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I have a question about familiars, on page 83 of the core book it says:

"Use the familiar’s Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to calculate the familiar’s melee attack bonus with natural weapons."

In the Bestiary the stats for all the familiars with an attack lists Weapon Finesse for the one feat it can take which provides the same benefit as the text above describes although it does not specifically say that it is derived from Weapon Finesse.

My interpretation was that the core text is just describing the effects of Weapon Finesse but an alternate interpretation is that this is a separate ability that comes from being a familiar.

It would make a difference in the situation where you were attempting to deliver a touch spell via a toad which is the one familiar listed without Weapon Finesse and no natural attacks but presumably could use an unarmed strike to deliver a touch attack and thus the spell.

If using DEX over STR on natural weapons is an inherent attribute of being a familiar the toads attack bonus will be much better then if that benefit is derived from Weapon Finesse which it does not possess.

Any idea's?

I wanted to use the Vermin Companion feat from the Campaign Setting which (until the revised book comes out) is written for 3.5 rules. I've created several Vermin Companions in the PFRPG style based on their entries in the Bestiary. I'd like to know if I've got them at the right power levels, what do you think?

Centipede, Giant
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str 9, Dex 17 Con 12, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2; Special Abilities poison.

Mantis, Giant
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. fly 40 ft. (poor); AC +3 natural armor;   2 claws (1d4);   Str 8, Dex 15, Con 16, Int -, Wis 14, Cha 11; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft., sudden strike
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4. Special Abilities grab, lunge, mandibles,

Scorpion, Giant
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 50 ft.; AC +3 natural armor; Attack 2 claws (1d4), sting (1d4); Ability Scores Str 11, Dex 12, Con 16, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft. tremorsense 60 ft.
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +4 natural armor; Attack 2 claws (1d6 plus grab), sting (1d6 plus poison); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4. Special Abilities constrict, grab, poison.

Spider, Giant
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str 9, Dex 19, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6 plus poison); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2; Special Abilities poison, web.

Wasp, Giant
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good) AC +2 natural armor; Attack sting (1d6); Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 14, Con 18, Int -, Wis 13, Cha 11; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft.
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack sting (1d8); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4. Special Abilities poison.

There seem to be a number of ambiguities with the Favored Class mechanic. What is clear is that all characters get a choice of Favored Class at 1st level which does not need to be the class taken at level 1 but cannot be a prestige class. With that in mind i have a number of questions I can't find answers to in the book. If anyone can point me to any errata on the subject that would be appreciated.

• Does "all characters" mean NPC's as well or is this something meant for just player characters?

• If NPCs get this option can an NPC class such as Expert and Adept be chosen as a Favored Class?

• Do Monsters get this option?

• If Monsters do get this option can they choose their racial hit dice as their Favored Class?

• If Monster cannot choose their racial hit dice as their Favored Class do they only get this option if they add character classes or do they get it even they cannot apply it to anything?

There seem to be a number of ambiguities with the Favored Class mechanic. What the rules do say is all characters start with a Favored Class at 1st level, the class does not have to be the first taken but it cannot be a prestige class. I have a number of questions for which I cannot find answers in the book so I'm posting here to see if anyone can provide clarity :-)

• When it says all characters does that include NPC's or is this meant to be a player character mechanic only?

• Can NPC classes such as Expert and Adept be chosen as a Favored Class?

• Do monsters also get a Favored Class?

• If monster do get this option can they choose their racial hit dice as their Favored Class?

• If monsters cannot choose racial hit dice as Favored Class does this mean they only get the option if they add character class levels or do they get the choice even if they have no class levels to apply it to?

If anyone could point to any official errata on the subject that would be appreciated. Thanks.