A few arcane questions...

[Sojan Nanthiz]

From what I can see, only sorcerers with the Arcane Bloodline gain a familiar. Am I missing some other way a sorcerer gets a familiar?

As a long-time player of a sorcerer, I love the new sorcerer build with all the Bloodline choices, but I wonder why only Arcane Bloodline gets the arcane bond.

To me, a familiar is an integral part of being a sorcerer, more so than a wizard. I misunderstood the arcane bond the first time I read it, I thought it meant sorcerers get a familiar and wizards get an object, which just makes so much sense to me. I'd like to see all Bloodlines have a cool familiar option (celestial creature for celestial, etc.) I wouldn't even care if the special familiar available for Bloodlines had any special abilities. For example, choosing the Celestial Bloodline allows the character arcane bond with a celestial animal, but choosing a celestial rat still only grants +2 to the master's fortitude save. For me, the familiar is about the character's style, and not about the in-game benefits (or else I would have chosen a toad at the beginning of 3.0 just like every other spellcaster I knew).

Also, I may have missed it, but there didn't seem to be an explanation about how sorcerers and wizards regain spells, whether they need uninterrupted rest, sleep, meditation, what have you.

I love the fact that sorcerers automatically gain Eschew Materials, and not just because I always argued that my 3.0/3.5 sorcerer should have had it for free. :) This is that kind of intuitive feel that makes me think I am going to like Pathfinder much more then 4th Edition D&D.

Overall, I love the Pathfinders rules. I look forward to the next release.

-Sojan Nanthiz, a.k.a. George Krieger

[GeraintElberion]

Sojan Nanthiz wrote:

From what I can see, only sorcerers with the Arcane Bloodline gain a familiar. Am I missing some other way a sorcerer gets a familiar?

Only sorcerers with an Arcane Bloodline get a familiar.

I am playing in a game in which a DM house-ruled that I could spend a feat to get a familiar, and have put the same house-rule in a game that I am playing.

I associate familiars with arcane students, and thus with wizards over sorcerers - each to their own...

Sojan Nanthiz wrote:

Also, I may have missed it, but there didn't seem to be an explanation about how sorcerers and wizards regain spells, whether they need uninterrupted rest, sleep, meditation, what have you.

With the Alpha, if they haven't changed it then it is the same as core 3.5

[Shisumo]

GeraintElberion wrote:

Sojan Nanthiz wrote:

From what I can see, only sorcerers with the Arcane Bloodline gain a familiar. Am I missing some other way a sorcerer gets a familiar?

Only sorcerers with an Arcane Bloodline get a familiar.

I am playing in a game in which a DM house-ruled that I could spend a feat to get a familiar, and have put the same house-rule in a game that I am playing.

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

[Sojan Nanthiz]

Thank you GeraintElberion and Shisumo for the info!

[LazarX]

Shisumo wrote:

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

To be truly fair, however that feat was not constructed to balance with the arcane bond class feature. In the old rules you could not have taken it to get two familliars it was for classes like bard which could arcane cast but not get a familliar at all.

I would strongly suggest not allowing this feat in a Pathfinder campaign.

[Sojan Nanthiz]

LazarX wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

To be truly fair, however that feat was not constructed to balance with the arcane bond class feature. In the old rules you could not have taken it to get two familliars it was for classes like bard which could arcane cast but not get a familliar at all.

I would strongly suggest not allowing this feat in a Pathfinder campaign.

I know this is a late reply, but I don't understand the argument against allowing this feat in the Pathfinder campaign. Can you please explain?

[LazarX]

Sojan Nanthiz wrote:

LazarX wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

To be truly fair, however that feat was not constructed to balance with the arcane bond class feature. In the old rules you could not have taken it to get two familliars it was for classes like bard which could arcane cast but not get a familliar at all.

I would strongly suggest not allowing this feat in a Pathfinder campaign.

I know this is a late reply, but I don't understand the argument against allowing this feat in the Pathfinder campaign. Can you please explain?

Simple. this feat was to allow classes that never had the familliar option, i.e. the bard the means to a specific class function the familliar. it was not balanced for pathfinder where the arcane bond is a central class feature with greater impact than the old standard familliar. In this aspect it's simply a cheese for those who insist on having a really big cake and eat it too.

I don't really think that the familiar is an integral part of being a sorcerer it's just something that makes him another wizard wanna be.

[Sojan Nanthiz]

LazarX wrote:

Sojan Nanthiz wrote:

LazarX wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

To be truly fair, however that feat was not constructed to balance with the arcane bond class feature. In the old rules you could not have taken it to get two familliars it was for classes like bard which could arcane cast but not get a familliar at all.

I would strongly suggest not allowing this feat in a Pathfinder campaign.

I know this is a late reply, but I don't understand the argument against allowing this feat in the Pathfinder campaign. Can you please explain?

Simple. this feat was to allow classes that never had the familliar option, i.e. the bard the means to a specific class function the familliar. it was not balanced for pathfinder where the arcane bond is a central class feature with greater impact than the old standard familliar. In this aspect it's simply a cheese for those who insist on having a really big cake and eat it too.

I don't really think that the familiar is an integral part of being a sorcerer it's just something that makes him another wizard wanna be.

Ah, I understand. To me, it *is* an integral part of being a sorcerer, and not at all a part of being a bard. Thanks for the explanation!

[Chris Brown 66]

LazarX wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

There is a non-OGC feat that does this (in Complete Arcane).

To be truly fair, however that feat was not constructed to balance with the arcane bond class feature. In the old rules you could not have taken it to get two familliars it was for classes like bard which could arcane cast but not get a familliar at all.

I would strongly suggest not allowing this feat in a Pathfinder campaign.

I think the feat should be as it was, a way for a Bard or non-core arcane class to get a familiar.

I also agree with the OP that Sorcerers should maybe get a familiar, but not the choice of a bonded object.

I love the fact that a wizard can FINALLY get a staff as a core ability, and personally think that the idea of an animal familiar fits with Sorcerer rather than wizard. I mean, most wizards I knew didn't spent the 100 gp to get a familiar, because they'd rather purchase spells to add to their spellbook. When Dragon introduced the Staffs of the Magi, I got it right away and have allowed it as a player option.

Speaking of, did that 100 gp cost go away, too?