Just finished reading the Wormwood Mutiny, and I had a question. We get stats for four different pirate-y familiars (dodo, dwarf caiman, giant isopod and seal), but no benefits for using them as familiars. What skills do they effect?
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This information was something that should have been in this volume's Bestiary, or in the Player's Guide, but somehow slipped out of both books! So here's the information you're looking for:
Other Piratical Familiars
Trained animals are extremely popular among pirates, serving as pets, ship's mascots, and company on lengthy voyages. Pirate spellcasters prove no different than their shipmates in their interest in pets, and find having an exotic familiar wins them bragging rights and a degree of status. Creatures like blue-ringed octopuses, goats, hawks, rats, lizards, king crabs, monkeys, rats, scarlet spiders, snapping turtles, vipers, weasels all serve as existing examples of potential pirate familiars that appear in either the Bestiary or Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic. Additionally, the statistics for many existent familiars might be used to represent more exotic, piratical familiars. The following table presents a variety of such exotic familiars, statistics that can be used to represent them, and the benefits of having them as familiars (which, in some cases, vary from the familiar creatures whose statistics they share).
Pirate Familiars
Dodo - Master gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks
Dwarf caiman - Master gains a +3 bonus on Stealth checks
Giant isopod - Master gains a +1 natural armor bonus to AC
Parrot (as raven (cannot speak) - Master gains a +3 bonus on Linguistics checks
Seal - Master gains a +3 bonus on Swim checks
Ah, thanks! I was curious about this too.
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This information was something that should have been in this volume's Bestiary, or in the Player's Guide, but somehow slipped out of both books! So here's the information you're looking for:
Other Piratical Familiars
Trained animals are extremely popular among pirates, serving as pets, ship's mascots, and company on lengthy voyages. Pirate spellcasters prove no different than their shipmates in their interest in pets, and find having an exotic familiar wins them bragging rights and a degree of status. Creatures like blue-ringed octopuses, goats, hawks, rats, lizards, king crabs, monkeys, rats, scarlet spiders, snapping turtles, vipers, weasels all serve as existing examples of potential pirate familiars that appear in either the Bestiary or Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic. Additionally, the statistics for many existent familiars might be used to represent more exotic, piratical familiars. The following table presents a variety of such exotic familiars, statistics that can be used to represent them, and the benefits of having them as familiars (which, in some cases, vary from the familiar creatures whose statistics they share).Pirate Familiars
Dodo - Master gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks
Dwarf caiman - Master gains a +3 bonus on Stealth checks
Giant isopod - Master gains a +1 natural armor bonus to AC
Parrot (as raven (cannot speak) - Master gains a +3 bonus on Linguistics checks
Seal - Master gains a +3 bonus on Swim checks
Wait, Parrots can't speak and Ravens can?
Parrot (as raven (cannot speak) - Master gains a +3 bonus on Linguistics checks
Way to make it easier to say "Avast!" in Ancient Osiriani or Thassilonian or a poetic "Arrrgh" in flail snail. :)
-TimD
I have it on good authority that not only can parrots talk, they can sing too.
I have to say, it is a bit odd that Parrots can't speak, yet give a bonus to Linguistics. It also sort of conflicts with the Sea Singer, whose parrot familiar was treated exactly like a raven. Oh well, house rule time I guess.
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Talking ravens have a pedigree going back to Tolkien, and have been in the game for a long time. And as noted, parrots can't actually talk.
Doctor Dolittle's familiar Polynesia wants to have words with you. :D
Gotta admit, much like "new" traits, a lot of the new familiars benefits don't make any sense to me, or are just rehashing of the stuff given by another familiar. Nothing against this book or it's author in particular, just a general observation.
Gotta admit, much like "new" traits, a lot of the new familiars benefits don't make any sense to me, or are just rehashing of the stuff given by another familiar. Nothing against this book or it's author in particular, just a general observation.
There are really only so many benefits a familiar can provide, though, without getting into something weird and complex.
Gotta admit, much like "new" traits, a lot of the new familiars benefits don't make any sense to me, or are just rehashing of the stuff given by another familiar. Nothing against this book or it's author in particular, just a general observation.
Pirate Familiars
Dodo - Master gains a +2 bonus on initiative checksDwarf caiman - Master gains a +3 bonus on Stealth checks
Giant isopod - Master gains a +1 natural armor bonus to AC
Parrot (as raven (cannot speak) - Master gains a +3 bonus on Linguistics checks
Seal - Master gains a +3 bonus on Swim checks
Comparing the new familiars with the basic ones in the CRB, pg 82:
The Dodo adds +2 to initiative. That is nice especially if used with the elf racial trait Warrior of Old. Those two equate to a free feat. Not bad for a class with limited feat availability.
Dwarf Caiman does duplicate the Cat.
Giant Isopod is new. +1 nat AC bonus.
Parrot is slightly different from the raven in that it permits +3 Linguistic. I like the raven more with the talking ability. Easy enough to house rule. Our GM actually is permitting a parrot to speak one round per day. That moves up a round for every two levels.
Seal is new. +3 swim bonus. The problem here is not knowing enough about the entire campaign and how much the seal will be able to interact on land.
The question that I have with the Dodo familiar is which creature in the Bestiary do we use as the template? A raven can fly, a dodo was a flightless bird.
Dodo!
The question that I have with the Dodo familiar is which creature in the Bestiary do we use as the template? A raven can fly, a dodo was a flightless bird.The stats for the dodo are in Pathfinder #55.
As a player, I do not have the stats for the dodo. The GM has not recieved his book yet. I'm glad its stats have been done.
Just had a pirate-y idea: How about an arcane bond with your amputated appendage parts? You know, your hooks, peglegs, eyepatches.
That would be pretty pirate-like, no?
Talking ravens have a pedigree going back to Tolkien, and have been in the game for a long time. And as noted, parrots can't actually talk.
But if you want your parrots to speak one language like a raven, go for it! It's hardly game-breaking.
A minor nitpick, it's even older than Tolkien. Talking ravens are part of old norse mithology. Huginn and Munnin, Odin's ravens, were spies and talked to him :)