Familiar Charades

[Goblins Eighty-Five]

So, let me get this right. The witch's familiar holds all their spells, like a spellbook. And everyday, the witch must prepare her spells. So, she goes to her familiar and what? Plays a game of Charades?

"Okay, okay, Two words. First word. Two syllables. Spot? No. Area? No. Detect? Yes? Okay. Second word. Uh...Devil horns? You're nodding your head... I don't remember Detect Devil Horns. Okay, nevermind. Uh, it's stabbing? Hanging? crying? Detect death? No? Well...okay you're doing the devil horns again, so...well that's pretty morbid. Detect Bad things? Detect Evil? DETECT EVIL! Sweet!"

This is the stupidest thing ever.

Why can't the witch just talk to her familiar? You couldn't possibly tell me that that is to powerful.

[Davi The Eccentric]

I'm pretty sure it is actually just the witch and familiar talking about spells and such. At least, I wouldn't define "communing with your familiar" as a game of charades.

[Gryphon Gold]

A witch playing Charades with his familiar would be a great way to roleplay the daily preparation. However, I don't see why it matters how this communion takes place, as long as it actually does take place.

[Goblins Eighty-Five]

Davi The Eccentric wrote:

I'm pretty sure it is actually just the witch and familiar talking about spells and such.

Talking? And how do they do that? They can't talk to each other until 5th level.

I made the same assumption, until my DM brought up the point "how do you commune with your familiar? Do you speak cat?"

Well there you go.

edit: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so snippy.

[dthunder]

Sounds like your DM is being picky. However, I've always been of the opinion that familiars should be able to speak with their masters.

[Kevin Murphy 340]

Empathic Link (Su): A witch has an empathic link
with her familiar to a distance of 1 mile. The witch
can communicate empathically with the familiar,
but cannot see through its eyes. Because of the link’s
limited nature, only general emotions can be shared.
The witch has the same connection to an item or place
that her familiar does.

The why say the familiar can only talk to the master at level 5 in the familiar stat block.

This is an archaic and long overdue mechanic that did not get the right attention for the Pathfinder RPG, before making a class dependent on a familiar substantial changes need to be made. Levels 15-20 should be rewarding for a familiar of a witch at that level.

How game breaking would it be if a familiar had spell resistance as soon as level 3?

Compare an animal companion/eidolon or even arcane bond to a familiar, how worthwhile is it to a player to have an easily and expensive killable reliability following them around that on a bad save dies in one hit later on in levels. It has no attack power, +10 nat AC and 20th level with no other means of defense is meaningless. Using a wiza5rd's saves (especially fort and ref even with Improved evasion at later levels can still mean instant death because of one bad save.)

A witch's familiar should have the same hp as the witch. An improved familar should roll for hp based on the HD of the creature being used; con modifiers included.

The cost of a dead familiar-500gp. per lvl. of witch. While the Eidolon dies it goes back to it's plane and is summoned back the next day right as rain with no cost to the summoner. What makes the familiar so imposing and omnipotent that I have to pay to get a new one.

[Davi The Eccentric]

Goblins Eighty-Five wrote:

Davi The Eccentric wrote:

I'm pretty sure it is actually just the witch and familiar talking about spells and such.

Talking? And how do they do that? They can't talk to each other until 5th level.

I made the same assumption, until my DM brought up the point "how do you commune with your familiar? Do you speak cat?"

Well there you go.

edit: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so snippy.

Yeah, that seems to be more because no one really knows what "communing with an animal" really looks like, as opposed to reading a book. You don't know how to describe it, your DM doesn't know how to describe it, I don't know how to describe it, and I doubt anyone else knows how to describe it.

[seekerofshadowlight]

see to me this is another era left kinda vaguse you you, the player and your GM can fill this in.

Does my witch talk to her familiar and it just kinda of stares blankly at her but yet she "gets it" does some arcane force whisper the words in her mind? does she just feel the connection and power and drawl forth her spells?

It's really a nice open thing that has very little impact on game mechanics yet can be RP gold

[Iczer]

Davi The Eccentric wrote:

Yeah, that seems to be more because no one really knows what "communing with an animal" really looks like, as opposed to reading a book. You don't know how to describe it, your DM doesn't know how to describe it, I don't know how to describe it, and I doubt anyone else knows how to describe it.

Well now.

In the little playtest we had here a player defined communig with her owl familiar to be a kind of mutal meditation, her owl upon her shoulder. The multiclassed Monk/witch performed Kata with His viper familiar (as a side note, he fights with this thing coiled around his arm/hand..he will simply use aid another to give it a strike bonus)

The witch NPC a seperate group went to consult had an octopus. She carried it on a trolley filled wih seawater inside a glass bowl. She had a barrell for more 'durable' travel, but as she is based in a port town on her own little rocky island this travel wasn't often enough. She 'communed' with her octopus with a protracted skinny dip.

Batts

[DCironlich]

I prefer the vague symbiotic link between the witch and familiar. It seems too pedestrian for the familiar talk with the witch about spells. I'm not sure it is really that important.