Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio (PFRPG)

4.10/5 (based on 8 ratings)
Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio (PFRPG)
Show Description For:
Non-Mint

Print Edition Unavailable

Add PDF $9.99

Non-Mint Unavailable

Facebook Twitter Email

Helping Hands and Spying Eyes

It’s time to make your familiar more fearsome! Whether you’re looking to give your magical ally an archetype to transform it into a brutish battle companion or you’re just scouting the menagerie of available familiars, Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio has you covered. This volume provides a bevy of new options, including new rules that allow characters of any class to gain familiars. Featuring all-new feats, items, spells, archetypes, and—of course—familiars, this Pathfinder Player Companion is the perfect accessory for spellcasters, as well as any player who fancies teaming up with a fantastic, travel-sized friend.

Inside this book, you’ll find:

  • A comprehensive list of familiars in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, guaranteed to make choosing yours both quick and convenient.
  • New archetypes like the duettist bard and eldritch guardian fighter, allowing classes traditionally without familiars to gain animal allies tied to their class abilities.
  • Familiar archetypes that allow players to customize their familiars to excel in combat, dispense untold wisdom, or even gain powers from a school of magic.
  • Bloodline and patron familiars that manifest abilities from the same powers inherent to bloodragers, sorcerers, and witches.
  • Information on the familiars most popular within specific groups on Golarion, like Hellknights and the Pathfinder Society.

This Pathfinder Player Companion is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder campaign setting, but can easily be incorporated into any fantasy world.

Written by Will McCardell, Philip Minchin, Mark Seifter, and Jerome Virnich.
Cover Art by Emily Fiegenschuh.

Each monthly 32-page Pathfinder Player Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for all types of characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-731-4

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Archives of Nethys

Product Availability

Print Edition:

Unavailable

PDF:

Fulfilled immediately.

Non-Mint:

Unavailable

This product is non-mint. Refunds are not available for non-mint products. The standard version of this product can be found here.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZO9454


See Also:

1 to 5 of 8 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>

Average product rating:

4.10/5 (based on 8 ratings)

Sign in to create or edit a product review.

Good Options

5/5

I got the Familiar Folio in print, and it has a lot of information. Like for instance, there is familiars based on your Arcane school. This information is good for wizards that specialized in some sort of arcane school (I'd include Sin Mages as well). And there are other familiar types and archetypes for characters without a familiar normally.

Of course there are new spells that work with your familiar. New improved familiars, tiny familiars, small familiars, new equipment and magic items, and other options. If you play a wizard, sorcerer, or other class with a familiar this book is something you should pick up. It's worth it.


Interesting Options

5/5

I picked this up because I was picking up an arcane class and curious as to the additional options that came out.

It's a book that applies to multiple classes, one of the more interesting archetypes given a game to pick up might be the story behind the Paladin with a familiar and its a good story creation stand point.

Not only does this open up various familiars but gives even better options for the character.


Fun Book!

4/5

Read my full review on Of Dice and Pen.

These days, I generally find myself growing tired of books that are almost entirely crunch. There's so much out there already that, unless the new stuff is exemplary, it just ends up seeming forgettable. Familiar Folio, however, is a definite exception. It expands the game in an area that has seen very little expansion, and thus is far more memorable. It is a very welcome resource and will add needed new levels of fun to familiars.


Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio

4/5

Originally posted at Throat Punch Games, a new idea everyday!

Product- Familiar Folio
System- Pathfinder
Producer- Paizo Publishing
Price- $12.99
TL; DR- Useful if you already like familiars. 88%

Basics-Every great wizard has a familiar, why can’t you! Familiar Folio is a Pathfinder Player Companion book discussing familiars, how to add them to new characters, and how to improve them. Like every other book in the companion line, it adds new feats, archetypes, items, spells, and other options for players and their familiar’s alike.

Mechanics or Crunch-This book is amazing, if you already like familiars. This book won’t really win you over if you didn’t already have a character concept for familiars. Every option added in this book is great, but familiars tend to work just like alchemy in Pathfinder, great if you love them, bad if you don’t. After seeing what’s here, I can say that if I played a character who wanted a familiar, I’d absolutely want what's here. However, if I played someone who had the options of not having one vs having one, I don’t think this book would win me over to the familiar side, even with a mascot (familiar). 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- This book discusses some of the story aspects of familiars, but it doesn’t really go out of its way to add them in deeper. The book covers topics like how to roleplay with them, and it does have a bit of how different locations in Golarion would use familiars and the types in those locations. But, it’s not much beyond that. This is primarily a crunch heavy book. 4/5

Execution-This was put out by Paizo. For anything you can say about Paizo, the unarguable truth is they know how to make a book well. It’s got great art, great layout, and was a pleasure to read. 5/5

Summary-The simple question to this book is, “Will you use or want a familiar?” If you said yes, then you get this book. If not, then don’t. Like I said with alchemy, familiars are extremely divisive. You love your familiar, then you will love this book. If you couldn’t care less about your wizard friend's odd toad in his pocket, then you don’t want this book. What this book is is well written, a bit light on story, but overall well put together. Just decide if you want a tag along before you begin. 88%


Useful, but not inspiring

3/5

I think this book does what it sets out to do: make familiars more useful, engaging, and tied into character flavor.

But it doesn't make me want to run out and create any characters (although the Chosen One is pretty sweet). Mostly, it'll wait until one of my players says "ooooo, can I have a familiar?"

I have a more in-depth review posted here.


1 to 5 of 8 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
51 to 100 of 219 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>
Dark Archive

It would be cool if there was a familiar archetype that gave your familiar less stuff but allowed it to be treated as an animal companion as well(you would need to get animal companion from another source) in tandem with that it would be cool if there was a Hunter archetype that switched out the normal animal companion and some other class abilities for a familiar with the above suggested archetype required and counted as a full animal companion as well(it's HP would be the AC's but it's HD would be considered your character level for effects like a familiar would be one thing I would have)

Webstore Gninja Minion

Product image and description updated.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

OMG that cover is ADORABLE! Who knew Pathfinder could be so CUTE!


I think that Seoni's skink (lizard) familiar had better watch out - Seoni's looking rather interestedly at that faerie dragon!


Any chance of getting that cover image without the logos/title? It's really cute ... :)


Nice cover, like the variety there, and those options like bloodline familiars and familiars for bards and fighters, awesome.

Shadow Lodge

2 people marked this as a favorite.

So hold it, you're saying my Rakshasa blooded Rakshasa tiefling sorcerer might finally be able to have a rakshasa familiar?!

In!


Okay, this was not going to be on my list to get... However, that duetist bard and bloodline familiars? Bloodrager familiars?! This. Will. Be. MINE.


I really like the cover!


doc the grey wrote:

So hold it, you're saying my Rakshasa blooded Rakshasa tiefling sorcerer might finally be able to have a rakshasa familiar?!

In!

Dude, you can already get a Raktavarna as a familiar. It's in Bestiary 3. Rejoice!

Shadow Lodge

Albatoonoe wrote:
doc the grey wrote:

So hold it, you're saying my Rakshasa blooded Rakshasa tiefling sorcerer might finally be able to have a rakshasa familiar?!

In!

Dude, you can already get a Raktavarna as a familiar. It's in Bestiary 3. Rejoice!

Yes but as a Rakshasa bloodline sorcerer I cannot qualify for a familiar without also taking eldritch heritage (arcane), skill focus (spellcraft), and then Improved Familiar.

From the sounds of it though we are getting a feat that lets sorc's supersede that very baroque chain and just get a familiar that matches their bloodline, a fact that if true makes me immensely happy.

Scarab Sages Modules Overlord

3 people marked this as a favorite.

There are, in fact, multiple (and less baroque) ways for characters to get familiars.

Liberty's Edge

Bloodline/patron familiars sound like there could indeed be tiny elementals coming as familiars. Hope they're not just limited to sorc/bloodrager/witch.

Shadow Lodge

Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:
There are, in fact, multiple (and less baroque) ways for characters to get familiars.

You talking right now or with this book? Because as it stands I don't really know of another way to get one as a sorc without eldritch heritage or picking up some class levels in another class.


Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:
There are, in fact, multiple (and less baroque) ways for characters to get familiars.

I've often found that blackmailing a wizard proves effective in this regard.


Odd question, anyone know if there will be any expansion on animal companions as well In this book? I've been interested heavily in combining familiar and companion since a 3.5 campaign that flopped.

Specifically a weaker companion type like a house cat or dog

Contributor

Dustyboy wrote:

Odd question, anyone know if there will be any expansion on animal companions as well In this book? I've been interested heavily in combining familiar and companion since a 3.5 campaign that flopped.

Specifically a weaker companion type like a house cat or dog

Probably not. Its called the Familiar Folio, after all. Plus familiars didn't get nearly as much from the Animal Archive as animal companions did. Though that doesn't preclude another animal companion-focused product in the future, I suppose.

A house cat would, however, decidedly be a familiar and not an animal companion. Animal companions are generally Small+ while familiars are usually Diminutive to Small in size. A house cat is going to be a Tiny creature.

As for combining familiar and animal companion, that's something I'd like to see more of as well. As far as I know, the only thing in the game that has that type of ability is the shaman's nature spirit's greater spirit ability.


Alexander Augunas wrote:
Dustyboy wrote:

Odd question, anyone know if there will be any expansion on animal companions as well In this book? I've been interested heavily in combining familiar and companion since a 3.5 campaign that flopped.

Specifically a weaker companion type like a house cat or dog

Probably not. Its called the Familiar Folio, after all. Plus familiars didn't get nearly as much from the Animal Archive as animal companions did. Though that doesn't preclude another animal companion-focused product in the future, I suppose.

A house cat would, however, decidedly be a familiar and not an animal companion. Animal companions are generally Small+ while familiars are usually Diminutive to Small in size. A house cat is going to be a Tiny creature.

As for combining familiar and animal companion, that's something I'd like to see more of as well. As far as I know, the only thing in the game that has that type of ability is the shaman's nature spirit's greater spirit ability.

I mean it would be an interesting feat chain or something

there are small cat animal companions, and some other companions such as birds, bats, weasels, ect that are decidedly weaker...

as far as the feat, something that allows a single animal to hold the abilities of both a familiar and a companion, balancing it out with such things as simply stacking the effective familiar level on top of the effective animal companion level and adding stats, only counting the half hp for levels that count for the familiar and whatnot.

The only way I could see to abuse this with a restricted companion/familiar list would be to take two feats from the start then a third feat to overlap them... Maybe I'll work on a houserule feat and see what people think

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Here's hoping for a tiny talking mushroom . . .

Webstore Gninja Minion

Removed a few off-color posts. Keep it clean, folks.


Well, the list of upcoming Player Companions says 'mid-January'. However, PDF available on the 28th? That's really not going to be available until February then, for most. Just a bit misleading (and disappointing) is my point.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

That's because subscribers get their PDFs as soon as their physical books ship, but non-subscribers have to wait a little extra time before they can get PDFs.

Scarab Sages Modules Overlord

1 person marked this as a favorite.
doc the grey wrote:
Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:
There are, in fact, multiple (and less baroque) ways for characters to get familiars.
You talking right now or with this book? Because as it stands I don't really know of another way to get one as a sorc without eldritch heritage or picking up some class levels in another class.

I mean within this tome, right here, that is about to be out.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Oh man! This looks great. A familiar Bard at last (well, one that isn't tied to sea powers), plus we get bloodline/patron/school familiars! My aberrant Bloodrager will definitely be converting his aberrant familiar over to the bloodline archetype.


Wish this book had been out before the campaign I'm currently in. Playing a Human Dragon-blood sorcerer from Xa Hoi with the Dragon Disciple prestige class. Had to go with the Eldritch Heritage/Improved Familiar combo for a Psuedodragon familiar. Having a Dragon-blood familiar would totally work for him.

Think there will be official ways to get a true dragon as a familiar like they had in 3.5? Having a young dragon fighting beside him would be epicness beyond epic.


Does anyone have this yet? I'm eager to know how the duettist bard looks and what must be given up to receive an "an animal ally tied to its class abilities".

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

I'm curious if any homunculus-related material made it in and what it might do!

Contributor

Fourshadow wrote:
Does anyone have this yet? I'm eager to know how the duettist bard looks and what must be given up to receive an "an animal ally tied to its class abilities".

I got my shipping e-mail yesterday. I imagine most others are in a similar boat.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

I'm eagerly looking forward to my shipping email... so that I can download my PDF copy... :)

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I have my PDF if anyone has questions...

-Skeld

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Got my PDF. Whole lotta new familiar options, both in regular and Improved.

Regular:
Chicken, Kakapo (flightless parrot), Mole, Pufferfish, Popoto (Small-sized dolphin), Koala, Peacock, Penguin (supposed to be Small-sized, but the sample artwork looks like it should be for a Tiny-sized Rockhopper), and Wallaby.

Improved:
CN Cat Sith, CG Caypup (half-mortal spawn of Cayhounds), N Pseudosphinx (housecats with monkey heads and falcon wings), N Ioun Wyrd (Tiny construct that can incorporate new Ioun Stones into itself), N Leopard Slug (Diminuitive vermin that can climb any surface with its slime), and N Petrifern (Diminutive plant that can turn itself to stone to better hide from its enemies - Lem apparently gets one in the inside back cover art!)


1)What are all the archetypes?

2)Any new spells?

3)what are the new Familiars?


Any new Feats?


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Skeld wrote:

I have my PDF if anyone has questions...

-Skeld

Well, Xavier C beat me to asking about the new archetypes, familiar archetypes, and spells, so...

...what's the deal with bloodline and patron familiars? And what new feats are there, particularly ones allowing other classes to snag themselves a familiar?

Edit: And he beat me to the feats, too!

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
xavier c wrote:

1)What are all the archetypes?

2)Any new spells?

3)what are the new Familiars?

Spoiler:

1 - Beastblade (Magus), Chosen One (Paladin), Duettist (Bard), Eldritch Guardian (Fighter), Familar Adept (Wizard), Homunculist (Alchemist), Lesy warden (Druid), Pact Wizard (Wizard), Spirit Binder (Wizard), Synergyst (Witch).

2 - callback (bard2, druid2, sor/wiz2, witch2), callback, greater (bard5, druid5, sor/wiz5, witch5), disrupt link (antipaladin2, bard3, inquisitor3, sor/wiz2, witch2), duplicate familiar (alchemist4, sor/wiz5, witch5), empathy conduit (shaman5, sor/wiz5, witch5), merge with familiar (alchemist2, sor/wiz2, witch2), soulswitch (bard5, cleric5, druid5, magus5, shaman5, sor/wiz5, witch5), transfer familiar (sor/wiz6, witch6).

3 - Kvantum covered new familiars.

-Skeld

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
xavier c wrote:
Any new Feats?

Yes.

Spoiler:

Familiar feats:
Decoy’s Misdirection
Emissary’s Emboldening
Figment’s Fluidity
Guardian’s Return
Mascot’s Affection
Mauler’s Endurance
Polyglot Familiar
Sage’s Guidance

General feats:
Familiar Bond
Far-Roaming Familiar
Greater School Familiar
Improved Familiar Bond
School Familiar

Teamwork feats:
Group Deliver Touch Spells
Group Shared Spells

-Skeld


How does "Merge with Familiar" work?

What does the School Familiar do?


What does the Chosen One archetype do?


What are the stats for the Cat Sith?

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Luthorne wrote:
Skeld wrote:

I have my PDF if anyone has questions...

-Skeld

Well, Xavier C beat me to asking about the new archetypes, familiar archetypes, and spells, so...

...what's the deal with bloodline and patron familiars? And what new feats are there, particularly ones allowing other classes to snag themselves a familiar?

Edit: And he beat me to the feats, too!

Bloodline/Patron familiars:

Spoiler:

Bloodline familiars - Give up your 1st level bloodline power to gain a Wizard familiar that has an additional power granted by the bloodline (bloodline [ability]): Aberrant [squeezer], Abyssal [grotesque appendages], Arcane [spell catalyst], Celestial [heavenly touch], Destined [foretold touch], Draconic [dragon's flight], Elemental [dualistic energy], Fey [amusing familiar], Infernal [hellish aura], Undead [unliving physiology]. Bonus spells granted by familars are granted 1 level later than normal.

Patron familiars - At 1st level, replace normal familiar with patron familar, which gains an ability (Patron [ability]): Agility [supernatural speed], Animal [animal speaker], Deception [distracting], Elements [elemental touch], Endurance [endure afflictions], Plague [diseased touch], Shadow [fearsome shadows], Strength [strength of mind], Transformation [shapechanging familiar], Trickery [familiar's illusions], Water [amphibious familiar], Wisdom [preternatural wisdom]. Bonus spells granted by familars are granted 1 level later than normal.

-Skeld


Also, can you give names for the new archetypes.

Thanks!

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Notabrick wrote:

How does "Merge with Familiar" work?

What does the School Familiar do?

Spoiler:

Merge with familiar basically lets the familiar merge into your body.

School familiar more or less grants special, school-related powers to familiars and requires the character to take a feat (or 2 to gain greater familiar powers).

-Skeld

Grand Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Notabrick wrote:

Also, can you give names for the new archetypes.

Thanks!

This is answered upthread in a spoiler.

-Skeld

Grand Lodge

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
xavier c wrote:
What does the Chosen One archetype do?

In a nutshell:

Spoiler:

It replaces Divine Bond with a familar that sort of acts a spirit guide to the Paladin (who doesn't know his/her true purpose/potential). The familiar eventually becomes an outsider.

-Skeld

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Dragon78 wrote:
What are the stats for the Cat Sith?

I don't liek to copy/paste things whole cloth so far ahead of the majority of people getting their PDFs. Instead, I like to tease things so that there's still some surprise and some joy of discovery.

So here's what I'll say about the Cat Sith:

Spoiler:

It's a Tiny Magical Beast that's CR2 and can trick foes into thinking they're cursed and/or cause unluckiness. :D

-Skeld

PS: That's all I got for tonight. I'm off to bed.


Thanks much.


I was really hoping for something akin to the Sword of the Arcane Order from forgotten realms for the Paladin archetype. I'm certainly interested in what the specifics are for the Chosen one


That bloodrager archetype sounds great! A lot of the first level bloodrage abilities are meh. Getting a Valet familiar to teamwork with you could be amazing.

I'm somewhat interested in Eldritch Guardian works.

1 to 50 of 219 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Paizo / Product Discussion / Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio (PFRPG) All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.