I'm hosting a game later this week, and a player has expressed interest in having his familiar aid him with teamwork feats (namely coordinated maneuvers, since he's focusing on trip despite my warnings of its weakness later).
which raised the question to me: do familiars even GET feats as they advance?
the top of the familiars section says they keep all the basic feats from a normal animal of it's type (but it treated as a magical beast for things that affect type), but the advancement chart and 'familiar basics' section make no mention of gaining more feats as they advance, which makes me think they don't.
the player's logic is that because they advance in HD (and most creatures do gain feats when doing so) and there are feats that specifically call out familiars as a viable recipient. I noted that the 'familiar' addition may simply be an editting oversight, since every other companion listed has feats gained specifically listed in their advancement sections.
has there been an official ruling on this?
"A familiar is an animal chosen by a spellcaster to aid him in his study of magic. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but is now a magical beast for the purpose of effects that depend on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar."
Unlike animal companions, a familiar does not gain hit dice. Everything it has is dependant upon either the basic, unmodified creature or the numbers of the master (such as skill points, saving throws, bab, and hit points). An animal companion is like having an additional party member, while a familiar is simply an extension of the master. It possesses absolutely no feats except those of the base, unmodified ceature.
The feat you provided a link to is not for the familar, animal companion, etc to take - it is for the master to take, per the prereqs.
The feat you provided a link to is not for the familar, animal companion, etc to take - it is for the master to take, per the prereqs.
I'm with you on the rest of your post, but:
Shared Healing
When you and your companion creature have this feat, your companion creature is adjacent to you or sharing your square, and you receive the benefit of a healing spell (whether from yourself or another source), you can divide the hit points healed evenly between yourself and your companion creature.
(emphasis mine) if familiars don't gain feats, then it would be actually impossible to get on someone with the familiar class feature--raising the question of why it would even list it as a prereq.
according to the Animal Archive (top of page 18) a Familiar can give up it's starting feat (EX: Weapon Finesse)and take something different
according to the Animal Archive (top of page 18) a Familiar can give up it's starting feat (EX: Weapon Finesse)and take something different
Provided they're: "Feats that are meant for familiars". Which seems to be the case for the OP.
Familiars can not get feats unless an exception is made. Animal Archive provides an exception and so does the beast bonded witch.
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Familiars with this archetype get all teamwork feats that their master's have. Grab improved share spells on your character and a buff spell that gives full bab(such as transformation) and you effectively have a lesser cohort familiar for combat purposes at least.
Familiars with this archetype get all teamwork feats that their master's have. Grab improved share spells on your character and a buff spell that gives full bab(such as transformation) and you effectively have a lesser cohort familiar for combat purposes at least.
that is exactly what he was looking for! that settles the disagreement nicely, thank you (and everyone else who posted here) from both of us.