Throw in a few more familiars!

[Coridan]

This is a good oppurtunity to add a couple more familiars to the core. At the very least Rabbit (all magicians have rabbits!), Monkey (sorcerous Varisian charlatans) and Foxes.

Couldn't hurt.

[Andrew Betts]

How about a Foxbat?

[Kirth Gersen]

Given that the bonded item (especially a ring -- sunder this, fool!) is about a million times better, mechanically-speaking, than a familiar, there would seem to be little incentive to add familiar choices. Also, other choices are fairly easy to extrapolate (Squirrel? Make the skill bonus go to Climb or Acrobatics).

[Karui Kage]

Actually, having the bonded item be better (currently) than a familiar seems to me to give MORE incentive to add more familiars, along with making them more appealing. The choice between the two really isn't a choice if one is so much better.

[The Far Wanderer]

Or you could allow the Improved Familiar creatures but start them with juvenile features so their powers don't create an imbalance.

Teenage pseudodragon...

[Brian Brus]

It would be beneficial to include more familiars so that players have a wider range of mage benefits to choose from. A squirrel familiar, for example, could be associated with a +3 bonus to acrobatics, and a small dog could be associated with a +3 bonus to diplomacy. As it is now, there are only 10 familiar choices and associated benefits, two of which are save bonuses and one which provides hit points. If your mage concept doesn't fit well with those options, that aspect of the familiar is totally wasted. A +15 percent bonus on a d20 skill roll is too valuable to throw away. Put in some more critters, please.

[Twowlves]

I think Dragon #200 had a list of like 100 "common" familiars. Of course it wasn't for 3rd ed, but it can provide a nice jumping off point for ideas. One guy IMC had an ocelot from that list. Shiny!

(Oh, and let familiars grant +1 caster level, so that way people will want them).

[Coridan]

Twowlves wrote:

I think Dragon #200 had a list of like 100 "common" familiars. Of course it wasn't for 3rd ed, but it can provide a nice jumping off point for ideas. One guy IMC had an ocelot from that list. Shiny!

(Oh, and let familiars grant +1 caster level, so that way people will want them).

I've been using familiars from Dragon for a while in my home games, but I'm looking towards Pathfinder Society play =p

[MisterSlanky]

Andrew Betts wrote:

How about a Foxbat?

Pah, you can keep your foxbat.

I'm all about the Ratbadger, the most vicious, survivable beastie in the world.

[Uriel393]

I agree.

My campaigns have always allowed an expanded homebrew list, but something official would be grand.

A few that have populated our campaigns are Ocelots, Margays, Hummingbirds, and (Recently) a Sugar Glider.

-Uriel