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:
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.
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.
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
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%
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?"
A Mauler familiar can not speak, even if its kind normally could. Does this mean a spellcasting familiar (Farie or Tidepool Dragon) can't use spells with verbal components?
Pretty much. Pick a different familiar choice for a mauler.
a tidepooldragon does not have the ability 'speak with animal of its kind' so cannot be a mauler anyway.
A Mauler familiar can not speak, even if its kind normally could. Does this mean a spellcasting familiar (Farie or Tidepool Dragon) can't use spells with verbal components?
Pretty much. Pick a different familiar choice for a mauler.
a tidepooldragon does not have the ability 'speak with animal of its kind' so cannot be a mauler anyway.
A Mauler familiar can not speak, even if its kind normally could. Does this mean a spellcasting familiar (Farie or Tidepool Dragon) can't use spells with verbal components?
Pretty much. Pick a different familiar choice for a mauler.
a tidepooldragon does not have the ability 'speak with animal of its kind' so cannot be a mauler anyway.
yes it does it gains the ability at level 7.
Well...
from the SRD wrote:
Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).
I just got my copy of the PDF. Turns out that only Wizards can get the school familliars. Saddening, but it makes sense thematically.
HOWEVER. Sorcerers can get bloodline familliars. The abilities aren't as powerful, but you get them only for the cost of losing your first bloodline power and geting your bonus spells one level later.
That's really good if you don't care about the spells, since first level powers generally aren't that great anyway.
Is that meant to be a feat or archetype option?
It's more similar to an archetype, though it isn't explicitly listed as an archetype, simply that any bloodrager or sorcerer can trade out their 1st level bloodline power and delay access to their bloodline spells for one level in exchange for a familiar with a particular benefit related to their bloodline. It doesn't cost a feat.
So there still isn't a way for me to just take a feat as say a rakshasa sorcerer and get the rakshasa familiar?
The bloodline familiar text calls out "other creatures with bloodlines" (that's not exactly it) but also calls out 1st level. Can Eldritch Heritage users take bloodline familiars?
Also, I'm thinking that even with the loss of some spells, a Silvanshee Mauler could have potential. Or maybe I'll stick with an elemental.
I just got my copy of the PDF. Turns out that only Wizards can get the school familliars. Saddening, but it makes sense thematically.
HOWEVER. Sorcerers can get bloodline familliars. The abilities aren't as powerful, but you get them only for the cost of losing your first bloodline power and geting your bonus spells one level later.
That's really good if you don't care about the spells, since first level powers generally aren't that great anyway.
Is that meant to be a feat or archetype option?
It's more similar to an archetype, though it isn't explicitly listed as an archetype, simply that any bloodrager or sorcerer can trade out their 1st level bloodline power and delay access to their bloodline spells for one level in exchange for a familiar with a particular benefit related to their bloodline. It doesn't cost a feat.
So there still isn't a way for me to just take a feat as say a rakshasa sorcerer and get the rakshasa familiar?
As a rakshasa sorcerer, you can:
a) trade out your first bloodline power and get your bloodline spells a little later in exchange for getting a bloodline familiar, then take Improved Familiar
b) take Iron Will, then Familiar Bond, and then Improved Familiar, with Improved Familiar Bond as an option if you want the extra abilities
c) take Skill Focus (knowledge [any]), Eldritch Heritage (arcane), and then Improved Familiar
Personally, I think a decoy familiar would be quite apt for a rakshasa sorcerer.
The bloodline familiar text calls out "other creatures with bloodlines" (that's not exactly it) but also calls out 1st level. Can Eldritch Heritage users take bloodline familiars?
Also, I'm thinking that even with the loss of some spells, a Silvanshee Mauler could have potential. Or maybe I'll stick with an elemental.
Personally, I'd argue that someone with eldritch heritage doesn't technically have a bloodline, but rather has one (with just eldritch heritage) of the bloodline powers, rather than the bloodline itself. No bloodline arcana, no bloodline feats, and perhaps most relevantly, they don't get any bonus spells from it to take a level later, either, which is the other thing you're supposed to trade. But, of course, your DM might rule otherwise, so worth a shot, maybe?
I am curious, though, if improved familiars are intended to not be able to take many familiar archetypes due to technically not having the 'speak with animals of its kind' ability, or if that was an oversight. Improved familiars are already a lot better than regular familiars, but they do require investing a feat into...and possibly more than one if your class doesn't automatically get a familiar. Though a couple archetypes (such as Chosen One and Pact Wizard) get around this now, which is cool. Hmm...now I want to homebrew a sorcerer archetype whose familiar is a bloodline familiar, gets some of its master's bloodline powers, and automatically becomes improved, depending on the bloodline...
Personally, I think a decoy familiar would be quite apt for a rakshasa sorcerer.
Improved Familiars don't get the speak with animals ability, so therefore they don't qualify for most of the familiar archetypes.
I can't recall if the decoy familiar replaces speak with animals or not off of the top of my head. If it does, a rakshasa familiar couldn't take it.
A rakshasasorcerer could certainly have a familiar with the decoy familiar archetype, though. An improved familiar, such as a raktavarna familiar, could not have that archetype, but nothing prevents them from having a regular familiar with it.
I'm actually really liking the idea of that fighter archetype with the sage familiar. I'm sure mauler was created was with the fighter in mind, but sage seems like a fun way to make a "smart fighter," plus perception as a class skill! :D
I'm just wondering why parrots, based on ravens and can actually talk in real life, are specifically singled out as not being able to talk?
As someone who has a good friend who keeps macaws, its actually a myth that they can "talk." Parrots can only repeat the sounds they hear back at people and with training, they can effectively learn which "words" they're expected to repeat in order to get a desired outcome. Its sort of like having a dog raise its paw for you to shake its hand. It doesn't really know what a handshake is, but it knows that if it does X, it'll get Y, where Y is praise and/or a reward.
As someone who has a good friend who keeps macaws, its actually a myth that they can "talk." Parrots can only repeat the sounds they hear back at people and with training, they can effectively learn which "words" they're expected to repeat in order to get a desired outcome. Its sort of like having a dog raise its paw for you to shake its hand. It doesn't really know what a handshake is, but it knows that if it does X, it'll get Y, where Y is praise and/or a reward.
In short, conditioning at its finest.
Sometimes I wonder if we are really any different....
A petrifern can petrify itself as a standard action in order to defend itself from predators. When it does so, the petrifern's natural armor bonus to AC increases by 5, it gains resistance 10 to cold and fire, and it can take 20 on Stealth checks to appear as a sprout or fallen tree branch.
While petrified, the petrifern can't move or take any actions. A petrifern can remain petrified indefinitely, and can cease its petrification as a standard action.
The two bolded sections contradict each other and do not seem to be written in a way that a plain-English reading of the text could infer that one is an exception to the other. This text needs something else to make it more clear that the only action a Petrifen can take while petrified is a standard action to end the petrification.
