pathfinder-1espellcasting-focus
What are the limitations of what can be selected for a divine focus?
How big can my holy symbol be?
Can clerics use a shield or weapon as their divine focus? Can I set the divine focus into a ring, or store it in the hollow pommel of a weapon, or wear it as an amulet?
If I pick a metal divine focus, can I have that welded or soldered onto a steel shield or weapon?
The best way that I can see you improving your combat effectiveness is through the specific spells you choose.
As you had said, money is sort of tight in your campaign, so you need to make due with what you have at your disposal naturally. Luckily, this isn't hard considering that you have a +4 Cha score (Giving you anywhere between 1-4 additional spells per day at your current bonus). So considering your want to improve how well you do in combat, focus on preparing combat buff spells
These are the spells that I think you should prioritize (keep in mind that I only have the core rule book on hand):
+Bless Weapon(1st): A very situational buff, but powerful when used against the right enemies (ya did good on this one)
+Magic Weapon(1st): Prepare this instead of Bless. Bless may give you a bonus against fear, but Magic Weapon increases your damage as well as your attack bonus.
+Bull's Strength(2nd): I know that you put most of your stuff into Ranged Weapons, but everything on the list available to me is either a buff you don't need or something that seams too underhanded for a "rock star" (also, I don't think you need a spell that lets you take half of the damage that your friends take when there is a fully-functioning tank). As you may already know, Bull's Strength increases your Strength Ability by 4, so at the very least, you increase your Combat Maneuver Scores. This means it's easier to absolutely wreak an enemy's day by affecting how they move, inflicting statuses on them, or simply moving through them.
+Greater Magic Weapon(3rd): THIS is one of the key spells you should prepare when you get into the upper echelons. It's like Magic Weapon, but it gives you additional bonus amounts for every four levels your character has. Also, this spell specifically states that you can cast this spell on up to 50 arrows in the same quiver; this means that if you have to switch to another bow, or if your party also invests in bows, the spell is used to its maximum potential between multiple weapons.
+Prayer(3rd): Anyone in a 40ft radius of you receives a +/-1 to every roll depending on their loyalties; That's an increased advantage of 2 against whatever enemies you are fighting!
+Dispel Chaos/Evil(4th): these two spells give you +4 against the attacks of the designated alignment and automatically dispels effects cast by said creatures or spells that are of that alignment
This last one is just in case you attempt to build physically or your Fighter is being cornered by a Demon or something...
-Holy Sword: PROS: weapon automatically becomes +5 AND deals an additional 2d6 damage to Evil Creatures. CONS: Can only be applied to melee weapons and negates the powers of whatever weapon it is used on (that last bit could be fun to use against an enemy using an all-powerful cursed weapon, but again, this is a bit situational)
I hope this helps.
P.S.: Your party should invest in Heavy Repeating Crossbows once you hit level 10
(source: threadbombing.com)
The rules prohibit nothing - only the DM can prohibit things (that's in the rules PHB p.5).
That said, the relevant part of the rules says (PHB p.151):
A cleric or paladin can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus, as described in chapter 10. To use the symbol in this way, the caster must hold it in hand, wear it visibly, or bear it on a shield.
You can use "a holy symbol"; in normal English "a" refers to a general instance i.e. there are more than one of these things and you are referring to any of them right now, this contrasts with "the" where the item is unique.
If you have more than one holy symbol, you can use any of them (but only one at a time - not that that matters). If you find one lying on the ground you can use it. As written, even if it doesn't dipict your god (this is where your DM may prohibit something).
If you have the foresight to carry more than one holy symbol - good for you. If your DM wants to prohibit this then they:
If they still need convincing: whould you be prohibited if you had bought a spell component pouch as well as your holy symbol?
Best Answer
Most divine foci are holy symbols...
Components on Divine Focus says
A cleric or paladin or similar's holy symbol can be made from any one of variety of materials, while a druid or ranger or similar tends toward holly and mistletoe.
Holly and mistletoe cost and weigh a negligible amount. The game hasn't focused on those pretty much at all (except in very rare cases such as this magic ring) and, instead, provides all kinds of information about holy symbols. If you're really wondering about holly and mistletoe and not holy symbols, talk to the GM. Holy symbols get all the love.
...And a holy symbol is versatile...
All holy symbols weigh 1 lb. except those made of wood, which have negligible weight. However, I assume a cleric or paladin's holy symbol could be—I mean, if he really wanted it to be—as large as the character could drag: scaling many nonstandard things up or down will depend on the GM's house rules for doing so (that is, so far as I'm aware, no rules are provided for, for example, inappropriately sized holy symbols), but I tend to use the Armor for Unusual Creatures chart for resizing pretty much everything because it's simple and convenient.
It's probably safe to assume the typical holy symbol is, by default, equivalent to a light weapon for a creature of its size, so a one-size-category increase makes it one-handed, and a two-size-category increase makes it two-handed. For example, if he wants to channel energy with it or ward off a vampire with it or whatever, a Medium creature must use two hands to present a Huge holy symbol. However, I warn you: I must speculate here because I've never seen an inappropriately sized holy symbol be an issue despite there always being at least one divine spell caster in every party I've been in over the past several years, and sometimes I am the one playing that divine spell caster.
...But a holy symbol's not usually armor, a shield, or a weapon...
By default, armor, a shield, or a weapon isn't and can't be a divine focus. However, paying someone with the feat Craft Reliquary Arms and Shields 250 gp can turn any armor, shield, or weapon into a holy symbol divine focus (but, apparently, not a holly-and-mistletoe divine focus).
...And a divine caster must be able to manipulate the holy symbol and may want to be able to present the holy symbol, too...
Choosing a Spell says that
This means a cleric can wear a holy symbol around the neck or as a ring or whatever as long as the cleric can manipulate the holy symbol while casting a spell (holy symbol manipulation, by the way, is done with the same one free hand that's also satisfying the spell's somatic components and preparing and manipulating material components—yes, that's a busy hand!).
However, actually presenting a holy symbol—for example, to channel energy or to ward off vampires—, I've always seen ruled as needing an empty hand (although not necessarily an empty hand capable of wielding a weapon—a holy symbol held in a hand that's also toting a light shield, for instance, is fine). (This makes the necklace—which the cleric can argue can be strongly presented using either hand—a more versatile choice than the ring which a cruel GM may rule is occasionally on the wrong hand.)
A holy symbol stored in a weapon's hollow pommel (a real thing with statistics in Pathfinder) can't be used until extracted, but if a foe thinks a cleric powerless after snatching the cleric's holy symbol, the foe could be in for a surprise next round. (It likely takes a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity to retrieve a stored item from a hollow pommel, but ask the GM.)
...and you probably can't just nail a cross to a shield (or whatever) then use the shield as a holy symbol
The existence of the feat Craft Reliquary Arms and Shields leads me to believe that trying to attach a holy symbol to armor, a shield, or a weapon probably just destroys the holy symbol, but you can run it by the GM and see if you can save 250 gp.
Options are identical for unholy symbols if you're evil.