Has your familiar ever turned out to be better at some things than its master? With the size bonus, it being better at Stealth is assumed, and it's unsurprising for Perception to be better if it's got a racial bonus (such as an owl or a hawk).
Imagine a wizard with a low Charisma (don't faint in surprise), and took Improved Familiar for an imp, mephit, or especially a faerie dragon. They have a Charisma of 14 or 16, Bluff as a class skill, and it wouldn't be out of line for the chosen skills of the imp or mephit to be switched to include Diplomacy. They're nearly guaranteed to be more social, even and especially if the wizard took max ranks (I've seen it), with a 'simple' alter self if looking like a human'd help.
Heck, if the wizard chose Strength as a dump stat too, then those three could be physically stronger; moreso if the imp or faerie dragon used alter self, as they'd have a 16 and 15 Strength respectively.
It could lead to the classic scenario of a nerdy wizard trying to seduce the beautiful princess with his invisible familiar whispering instructions in his ear.
It could lead to the classic scenario of a nerdy wizard trying to seduce the beautiful princess with his invisible familiar whispering instructions in his ear.
"Now, pat her spleen lightly with your flippers!"
The paladin with a smarter mount turns into a roleplaying nightmare that most gamers don't properly deal with.
The proper way being to have the horse be the master and the paladin his sidekick?
The paladin with a smarter mount turns into a roleplaying nightmare that most gamers don't properly deal with.
My wizard's imp (when he reaches level 7) will be stronger than him. And I fully intend for him to wreak social havok whilst invisible. I think I might forget to mention his existence to the rest of the party...
"Now, pat her spleen lightly with your flippers!"
It could lead to the classic scenario of a nerdy wizard trying to seduce the beautiful princess with his invisible familiar whispering instructions in his ear.
"Did you remember to bring the dead mouse?"
A recent wizard I played had a familiar that was a dog. By the time we reached third level the party had named it Dogmeat (from Fallout series) because it had more kills than 1/2 the other party members had. Ultimately it wasn't a big deal. Certain character builds don't "enter their prime" until certain levels. That's just part of the game.
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Something like that happened to us once. The barbarian (usually the best at "hack and slash") was down, and the entire party was almost wiped out. I think I was the only one not bleeding out. The witch's cute little cat killed one of the remaining monsters and saved us all. The guy who was playing the barbarian is still smarting over that one.
I think my next character will be a gnome druid with a tiger as a companion. I fully expect the character to be outclassed in melee by the animal.
This is why I refuse to power game and have the "dump" stats. I find it difficult to play a character with even one -1, let alone having multiple -2 or -3.
The paladin with a smarter mount turns into a roleplaying nightmare that most gamers don't properly deal with.
I think my next character will be a gnome druid with a tiger as a companion. I fully expect the character to be outclassed in melee by the animal.
Once you reach 7th level that tiger may well outclass anyone else in the party, too!
This is why I refuse to power game and have the "dump" stats. I find it difficult to play a character with even one -1, let alone having multiple -2 or -3.
Some times you have to have a -1 somewhere to be remotely effective at doing what you do.
It's not really powergaming for someone to actually have a flaw and be below average at something. And in my particular example, you can have a Charisma of 12 and still be quite outclassed by your suave imp or faerie dragon. Unless the wizard went out of his way to get a 14+ strength, he's not going to be as strong as his imp/dragon with alter self or even an unbuffed mephit (who's still more social).
I'm probably being a little defensive because from my perspective you entered the thread with an at best tangential subject, shaking your fist at munchkins that aren't even there.
Now, back to the topic. My current party isn't all that stealthy, but I don't think the thief could really keep up with the sorcerer's familiar in terms of scouting. He chose to have a diminutive familiar, normally given as an option for Tiny casters in the DMG (essentially a kitten), and happens to have max ranks in Stealth. As a result, his familiar can find cover or concealment almost anywhere and has a stealth modifier that's out of this world (+12 from size alone). The little guy has done awesome so far as a scout, looking around, then reporting back with the intel.
Its almost like having a little sneaky ninja that you can put in your pocket!
"Stealth Kitten, I choose you! Sneak Attack!"
Hmm, could an intelligent familiar take class levels?
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I think my next character will be a gnome druid with a tiger as a companion. I fully expect the character to be outclassed in melee by the animal.Once you reach 7th level that tiger may well outclass anyone else in the party, too!
Phreeow! If I calculate correctly, a tiger animal companion for a 7th level druid would have 59 hit points, AC 20 and as many as five attacks (against a grappled foe)! Plus STR 21
Try the diablosit Prestige Class
you get an imp that progresses like a druid animal companion which means its HP are better than the wizards
throw a Dragon Form II on the familiar with share spells and the familiar is pretty badass at overshaodwing the wizard.
although arguablely no one can really overshadow a high level wizard ;)
This sounds more like the summoner than anny other class!
heh possibly better since the wizard gets full spellcasting ;)
Hmm, could an intelligent familiar take class levels?
A straight familiar, no. You might, might, be able to take the Leadership feat and make your familiar also a cohort and thus it'll have levels; but I strongly suspect that to be house-rule territory as well.
I have a wizard with a 7 strength who has repeatedly been grappled by imps. Those little guys are strong for their size!
Was your wizard a gnome or halfling or something? If I recall, you can't grapple creatures two or more size categories larger than you, unless it's to attempt escape.
And upon closer inspection, they apparently took that rule limit out in Pathfinder.