can use locate object 3/day +6,500 gp
96-100 Item can use cure moderate wounds (2d8+3) on wielder 3/day +6,500 gp


Epic Intelligent Item Primary Powers: (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/intelligentItems.htm)

d% Primary Ability
01-04 Item has 10 ranks in Survival
05-08 Item has 10 ranks in Sense Motive
09-12 Wielder has free use of Combat Reflexes
13-16 Wielder has free use of Blind-Fight
17-20 Wielder has free use of Improved Initiative
21-24 Wielder has free use of Mobility
25-28 Wielder has free use of Improved Sunder
29-32 Wielder has free use of Combat Expertise
33-39 Detect [opposing alignment] at will
40-42 Find traps at will
43-47 Detect secret doors at will
48-54 Detect magic at will
55-57 Wielder has free use of uncanny dodge (as a 5th-level barbarian)
58-60 Wielder has free use of evasion
61-65 Wielder can use see invisibility at will
66-70 Cure light wounds (1d8+5) on wielder 1/day
71-75 Feather fall on wielder 1/day
76 Locate object in a 120-ft. radius
77 Wielder does not need to sleep
78 Wielder does not need to breathe
79 Jump for 20 minutes on wielder 1/day
80 Spider climb for 20 minutes on wielder 1/day
81-90 Roll twice again on this table
91-100 Roll on Table: Intelligent Item Extraordinary Powers instead