Varient multiclassing witch taking wizard: familiar

[Dysseus]

Quick question for you fine folks. Under the varient multiclassing rules wizard grants a familiar as a full wizard. Witch also gains the same. So for the sake of argument a level 4 character would be a level 4 wizard and level 4 witch for familiars. The familiar rules say these levels from multiple levels stack for abilities dependant on the masters level. Now the rules also say that these benefits from multiple sources stack and are cumulative. So would this Witch/wizard 4 be (in regards just to familiar) have the level 4 or level 8 abilities. Cannot find a clear wording that the familiars level is capped, and beast bonded witch gains a +1 to the level of the familiar.

[Weirdo]

I don't think it is intended to give you an effective familiar level of twice your character level. I would recommend a houserule either allowing a witch to take an arcane bonded object from the VMC or else give the witch a free Improved Familiar.

[Abraham spalding]

There was an FAQ about this somewhere...

[kyrt-ryder]

Abraham spalding wrote:

There was an FAQ about this somewhere...

By any chance could somebody find it? I've been searching for the past hour [insomnia's kicking my ass tonight] and not seeing anything conclusive on the 'effective familiar abilities level' [as regards the familiar's Natural Armor and Intelligence and such]

[Gisher]

This issue has come up many times before with respect to a Wizard or Witch taking the Eldritch Heritage (Arcane Bloodline) feat. As I recall, the consensus was that the levels stack because the general rules say they do, and there isn't a specific rule to override them. I don't recall any FAQ on the topic.

[kyrt-ryder]

The general rules say what exactly that prohibits that from working?

It only applies to a very limited number of aspects of the familiar anyway.

[Gisher]

Sorry my post was confusing. I'm typing on my phone and some words apparently got deleted. I've fixed it. To clarify, the general rules for familiars say that levels in classes with the familiar feature stack. There are no specific rules that override that, so they should stack in this case. If you are a 4th level Witch with the Wizard VMC, your familiar's abilities would be calculated as if you were an 8th level Wizard (4 levels in Witch + 4 effective Wizard levels). The familiar would have NA +4, INT 9, etc.

[kyrt-ryder]

Excellent. Looks like that 13 charisma necessary for Evolved Familiar will serve more purposes for my Mauler Familiar Spirit Binder.

[LazarX]

Gisher wrote:

This issue has come up many times before with respect to a Wizard or Witch taking the Eldritch Heritage (Arcane Bloodline) feat. As I recall, the consensus was that the levels stack because the general rules say they do, and there isn't a specific rule to override them. I don't recall any FAQ on the topic.

Save that VNC does not add class levels the way conventional mult-classing which is what the precedent is based on, it simply modifies existing ones.

[Johnny_Devo]

I specifically remember some discussion coming up about how you can't count the same level twice for the purposes of calculating, well, anything. I wish I could find that post again, though.

So since the wizard VMC provides a familiar for his character levels, it's instantly a full progression familiar and any other abilities that provide a familiar are redundant in terms of levels stacking.

I almost think of it as a "character level 1" bonus to familiar level, "character level 2" bonus to familiar level, etc. And we all know how bonuses of the same type don't stack :D