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Has anyone else noticed that the Inevitable Arbiter (Bestiary2 p162) is virtually indestructible? All of the other improved familiars have DR and/or Fast Healing while the Arbiter has Regeneration 2/Chaotic AND construct immunities.
While this is great and all for a monster, for a familiar it is virtually indestructible (chaotic is rather rare).
Thoughts?
- Gauss
P.S. Yes, I am aware that the difference between an indestructible familiar and a normal one is 200gp/level +8days (1week +8hours). That is more of a time nuisance than a critical loss in some campaigns.
Edit: apparently there is a second familiar with regeneration that I missed, the Kyton Augur. However it's regen is Good/Silver which is still more common than Chaotic.
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"It's as if a million witches all cried out in joyous rapture at once."
ROFLMAO Cheapy.
- Gauss
Benly, I disagree about being useful. For delivering touch spells they are VERY useful. The whole 'your familiar died because you chose to use them for delivering touch spells' just evaporated for these guys.
- Gauss
They're pretty sturdy, but unfortunately not terribly useful as Improved Familiars go. The only situation where I can see "sturdy, but can't really do much" being especially desirable for a familiar is for a witch who's extremely worried about losing the spells invested in his familiar, and even in that case I suspect you'd still be safer with a shikigami or raktavarna taking an inanimate form and sitting in the bottom of your backpack in dangerous situations.
They can do fly-by Wandings, and have Truespeach.
The shikigami is nice because it can merge with the witch, but it can't fly, and it doesn't have a built-in shank.
As a kyton, augur would be probably more than willing to provide its master with steady source of temporary hit points via vampiric touch.
Hmmm, Augur is nice. Although the point I was trying to make about the regen (chaotic) is that few things bypass that while the Augur has both good or silver that bypass (both of which are more common).
- Gauss
Edit: BTW, yes, I did miss the Augur. Good catch.
The shikigami is nice because it can merge with the witch, but it can't fly, and it doesn't have a built-in shank.
I might play a witch now. The walking spellbook idea never appealed to me. :)
from here, the fluff description says:
A sphere of bronze and copper set with a single eye, this winged creature has two clawed hands, one of which clutches a knife.
Once you see the picture, you'll agree that it's the cutest little shanker you've ever seen.
Honestly, Im just trying to decide for myself whether or not regeneration is overpowered on a familiar. The cleric in my group is about to take an Arbiter to deliver all of her touch spells. Up until now she has been using a bat and doing quite well with it. However, even buffed (mage armor from the party wizard, shield and shield other from the cleric) the bat has nearly died a few times.
- Gauss
Entropic Monkeys.
What about entropic monkeys?
- Gauss
Unless Entropic Monkeys can deliver touch attacks from a Mad Monkeys swarm without getting ganked, I'm not interested.
Interesting, I just realized there is a nasty combo I hadnt considered before: (nearly) Deathproof arbiter who casts Shield Other on someone.
Discuss here: Link
- Gauss
P.S. Im my home games I will houserule that this bypasses regen. Otherwise it is a free HP sponge for someone in the party.
Nope, SR doesn't scale, and it is not even debatable like the silvanshee lay on hands.
Thing I found is that as construct have HP bonus based on size, polymorph into huge should give him decent HP.
Arbiters are not very impressive on their own, but as familiars they have all the best buff spells in the game available, and doesn't even have to take a round to cast them. An arbiter polymorphed into a dragon with transformation (check with GM for CL->HD), mirror image and such can pretty much kill anything.
You're thinking "shinigami", which are gods of death. Shikigami are spirits summons by occult adepts, much like familiar really.
Well that would be an awkward mistake to make during a summoning ritual.
Shinigami
It think so :)
Note: A cleric of nethys would violate her cleric ethos if she gave magic to those who could not use magic already (a rogue for example).
The faithful of Nethys have few taboos, but chief among them is showing the uninitiated what magical ability feels like. As those people have not studied for or been blessed with magical power, opening that world to them is a terrible sin. Any spell that temporarily grants spellcasting ability to another or item that confers actual spellcasting abilities by channeling power through the user must not be shared with the magicless populace (items that create magical effects themselves are exempt). Breaking this taboo is a sure way to incur the disfavor of Nethys and your peers. If the uninitiated wish to possess spellcasting abilities, the correct routes are apprenticeship, prayer, and other forms of personal achievement.
Granting a familiar who already has some spellpower is not a violation imo (even if that spell power is spell-like abilities, some people may disagree).
- Gauss
deuxhero: It depends on the GM. Some may see 'spell-like ability' as 'not spellcasting ability'. By RAW, no, spell-like abilities are not spellcasting ability. My statement above is that a familiar with spell-like abilities should qualify (something of an exception). However, that is just my opinion. In PFS a GM would be well within his rights to say 'Cleric of Nethys: you just violated your taboo' if the cleric granted spell abilities to his familiar.
As for what spells: Imbue with Spell Ability is the main one I am familiar with.
- Gauss
SLA's are magic even if they are not spells per say. It seems I agree with Gauss again. :)
- Take levels in Use Magic Device.
- Give your Inevitable Arbiter a wand of Unwilling Shield.
- Make the Arbiter use the wand on a random enemy. Half of any damage done to the Arbiter, will now go to this foe.
- Everybody: hit the Inevitable!
Being indestructible isn't all it's cracked up to be.
VRMH: I would rather attack the random enemy. Then 100% of the damage goes to the enemy.
- Gauss
Mergy, good point. After a few rounds of beating the crap out of your poor familiar it would be unconcious and eligible for coup de grace. And this particular familiar is immune to anything requiring a fort save. Like I said, poor familiar.
People were commenting how my idea of a familiar that sucks up half of the party's damage would result in an unhappy familiar. I think this would REALLY result in an unhappy familiar. LOL. After awhile the wizard's alignment might be in jeopardy of shifting to evil (thus losing this familiar).
- Gauss
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Mergy, good point. After a few rounds of beating the crap out of your poor familiar it would be unconcious and eligible for coup de grace. And this particular familiar is immune to anything requiring a fort save. Like I said, poor familiar.
People were commenting how my idea of a familiar that sucks up half of the party's damage would result in an unhappy familiar. I think this would REALLY result in an unhappy familiar. LOL. After awhile the wizard's alignment might be in jeopardy of shifting to evil (thus losing this familiar).
- Gauss
LE I believe is fine to still have an Aribter.
Mergy: Nope, LN only.
- Gauss
I might play a witch now. The walking spellbook idea never appealed to me. :)
The shikigami is nice because it can merge with the witch, but it can't fly, and it doesn't have a built-in shank.
Some witches I've seen argue that when a witch takes a dip in tattooed sorcerer, they get to turn their familiar-spellbook into a tattoo rather than getting a new additional familiar. There's some question as to whether this works (I'm in the 'no' camp, but I'm aware that people argue it both ways).
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Honestly, Im just trying to decide for myself whether or not regeneration is overpowered on a familiar. The cleric in my group is about to take an Arbiter to deliver all of her touch spells. Up until now she has been using a bat and doing quite well with it. However, even buffed (mage armor from the party wizard, shield and shield other from the cleric) the bat has nearly died a few times.
- Gauss
thats actually what my PFS magus does. umd wand of shield other + unkillable familiar. cheezy as hell but it works quite well.
There's now a Stone Familiar item that lets witches backup spells now. Just fyi.
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Mergy: Nope, LN only.
- Gauss
I was under the impression that you could be one step on each alignment chart away.
When choosing a familiar, the creatures listed here are also available to you. You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil).
TheSideKick: How does your PFS magus do this? The Arbiter has not been cleared to wear rings in PFS.
Mergy: Augurs cannot use wands, they cannot speak.
Regarding alignment: Specific trumps General. General states: one step away. Specific states: Must be Lawful Neutral (see Arbiter description). Many other familiars have similar restrictions. A few do not.
- Gauss
There's now a Stone Familiar item that lets witches backup spells now. Just fyi.
"Your spellbook has been saved. Please click ok or press Enter to continue."
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gauss, when using a wand the focus of the spell is not necessary. so you do not need the rings to use shield other, even though the spell text requires them. its a very cheap way to circumvent the need for a ring slot on a familiar/animal companion.
well, i take that back, its not cheap it actually requires a very high prestige and gold to get the wand in the first place. but once you're there its legit.
TheSideKick: Im not sure how I missed that. Wow, talk about dense sometimes. Ahhh well at least I'm not alone. Other people missed that too.
- Gauss
Edit: just a note: since PFS did not add Arbiter's to the list of improved familiars able to use wands then a strict GM could say no to this still.
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Yes, it's from UE. It's a bit pricey, 6k?, but it can store 500 spell levels.
Doesn't say. The familiar teaches the stone familiar the spells. Seems like they'd be free, much like how your familiar teaching another familiar spells would work.