WANDS, HOLY SYMBOLS, AND FOCI
Carrying around the right spell components for a wide variety of spells is a bogus burden to a magical artist. Therefore, long ago, the idea of a spell focus was created to dispense with the bother.
Divine Focus: God has very generously allowed Zealots to avoid spell components by presenting the symbol of their faith, i.e., the Cross. More and more imperishable substances must be used to access greater divine power (much as the Ark of the Covenant had to be sheathed in gold).
- Wooden Cross: 2gp–first level spells only
- Brass Cross: 10gp–first or 2nd level spells
- Silver Cross: 25gp–first through 3rd level spells
- Golden Cross: 75gp–first through 4th level spells
- Jeweled Cross: 500gp–all divine spells
- These crosses are made by ordinary artisans, but must be blessed by a bishop or archbishop in the Holy Orders sacrament to become effective.
- Hermits, however, only ever need a wooden cross to cast divine spells, due to their extreme self-denial and asceticism.
- Any zealot can use any other zealot's holy symbol with complete ease and freedom.
Arcane Focus Each Scholar can make his own Arcane Focus, which eliminates the need to carry spell component. This requires time and money. He must bind a spell he knows into his focus by spending 1 week and 50gp per spell level of known spell into the object. Once this is accomplished, each time the scholar casts that spell while holding the focus, he does not need to expend any spell components. Each type of Scholar uses a different type of focus, items must be of Masterwork quality:
- Druid: a wand made of rowan wood or oaken staff bound with mistletoe or a silver sickle
- Hermetic: a crystal orb, a metal rod or a wooden staff (copy of Digesta Hermetica needed to construct)
- Kabbalist: a Kabbalistic amulet (copy of Sefer Yetzira needed to construct)
- Rune-Caster: A quarterstaff or spear covered by runes
- Sufi: a scimitar, arming sword, or long sword (copy of Quran needed to construct)
- Zoroastrian: a lamp or lantern or amulet of The Faravahar (Copy of Yasna needed to construct)
A Stranger's Focus: if you gain possession of the magic focus of another scholar of your archetype, you can attempt to wrest it to your control. You must make 3 successful Arcana Checks vs. a DC equal to 15 plus the highest level spell bound to the focus, before you make 2 failures. Once you have done so, the focus is in your power and you can use it to call forth any spell bound to it that you are sufficient level to cast. If you score 2 failures before your 3 successes, the focus bursts into flames and is destroyed.
Alien Archetype: if you attempt to master a focus created by a scholar of another archetype, you follow the same procedure, but all your rolls are at disadvantage and when you use the focus, you spell casting rolls are made at disadvantage.
Special Materials: maybe something cool happens if you make a focus out of orichalcum mumble, mumble, mumble