The Binder, “Ethereal Enchanters”

“Unleash the Power of the Ancients: Become the Ultimate Binder!”

Encyclopaedia Arcane: Compendium

Authors August Hahn, Alexander Fennell, Matthew Sprange & Sam Witt

Publisher Mongoose Publishing

Encyclopaedia Arcane Compendium V.I

Publish date 2004

Binders are very specialised practitioners of demonology, using their knowledge and skill to first summon demons, then bind them within magical artefacts in order to harness their energies. Such items are amongst the most powerful to be found within the material worlds, with demonic weapons especially being sought by warriors with few scruples.

To be bound within an object for aeons is vile imprisonment to any demon, a creature who values its freedom far more than any mortal may understand. In performing the binding ritual, the practitioner is able to greatly boost the power of any magical item he fashions but in doing so earns the eternal enmity of the demon he enslaves. Should it ever manage to break free, the binder will face the wrath of the demon who will seek to devour him both body and soul.

Few binders realise the magnitude of power they dabble in when they first start on the Dark Road. Most merely seek to increase the potency of their creations and simply view demonology as one tool to accomplish this. The corruption of the art is ever present though and many pursue the knowledge required to summon the greatest demons of all in order to create ever more powerful artefacts.

Hit Die: d4.

Requirements

To qualify to become a binder, a character must fulfil all the following criteria.

Skills: Knowledge (demon lore) 8 ranks
Feats: Craft Magic Arms and Armour, Craft Wondrous Item

Class Skills

The binder’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Constitution), Craft (Intelligence), Decipher Script (Intelligence, exclusive skill), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Intelligence), Profession (Wisdom) and Spellcraft (Intelligence).

Skill points at each level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.

The Binder
Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Demonic Ability Slots	Spells per day
1	+0	+0	+0	+2	1	+1 level of existing class
2	+1	+0	+0	+3	1	+1 level of existing class
3	+1	+1	+1	+3	1	+1 level of existing class
4	+2	+1	+1	+4	2	+1 level of existing class
5	+2	+1	+1	+4	2	+1 level of existing class
6	+3	+2	+2	+5	3	+1 level of existing class
7	+3	+2	+2	+5	3	+1 level of existing class
8	+4	+2	+2	+6	4	+1 level of existing class
9	+4	+3	+3	+6	5	+1 level of existing class
10	+5	+3	+3	+7	6	+1 level of existing class

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the binder prestige class.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Binders gain no proficiency in any weapon or armour.

Demonology: Binders are versed in the summoning and controlling of demons and so may use the Art of Summoning rules .

Binding: The binder is skilled in the practice of binding demons into inanimate objects and so may use the rules presented in Bound Demons.

Spells per Day: A binder continues training in arcane magic as well as his own field of research. Thus, when a new binder level is gained, the character also gains spells as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, get any additional benefits a character of that class would have gained, only the new spells.

This essentially means that he adds the level of binder to the level of another arcane spellcasting class the character already has and then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly. If the caster had more than one arcane spellcasting class before he became a binder, he must decide to which class he adds each level of demonologist for the purposes of determining spells per day when he adds the new level. Binder levels are never added to a class that uses divine magic.