I'm looking at the new bestiary and I'm trying to choose a familiar for my LN Wizard. He is taking Improved Familiar at level 7 or 9. The familiar will not really be used to deliver touch spells, but will be used alot for UMD (wand use).
Currently I'm looking at the following:
1.Dust Mephit (I like Wind Wall and Blur, nice CHA and DR)
2.Air Elemental (Awesome fly speed, initiative and flyby attack, Elemental Traits)
3.Pseudodragon (Nice Cha and DR, 60ft telepathy and blindsense, crazy stealth)
Personally I like the good old fashioned monkey.
A pseudodragon's alignment might conflict with a LN.
As for UMD the critter have to speak the command word so the Tongues spell is essential. The decider for me would be which critter looks cool and has opposable thumbs!
Pseudodragons are always great, especially when you consider that their sleep attack scales with your level. I'm still thinking of 3.5, but it should still rock.
Pseudodragons are always great, especially when you consider that their sleep attack scales with your level. I'm still thinking of 3.5, but it should still rock.
(Sorry, I couldn't edit my post)
Yeah, I looked it up in the new beastiary, and a Pseudodragon of a 20th level wizard would have a sleep poison with a DC of 23 (DC 26 with a +6 CON item). Poisons rock in 3.75 because multiple doses will increase the DC (by +2 if I remember correctly), which means that your little companion could really pump out some high DCs and easily put your weaker enemies to sleep for an easy coup de gras.
Isnt It a bit risky to use a pseudodragon against anybody at level 20?
Anyway, it kind of sucks that you cant cast permanency on somebody else that has tongues. I so wanted a homunculus with tongues. That would be so sweet!
Isnt It a bit risky to use a pseudodragon against anybody at level 20?
Risky, sure. But totally worth it. You've got a thinking companion that's got an entire set of actions apart from your own. It's like leadership lite. Having your Pseudodragon stab at an enemy as your allies beat it down just sounds like bonus to me.
Familiars get really out of hand when you include the spell Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability from the spell compendium, the feat from the Player's Handbook II, or the combination of the two. It's basically a series of free quicken spells. Fo'shizzle.
Um, can't a mage cast Range: Personal spells on their familiar? In which case permanency should be fine, too.
I read it as that.
That is why Barney Bubbles my familiar monkey will have it cast on him ASAP. I still maintain that something with opposable thumbs is the way to go, manual dexterity being important when opening potion bottles, etc. Mephits are a good choice but stand out in the crowd a bit.
Um, can't a mage cast Range: Personal spells on their familiar? In which case permanency should be fine, too.I read it as that.
That is why Barney Bubbles my familiar monkey will have it cast on him ASAP. I still maintain that something with opposable thumbs is the way to go, manual dexterity being important when opening potion bottles, etc. Mephits are a good choice but stand out in the crowd a bit.
Alter Self helps with this.
Alter Self helps with this.Um, can't a mage cast Range: Personal spells on their familiar? In which case permanency should be fine, too.I read it as that.
That is why Barney Bubbles my familiar monkey will have it cast on him ASAP. I still maintain that something with opposable thumbs is the way to go, manual dexterity being important when opening potion bottles, etc. Mephits are a good choice but stand out in the crowd a bit.
duration of 1 min/level.
Best get a hat of disguise for your little halfling friend...
You may want to look at a celestial familiar (monkey?).
When your wizard reaches 11th level, the familiar will have Darkvision, some SR, 1 Smite Evil per day, Resist Acid, Cold and Electricity 15 and DR 10/Evil.
I am sure this is a stupid question but how do you get UMD for your familar.
Is it you buy the skill ranks so it can use them or is there some other trick I am missing.
The familiar gets your skill ranks, but its own class/ability modifiers.
Is a monkey not a normal familar choice? Now a flying monkey (maghical anamal) would be an improved familar choice would it not?
as far as the opposable thumbs thing goes a Homunculus fits the bill nicely as well but they cannot speak though.
As far as the cool factor goes. Why not use a reduced to approprite HD beheir as a improved familar choice.
no brownie's but a fay of the appropiate type and HD should be acceptable as a improved familar choice.
One of Jess Door's PCs in our home game is Trog, a weird-looking, stunted half-elf that most people mistake for a boggle (from 1st ed. Module A2). Houstonderek's wizard Fiachra wants to take the Improved Familiar feat to bind her as his familiar...
If you want the COOLEST familiar out there, you should definitely go with the ice mephit ;)
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Step 1) Celestial familiar from BoED
Step 2) Coure Eladrin
Step 3) It turns into a ball of light
How it ends) HEY LISTEN LISTEN HEY HEY LISTEN LOOK HEY LOOK LINK HEY LISTEN
Step 1) Celestial familiar from BoED
Step 2) Coure Eladrin
Step 3) It turns into a ball of light
How it ends) HEY LISTEN LISTEN HEY HEY LISTEN LOOK HEY LOOK LINK HEY LISTEN
Then, because of its annoying distraction, you fall into pit trap, break your spine, feel in extreme how your legs die and 5 seconds later it says:
WATCH OUT!!
Humbly,
Yawar
Firstly:
depending on your DM, be careful giving your familiar wands.
In our games the familiars (animal companions, whtaever) were usually un-touched by baddies unless we decided to start putting them in harms way. I know my own pseudo dragon never took so much as 1 hp of damage throughout most of an adventure simply because she was never the target of anything.
My own pick is the pseudo-dragon. I mainly use my familiar for the purposes of fun RP and they are fun, mischievous, intelligent, and are useful enough to not just be a waste of space.
(we also used some variant rules from a 3PP that let me buff the little critter abit- for defense of self).
-S
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Dragons are capable of most basic fine motor skills. It's simply that they eventually get too big to do so on a scale that's worth while for them.
However I've always been partial to the fiendish Lantern Archon for a familiar:
Here's how:
LN bard (or sorc
Obtain Familiar
Planar Familier (lantern archon)
Fiend Blooded Sorcerer (from heroes of Horror)
Fiend blooded applies the fiendish template to your familiar as a "sympathetic bond" without altering their (or your) alignment.
I like the quasit. It can fly, become invisibile at will, has fast healing, good resistances/immunities, telepathy, and can turn into a bat, centipede or wolf, which is very useful. It's easy to fool people into thinking it's your animal companion or pet. It also has the ability to cast commune once a week to ask six questions, which can be very useful. It also has hands so it can perform alot of tasks other creatures can't.
I like the Dust Mephit.
And I don't trust those little, evil bastards to administer that CSW potion when I need it. Y'know, cherry-picking my soul and all that....
My vote goes for faerie dragon out of the Bonus Bestiary. Greater Invisibility on self, euphoria breath wepaon, and it's a 3rd level sorcerer. And it has telepathy. On the downside, you have a butterfly dragon.And it's way beyond the allowed power level for the improved familliar feat. I think the OP wants his answers within the ruleset. Unlike the pseudodragon, the faerie dragon is a fully sentient indivdual so you can't bond it to your will the same way you can with it's lesser cousin.
The Beastiary gives the pseudodragon an intelligence & charisma of 10? So it's as intelligent and strong willed as the average human. A 12 wisdom means it's more alert and has better instincts than an average human. So, give the pseudo his due!
My vote goes for faerie dragon out of the Bonus Bestiary. Greater Invisibility on self, euphoria breath wepaon, and it's a 3rd level sorcerer. And it has telepathy. On the downside, you have a butterfly dragon.And it's way beyond the allowed power level for the improved familliar feat. I think the OP wants his answers within the ruleset. Unlike the pseudodragon, the faerie dragon is a fully sentient indivdual so you can't bond it to your will the same way you can with it's lesser cousin.
Oh I don't know I thought the section on it that said this:
"Faerie Dragons as Familiars
Although difficult to control, a faerie dragon can make for
a powerful familiar. Spellcasters wishing to take a faerie
dragon as a familiar must take the Improved Familiar feat
and have an alignment within one step of chaotic good. The
character must have an arcane spellcaster level of at least 7th
before taking a faerie dragon as a familiar."
Covered it pretty well.
After all most the mephits have a second level spell per hour, and fast healing, while the Imp and Quasit have other nice abilities (invisibility at will, Enery resistance, poison, etc) and the Homunculus is a construct with telepathy.
Each of these creatures are of course fully sentient. So I don't see where that matters in the least.
I've had a lot of fun with a pseudodragon that was a dragon supremacist. Of course, it had to take levels in dragon shaman to get a breath weapon.
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First off: ARISE THREAD!!!!
Secondly:
My Illusionist in Serpent's Skull just hit 9th level. He is a CG Gnome, specializing in continuous figments & summons, as well as all-around party support.
I was thinking of taking Improved Familiar, but simply cannot decide on what critter to take.
Lyrakien Azata:
CG Tiny outsider (azata, chaotic, extraplanar, good)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, detect magic, low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +2 size)
hp 19 (3d10+3)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +6
DR 5/evil; Immune electricity, petrification; Resist cold 10, fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)
Melee slam +2 (1d2–3)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks starlight blast
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +8)
Constant--detect evil, detect magic, freedom of movement
At will--dancing lights, daze (DC 15), summon instrument, ventriloquism (DC 16)
1/day--cure light wounds, lesser confusion (DC 16), silent image (DC 16)
1/week--commune (6 questions, CL 12th)
STATISTICS
Str 5, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 20
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 12
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +11, Fly +12*, Knowledge (any one) +8, Perception +9, Perform (any one) +11, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +18
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; truespeech
SQ traveler’s friend
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Starlight Blast (Su)
As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, a lyrakien can tap into the divine power of Elysium, unleashing a blast of holy starlight in a 5-foot burst. All creatures in this area take 1d4 points of holy damage, plus 1 point for each step their alignment deviates from chaotic good. For example, a chaotic neutral or neutral good creature would take 1d4+1 points of damage, a neutral creature would take 1d4+2 points of damage, and a lawful evil creature would take 1d4+4 points of damage. A DC 12 Reflex save negates this damage. Chaotic good creatures are unaffected by this ability. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Traveler’s Friend (Su)
The performances and company of a lyrakien ease the burden of travel. Once per day, a creature may spend a minute listening to a lyrakien’s performance— doing so removes the effects of exhaustion and fatigue from the listener.
Major benefits: Traveler's Friend is great, as is having a little CG angel friend. Dancing Lights, Summon Instrument, and Silent Image fit into Metaphor's overal M.O. very well.
Silvanshee Agathion:
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2; +4 vs. poison
DR 5/evil or silver; Immune electricity, petrification; Resist cold 10, sonic 10; SR 13
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (good)
Melee bite +6 (1d3–4), 2 claws +6 (1d2–4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks heroic strength, pounce
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +3)
Constant--know direction, speak with animals
At will--dancing lights, prestidigitation, stabilize
1/day--dimension door (self plus 5 lbs. of objects only)
1/week--commune (6 questions, CL 12th)
STATISTICS
Str 3, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 8 (12 vs. trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Acrobatics +11, Climb +1, Fly +6, Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (planes) +5, Perception +10, Stealth +19; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; speak with animals, truespeech
SQ cat’s luck, flight, lay on hands (1d6, 1/day, as a 2nd-level paladin), spectral mist
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Cat’s Luck (Su)
A silvanshee adds its Charisma modifier as a luck bonus on all its saving throws. Once per day as a standard action, it can also grant this bonus to one ally within 30 feet for 10 minutes.
Heroic Strength (Su)
Once per day, a silvanshee can grant itself a +8 enhancement bonus to Strength for 1 minute.
Spectral Mist (Su)
A silvanshee can assume an eerie, mistlike form roughly the size and shape of a cat. This ability has the same effect as a gaseous form spell, except the silvanshee retains its own DR and supernatural abilities and can move at its normal speed. It can remain in mist form up to 5 minutes per day. This duration does not have to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1-minute increments.
Major Benefits: Is basically an "angel cat" (already have a cat familiar), SLAs meld well with the character, and can be an awesome ghost-cat scout who can d-door out of harm's way if needed.
Cassissian Angel:
NG Small outsider (angel, extraplanar, good)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, low-light vision; Perception +5
Aura lesser protective aura
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+3 natural, +1 size) (+2 deflection vs. evil)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2; +4 vs. poison; +2 resistance vs. evil
DR 5/cold iron or evil; Immune acid, cold, petrification; Resist electricity 10, fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Melee slam –1 (1d3–4)
Special Attacks breath weapon (15-ft. line, 1d6 cold or 1d6 fire, Reflex DC 12 half, usable every 1d4 rounds)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +3)
Constant--detect evil, know direction
1/day--aid, daylight
1/week--commune (six questions, CL 12th)
STATISTICS
Str 3, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB –3; CMD 7 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Iron Will
Skills Diplomacy +2, Fly +8*, Knowledge (planes) +2, Knowledge (religion) +2, Perception +5, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +8
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; truespeech
SQ change shape (2 of the following forms: Small human-like angel, dove, dog, or Tiny fish, polymorph), perfect memory
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Perfect Memory (Ex)
Though they are not particularly intelligent, cassisians have perfect memories and remember everything they see or hear. They can faultlessly recite conversations they heard hundreds of years before. They also have the power to erase portions of their own memories, which they do (usually under orders from superior angels) to protect sensitive information.
Lesser Protective Aura (Su)
A cassisian has a lesser form of the protective aura possessed by more powerful angels. This protective aura grants the cassisian a +2 deflection bonus to its AC against evil foes, and a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws made against evil effects or spells cast by evil creatures. This aura extends to a radius of 5 feet, but can only benefit one additional creature other than the cassisian at any one time. A cassisian’s protective aura is fragile, and as soon as an evil creature successfully strikes the cassisian, or as soon as the cassisian fails a saving throw against an evil source, its protective aura fades away and is no longer applicable. The cassisian can reactivate its protective aura by spending 1 minute concentrating upon the task.
Major Benefits: Perfect Memory is fantastic, as is the Lesser Protective Aura, especially when combined with regular Familiar abilities. Aid 1/day, as well as Detect Evil & Lay on Hands is never a bad thing. Can still be a little "mini-angel" on my shoulder, or an awesome floating helmet with wings.
Pseudodragon:
Init +2; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)
hp 15 (2d12+2)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +4
Immune paralysis, sleep; SR 12
OFFENSE
Speed 15 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee sting +6 (1d3–2 plus poison), bite +6 (1d2–2)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. (5 ft. with tail)
STATISTICS
Str 7, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 10 (14 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Diplomacy +5, Fly +15, Perception +6, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +19 (+23 in forests), Survival +6; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (improves to +8 in forests)
Languages Draconic; telepathy (60 ft.)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poison (Ex)
Sting—injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/minute for 10 minutes; effect sleep for 1 minute; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
The best "combatant" of the group (not that I'm likely to send it off to fight), with a decent poison which gets better with each Wizard level. Is also a Dragon, with all those attendant benefits, and is a telepath.
So, I am torn. Any suggestions / options I am overlooking? I am currently leaning towards the Lyrakien or Pseudodragon, but each time I think I've decided I think about the others...
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First off: ARISE THREAD!!!!
Secondly:
My Illusionist in Serpent's Skull just hit 9th level. He is a CG Gnome, specializing in continuous figments & summons, as well as all-around party support.
I was thinking of taking Improved Familiar, but simply cannot decide on what critter to take.
Lyrakien Azata:
** spoiler omitted **...
Silvanshee Agathion: I think would be a good one for you, since you already have a cat fam, You can role play it as its just getting some nice upgrades ;)
Would be a good scout, and +19 stealth is awesome.The luck bonus it can give you once per a day stacks with cloak of resistance.
Maybe give it an item to increase its Charisma. The good Perception and fly speed its a good bonus.
Consider giving it some magic item to increase its stealth more, and other skills.
Its constant speak with animals abbilty would be some what of a boon.
having it ask animals as it scouts, or around town about people, exc. can be good at giving extra information.
The abbilit to always know were north is can be also helpful when scouting.
Also the lay on hand abbiltiy is nice:
Lay on hands as a paladin whose level equals the agathion’s Hit Dice.
Its hit dice = yours.
:)
And Truespeech is an added bonus to scouting since you can understand all language , and even animals speaking!
:)
Spectral Mist (Su) can be used at 1 min at your full 90 foot fly speed.
Good for Scouting, and avoiding damage.
I had an Ooze Mephit familiar for a wizard once. Awesome stuff.
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I wish a miniature giant mantis was available for a familiar.
I mean it would just be so cool.
So... basically just a normal mantis? XD
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Major Benefits: Perfect Memory is fantastic, as is the Lesser Protective Aura, especially when combined with regular Familiar abilities. Aid 1/day, as well as Detect Evil & Lay on Hands is never a bad thing. Can still be a little "mini-angel" on my shoulder, or an awesome floating helmet with wings.Just an FYI, a Cassisian is a Small angel, so unless you're big enough to walk around with a halfling on your shoulder, probably not. Now, if on the other hand you yourself are on the smaller side, you can have a fawning love interest!
Hmmm...since I'm playing a gnome, that sounds pretty sweet. Hadn't realized they were Small, actually.
How can everyone forget about the zhyen? yes they need to to be summon but for a familiar they are really cool and funny at times.