Simple question:
Do alternate class abilities that give you a familiar "as a wizard of your level (-X)" allow you to take Improved Familiar with the appropriate level?
I'm thinking specifically of Shaman, who are supposed to be a familiar witch hybrid, but are divine casters? But other classes with Eldritch Heritage, Eagle Domain druids/clerics, and a few other archetypes run into this as well.
Sure, Improved Familiar reads:
"Improved Familiar wrote: This feat allows you to acquire a powerful familiar, but only when you could normally acquire a new familiar.
Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below).
Benefit: 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).
Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).
There's nothing that calls out what type of caster you need to be other than you need to be an arcane caster of at least "x" level to get "x" familiar. If your alternate class feature says you are treated as a wizard (or whatever arcane caster) of "x" level then you're good to go.
You just may not be able to pick a familiar off the list that Improved Familiar has until you're 9th level or higher because of the "-x" clause.
DarkKnight27 wrote: You just may not be able to pick a familiar off the list that Improved Familiar has until you're 9th level or higher because of the "-x" clause. Well, you don't get the full selection of familiars at least. There are a few options at effective levels 3 (I think it might be some winged jackalope thing? Plus the dire rat and the aligned versions of basic familiars; mostly things like that) and 5 (elementals stand out) that could be useful. So that would be 5 and 7, right?
Rogue advanced talent
Quote: Familiar (Ex)
Prerequisite: Advanced talents, major magic talent, minor magic talent
Benefit: A rogue with this talent gains a familiar as the familiar option of the wizard’s arcane bond class feature. This ability functions exactly like that part of the class feature, but the rogue’s effective wizard level is her rogue level –4.
Quote: Improved Familiar
This feat allows you to acquire a powerful familiar, but only when you could normally acquire a new familiar.
Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below).
While Improved Familiar feat does say 'arcane caster level' in the list, I would think that the advanced talent (familiar) would qualify you for the feat. So if you took the feat at 11th level, you'd have to wait till 12th to be able to select everything on the improved familiar list (12-4=8).
Unless he is a carnivalist or there's some trick I missed, he needs earlier tricks that grant him SLAs, which give him a caster level going by that FAQ.
Your caster level and effective wizard level for familiar are completely unrelated.
Major Magic is a prerequisite for the rogue familiar talent.
Quote: Major Magic
Prerequisite: Intelligence 11, minor magic rogue talent
Benefit: A rogue with this talent gains the ability to cast a 1st-level spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list two times a day as a spell-like ability. The caster level for this ability is equal to the rogue's level.
Quote: Spell-Like Abilities: How do I know whether a spell-like ability is arcane or divine?
The universal monster rules for spell-like abilities states: "Some spell-like abilities duplicate spells that work differently when cast by characters of different classes. A monster's spell-like abilities are presumed to be the sorcerer/wizard versions. If the spell in question is not a sorcerer/wizard spell, then default to cleric, druid, bard, paladin, and ranger, in that order."
For spell-like abilities gained from a creature's race or type (including PC races), the same rule should apply: the creature's spell-like abilities are presumed to be the sorcerer/wizard versions. If the spell in question is not a sorcerer/wizard spell, then default to cleric, druid, bard, paladin, and ranger, in that order.
For spell-like abiities gained from a class, use the spell type (arcane or divine) of that class to determine whether the spell-like ability is arcane or divine. If the class doesn't cast spells, use the above rule for spell-like abilities from race or type.
So the rogue with major magic talent has access to arcane spells and a caster level. So he has a 'Arcane Spellcaster Level' which is required by the Improved Familiar feat.
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