Arcane Buster (3.5e Equipment)

Summary::A arcane symbiote is fused into your arm, allowing you to shoot bolts of elemental energy.

The arcane buster is a unique graft in that it is created by sampling the material of living spells, melting them down to their core components, combining them with alchemical essences, and granting them life. While similar to a construct or living construct, the resulting creature is useless without a host. When properly grafted with magical surgury to a host, its real strength comes to bear.

The arcane buster bonds to one arm of a arcane spellcasting host, making it appear as if wrapped in a shell of stone and alchemical gel which can take on several forms, but is always slightly more bulky than a normal arm. As long as the creature has at least arcane spell per day remaining, the user can fire bolts of elemental energy as an attack action. You may choose to deal acid, cold, electric, or fire damage at the beginning of each round. It deals 2d6 damage with a 20/x2 critical range, a normal ranged attack roll, and a range increment of 50 feet.

By expending a spell slot, you can instead fire a charged shot as a standard action which deals normal damage plus +2d6 damage for every level of the spell sacrificed (up to 20d6 for 9th level spells), plus the user's Charisma (if positive). If you have the arcane fire ability of the archmage the damage die for charged shots rises to d10s.

The arcane buster can also produce unlimited masterwork sling ammo which deals damage as a sling. You may load it with enhanced sling bullets as well and draw from that source. You can store up to 50 sling bullets in its extradimensional folds at once time, and the arcane buster reloads as a free action allowing you to take iteritive attacks with one hand. Filling the arcane buster with additional ammo is a full round action.

You can't use the energy shot in an antimagic field but you can use the physical sling bullets as an extraordinary ability.

The arcane buster consumes the use of one hand when deployed, and you can get two grafts, one for each arm. If using both at once, you take penalties as if fighting with two light weapons. In addition while the arcane buster is in use the weapon completely encloses your hand making it unavailable, which gives a -2 penalty on ability and skill checks which involve the use of hands, and may make some tasks impossible. You can "sheathe" or "draw" your arcane buster as a move action. When sheathed, the weapons membrane pulls back to allow your hand access and permit you to use your hand. Because the graft is part of you, you cannot be disarmed.

The arcane buster only functions when applied to spellcasting creatures; applied to any other creature and they rot away over the course of 2d4 days. During construction, spells are employed to bond the two creatures, but once applied it is forever a mundane part of the creature. The arcane buster may be enhanced as a masterwork weapon of its own.

Graft Flesh (any), caster level 5th; magic stone, scorching ray; Price Cost::4,500 gp