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So I've been considering creating a new character, and was looking at the homebrew Binder class.

My question pertains to the Binder's Apparatus Binding class feature. I've been looking for a comprehensive list of effects that creatures would give to the apparatus they've been bound to, but have been unable to find anything substantive.

The closest thing I've been able to find is this list, though as you can see it is pretty bare.

Would the Apparatus Binding effects be mostly up to the DM? If so, does anybody have advice as to how to decide the short and long term effects of apparatus binding in general, without creating game-breaking items? Otherwise, does a comprehensive list of Apparatus Binding effects exist elsewhere that I have been unable to find?

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    \$\begingroup\$ DandDWiki's Binder is homebrew, unrelated to the class in Tome of Magic. Your DM will need to make up the details and/or contact Milo v3, its creator. \$\endgroup\$
    – Foo Bar
    Feb 20, 2015 at 16:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ Can’t comment on this particular instance, but in general Dandwiki’s quality-control is nonexistent and the overwhelming majority of material on it is poorly designed, incomplete, and not recommended. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Feb 20, 2015 at 16:46

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Talk to the DM

While there's plenty of perfectly acceptable role-playing game stuff out on the Web, Sturgeon's law applies as it does in most media. If the DM's allowing homebrew stuff into his campaign, I suggest you and the DM work together to write that homebrew stuff. Often homebrew stuff relies on the writer's internal understanding of the mechanics, is skewed toward a particular style of play, and works best—or, sometimes, only—in the homebrewer's campaign world. Not grains but shakers of salt are necessary when using another's homebrew stuff.

But if you and the DM work together to make it, it does exactly what you want it to do in the way you want it to do it without having to worry about static from an outside source.

Quick assessment of this homebrew binder class

Like a wizard it summons a familiar and prepares spells, but it loses the wizard's bonus feats in exchange for a scaling method of creating traps, and, later, using those traps to gain minions, create powerful items, and collect special abilities. Although the spell list is more restricted than the wizard's and includes some oddities (e.g. the 1st-level binder (also Sor/Wiz) spell summon potato [conj] (here) is... whatever), it remains a prepared caster capable of casting 9th-level spells, likely putting it on par with similar powerful, versatile classes. The additional abilities lead me to believe that unless everyone were playing something of equal heft, such a binder would overshadow a party otherwise composed of a typical fighter, rogue, and cleric.1 That is, I suspect this is the case were the unfinished tables completed in the same manner they were started.

(You can visit the original posting of the class on the Giant in the Playground forums here.)

Creating apparatus binding traits

It appears this project was started on the Giant in the Playground forums here in Feb. 2012, but it was abandoned and moved to its current location.

So you're on your own here. The list is unfinished and has been since March 2014. It would be up to you and the DM to hash things out as to what would be the best fit for the campaign as it's clear there'd be some balance issues in most campaigns according to what's present on the chart (e.g. the choker's absurdly broken quickness ability—excised from the Monster Manual's 2012 printing—is granted as a levels 9-12 trait, while the acrosapien (a homebrew creature) grants SR 25 as a levels 17-20 trait, an amount almost casually defeated by similarly leveled casters).

Official Alternatives

Although no class quantifies their services in the way that homebrew binder does here, specializing in assembling hordes of willing or unwilling creatures is part of a few base classes (e.g. druids, wizards specializing in conjuration or necromancy) and more than a few prestige classes (e.g. Nar demonbinder, thaumaturgist). If gaining special abilities like those of a magical beast is what's attractive, the totemist from Magic of Incarnum is an interesting and underused option.


  1. While there are ways all 3 of these classes can contribute in a highly optimized game, by level 10 this binder and the cleric would probably view the fighter and rogue as holding them back.
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  • \$\begingroup\$ My apologies for not accepting this answer earlier, I must have missed it completely! \$\endgroup\$ May 29, 2017 at 13:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @B.S.Morganstein No problem and no regrets. Despite my measured language in the answer, I remember the class being a pretty wild read! Did you end up using the class? \$\endgroup\$ May 29, 2017 at 13:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes I did, using a combination of your suggestions and some house rules to streamline the class. Great fun, I'd definitely recommend revisiting it in future games \$\endgroup\$ May 29, 2017 at 13:34

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