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Inside a thin folio full of loose parchment you find the following essay, it smells slightly of weasel.
In service of the Society I, Joe the First, have created the following summary and catalogue of experience with my familiar as a Pathfinder Field Agent. I present these publicly so that others may critique and as a resource for future pathfinders.
To start with a thesis statement: Your familiar will not know the Common language, but it can.
No one knows better than a Pathfinder Field Agent that teamwork is key to a successful mission and communication is key to successful teamwork. Your familiar can be a great boon to the team but we must address the elephant in the room, that you have severely limited communication with your familiar.
Your familiar does not know Common because:
- Gaining 6 intelligence does not it immediately grant a language
As addressed in the FAQ, increasing the intelligence to the magic number of greater than 3 has no effect other than giving it the ability to learn languages. Nothing shows up for free. - It is only a magical beast for effects related to type, otherwise it remains an animal.
The bestiary is fairly clear the Magical Beasts know a language, this mislead me for a while until careful reading of the familiar description revealed that it only counts as a Magical Beast for effects relating to type. It would be a stretch to say that gaining a language is the effect relating to type intended. - It does not gain your languages
This admittedly is an assumption made by omittance. No where does it say they do, no where does it say they do not. - Your familiar did not start with a rank in linguistics
My weasel used it’s one skill point on escape artist. I guess that makes sense in its born environment. - Familiars do not gain additional skill points.
The CRB says “For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better.” Unfortunately this means that the familiar does not gain your skill ranks, but only may use them. counterintuitively your Familiar my create a perfect forgery of the holy test name, but will not understand a word it says.Again the CRB says “For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.” As it the theme today, we see that the Familiar does not actually gain Hit Dice, only counts as having them for avoiding sleep spells and the like. The sad conclusion is, no gaining Hit Dice, no gaining feats, no gaining skill points.
- Empathetic link does not have the bandwidth to communicate language.
Although this is a rich form of communication that can can bring your attention to danger and curiosities alike, it remains limited compared to a full dialect. - The speak with master ability is your own little private language.
“a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.” The phrase of import is the as if they were using a common language. Your familiar will be able to communicate with you after you develop a strong bond, but it will not be able to eavesdrop on the secret meeting between the Count and the Baron, or will it be able to tell you allies that you’ve fallen in a pit trap and can’t get out. Scribbled in the margin you see the note: Beware of magical eavesdroppers. I have not dared to summon a celestial for the sole purpose of testing the limits of Truespeech, but I suspect they, and those applying similar magic may be able to eavesdrop on your private conversations.
Now we see the elephant and are face to face with the problem that as much as your Familiar would like to be a productive member of the team, its inability to understand the spoken word is a chain around its tiny tactical ankles. But have hope, through great personal expense I have researched an array of methods to improve your communications.
Your familiar can learn Common if:
- It is a raven or a thrush.
There is wisdom in the legends of old, where mystics of great power would send ravens abroad to collect the news of the land. Take one of these Familiars to resolve this issue right out of the gate. - You acquire an improved familiar that already knows Common.
The simple powerful solution is to turn in your rat or turtle for a fairy dragon or one of many other alternatives. These improved familiars with an existing understanding of language will be a powerful aid, spying on enemies and passing messages on to your allies. - You reach level 13
At caster level 13 your familiar will gain 12 intellect and its first new skill point, assign this to linguistics to finally pick up the language it has been listening to the past 13 levels. - You give it a Headband of Intelligence
To gain an early jump on level 13, give your Familiar a headband to increase it’s intellect. These headbands are known to grant additional skills and languages when doned. Note that I have not had the budget to test this, so I can not confirm that an increase from 6 to 8 intelligence would grant the additional skill and language, but I am confident that an increase from 10 to 12 would grant these. Do not forget that your familiar will require the Extra Item Slot feat and the proper anatomy to equip a headband. - You give it an gold ioan stone.
Far cheaper than a Headband of Intelligence, The Flawed Gold Nodule (Ioun Stone) will allow your familiar to comprehend a single language. For the premium price the Gold Nodule (Ioun Stone) will allow it to speak that language also. I goes without saying that the circling ioun stone may reduce the effectiveness of the inconspicuous animal spy gig. - You cast one of many language spells on it.
This is my prefered middle ground for a pauper Pathfinder; call in a quick favor for a Wand of Comprehend Languages, make use of the share spells ability and you have a 10 minute one way line of communication. Not perfect but it is a great deal better than nothing. In addition at level 5 your will be able to communicate and it will be able to report back what it has seen. All that is missing is the ability to communicate with others, this can be solved at greater expense with more powerful language spells that will magically grant the familiar the ability to speak.
I sincerely hope this comprehensive guide to communicating with your familiar has been useful. Please leave any comments, corrections or expansions on this essay within the folio and I will update the essay on the return from my next mission.
Regards,
Joe the First, Field Agent
Grand Lodge, Pathfinder Society
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Most of this varies from arbitrary interpretation to flat out wrong.
As addressed in the FAQ, increasing the intelligence to the magic number of greater than 3 has no effect other than giving it the ability to learn languages. Nothing shows up for free.
The faq addresses animal companions, not familiars.
It is only a magical beast for effects related to type, otherwise it remains an animal.
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
Since its ability to understand common is not on that list the rules are, at best, silent about them.
“For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better.” Unfortunately this means that the familiar does not gain your skill ranks, but only may use them. counterintuitively your Familiar my create a perfect forgery of the holy test name, but will not understand a word it says.
This is... no. Just no. Its both hair splitting and 100% arbitrary declaration with no justification, two ways of reading things that go horribly together. It USES skill ranks. One of the main uses for linguistics skill ranks is to learn a language. It does not say ",ay make a d20 roll with a bonus equal to your ranks" or some other such nonsense to differentiate it from actually having the skill ranks.
Finally, ultimate campaign specifically calls out familiars as understanding a language.
Sentient Companions: a sentient companion (a creature that can understand language and has an Intelligence score of at least 3) is considered your ally and obeys your suggestions and orders to the best of its ability. It won't necessarily blindly follow a suicidal order, but it has your interests at heart and does what it can to keep you alive. Paladin bonded mounts, familiars, and cohorts fall into this category, and are usually player-controlled companions.