I'm thinking about how to create a familiar that can contribute as effective combatant, using options from Familiar Folio.
IMO, there are several ways to approach this:
1. Beastblade Magus:
Beastblade Magus
At 11th level, you get a free AoO every time your familiar delivers a touch spell.
Pre-buff your familiar with Frostbite, and go to town.
If you want an Improved Familiar, you need some way to qualify as arcane caster; SLAs no longer work because of a recent FAQ.
Improved familiars do not qualify for any familiar archetypes other than Sage, because they do not gain the *speak with animals* or *speak with master* abilities.
3. Bloodrager:
Bloodrager
Bloodragers have the option to trade their 1st-lvl bloodline power for a Bloodline Familiar.
Good Combat familiar options:
Draconic(Your familiar can sprout wings and fly)
Abyssal(Your familiar deals more damage with natural attacks)
Arcane(Your familiar gains more powerful buffs)
Destined(Your familiar delivers spells more easily)
You have several options:
1)ValetGoat familiar; use various Teamwork feats.
Amplified Rage only works if you adventure with/are a Skald or have some other easy way to allow your familiar to rage.
2)Use a Mauler familiar, together with the feat Mauler's Endurance to increase the HP of your familiar.
You may want an improved familiar with SLAs or Fast Healing/Regeneration instead; or the ability to use weapons.
Improved familiars do not qualify for any familiar archetypes other than Sage, because they do not gain the *speak with animals* or *speak with master* abilities.
Any advice/helpful comments/something crucial that I have missed?
Any useful magic items for familiars that allow them to fight/survive better?
1st: Cantrips, Bloodrage, Bloodline(Arcane), Bloodline Familiar(Goat), Fast Movement(+10'); Spirit's Gift
2nd: Uncanny Dodge
3rd: Blood Sanctuary; Celestial Servant
4th: Bloodcasting, Rage Powers(Energy Resistance(Sonic), Lesser Spirit Totem), +1 CHA; (Eschew Materials)
5th: Meta-Rage; Improved Familiar(Lightning Elemental)
6th: Bloodline feat(Rime Spell)
7th: DR 1/-; Toughness
8th: Bloodline Power(Greater Arcane Bloodrage), Bloodline Spell(Magic Missile), +1 CHA
9th: Bloodline feat(Intensify Spell); Power Attack
10th: DR 2/-
11th: Greater Bloodrage, Bloodline Spell(Invisibility); Dazing Assault
12th: Bloodline feat(Combat Reflexes), Rage Powers(Savage Dirty Trick, Come and Get Me), +1 CHA
13th: DR 3/-; Quicken Spell
14th: Bloodline Spell(Lightning Bolt), Indomitable Will
15th: Bloodline feat(Disruptive); Spell Perfection(Shocking Grasp)
16th: DR 4/-, Bloodline Power(True Arcane Bloodrage), +1 CHA
17th: Bloodline Spell(Dimension Door), Tireless Bloodrage; Celestial Obedience(Arqueros)
18th: Bloodline feat(Spellbreaker)
19th: DR 5/-; Teleport Tactician
20th: Bloodline power(Caster's bane), Mighty Bloodrage, +1 CHA
1st lvl:
You have 12 HP; your Goat familiar has 6 HP and DR 5/adamantine.
4th lvl: You have two rage powers, minor spellcasting(allowing you to buff your familiar) and a celestial goat as familiar.
8th lvl: You have a celestial lightning elemental as familiar who can deliver Rime Frostbites and bullrush/trip/disarm metal-wearing or -wielding enemies with ease.
12th lvl: You have Come and Get me, Dazing Assault and Combat Reflexes; your familiar can now deliver Intensified Shocking Grasps.
16th: You have Spell Perfection, allowing you to apply Metamagic more easily.
20th: You have Teleport Tactician/Celestial Obedience(Arqueros), allowing you to AoO anyone who teleports/charges in the area you threaten.
Casters are extremely powerful in pathfinder - this is true.
They can bend reality via wish/miracle, resurrect the dead, cross planar borders, fool the senses, divine the future...
But this post is not about casters.
This is about a mundance PC(*mundane* being defined as "cannot cast spells, does not use UMD to emulate spellcasting) who wants to kill spellcasters as efficiently as possible.
1st level: We have base saves at +4/+2/+2; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+2 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+5 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
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4th level: We have SR 12, and base saves at +6/+3/+3; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+2 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+8 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old+Superstitious)
+10 vs spells from allies(see above, +Blood Sanctuary)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
We also have +2 to dmg vs spellcasters(Witchhunter) and +8 Initiative(+4 feat, +2 trait, +2 Dex)
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8th level: We have SR 17, and base saves at +8/+4/+4; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+2 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+9 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old+Superstitious)
+11 vs spells from allies(see above, +Blood Sanctuary)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
We also have +3 to dmg vs spellcasters(Witchhunter) and +8 Initiative(+4 feat, +2 trait, +2 Dex),
we use a 2-handed reach weapon with Combat Reflexes, Power Attack and Lunge; we have Displacement or Haste to augment the rage.
-----------------------------
12th level: We have SR 22, and base saves at +10/+6/+6; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+3 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+10 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old+Superstitious)
+12 vs spells from allies(see above, +Blood Sanctuary)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
We also have +4 to dmg vs spellcasters(Witchhunter) and +8 Initiative(+4 feat, +2 trait, +2 Dex),
we use a 2-handed reach weapon with Combat Reflexes, Power Attack and Lunge; we have Displacement or Haste to augment the rage; We have Spell Sunder, We have Come and Get Me, which allows us to counterstrike in melee
-----------------------------
16th level: We have SR 28, and base saves at +12/+7/+9; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+3 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+11 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old+Superstitious)
+13 vs spells from allies(see above, +Blood Sanctuary)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
+4 vs enchantment(Indomitable will)
We also have +5 to dmg vs spellcasters(Witchhunter) and +8 Initiative(+4 feat, +2 trait, +2 Dex),
we use a 2-handed reach weapon with Combat Reflexes, Power Attack and Lunge; we have Displacement/Haste and Beast Shape IV/Form of the Dragon I/Transformation to augment the rage; We have Spell Sunder, We have Come and Get Me, which allows us to counterstrike in melee; we have Dazing Assault, which turns melee attacks into potential disables; we have Teleport Tactician which allows us to AoO any casters that try to teleport away
----------------------------
20th level: We have SR 32, and base saves at +14/+8/+10; with a bunch of conditional modifiers...
+4 to Fort/Will if raging
+3 vs poison(Hardy+Glory of Old)
+12 vs spells(Steel Soul+Glory of Old+Superstitious)
+14 vs spells from allies(see above, +Blood Sanctuary)
+1 vs mind-affecting(Xenophobic; this doesn't apply to fear effects!)
+4 vs enchantment(Indomitable will)
We also have +6 to dmg vs spellcasters(Witchhunter) and +8 Initiative(+4 feat, +2 trait, +2 Dex),
we use a 2-handed reach weapon with Combat Reflexes, Power Attack and Lunge; we have Displacement/Haste and Beast Shape IV/Form of the Dragon I/Transformation to augment the rage; We have Spell Sunder, We have Come and Get Me, which allows us to counterstrike in melee; we have Dazing Assault, which turns melee attacks into potential disables; we have Teleport Tactician which allows us to AoO any casters that try to teleport away, we can AoO casters who cast defensively(Caster's bane), we can AoO anyone who charges us(Celestial Obedience - Arqueros)
The saves above are WITHOUT MAGIC ITEMS.
You can probably assume a +5 cloak of resistance, and improved ability scores, and other items that increase your defenses - a Rod of Dwarven might improves your racial bonus to saves by +1, for example.
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I need advice concerning:
*Equipment, especially useful magic items; please refrain from suggesting wands/scrolls to be used via UMD.
1)Play a class with a bloodline, such as Bloodrager/Sorcerer/Magus with the Eldritch Scion archetype, and choose a Bloodline Familiar instead of the 1st-lvl Bloodline power.
2)Play a Bloodrager with the Aberrant Bloodline, and use the Aberrant Tumor feat to get a Tumor familiar(as the alchemist discovery)
3)Use Skill Focus(Knowledge: Any) and Eldritch Heritage(Arcane) to get the Arcane Bond(Familiar) class feature at your Character level -2(minimum 1)
4)Use Iron Will + Familiar Bond + Improved Familiar Bond to get a Familiar(Familiar Bond/Improved Familiar Bond are feats from the Familiar folio)
5)Play a class that naturally gets a familiar: Witch or Wizard.
In your case, I recommend Bloodrager1/Cavalier1/Skald X and the Bloodline familiar option.
So, I need a way to Channel energy, and either elemental domains or blessings.
...2x Channel dice as bonus to weapon damage for the next three attacks.
Weapon damage...
According to this FAQ, Rays count as weapons for the purpose of spells and effects that affect weapons.
So, rays are weapons. Energy Channel boosts damage of weapon attacks. A cleric of Gozreh takes the Air and Water Domains; this allows for Electricity or Cold bonus damage from Energy Channel.
At 1st level, we can take the trait Two-World Magic and pick Ray of Frost.
Suddenly, you put every Gunslinger to shame: As a swift+standard action, you can hit something at 25' with a ranged touch attack for 1d3+2d6 damage!
(and still retain two *charges* for future turns)
...at 7th level, you can cast Admonishing Ray and shoot two rays as a standard action.
By now, you have 4d6 channel energy, so you get 8d6 bonus damage per weapon attack from Energy channel.
...4d6+8d6 damage per ray, and two rays as standard action...24d6 damage total; average 84.
At level 7!
(and you still have one *charge* left for the next weapon attack)
At level 11, you get three rays with Admonishing ray, and deal 4d6+12d6 damage per ray, or 12d6 nonlethal +36d6 energy damage.
A swift action, a use of channel energy, a single feat, a standard action, and a 2nd-level spell:
48d6(average 168) damage, with three ranged touch attacks...
At level 20, you deal 4d6+20d6 damage per ray; you still have only three rays, so it's 72d6 damage total(average 252)
...did I miss something, or is suddenly every single cleric with an elemental domain now casually dealing large amounts of damage with extremely low investment?
