Patron Bond

The caster commits himself to the service of a supernatural lord, forming a pact to gain its support as his patron so long as he continues to please it with his service. This patron may be a demon, devil, ghost, spirit, elemental, angel, chaos lord, or other supernatural being who accepts the caster’s service. The initial ceremony takes one week to complete. Once the pact is made, the caster may invoke the patron’s support with the spell invoke patron, and it may or may not answer as it sees fit. In return for the patron’s assistance, it may ask the caster to do certain things. The caster must act faithfully in its service at all times, lest it cast him off. The caster may perform more than one ceremony to serve multiple masters, but doing so may raise questions as to his true loyalties. This is dangerous magic; a supernatural patron is not the same as the deity that a cleric may worship. The caster should be forewarned that he is in communion with almighty spirits.
Alternately, once the caster has formed a bond with his patron, this spell may be cast to create a bond between another mortal and the caster’s patron. The mortal need not be a spellcaster; in fact, the second mortal usually is not. In this case, both the caster and the recipient must spend a week on the ceremony, which requires a mighty oath to declare allegiance to the patron. Very powerful creatures are more likely to successfully bond with patrons (who look more favorably upon powerful followers). Typically, a casting of patron bond on behalf of another receives a bonus of +2 if the subject is of 5th-level (5 HD) or higher and +4 if the subject is of 9th-level (9 HD) or higher. At the end of the ceremony, the casting of the spell seals the bond. Recruiting additional followers for his patron brings the caster favor and may grant boons to the other followers; though, their patron will ask fealty of them in exchange.
Note that continued casting of this spell may taint the caster, both spiritually and physically.

Effect

1	Lost and patron taint!
2 - 11	Failure. Unlike normal spells, this spell is lost for an entire month, not simply one day.

	When Cast on Self	When Cast on Other
12 - 13	The caster makes contact with his patron and successfully negotiates the terms of the compact. He learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron but may only cast it once per week. Each time the caster casts invoke patron, he is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point. The caster’s patron marks him as its servant via an inconspicuous brand or symbol somewhere on the caster’s body.	The caster forms a simple bond between the subject and his patron. The patron is aware of this subject, who is one among many. The subject may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a -4 penalty, to ask a minor favor from the patron, which manifests in a non-magical manner. (For example, if short of gold to pay for a ferry crossing, the subject may be lucky enough to find a fisherman willing to offer a free trip across the river.) Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 1% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
14 - 17	The caster makes contact with his patron and is considered a useful pawn. The caster receives a prominent mark of the patron on is hand or face. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it once per day. Each time he casts invoke patron, the caster is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject, who is attuned to the desires of the caster’s patron. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a -2 penalty, to ask a minor favor from the patron, which manifests in a non-magical manner. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 1% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
18 - 19	The caster makes contact with his patron and is granted a mark of favor. He receives a prominent mark of the patron on his face. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it once per day at a +1 bonus to the spell check. Each time he casts invoke patron, the caster is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject, who is important to the goals of the caster’s patron. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month to ask a minor favor from the patron, which manifests in a non-magical manner. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 1% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
20 - 23	The caster arrives at an agreeable arrangement with his patron. He receives a prominent mark of the patron on his face. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it twice per day at a +1 bonus to the spell check. Each time he casts invoke patron, the caster is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject. For reasons unknown, the patron is inexplicably fond of this subject; the patron probably has some use for this subject in the future, which comes to light when the time is right. The patron bestows a minor boon on the caster in the form of a +2 bonus on the next casting of invoke patron or a patron spell. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a +1 bonus, to ask a minor favor from the patron, which manifests in a non-magical manner. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 1% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
28 - 29	The patron considers the caster indispensable to his long-term goals. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it up to three times per day at a +1 bonus to the spell check. The patron also gives the caster a gift (for which a counter-gift is to be expected, of course). The gift is a single patron spell, selected from the patron’s spell list. The caster can cast this spell once per day in place of a casting of invoke patron. Each time he casts this patron spell or invoke patron, the caster is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject, who is extremely useful to the patron. The patron bestows a minor boon on the caster in the form of a +2 bonus on the next casting of invoke patron or a patron spell, and grants a minor boon to the subject in the form of a +1 bonus to his next action in the service of the patron. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a +2 bonus, to ask a major favor from the patron, which may manifest in a magical manner. For example, if attempting a ferry crossing without sufficient gold to pay the ferryman, the subject may suddenly find a giant eagle comes to fly him across the river. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 2% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. In addition, the patron sends followers to aid the subject’s natural actions. The followers consist of 1d4+1 warriors, each of level 1d3. All bear the mark of the patron. The warriors serve with absolute loyalty (no morale checks are ever required) and ask for nothing in return save adherence to the principles of the patron. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
30 - 31	The caster’s patron considers him indispensable to his long-term goals. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it up to three times per day at a +2 bonus to the spell check. The patron also gives the caster a gift (for which a counter-gift is to be expected, of course). The gift is a single patron spell, selected from the patron’s spell list. The caster can cast this spell once per day in place of a casting of invoke patron. Each time he casts this patron spell or invoke patron, the caster is indebted to the patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject, who is indispensable to the patron. The patron bestows a major boon on the caster in the form of a permanent +1 bonus on all castings of invoke patron and patron spells, and grants a major boon to the subject in the form of a +1 bonus once per day to an action preformed in the service of the patron. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a +3 bonus, to ask a major favor from the patron, which may manifest in a magical manner. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 2% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. In addition, the patron sends followers to aid the subject’s natural actions. The followers consist of 1d4+1 warriors, each of level 1d3. All bear the mark of the patron. The warriors serve with absolute loyalty (no morale checks are ever required) and ask for nothing in return save adherence to the principles of the patron. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).
32+	The patron considers the caster integral to his long-term goals. The caster learns the spell invoke patron as it relates to his patron and may cast it up to four times per day at a +2 bonus to the spell check. The patron also gives the caster a gift (for which a counter-gift is to be expected, of course). The gift is two patron spells, selected from the patron’s spell list. The caster can cast either of these spells once per day in place of a casting of invoke patron. Each time he casts either of these patron spells or invoke patron, the caster is indebted to his patron, who will call in the debt at some point.	The caster forms a bond between his patron and the subject, who is indispensable to the patron. The patron bestows a major boon on the caster in the form of a permanent +1 bonus on all castings of invoke patron and patron spells, and grants a major boon to the subject in the form of a +1 bonus once per day to an action performed in the service of the patron. The subject receives a prominent mark of the patron on his hand or face, and may attempt a Luck check once per month, at a +4 bonus, to ask a major favor from the patron, which may manifest in a magical manner. Each time such a Luck check is attempted there is a 2% cumulative chance that the patron asks for something in return. In addition, the patron sends followers to aid the subject’s natural actions. The followers consist of 1d4+1 warriors, each of level 1d3. All bear the mark of the patron. They warriors serve with absolute loyalty (no morale checks are ever required) and ask for nothing in return save adherence to the principles of the patron. The caster is viewed favorably for bringing more followers to his patron; for every 10 followers recruited and bonded, he receives a +1 bonus to future patron bond and invoke patron checks (max +5 bonus).

Side/Secondary Effects

Corruption 

N/A – always patron taint

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Misfire 

N/A

Manifestation

Varies

Related Discipline

Arcane

Effect Duration

Lifetime

Effect Casting Time

1 week + quests as ordered

Range

Self or touch

Level

1