Multiclass from mage to witch?

[Lucien Black]

Here's the situation: Wizard 5 with bonded object (a ring) has spent a great deal of time studying the entities outside his home plane. Not in a religious sense, but more in an academic sense. He's very fascinated by them. Now, a fox has presented itself to him, with an offer: the opportunity to learn new forms of magic while also having regular communication with one of those very entities he's been studying for so long. In other words, multiclass to Witch.

The issue: the rules seem to be very clear that characters aren't supposed to have both bonded objects and familiars, but that rule was written before the witch became available, so how would this be handled (ignoring whether or not such a multiclass is optimal)?

Likewise things like starting as Wiz 5 w/bonded object, and then multiclassing into Sorcerer with the serpentine bloodline, gaining a viper familiar at 3rd Sorc level. The character may have struggled to ignore his mystical heritage for years, knowing full well where it comes from, and the familial responsibilities that come with acknowledging it, but is now embracing it. From a story perspective, the serpentine bloodline is the only choice available, as it's been in the family for generations, and the family embraces it -- but with requirements for anyone who displays the power.

A DM could just say no to any of these, or similar, but thats not (IMO) the best way to handle what could be very interesting story elements. So from a rules perspective, how can these, and similar ideas, be dealt with?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Thanatos95]

In this special case I would allow the bonded object and familiar at the same time, however, i would not allow the wizard and witch levels to stack for their abilities. If I remember correctly, the normal rule was for classes that gane familiars to stack their levels, like with sorcerer/wizard, but that wouldnt work in this case.

Just count the wizard levels for the bonded object, and the witch levels for the familiar. I doubt it will end up with any game breaking issues.

[Dorje Sylas]

I agree. As the Wizard you have forgone the Famaliar option of Arcane Bond and thus should not stack Wizard and Witch levels. Same would go for the Wizard/Sorc in the case you present. This will leave both item and familiar below what they should... but that's par for the mulitclassing course.