Can you willingly dismiss a familiar?

[ThornDJL7]

Looked through the familiar sections in the Core Rulebook and could not find anything on willingly dismissing a familiar. Either I'm blind or it's not where I'm looking. Can anyone shed light on this. Direct quotes and page numbers are the best.

[Marc Radle]

Sure. One specific example off the top of my head, one would dismiss their normal familiar if they took the Improved Famiar Feat.

[Lord Fyre]

But there are no specific rule for it.

Page 82 has the rules to replace a familiar that has lost or died, but not any rule for volunarily dismissing a familiar.

[ThornDJL7]

Marc Radle wrote:

Sure. One specific example off the top of my head, one would dismiss their normal familiar if they took the Improved Famiar Feat.

Just read that feat, nothing in there states you lose your old familiar. Just that when you look to acquire a familiar you can choose from the new list as well.

[Elven_Blades]

The only place i can find anything that specifically mentions dismissing a familiar is on the 3.5 players hand book

Quote:

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the sorcerer (or other class with access to familiar), the character must attempt a dc 15 Fortitude saving throw. Failure means he looses 200xp per sorcerer level. Success reduces the loss by 1/2 the amount... A slain or dismissed familiar can not be replaced for a year and a day. A slain familiar can be raised from the dead, just as a character can be...

I can not find anything about choosing to dismiss a familiar in pathfinder. I do se several important rules to consider though. First, a slain familiar no longer causes xp loss. Second, a familiar can be replaced after one week, rather than a year. Third, the last paragraph before the table on PF page 82 reads, "if the familiar is lost or dies...". I would surmise that that the definition on "lost" would include dismissed

Based on this I would say you should have no problem dismissing your familiar. Just wait a week, pay the cost, and perform the ritual... Presto, new familiar.

[Bob_Loblaw]

I don't think it's going to matter if you dismiss it or shove it into a meat grinder. In the end, you wait 7 days and drop 200go per wizard level to get a new one. I say just dismiss it otherwise it gets kinda silly with wizards gutting their familiars so they can get a new one.

[Howie23]

The Meat Grinder:

Bimbo Baggins: I think it's a trap, but I cannot disarm it. I have not the skill. By the way, did anyone notice the imp hanging around the eves of the Mottled Dragon before we left?

Gutdwarf the Wizard: I confirm the presence of magic. Indeed...a trap you say. Ahem...my trusty rat familiar, Walter Eego, is somewhat skilled in the matter..much better than myself, actually. Aaaah, Walter, would you mind seeing if you could trigger yonder trap?

Walter emerges from nosing around in Gutdwarf's pack.

Walter: Trap? Yeeeah. I cud do dat, boss. Let's me takes a looksee. Hey boss, what's widdall da familiar summoning componentry in yous pack?

Gutdwarf: Ah, that. No worries, Walter. They are merely used in..ahem..adjusting, yes, adjusting, our current bond. Um. I'll explain it later.

Walter: Ah! Okays boss. I was jus' won'dring. I'm still loining my ways about dis arcanes stuff.

Gutdwarf: Excellent. I knew you'd understand....now...the trap?

Walter: Oh! Da trap. S'oitenly, boss! Rights away...

Walter skurries toward the trap, tools in mouth

Gutdwarf (whispering): Bimbo, the imp is a friend named E'cylopedius Brown. I've been discussing a business arrangement with him and expect to close the deal with him soon. He's quite a skilled fellow.

Walter: Okays boss, I thinks I found it. Mans, what I wouldn't do for some hands. Ooof...er...uh...eek.

There is an ominous clicking sound followed by a short squeak and a grinding noise.

Gutdwarf: Bimbo, I think I'll be closing that deal sooner than I anticipated..in about a week. Oh...and I think the trap should be taken care of now. Shall we proceed?

[Tryp]

ThornDJL7 wrote:

Marc Radle wrote:

Sure. One specific example off the top of my head, one would dismiss their normal familiar if they took the Improved Famiar Feat.

Just read that feat, nothing in there states you lose your old familiar. Just that when you look to acquire a familiar you can choose from the new list as well.

"This feat allows you to acquire a powerful familiar, but

only when you could normally acquire a new familiar."

Seems to be implied that you can only make use of the feat if your old familiar is lost or dead IMO. I admit that the Paizo staff didn't go out of their way to make things clear here. It would have taken one additional sentence, or even an augmentation of the existing sentence.

In response to the original post, there doesn't seem to be any clarification (not even FAQ) on dismissing familiars. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. I'd much rather have a PC dismiss his old familiar than send it into harms way constantly, hoping for the worst.

[LazarX]

Lord Fyre wrote:

But there are no specific rule for it.

Page 82 has the rules to replace a familiar that has lost or died, but not any rule for volunarily dismissing a familiar.

You can dismiss a familliar. It's in the same category as losing one. The consequences are still the same. You have to wait one week and then perform the proscribed 8 hour ritual to get a new one at a cost of 200 gold pieces per relevant class level.

[LazarX]

Tryp wrote:

ThornDJL7 wrote:

Marc Radle wrote:

Sure. One specific example off the top of my head, one would dismiss their normal familiar if they took the Improved Famiar Feat.

Just read that feat, nothing in there states you lose your old familiar. Just that when you look to acquire a familiar you can choose from the new list as well.

"This feat allows you to acquire a powerful familiar, but

only when you could normally acquire a new familiar."

The line is basically there to confound rules lawyers who would use the feat to have two familliars at once. The only time you could "normally acquire a familliar" is any time you don't have one and are past the one week waiting period after the removal of the original.

[Selgard]

I've always found a greataxe to be an excellent way of "dismissing" a familiar.

By Raw, unfortunately, death- by you or another- is the only way to be rid of the pesky beasts.

That being said- I really see no issue with a DM letting you "let one go" if you so chose. I'd just keep the waiting period to get a new familiar intact. It's really the only "rule" they made on it. (that you hafta wait to get a new one).

Interestingly, the rule says:
If a familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced 1 week later through a specialized ritual that costs 200 gp per wizard level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete.

which leaves you to wonder.. how can it become "lost" without becoming dead? can you drive out into the woods and leave it in the middle and drive off or something? Replacing it when george the hampster doesn't make it home in a week?

-S

[Marc Radle]

I would suggest that everyone click the FAQ tab on the first post so that this gets clarified in the FAQ

[ThornDJL7]

I ruled in my group that one could simply dismiss their familiar. I was just wondering if there was another reason beyond my perception checks ability to find in the pathfinder rules.

[TharBastian]

If you ever had a familiar in one of our DM's campaigns, the greataxe sounds good. He plays the personalities.

[SimianChaos]

A possible interpretation of the Improved Familiar feat that I use (both as a DM and player) is such. I take my current familiar, gather all the stuff needed for acquiring a new familiar and perform various magic rituals involving moderately uncommon Handwavium Crystals and transform my current familiar into the new one.

Generally when I make a character I plan early on if I want a familiar and if 'yes' do I want one of the Improved ones, if so then I find something that is generally similar to the improved familiar that I want and it isn't too much of a stretch. (Example making a cat familiar into that cat/angel/thing from the new bestiary)

[Zyren Zemerys]

Maybe I'm just a too kind person, but I cannot picture any of my good aligned wizards to slay his familiar just to get a "better" one...I 'd rather call that bad roleplay...on the other hand: Evil wizards love the Meatgrinder...

[Elven_Blades]

Zyren Zemerys wrote:

Maybe I'm just a too kind person, but I cannot picture any of my good aligned wizards to slay his familiar just to get a "better" one...I 'd rather call that bad roleplay...on the other hand: Evil wizards love the Meatgrinder...

Ricky the rat familiar, i have some bad news for you... You're no longer useful. You're fired... Chop! squeak squeak... Sqee...ee..k

[Zyren Zemerys]

boo!

[Sean K Reynolds]

FAQ-a-month-ago!

[Kthulhu]

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

FAQ-a-month-ago!

Here's a better question, then. For a wizard, the loss of a familiar isn't really a big deal. So they can simply dismiss theirs, and call a new one with no real consequences other than a bit of gold and a week. Improved Familiar is thus a pretty decent feat for a familiar wizard to take at some point.

But what about a witch? The class that could benefit the most from having a somewhat more durable familiar gets kinda screwed, because a witch without her familiar any appreciable length of time takes a massive hit. It's the equivalent of telling a wizard "I'll give you a fire-resistant spellbook. But first you have to play me for the privilege of burning your existing spellbook (with no real way to back up the spells) and then wait a week and I'll give you the fire-resistant one. Only it's barely got any spells in it."

Bad deal. Very bad deal. The witch should be able to instantly upgrade her familiar if she takes Improved Familiar, and with no loss of spells. Maybe grinding up the old one and feeding it to the new one.

[Sean K Reynolds]

Did you read the linked FAQ entry where it talks about Improved Familiar?

[Kthulhu]

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

Did you read the linked FAQ entry where it talks about Improved Familiar?

Doh! I feel dumb. Somehow I missed the second paragraph. Still, the point about the spells stands....do the spells stored in Kitty automatically transfer to Lockheed?

Yes, I just made this an X-Men thread.

[Sean K Reynolds]

I would think they would transfer, but I agree that is a FAQ-worthy question.