Improved Familiar magic item slots

[DrakeRoberts]

PFS FAQ wrote:

Can my animal companion or familiar wear or use magic items?

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Animal companions are also limited by their individual anatomies. In Pathfinder Society Organized Play, animal companions always have access to barding and neck-slot items so long as they have the anatomy. For example, a horse and pig can always have access to barding and neck-slot items. A snake does not have access to either. However, an item called out to be used by a specific animal is usable by that animal regardless of slot.

Additionally, animal companions have access to magical item slots, in addition to barding and neck, as listed on the inside front cover of the Animal Archive so long as they select the Extra Item Slot feat. The Animal Magic Item Slots table found in Animal Archive is not a legal except under the following conditions. First, an animal companion, familiar, or bonded mount, may choose one slot listed under its body type when taking the Extra Item Slot feat (this feat may be taken multiple times, each time selecting a different available magic item slot based on the creature’s anatomy). Second, access to specific magic item slots may be granted at a later date by another legal source. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.

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The brownie, faerie dragon, imp, lyrakien azata, mephit, quasit, sprite familiars, granted by the Improved Familiar feat, use the Biped (hands) section of the chart. The carbuncle and voidworm protean, familiars granted by the Improved Familiar feat, uses the Serpentine section of the chart. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.

My question is whether the imp (which "use(s) the Biped (hands) section of the chart"), for example, gets to use all the slots indicated in that entry (if you have the book) w/o taking the extra slot feat, or if they need the extra slot feat still, and without it can only use "barding and neck-slot items"?

[BigNorseWolf]

They have neck and barding available normally but can take extra slot anything.

A familiars feat is usually hard coded with the critter except for one with the animal archive. I THINK your imp would be able to swap out both of its feats for extra slots. If you trade out weapon finesse though it won't be able to hit the broadside of a barn.

[Jeff Merola]

Improved Familiars get all of their slots for free, though they still can't activate items (beyond wands).

Relevant post.

[BigNorseWolf]

*headscratch* thats a little counter intuitive with how the rest of them work. Being on the chart doesn't normally for pfs mean you get everything.

[Jeff Merola]

Yeah, it's very counter intuitive, but that's the official word.

[DrakeRoberts]

Thanks. Must get better search fu....

[BigNorseWolf]

[Trying my own re write for clarity]

The brownie, faerie dragon, imp, lyrakien azata, mephit, quasit, sprite familiars, granted by the Improved Familiar feat automatically have access to all slots listed under the Biped (hands) section of the chart.*

The carbuncle and voidworm protean, familiars granted by the Improved Familiar feat, uses the Serpentine section of the chart. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.

Now, if the voidworms and proteans "use the chart" like other improved familiars, they'd have Belt, eyes, and headband automatically. If they use the chart like an animal companion they'd have to take extra slot belt eyes/headband. I'm almost certain its the former.

* I can't say "all slots" because of the belt(saddle) thing.

[Ferious Thune]

Sorry for the thread necro. This is the most recent relevant one I could find, and it contains some references that are relevant.

I'm trying to understand how Improved Familiar works in PFS. So, if I took a Quasit familiar, for example, it would have all of the magic item slots on the biped listing in animal archive?

But it can't activate anything except Wands and starting an ioun stone orbiting?

So, for example, if it had First Aid Gloves, it would not be able to use them to cast Breath of Life? What if it swapped Improved Initiative for Extra Magic Item Slot? Or can the items worn in those slots only ever be "always on" type items?

[Jeff Merola]

Only ever "always on" items plus wands, even with Extra Magic Item Slot (which is pointless since your quasit already has all slots open and in PFS Extra Magic Item Slot doesn't work the way it normally does).

[Ferious Thune]

Ok, thanks!

EDIT: Sorry, one more question. Do I have to select an improved familiar when I take the feat? I have a 1 level dip, so if I take Improved Familiar at 7th, could I wait and just swap familiars at 8th when I qualify for the Quasit, or would I have to take something off the improved list in the meantime like a Brownie?

I could always retrain into Improved Familiar at 8th, but I've spent a lot of prestige on this character already.

[Jeff Merola]

Wait, why do you need to wait? Quasits have a requirement of 7, did you dip a level?

Anyway if that's the case, yeah, you'll "forfeit" your free swap, as far as I can tell. So you can swap to something in the meantime (or leave it as is), and then next level pay the 200xlevel GP cost to get your Quasit.

[Ferious Thune]

Ok, thanks again. Yes, I have a 1 level dip in a non-familiar granting class. If I did retraining, it would cost me 80xlevel GP and 5 prestige, so it's cheaper to go ahead and take the feat. I just have to look at whether something like a Brownie would be better for a level than an Emissary Monkey. I guess I can just give the Brownie a wand of Guidance. The rest of the utility of having the Brownie probably outweighs the other benefits of the Emissary. It just means three different familiars in three levels.

[nennafir]

For pathfinder society, what magic item slots does a nycar get by default?

Its type is dragon (aquatic) and it has two forearms. I could see it fitting piscine, saurian, or serpentine classifications, but am not positive. The latter seems most likely.

[Markov Spiked Chain]

Sorry to gently necro this, but I want to link to the PFS Blog Post with the FAQ clarifications for familiar item slots.

This thread is the first google search for familiar item slots, and finding the blog post is a hassle even if you know about it.