Arcanist / diabolist = 2 imps?


Advice


so i was just wondering if i was Arcanist 9 diabolist 1 , and took the familar exploit and improved familar feat, would i have 1 imp familar and 1 imp ANC?

Liberty's Edge

Yes, though the two imps are different in power. The Diabolist imp is going to be stronger and probably more powerful while the familiar will smarter than the other companion but have only half of your HP. Diabolist is pretty nice even with a one level dip for the companion because it scales with all of your casting levels (using your highest caster level)


"Gee Bill! How come your mom lets you have TWO imps?"


Falcar wrote:
Yes, though the two imps are different in power. The Diabolist imp is going to be stronger and probably more powerful while the familiar will smarter than the other companion but have only half of your HP. Diabolist is pretty nice even with a one level dip for the companion because it scales with all of your casting levels (using your highest caster level)

It's funnier to go with Diabolist straight through because you double dip your Diabolist levels.

Diabolist entry from d20pfsrd wrote:

Class Level

This is the diabolist's class level plus her highest caster level. This does not stack with class levels that grant an animal companion.


Falcar wrote:
Yes, though the two imps are different in power. The Diabolist imp is going to be stronger and probably more powerful while the familiar will smarter than the other companion but have only half of your HP. Diabolist is pretty nice even with a one level dip for the companion because it scales with all of your casting levels (using your highest caster level)

cool stuff , was just planning on having them be wand monkeys , plus nice for the telepathy and 2 communes a week


I posted this a while back. If you're serious about having two imp companions...

The Two-Imp Debuff:

Play a caster with a familiar. Throw a feat at improved familiar to get an imp. It's helpful, but not necessary, if you're human and choose the Eye for Talent alternate racial (+2 on any ability score for familiars and companions.) Max out your ranks in Intimidate. Your imp familiar gets to use these ranks.

Now dip a level of Diabolist. Hey, you just got an imp companion! Now you have two imps, one one each shoulder.

Unfortunately, Intimidate is not a class skill for imps. And worse yet, as Tiny creatures imps will suffer -4 on their Intimidate (demoralize) checks against all larger creatures. That sounds pretty bad. But on the other hand, two imps means you get to check twice! Leverage this. Let's say you took Eye for Talent -- +2 Cha for each imp. And then have each imp take Skill Focus (Intimidate).

How does this play out in practice? Well, at level N each imp will have N ranks. So up until 10th level, their Intimidate checks will be at N+2 (+3 for their 16 Cha, +3 for the feat, -4 for their size). At 9th level, that's two checks at +11. What are some typical demoralize DCs for monsters you might face at this level? Rakshasa, 21; nosferatu, 22; young adult black dragon, 25; frost giant, 26. With two checks at +11, your odds of demoralizing these guys are, rakshasa - 80%, nosferatu - 75%, dragon - 51%, and giant - 44%.

That's actually pretty good. And once you hit 10th level and your imps pick up an additional +3 from the feat, your odds get very nice indeed. You have a well better than even chance of demoralizing any monster of your CR, and a near certainty of success against large groups of lower level (CR-2 or lower) mooks.

I wouldn't say this is a fantastic tactic; it requires a bit of planning and investment. And it has at least one major drawback: the range on Intimidate is short, just 30', so it requires you to get closer to the monster than you, as a squish wizard, might prefer. (Though if you're a diabolist, you really should have a conjured devil or two as meat shield.) That said, it's definitely viable, especially at level 11 and up. It doesn't cost you any actions; the imps do all the work. Intimidate is a fine debuff (-2 on attacks and saves) that ignores SR and all other defensive abilities. And of course, there's the visual: you walk into a room full of monsters, and your two imps start jumping up and down on your shoulders, screeching like insane apes, and all the monsters become demoralized...

Doug M.

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