The neck slot consists of amulets, brooches, medallions, necklaces, periapts, scarabs, and other items that can be worn around the neck or fastened to a cloak.

Anyone can use a neck slot wondrous item unless specified otherwise by its description. These wondrous items are usually use-activated or triggered by a command word, but details vary from item to item.

Added the ability to select an Animal Companion using Quick Picks New options on the Back sheet: Show the feat traits details (default ON) and Show the magic items traits details (default ON) Added that ability to put a Staff in the Magic Items section of the Front sheet as opposed to using one of the weapon slots for it.

• Animal companions and eidolons get hit points the same as PCs. Max for the first hit die, and then Max -2 or rolled. This is higher than normal RAW, but provides for greater survivability of the companion. Animal Companion Tricks: The animal companion starts with the maximum number of tricks for its intelligence including its bonus tricks.
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Aegis of Recovery

Price 1,500 gp; Aura faint abjuration and conjuration; CL 3rd; Weight —

An aegis of recovery grants its wearer a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws made to recover from a continuing effect, such as ongoing poison damage, daily saving throws against a disease, a hold person spell, or lingering damage from an attack. This bonus does not help against initial saving throws against such effects. Should the wearer ever drop below 0 hit points, the aegis heals the wearer for 2d8+3 points of damage and then crumbles to dust.

Construction Requirements

Cost 750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, barkskin, cure moderate wounds

Ampoule of False Blood

Price 20,000 gp; Aura strong transmutation; CL 15th; Weight —

This necklace consists of a fine gold chain from which hangs a small sealed crystal vial containing preserved liquid blood. Each ampoule is attuned to a specific sorcerer bloodline. If a sorcerer (or other creature with sorcerer bloodline powers, such as from the Eldritch Heritage feat) wears the ampoule for at least one day, she loses her existing bloodline powers and gains the bloodline powers of the ampoule's bloodline, using her sorcerer level to determine the powers gained. The ampoule has no effect on the sorcerer's bonus spells, bloodline arcana, or bonus feats from her original bloodline (which remain unchanged).

The sorcerer can only use these bloodline powers as long as she wears the necklace. Removing the necklace leaves the sorcerer unable to access any bloodline power, either her own or those of the ampoule, until one hour has passed.

As a full round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the wearer can break open the ampoule and drink the blood within. This destroys the item, and gives her the sickened condition for 1d4 hours. If the drinker is a sorcerer, her bloodline permanently changes to match that of the ampoule. In this case, the sorcerer's bonus spells, bloodline arcana, and bloodline powers all permanently change to match those of the ampoule's bloodline. Bonus feats previously selected due to the sorcerer's bloodline are unaffected, but new feats must be selected from the new bloodline's bonus feat list.

Construction Requirements

Cost 10,000 gp

Craft Wondrous item, limited wish, polymorph, creator must be a sorcerer of the appropriate bloodline

Amulet of Bullet Protection

Price Varies; Aura faint abjuration; CL 5th; Weight —

+1 luck bonus 1,500 gp; +2 luck bonus 6,000 gp; +3 luck bonus 13,500 gp; +4 luck bonus 24,000 gp; +5 luck bonus 37,500 gp

This amulet, usually crafted from the splintered remains of spent firearm bullets shaped into a rough holy symbol or clover, grants the wearer a luck bonus to AC against firearm attacks that target touch AC.

Construction Requirements

+1 luck bonus 750 gp; +2 luck bonus 3,000 gp; +3 luck bonus 6,750 gp; +4 luck bonus 12,000 gp; +5 luck bonus 18,750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, divine favor, creator's caster level must be at least three times the amulet's bonus

Amulet of Elemental Strife

Price 4,000 gp; Aura moderate abjuration; CL 8th; Weight 1 lb.

This amulet shines brightly when brought within 60 feet of an outsider with the elemental subtype, shedding light as a torch. The amulet glows a different color depending on the subtype of the elemental or elementals present (white for air, yellow for earth, red for fire, and blue for water). If more than one subtype is present, the gem flickers back and forth between the appropriate colors.

The wearer gains resistance 5 against a single energy type determined by the subtype of the closest elemental present (air grants electricity resistance, earth grants acid resistance, fire grants fire resistance, and water grants cold resistance). If the closest elemental possesses multiple subtypes, the wearer may choose which type of resistance she gains. This energy resistance only applies against attacks from elementals. The amulet also allows any attacks made by the wearer to bypass the damage reduction of such creatures.

Construction Requirements

Cost 2,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, resist energy, creator must be at least 8th level

Amulet of Hidden Strength

Price 9,000 gp; Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th; Weight —

This glass teardrop hangs on a platinum chain and can be used once per day to grant a surge of power. This surge can be used in one of two ways. As a swift action, the wearer of the amulet can make one melee or ranged attack at his highest attack bonus. Alternatively, if the wearer of the amulet has a ki pool, he can instead focus on the power of the amulet as a full-round action and regain two ki points.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have a ki pool

Amulet of Magecraft

Price 20,000 gp; Aura moderate universal; CL 9th; Weight 2 lbs.

A universalist wizard who selects the amulet as his bonded object may choose one school of spells each day when he prepares spells. He then can use the necklace to spontaneously convert any prepared wizard spell of that school into any other wizard spell of that school he knows—though the desired spell must be of the same level or lower than the prepared spell. For example, if the wizard chooses evocation when he prepares his spells that morning, until the next time he prepares spells, he can spontaneously convert a prepared fireball into any other evocation wizard spell of 3rd level or lower that he knows.

Construction Requirements

Cost 10,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, permanency, creator must be a universalist

Amulet of Mighty Fists

Price Varies; Aura faint evocation; CL 5th; Weight —

+1 bonus 5,000 gp; +2 bonus 20,000 gp; +3 bonus 45,000 gp; +4 bonus 80,000 gp; +5 bonus 125,000 gp

This amulet grants an enhancement bonus of +1 to +5 on attack and damage rolls with unarmed attacks and natural weapons.

Alternatively, this amulet can grant melee weapon special abilities, so long as they can be applied to unarmed attacks. See Table: Melee Weapon Special Abilities for a list of abilities. Special abilities count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of the item, but do not modify attack or damage bonuses. An amulet of mighty fists cannot have a modified bonus (enhancement bonus plus special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +5. An amulet of mighty fists does not need to have a +1 enhancement bonus to grant a melee weapon special ability.

Construction Requirements

+1 bonus 2,500 gp; +2 bonus 10,000 gp; +3 bonus 22,500 gp; +4 bonus 40,000 gp; +5 bonus 62,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, greater magic fang, creator's caster level must be at least three times the amulet's bonus, plus any requirements of the melee weapon special abilities

Amulet of Natural Armor

Price Varies; Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th; Weight —

+1 bonus 2,000 gp; +2 bonus 8,000 gp; +3 bonus 18,000 gp; +4 bonus 32,000 gp; +5 bonus 50,000 gp

This amulet, usually containing some type of magically preserved monster hide or other natural armor—such as bone, horn, carapace, or beast scales—toughens the wearer's body and flesh, giving him an enhancement bonus to his natural armor from +1 to +5, depending on the kind of amulet.

Construction Requirements

+1 bonus 1,000 gp; +2 bonus 4,000 gp; +3 bonus 9,000 gp; +4 bonus 16,000 gp; +5 bonus 25,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, barkskin, creator's caster level must be at least three times the amulet's bonus

Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location

Price 35,000 gp; Aura moderate abjuration; CL 8th; Weight —

This silver amulet protects the wearer from scrying and magical location just as a nondetection spell does. If a divination spell is attempted against the wearer, the caster of the divination must succeed on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against a DC of 19 (as if the wearer had cast nondetection on herself).

Construction Requirements

Cost 17,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, nondetection

Amulet of Proof Against Petrification

Price 8,000 gp; Aura moderate abjuration; CL 8th; Weight —

This finely polished wooden amulet has the image of a blindfolded medusa carved upon its surface. Whenever the wearer fails a saving throw that would result in him being turned to stone, he is instead staggered for 1d6 rounds. If a spell or effect turns him to stone without allowing a saving throw, he is instead staggered for 1 minute. These abilities do not function while the wearer is staggered.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, stone to flesh

Amulet of Spell Cunning

Price 10,000 gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th; Weight 1 lb.

This silver locket only has power when used as a wizard's bonded object. It allows a wizard to prepare an additional 3 levels of spells per day.

Construction Requirements

Cost 5,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, mnemonic enhancer

Amulet of Spell Mastery

Price 22,000 gp; Aura strong transmutation; CL 11th; Weight 1 lb.

This platinum locket only has power when used as a wizard's bonded object. It allows the wizard to prepare an additional 6 levels of spells per day.

Construction Requirements

Cost 11,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Items, mnemonic enhancer

Amulet of the Planes

Price 120,000 gp; Aura strong conjuration; CL 15th; Weight —

This device usually appears to be a black circular amulet, although any character looking closely at it sees a dark, moving swirl of color. The amulet allows its wearer to utilize the spell plane shift. However, this is a difficult item to master. The user must make a DC 15 Intelligence check in order to get the amulet to take her to the plane (and the specific location on that plane) that she desires. If she fails, the amulet transports her and all those traveling with her to a random location on that plane (01–60 on d%) or to a random plane (61–100).

Construction Requirements

Cost 60,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, plane shift

Brooch of Amber Sparks

Price 16,800 gp; Aura faint abjuration and evocation; CL 5th; Weight 1 lb.

This copper clasp adorned with a piece of amber is used to fasten a cloak or cape. When its wearer takes electricity damage, this brooch absorbs up to 20 points of electrical damage and holds that electrical charged until it is released by its wielder or harmlessly at the end of 10 minutes, whichever occurs first. The brooch can absorb up to 50 points of electricity damage per day. The wielder can release the charge on command, unleashing any electricity in the brooch as if casting a shocking grasp spell (dealing 1d6 points of electricity damage per 5 points of damage held).

Construction Requirements

Cost 8,400 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, resist energy, shocking grasp

Brooch of Shielding

Price 1,500 gp; Aura faint abjuration; CL 1st; Weight —

This appears to be a piece of silver or gold jewelry used to fasten a cloak or cape. In addition to this mundane task, it can absorb magic missiles of the sort generated by the spell or spell-like ability. A brooch can absorb up to 101 points of damage from magic missiles before it melts and becomes useless.

Construction Requirements

Cost 750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, shield

Carcanet of Detention

Price 7,200 gp; Aura faint conjuration; CL 4th; Weight —

Comprised of thick iron links, the carcanet of detention is commonly worn by prison guards and elite members of the city watch. Once per day, the wearer of the carcanet may command it to animate and attempt to wrap around one Medium or smaller creature within 15 feet. The target receives a DC 15 Reflex saving throw to avoid the chain. If the saving throw fails, the target is entangled and cannot move from its current location. As a full-round action, the target can attempt a new saving throw to end the effect; otherwise it persists for 10 minutes or until ended by the wearer as a swift action, at which point it returns to its carcanet form. The chain has a hardness of 10 and 15 hit points.

Construction Requirements

Cost 3,600 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, animate rope

Collar of the True Companion

Price 10,000 gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Weight 1 lb.

Although it appears to be a simple thong of leather, this collar was initially conceived by druids who believed that there were animals who possessed spirits worthy of elevation to true sentience. If worn by a creature of the animal type with an Intelligence less than 3, a collar of the true companion grants a +2 enhancement bonus to Intelligence. This does not give the animal the ability to speak, but it does allow it to understand one spoken language (chosen by the item's creator).

If the collar is worn for at least 1 week by a creature of the animal type, the creature is raised to humanlike sentience, as though by the awakenspell. Once this occurs, the collar loses its magical properties.

If a collar of the true companion is worn for more than 1 week by a creature not of the animal type, the wearer is feebleminded until the collar is removed.

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, awaken, fox's cunning

Crystal of Healing Hands

Price 12,000 gp; Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th; Weight 1 lb.

A cloth cord marked with esoteric religious symbols typically holds this roughly cut, glittering prism in place. A person with the lay on hands class feature can direct one use of this energy into the crystal, which stores it until the wearer speaks a command word to release it. Releasing the energy targets the wearer with the stored lay on hands effect, as if touched by the person who infused the crystal with its power. The crystal can contain a single use of the lay on hands class feature. When filled with this magic, it begins to glow with a pearly white light. The wearer of the crystal can order it to release its energy as a standard action. This acts identically to receiving the effect of lay on hands directly from the person who channeled it into the crystal, including any mercies they had at the time.

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, cure light wounds, creator must be a paladin

Dragonfoe Amulet

Price 20,000 gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Weight 1 lb.

This amulet consists of a cracked dragon scale set in a disk of gold. Most are slightly damaged, bearing the scars of draconic breath weapons. The dragonfoe amulet is a powerful, specialized tool for those who oppose dragons, improving the protection and attacks of the wearer in a number of ways.

The wearer of a dragonfoe amulet ignores the damage reduction of dragons. This only affects actual dragons, not all creatures of the dragon type. In addition, if the wearer casts a spell against a dragon, she can roll twice to overcome any spell resistance the dragon might possess, taking the higher result. Lastly, the wearer takes no damage instead of half damage on a successful Reflex save against a dragon's breath weapon (as the evasion ability).

Construction Requirements

Cost 10,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, Spell Penetration, magic weapon, jump

Everwake Amulet

Price 8,000 gp; Aura faint conjuration; CL 2nd; Weight 1 lb.

Cast in the image of the sun and often ornamented with an open eye, this amulet defends the wearer against the need for sleep. The wearer of this amulet does not need to sleep, but must remain at ease for the normal amount of time to regain spells and other abilities that require rest (although the wearer could perform light activity, such as reading or keeping watch). Once the wearer has used the power of this amulet for a total of seven nights, the amulet loses its power for one day and the wearer is exhausted for this duration. If the wearer removes the amulet for any reason after having used its ability, she becomes exhausted for four hours for every night of sleep skipped.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, lesser restoration

Feychild Necklace

Price 6,000 gp; Aura moderate divination; CL 8th; Weight 1/2 lb.

This necklace is set with a bloodstone sculpted to look like a scintillating green eye. It gives the wearer a +4 competence bonus on Charisma checks and Charisma-based checks made to interact with gnomes, a +2 competence bonus on similar checks when dealing with beings of the fey creature type, and a –2 penalty on similar checks when interacting with anyone else. The wearer can read, speak, and understand the Gnome language. If the wearer is not a gnome, she gains low-light vision, and may cast dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and speak with animals each once per day as a spell-like ability.

Construction Requirements

Cost 3,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be a gnome

Forge Fist Amulet

Price 13,000 gp; Aura faint evocation; CL 6th; Weight 1 lb.

This fist-shaped stone amulet glows with a fiery light. On command, this amulet causes the wearer's fists to transform into red-hot flaming adamantine. The wearer is protected from the searing heat and can make savage blows with his hands. Unarmed strikes and natural attacks the wearer make with his hands gain the flaming weapon special ability and are treated as adamantine for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction (but not hardness). The wearer's hands become rigid while using this amulet and cannot be use to hold or manipulate objects (unless that manipulation could be accomplished with a club and is not damaged by fire). The transformation can be ended as a swift action.

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item; greater magic fang; and flame blade, flame strike, or fireball

Frost Fist Amulet

Price 10,000 gp; Aura faint evocation; CL 5th; Weight 1 lb.

Shaped like a fist, this iron amulet is surrounded by a frigid fog. On command, this amulet causes the wearer's hands to become encased in a layer of freezing iron. The wearer is protected from the frigid cold and can make savage blows with his hands. Unarmed strikes and natural attacks the wearer makes with hands gain the frost weapon special ability and are treated as cold iron for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. The wearer's hands become rigid while using this amulet and cannot be use to hold or manipulate objects (unless that manipulation could be accomplished with a club and is not damaged by cold). The transformation can be ended as a swift action.

Construction Requirements

Cost 5,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item; greater magic fang; and cone of cold or ice storm

Golembane Scarab

Price 2,500 gp; Aura moderate divination; CL 8th; Weight —

This beetle-shaped pin enables its wearer to detect any golem within 60 feet, although he must concentrate (a standard action) in order for the detection to take place. A scarab enables its bearer to combat golems with weapons, unarmed attacks, or natural weapons as if those golems had no damage reduction.

Construction Requirements

Cost 1,250 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, detect magic, creator must be at least 10th level

Gravewatch Pendant

Price 8,000 gp; Aura faint abjuration; CL 3rd; Weight 1 lb.

Favored by the grave-wardens of sites known to be infested with the spirits of the dead, this pendant is an iron ring strung on a necklace made from polished and discolored bones, nails, and teeth. A faint blue light limns the wearer, protecting him from attack. Undead creatures are repulsed by this light and take a –2 penalty on all attack rolls against the wearer of a gravewatch pendant. Incorporeal undead creatures are further repulsed and instead take a –4 penalty on all attack rolls against the wearer. Undead creatures can sense this light easily, however, and receive a +4 circumstance bonus on Perception checks to detect a creature wearing this pendant.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, protection from evil

Guardian Gorget

Price 12,000 gp; Aura strong abjuration and conjuration; CL 13th; Weight 1 lb.

This flanged collar of mithral and steel protects the wearer's neck and shoulders. It provides a +2 armor bonus to AC (this does not stack with other armor bonuses) and grants the property to the wearer. In addition, the wearer may engrave a glyph of warding directly onto the guardian gorget. When the wearer is struck in melee, she can trigger the glyph as an immediate action, causing the glyph to discharge against the creature making the attack (and other creatures within 5 feet, if a blast glyph was placed, though the wearer is not harmed by the glyph‘s effects). The glyph can be triggered even if the attack would normally leave the wearer incapable of taking actions (such as killed, stunned, dazed, or knocked unconscious).

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, glyph of warding, limited wishormiracle, mage armoror magic vestment

Hand of Glory

Price 8,000 gp; Aura faint varied; CL 5th; Weight 2 lbs.

This mummified human hand hangs around a character's neck by a leather cord (taking up space as a magic necklace would). If a magic ring is placed on one of the fingers of the hand, the wearer benefits from the ring as if wearing it herself, and it does not count against her two-ring limit. The hand can wear only one ring at a time. Even without a ring, the hand itself allows its wearer to use daylight and see invisibility each once per day.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, animate dead, daylight, see invisibility

Hand of Stone

Price 27,000 gp; Aura moderate divination; CL 7th; Weight 2 lbs.

This mummified dwarf hand hangs on a steel chain around a character's neck, bringing the wearer more in tune with the earth beneath her feet. If the wearer spends a standard action concentrating on the hand, she gains tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet until the start of her next turn. This ability only allows her to sense creatures and objects that are in contact with earth or stone.

Construction Requirements

Cost 13,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, clairvoyance/clairaudience

Hand of the Mage

Price 900 gp; Aura faint transmutation; CL 2nd; Weight 2 lbs.

This mummified elf hand hangs by a golden chain around a character's neck (taking up space as a magic necklace would). It allows the wearer to utilize the spell mage hand at will.

Construction Requirements

Cost 450 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, mage hand

Medallion of Thoughts

Price 12,000 gp; Aura faint divination; CL 5th; Weight —

This appears to be a normal pendant disk hung from a neck chain. Usually fashioned from bronze, copper, or silver, the medallion allows the wearer to read the thoughts of others, as with the spell detect thoughts.

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, detect thoughts

Mind Sentinel Medallion

Price 3,500 gp; Aura faint abjuration; CL 1st; Weight —

The surface of this silver medallion is covered in angular geometric shapes that refract light randomly. The medallion grants a continuous +2 resistance bonus on saves versus mind-affecting spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. If the wearer fails a save to avoid becoming dominated or confused, the amulet immediately grants the wearer a second saving throw to resist the effect. If this second save is successful, the medallion's power fades away entirely and it becomes a simple piece of silver jewelry.

Construction Requirements

Cost 1,750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, protection from evil

Mummer's Ruff

Price 3,500 gp; Aura faint illusion; CL 5th; Weight —

Usually fashioned from brightly colored silk, a mummer's ruff is a favored accoutrement of performers and con artists alike. The wearer of a mummer's ruff gains a +10 bonus on Bluff skill checks when attempting to imitate another's voice. In addition, once per day, the wearer of the mummer's ruff can throw his voice as if using ventriloquismfor up to 5 minutes.

Pathfinder Society Animal Companion Item Slots List

Construction Requirements

Cost 1,750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, sculpt sound, ventriloquism

Necklace of Adaptation

Price 9,000 gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th; Weight 1 lb.

This necklace is a heavy chain with a platinum medallion. The magic of the necklace wraps the wearer in a shell of fresh air, making him immune to all harmful vapors and gases (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, as well as inhaled poisons) and allowing him to breathe, even underwater or in a vacuum.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, alter self

Necklace of Fireballs

Price See Table; Aura moderate evocation; CL 10th; Weight 1 lb.

This item appears to be a string or cluster of spherical beads, sometimes with the ends tied together to form a necklace. (It does not count as an item worn around the neck for the purpose of determining which of a character's worn magic items is effective.) If a character holds it, however, all can see the strand as it really is—a golden chain from which hang a number of golden spheres. The spheres are detachable by the wearer (and only by the wearer), who can easily hurl one of them up to 70 feet. When a sphere arrives at the end of its trajectory, it detonates as a fireball spell (Reflex DC 14 half).

Spheres come in different strengths, ranging from those that deal 2d6 points of fire damage to those that deal 10d6. The price of a sphere is 150 gp for each die of damage it deals.

Each necklace of fireballs contains a combination of spheres of various strengths. Some traditional combinations, designated types I through VII, are detailed above.

If the necklace is being worn or carried by a character who fails her saving throw against a magical fire attack, the item must make a saving throw as well (with a save bonus of +7). If the necklace fails to save, all its remaining spheres detonate simultaneously, often with regrettable consequences for the wearer.

Construction Requirements

Type I 825 gp; Type II 1,350 gp; Type III 2,175 gp; Type IV 2,700 gp; Type V 2,925 gp; Type VI 4,050 gp; Type VII 4,350 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, fireball

Necklace of Ki Serenity

Price 16,000 gp; Aura moderate enchantment; CL 9th; Weight —

This simple leather cord is tightly knotted at even intervals and gives its wearer a sense of inner calmness and connection with the larger world. The wearer gains a +4 bonus to his effective level when determining the size of his ki pool and the level-based effects of his ki pool ability (such as bypassing damage reduction).

Construction Requirements

Cost 8,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, calm emotions, owl's wisdom

Necklace of Netted Stars

Price 42,000 gp; Aura strong illusion and transmutation; CL 12th; Weight 1 lb.

This marvelous mithral necklace forms a broad, draping lacework of threadlike chains set with a multitude of tiny jewels. Seven of these jewels are larger than the rest. While wearing a necklace of netted stars, the wearer can create dancing lights at will and wandering star motes once per day. In addition, each of the seven jewels of the necklace can recall a previously cast 1st-level or 0-level spell, as a pearl of power.

Once per day, the wearer may use the necklace to catch a spell targeted at him, as if readying an action to counterspell using dispel magic, with a bonus on the check equal to 12 + the number of jewels not yet used to recall spells that day. If all jewels have been used, this ability cannot be used that day. The level of the spell to be countered must be less than or equal to the number of unused jewels. If the counterspell succeeds, the spell is negated and the wearer can use its magical energy to recall a previously cast spell of the same level or lower as an immediate action. Whether or not the attempt succeeds, this action exhausts the power of all of the necklace's jewels for that day.

Construction Requirements

Cost 21,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, dancing lights, dispel magic, wandering star motes, creator must be able to cast 7th-level spells

Periapt of Health

Price 7,500 gp; Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th; Weight —

This simple periapt usually appears as a blue gemstone fastened to a silver chain designed to be worn about the neck. The wearer is immune to all disease, including supernatural diseases.

Construction Requirements

Cost 3,750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, remove disease

Periapt of Proof against Poison

Price 27,000 gp; Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th; Weight —

This item is a brilliant-cut black gem on a delicate silver chain meant to be worn about the neck. The wearer is immune to poison, although poisons active when the periapt is first donned still run their course.

Construction Requirements

Cost 13,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, neutralize poison

Periapt of Protection from Curses

Price 12,000 gp; Aura faint abjuration; CL 5th; Weight —

This amethyst stone strung on a coarse iron chain protects the wearer from curses. Three times per day, whenever the wearer rolls a saving throw against a curse (such as a witch's hex, or a bestow curse spell), he may reroll the saving throw as an immediate action. The wearer must decide to use this ability before the results of the saving throw are revealed. He must take the second roll, even if it is worse.

Construction Requirements

Cost 6,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, remove curse

Periapt of Wound Closure

Price 15,000 gp; Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th; Weight —

This stone is bright blue and dangles on a silver chain meant to be worn on the neck. The wearer of this periapt automatically becomes stable if his hit points drop below 0 (but not if the damage is enough to kill the wearer). The periapt doubles the wearer's normal rate of healing or allows normal healing of wounds that would not do so normally. Hit point damage caused by bleeding is negated for the wearer of the periapt, but he is still susceptible to damage from bleeding that causes ability damage or drain.

Construction Requirements

Cost 7,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, heal

Righteous Fist Amulet

Price 4,000 gp; Aura faint transmutation; CL 4th; Weight 1/2 lb.

This golden amulet is used by religious sects as a way to help the faithful capture fugitives or defend themselves without doing undue harm to potential converts. While the wearer is using her divine powers of retribution (such as a cleric's smite, an inquisitor's smiting judgment, or a paladin's smite), the amulet grants her the ability to make unarmed strikes in melee combat as if she had the Improved Unarmed Strike feat.

Construction Requirements

Cost 2,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Unarmed Strike, stone fist

Scarab of Protection

Price 38,000 gp; Aura strong abjuration and necromancy; CL 18th; Weight —

This device appears to be a jade medallion in the shape of a beetle. If it is held for 1 round, an inscription appears on its surface letting the holder know that it is a protective device.

The scarab's possessor gains spell resistance 20. The scarab can also absorb energy-draining attacks, death effects, and negative energy effects. Upon absorbing 12 such attacks, the scarab turns to powder and is destroyed.

Construction Requirements

Cost 19,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, death ward, spell resistance

Stormlure

Price 5,400 gp; Aura faint evocation; CL 5th; Weight —

A stormlure is usually fashioned from pieces of creatures known for their affinity to air—the feathers of birds, the shells of flying insects, and the scales of a dragon. When activated, stormlures call to the wind, causing a tempestuous gale. Once per day on command, the wearer of a stormlure is surrounding by swirling winds for 1 minute, granting a 50% miss chance against all ranged attacks, including rays and other ranged spells that require a roll to hit. This wind does not hinder the wearer of the stormlure in any way. At any one time during this duration, as a swift action, the wearer can cause the air around her to fill with crackling lightning, dealing 4d6 points of electricity damage to all creatures adjacent to her. A DC 14 Reflex save halves this damage.

Construction Requirements

Cost 2,700 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, lightning bolt, wind wall

Swarmbane Clasp

Price 3,000 gp; Aura moderate abjuration; CL 8th; Weight 1/2 lb.

An ancient fossilized insect lies trapped within this ornate amber clasp, impaled by the long golden pin that fastens the wearer's cloak. The wearer's weapons, unarmed attacks, and natural attacks deal full damage to swarms, regardless of the swarm's immunity to weapon damage (if any, although damage reduction applies as normal). If the wearer is damaged by a swarm, she automatically succeeds on her saving throw against the swarm's distraction ability.

Construction Requirements

Cost 1,500 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, repel vermin

Symbol of Sanguine Protection

Price 17,500 gp; Aura faint transmutation; CL 6th; Weight 1 lb.

This silver holy symbol rests just over the wearer's heart, imbuing his blood with divine power. After wearing the amulet for 24 hours, the wearer can shed his own blood as a standard action, dealing 1d6 points of damage to himself, to collect an amount of divinely empowered blood that functions as a flask of holy water. The wearer can collect his blood this way once per day, but the individual vials lose their potency after just 1 week.

Undead creatures and evil outsiders that successfully use a blood drain attack on the wearer take 4d6 points of positive energy damage and are sickened for 1d4 rounds unless they make a DC 16 Will save. Any benefit the creature might gain from drinking the wearer's blood is negated due to the power of this symbol.

Construction Requirements

Cost 8,750 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, bless water

Torc of Lionheart Fury

Price 8,000 gp; Aura faint abjuration; CL 3rd; Weight 1 lb.

Each end of this heavy copper neckwear bears the image of a snarling lion. The wearer gains a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear. If the wearer is a barbarian of at least 12th level, she gains fearless rage as a bonus rage power. If she already has this power, she also becomes immune to the panicked condition while raging, and any panic-causing attack against her while she rages instead causes her to regain 1 round of rage.

Construction Requirements

Cost 4,000 gp

Craft Wondrous Item, remove fear

Welcome to Guidance, Private Sanctuary’s source for tips and techniques for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, written by Everyman Gamer Alexander Augunas. Today, we’re going to be talking about building animal companions.

You know me, I absolutely LOVE taking reader questions when I can! Today’s article comes from Tyler Genuenden. He writes:

Hey Alex,

Big fan of the Crunch you bring to [the Private Sanctuary Podcast]. I was wondering if you had any suggestion for feats. I have any suggestions for [animal companion] feats. I have a paladin that will be taking Monstrous Mount to get a griffon mount.

I know there are some monster feats, such as Fly-By Attack and such. Do you have any other suggestions for feats to give the griffon?

Why yes, Tyler. Yes I do. But in truth, you’re not asking me, “What feats should I take.” You’re actually asking me, “How do I build a successful animal companion?” And that’s a question that I’m more than happy to answer for you!

So, the first thing we have to address is, “What’s an animal companion?” The animal companion game mechanic, as we know it in Pathfinder, gets its roots from the 3.5 Druid class (rangers could also take it with a –4 to their effective druid level). In 3.5, the animal companion ability was basically, “Pick an animal from a bestiary. You have that animal and it gets bonuses as you level,” and higher-level druids could pick higher-level companions. In short, as you leveled up you often wanted to replace your animal companion with a shiny new one.

In Pathfinder, that changed. A lot. The animal companion rules were standardized so all animal companions had the same basic progression and used the same basic rules, with some slight variations between animal to animal. All animal companions were scaled down so as to be available to all druids at Level 1, which was part of Pathfinder’s “You should have more choice, not less choice,” mantra. This is even present in what size your animal is, as the animal companion rules in Pathfinder grant bonuses if you choose to remain your current size.

Regardless of which edition you play, however, the basic idea behind the animal companion is the same: they’re mini characters. Trained creatures that normally do what you want, when you want to.

So before we begin, let’s talk about the base mechanics surrounding the animal companion.

• Master-Based Advancement: An animal companion’s Hit Dice (as well as saves and BAB), Strength, Dexterity, natural armor bonus, and special abilities improve with their master’s level. As you leave up, your companion levels up with you. Animal companions have Medium BAB/d8 Hit Dice, good Fortitude, and Good Reflex, and they start out with 2 HD at 1st level, so their stats are pretty good to begin with; from there on out, an animal companion’s Hit Dice (as well as its other statistics) don’t always improve with every new druid level.
• Handle the Animal: In order to get your animal companion to do what you want, you need to command it using the Handle Animal skill. For most characters, doing this is a move action. Animal companions, however, have an empathic bond with their master that grants the master a +4 bonus to handle the animal and reduces the action needed to a free action. So you’re really, really good at handling YOUR animal.
• Tricks: You can’t handle your animal if it doesn’t know the necessary trick. All animals have a default number of tricks that they can learn; Int 1 animals can learn 3 tricks while Int 2 or higher animals can learn 6 tricks. All animals gain bonus tricks that they can learn based upon their level, and hunters can teach several additional bonus tricks to their animal companion beyond this. Tricks are important because you can’t command your animal companion to do something unless it knows that trick, so you typically want to spend the time teaching your animal companion the most important tricks for its role first.
• Special Abilities: Animal companions gain a small number of special abilities and bonus feats based upon their Hit Dice. Some of these special abilities are fantastic, such as evasion or multiattack. Others are more situational and niche in application, but useful nevertheless. Although I’m not going to cover the mechanic here. The Animal Archive introduced animal companion archetypes that trade one or more of these default abilities for new ones, so if you’re an advanced player you might want to give those sources a look.

With those basic mechanics out of the way, let’s talk about an animal’s role in regards to its master.

There are actually a number of different ways to get an animal companion, though not all are created equally. I’m going to list a few of the more common ones below.

• Druid: The “default” animal friend, all druids can choose to take an animal companion as early as first level. They basically have access to whatever animal they want.
• Ranger: Rangers get an animal companion like a druid does, but their effective druid level is at a –4 compared to a druid’s. This can be fixed by taking the Boon Companion feat, from Animal Archive, which adds +4 to the character’s effective druid level.
• Cavalier: Like druids, cavaliers get an animal companion at 1st level. This animal gets Light Armor Proficiency instead of share spells and has to picked from a small list that focuses on creatures that commonly serve as knight-ridden mounts.
• Hunter: Like druids, hunters get an animal companion at 1st level. Hunters get tons of special perks that they share with their animals, including a permanent-effect version of their animal aspect class feature, bonus tricks, and the ability to share ALL of their teamwork feats with their animal companion (and the hunter gets one at 3rd level and another every three levels thereafter). They also can teach skirmisher tricks (from the skirmisher ranger achetype) to their animal companion instead of standard tricks, which makes them by far the most dangerous animal companions around.
• Archetypes: Several archetypes grant animal companions. The most notable is the inquisitor’s sacred huntsman, which gives the inquisitor many of the hunter’s cool tricks, the wild child brawler, the mad dog barbarian, and sylvan wild bloodline for wild blooded sorcerers.
• Feats: Anyone can take an animal companion by taking the Animal Ally feat. This requires Nature Soul as a prerequisite. You’re also likely going to want the Boon Companion feat to boost your effective druid level to equal your full character level.

With the options out of the way, let’s talk about what animal companions can DO in combat.

So we’ve talked about what an animal companion, so now let’s talk about what an animal companion does for the character.

• Scout: Animals can’t talk. Everyone knows this. But animals often have great senses; everything from having Perception as a class skill to having neat special abilities like blindsense or scent. Animal companions also grant the Alertness feat to their masters, so they make the druid/hunter/ranger/whomever better at noticing stuff too.
• Combat: Animal companions can be built to be absolutely devastating in combat. They possess excellent Strength and Dex scores and although the number of feats they receive is small, they get just enough to pick up the basics.
• Mounts: Perhaps the most often used role for animal companions is that of a mount, specifically by the paladin and cavalier. That said, any animal companion user can make great use of a mount that scales with his or her class level.
• Teamwork: These types of animals are in combat, but they’re not there to be damage machines themselves; they position themselves to assist their masters or their master’s allies by helping others to gain flanking bonuses or allowing teamwork feats and other abilities to trigger.
• Meat Shield: These types of animals are defensive and designed to put pressure on enemies while being difficult to combat themselves.

So, how do you build for each of these purposes? I thought you’d NEVER ask.

Scout Animals

This type of animal companion needs special senses, movement types, and skills, first and foremost. Specifically, they want Perception, Stealth, and Survival (for tracking). This is difficult to pull off; because of their limited Intelligences, animal companions don’t get very many skill ranks. (Hint: next to none.) Choose animals with special abilities like scent or blindsense that have decent Wisdom scores and/or Intelligence scores for this purpose. Paladins are REALLY good at this because their animal companion starts at an Intelligence of 6, but horses and other mount-type animals aren’t great at special senses and abilities so it comes with a catch. Things with fly speeds and climb speeds make great scouts, as do any animals with abilities like scent (most mammals and reptiles) and blindsense (bats). Another great tip is to find a headband of vast intelligence for your animal (assuming that your GM allows them to wear one) that has these skills selected; the headband gives your animal free ranks despite its terrible skills.

Pathfinder Society Animal Companion Item Slots Guide

Combat Animals

Playing a combat animal is relatively easy. First, pick whether your animal is Dex-focused or Strength-focused. It is MUCH easier to be a Strength-focused animal, although Dex-focused animals can work. Second, pick the same feats you’d pick if you were a rogue. Done. Feats like Power Attack, Piranha Attack, and Weapon Focus are all staples for this type of animal companion. Another alternative is to pick up combat maneuver feats that don’t require an Intelligence perquisite, like Overrun, Sunder, Bull Rush, or Trample. Animals, especially Large ones, are great at maneuvers, and some even have special abilities like grab or trip that help them be even better at it. An animal with grab is awesome at shutting down spellcasters while an animal with trip can make melee fighting very, very difficult for characters with Medium BAB or lower.

Mounts

Typically, a mount builds for one thing and one thing only: movement. The big advantage of using a mount is using the mount’s speed instead of your own, so most mounted characters choose to take feats on their mount that allow the mount to ignore effects that make movement difficult. Good examples of effective choices for movement-focused mounts include Nimble Steps and Agile Steps, Step Up, Following Step, Fleet, Spring Attack, Ride-By Attack, Steady Gallop, and so on. Ultimately, you need to decide what sort of mounted combat strategy that YOU have and use that to decide what your mount needs to make you more effective.

Teamwork Buddy

This special type of mount can be used by any animal companion character, but it is most often used by hunters, cavaliers, and inquisitors with the sacred huntsman archetype. This type of animal companion uses itself as an “extra body” of sorts; it is a second character that its master has (relative) control over, and therefore can be placed wherever the master desires. If the master wants its animal to flank with the rogue so she can get her sneak attack bonus, it can do that. If the master has teamwork feats and needs a character that she can count on to always have those feats, the animal companion can do that too (this is VERY effective for hunters and sacred huntsman inquisitors, but anyone can “get in” on this perk via the Pack Tactics feat). Unless you’re going the teamwork feats route, you really don’t need to invest anything special into making your animal companion your Teamwork Buddy; any character can do that effectively well.

Meat Shield

This is the opposite of the combat animal; the total defense animal. The idea for a meat shield animal is to be threatening while making sure to make defense the number 1 priority. This is open accomplished by increasing the animal’s AC with barding, spells, and feats that boost the animal’s AC and hp. I usually see the meat shield animal coupled with the combat animal, the maneuver animal, or both, as the added pressure from high damage makes enemies more likely to choose to attack the animal companion over the character himself. This sort of character is rarely the mount, as Mounted Combat is designed to allow the rider to protect the mount, but the mount doesn’t need (or necesscarily want) protection if it’s a meat shield.

If we’re comparing straight-up animals, the hunter is easily the best. From having great druidic buff spells to all of the animal-focused class features, the hunter is going to have the nastiest animal companion at the table. But this doesn’t mean that they’re the only option you have. A paladin with aura of justice shares his smite with his animal companion along with his allies. A ranger can share favored enemy bonuses with his mount with a special spell. Druids have all the power of a 9th level spellcaster. Cavaliers have awesome attacks and are by far the best at fighting in the group. Ultimately, it is important to think of how much of your character you want your animal companion to be when deciding on which class to play. Ultimately, animal companions are fun, effective creatures that can be vital resources when build and used well.

And that’s all I have for my Player’s Guide to Animal Companions! I know I didn’t cover everything; today’s article was supposed to be a brief introduction. Do you have any questions about animal companions that I didn’t answer? Do you want to see me do any other animal companion-themed articles? What about other creature class features, like the eidolon or the familiar? Leave your questions and comments below, and I’ll see you back on Friday for another new installment of Guidance! Take care!

Alexander “Alex” Augunas has been playing roleplaying games since 2007, which isn’t nearly as long as 90% of his colleagues. Alexander is an active freelancer for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and is best known as the author of the Pact Magic Unbound series by Radiance House. Alex is the owner of Everyman Gaming, LLC and is often stylized as the Everyman Gamer in honor of Guidance’s original home. Alex’s favorite color is blue and his favorite Pathfinder animal companion is an allosaurus. Because raptors.