Can my raven take wizard levels?


Rules Questions


So I've awakened my raven pet and taken him as a monstrous cohort. He currently also has three rogue levels. I was thinking about converting him from a straight classed rogue into an arcane trickster. The thing I was wondering was whether he could take levels in wizard. Verbal components aren't an issue, it's the somatic ones.

The issue is that somatic components are part of the spell (or scroll). Most spells/scrolls are created by humanoid beings. Also, most spell casting non-humanoids are sorcerers, not wizards. The magic being in their blood lets them figure out what somatic gestures to make.

I know that there was some rule in 3.x that said that creatures figured out how to make the appropriate gestures based on their own physiology (I think from Savage Species), but I couldn't find any similar rule in either of the Pathfinder core books.

Dark Archive

He should take a human familiar.

Dark Archive

Random thoughts;

1 - There is an OGL feat called 'Wild Spell' (predating Natural Spell, IIRC, found in the third-party Necromancer's Legacy) that allows someone in animal form to use animal vocalizations and body movements to cast spells, in place of standard verbal and somatic components. It is a metamagic feat, so that any spells prepared in this manner are extremely difficult to cast in non-animal form (some sort of surival or knowledge (nature) check to try and make animal noises and gestures or something), but would be a logical choice for a wizard who is already an animal, and wouldn't be able to cast S (or, in most cases, V) spells otherwise.

2 - You could also make a list for the Raven of spells that don't require Somatic components. I vaguely remember seeing such a thing over at the WotC CharOp forums, as people were making a list of spells that a Sor/Wiz could effectively cast while wearing armor without suffering ASF.

One such list (which may not be valid if PF has changed some, and I'm too lazy to go look them up...);

Spoiler:
Verbal-Only Arcane Spells:

Level 0: Flare, Light
Level 1: Feather Fall, Hold Portal, True Strike, Ventriloquism
Level 2: Blindness, Blur, Darkness, Knock
Level 3: Displacement, Suggestion, Tongues
Level 4: Dimension Door, Lesser Geas, Shout
Level 5: Contact Other Plane, Teleport
Level 6: Geas, Mass Suggestion
Level 7: Phase Door, Power Word Blind, Greater Teleport, Teleport Object
Level 8: Mass Charm Monster, Irresistible Dance, Power Word Stun
Level 9: Mage’s Disjunction, Power Word Kill, Prismatic Sphere, Teleportation Circle, Time Stop, Wail of the Banshee, Wish

3 - And then there's Still Spell.


Actually those are all some very spiffy utility spells, which would allow you to focus on other things.

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