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My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
A wolf is an appropriate druid animal companion but is outside the scope of what a typical familiar is. A familiar is generally Tiny or smaller (cat, rat, bat sort of thing). The improved familiar feat would reasonably permit a grey wolf if desired.
3.5 sorcerers got famliars as a class feature. PF sorcerers do not (Edit: unless arcane bloodline as mentioned below). Maybe he'd be happy with a wizard? IIRC, there is a feat to add familiar to an arcane class; maybe in Complete Arcane?
3.5 sorcerers got famliars as a class feature. PF sorcerers do not.
True, unless they have the Arcane bloodline.
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Complete Arcane had an 'Obtain Familiar' feat that would probably be upgradable / adaptable to Pathfinder, thanks to backwards-compatibility.
This would allow a non-Arcane Bloodline Sorcerer to get that familiar, so long as he's got the requisite arcane CL 3 and 4 ranks of Knowledge (arcane).
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My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
Please advise.
Thanks friends,
-Pax-
As others have said, a sorcerer with the arcane bloodline can obtain a familiar, but a wolf is not a typical or normally acceptable familiar. Plus, a druid's animal companion and a wizard’s (or a sorcerer with the arcane bloodline) familiar would need to remain two different creatures in a multi class situation.
Perhaps a good way to approach this would be to abandon the idea of going arcane bloodline and just play the type of sorcerer he wants. Have the player take ranks in animal handling and let him have a "pet" grey wolf. Treat it as a normal wolf that befriends the sorcerer. Then, when the character takes his first level in druid, allow the grey wolf to bond with the sorcerer/druid so that it "becomes" the character's new animal companion.
Just a thought, but probably the way I'd handle it if I were the DM.
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Given the path your player seems to be going, if your allowing 3.5 material you might want to let them be an Arcane Hierophant from the Races of the Wild book. Combines a familiar and an animal companion and would help that concept function a lot better for you as the campaign progresses and make up for the losses they'll suffer for multi-classing like that.
Marc Radle's suggestion of just using the bloody Handle Animal rules works well too, especially given the sorcerer's assumed high charisma. Not every animal has to be a companion or a class feature.
Marc Radle's suggestion of just using the bloody Handle Animal rules works well too, especially given the sorcerer's assumed high charisma. Not every animal has to be a companion or a class feature.
Yes, but normal, non class-feature animals along on adventures are extremely delicate. Your natural wolf might be okay for the first couple levels, but you'll want to make him into an Animal Companion ASAP, sooner than possible if your DM loves AoE evocations.
have him take a level or two of witch...give him a grey wolf as his familiar...
At what level is he going to go druid? To me, Marc Radles suggestion seems the most fitting. Trying to mesh the mechanics for a familiar and the animal companion might make more trouble than necessary.
If he is going to be a animal kind of sorcerer, look to the serpentine bloodline from the APG. With some adjustments it might fit in.
As some folks above have pointed out, the easiest way to get the wolf is as an animal companion from the Druid levels. If the player has other plans for the animal companion (or wants a cleric domain) there are a few options I can think of.
The Improved Familiar Feat can get you an imp, which can change shape into a wolf. If you're using any 3.5 material, there were all kinds of improved familiars available, including a worg for casters level 3+ and a blink dog for those level 5+ (these seem balanced to me). If having the familiar at first level is important the PC could take a canine familiar (maybe the fox from APG) at 1st level, and say it is a wolf cub. I suppose doing that and just accepting that you have a fox instead of a wolf might be even better.
A more important question might be how the PC plans to succeed as a Sorcerer/Druid. Is he planning to be a Mystic Theurge?
My advice:
Whatever bloodline he chooses, swap in the Arcane bloodline's Arcane Bond (familiar) for his 1st level bloodline power. Let him take a wolf as a familiar. Use the standard rules for a familiar, p.82-83. The wolf's better-than-normal-familiar bite attack is approximately offset by no special ability gained by the master.
When he goes Druid, the familiar also becomes the animal companion, progressing in HD per table 3-8.
HP is the higher of the animal companion HD roll or 1/2 the master's HP.
BAB is the higher of the animal companion or the master's BAB.
Base saving throws are the higher of the animal companion or the master's.
Natural armor adjustment is cumulative; a Sor 3/Druid 3's animal companion/familiar would have a +4 natural armor bonus.
Skills advance per HD, but also use master's when they're higher like a familiar.
Tricks are per an animal companion.
Special abilities are gained for the master's level both as a sorcerer on the familiar table and as a druid on the animal companion tables.
Str/Dex progress as an animal companion; intelligence progresses as a familiar.
The animal will never be as good at being a fighting animal companion as a pure druid's, because of the sorc levels, but the familiar powers will make it unusual in a number of respects—the improved evasion making it especially survivable against Reflex-avoidable spells.
As I understand it PFS rules say that a character can have an animal companion or a familliar but not both, and a creature can not fulfill both roles.He isn't asking about Pathfinder Society.
[minorthreadjack]Are you planning on coming back to your pbp?[/minorthreadjack]
My advice:
Whatever bloodline he chooses, swap in the Arcane bloodline's Arcane Bond (familiar) for his 1st level bloodline power. Let him take a wolf as a familiar. Use the standard rules for a familiar, p.82-83. The wolf's better-than-normal-familiar bite attack is approximately offset by no special ability gained by the master.
When he goes Druid, the familiar also becomes the animal companion, progressing in HD per table 3-8.
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Yes, but normal, non class-feature animals along on adventures are extremely delicate. Your natural wolf might be okay for the first couple levels, but you'll want to make him into an Animal Companion ASAP, sooner than possible if your DM loves AoE evocations.
While I agree that is a problem, I'm of the age now that those kind of problems are the player's not the DM's.
"Sure, you want to have some stupid wolf following you around, okay, there's the skill you need. Roll the die." That'd be the end of me caring about the wolf beyond the skill checks.
Complete Arcane had an 'Obtain Familiar' feat that would probably be upgradable / adaptable to Pathfinder, thanks to backwards-compatibility.
This would allow a non-Arcane Bloodline Sorcerer to get that familiar, so long as he's got the requisite arcane CL 3 and 4 ranks of Knowledge (arcane).
He would only be required to have 1 rank in Knowledge(arcane) due to the skill point conversion from 3.5E to PF. At least that is how beta covered it and I'm not sure why that would change, as there is no longer a multiplier at 1st level or the ability to place more than 1 rank per level into a single skill.
Regardless, most feats/PrCs with skill rank requirements usually have a level/class ability requirement as well.
My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
Please advise.
Thanks friends,
-Pax-
Other people have answered this question nicely so I'll leave that alone. But I will add that if anyone were to make your animal companion their familiar it would be hugely weakening it, not strengthening it. A familiar ceases to be an animal and becomes a magical beast. That means all the best spells that used to target animals no longer work. No magic fang, no shrink animal (best used to put your wolf in your pocket so as not scare the city folk), and of course no animal growth. This is even more of a blow if you are using 3.5 spells which has a large number of animal companion specific healing and buffing spells.
On a side note a sorcerer/druid is gonna be pretty ineffectual. Wizard is a much better choice since you gain spells a level sooner than sorcerers which becomes doubly important with multi-classed casters. Either way he will need to hit mystic theurge or some other PrC to stay effective at all. You should probably give him the heads up before he gimps himself.
My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
Please advise.
Thanks friends,
-Pax-Other people have answered this question nicely so I'll leave that alone. But I will add that if anyone were to make your animal companion their familiar it would be hugely weakening it, not strengthening it. A familiar ceases to be an animal and becomes a magical beast. That means all the best spells that used to target animals no longer work. No magic fang, no shrink animal (best used to put your wolf in your pocket so as not scare the city folk), and of course no animal growth. This is even more of a blow if you are using 3.5 spells which has a large number of animal companion specific healing and buffing spells.
A: Both familiars and animal companions have share spells, which allows the (animal) to be targeted by spells that don't normally target "creatures of it's type (animal)."
Either ability would be fine but the quoted text is from the animal companion version. Note that animal is in parentheses, that's because it's just a reminder so it still works if the creature changes its type.
Even if it didn't work, being a familiar grants the same ability and you can't argue that it wouldn't work on the familiar's new type.
B: A creature's type doesn't actually change when it becomes a familiar anyways so...
@Pax
Can you tell us more about why he wants to be a sorc/druid? Druids already get spells so if that's what he's thinking about he doesn't need to worry about it.
My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
Please advise.
Thanks friends,
-Pax-Other people have answered this question nicely so I'll leave that alone. But I will add that if anyone were to make your animal companion their familiar it would be hugely weakening it, not strengthening it. A familiar ceases to be an animal and becomes a magical beast. That means all the best spells that used to target animals no longer work. No magic fang, no shrink animal (best used to put your wolf in your pocket so as not scare the city folk), and of course no animal growth. This is even more of a blow if you are using 3.5 spells which has a large number of animal companion specific healing and buffing spells.
A: Both familiars and animal companions have share spells, which allows the (animal) to be targeted by spells that don't normally target "creatures of it's type (animal)."
Either ability would be fine but the quoted text is from the animal companion version. Note that animal is in parentheses, that's because it's just a reminder so it still works if the creature changes its type.
Even if it didn't work, being a familiar grants the same ability and you can't argue that it wouldn't work on the familiar's new type.B: A creature's type doesn't actually change when it becomes a familiar anyways so...
@Pax
Can you tell us more about why he wants to be a sorc/druid? Druids already get spells so if that's what he's thinking about he doesn't need to worry about it.
5 years man, I don't think he needs advice anymore
This thread was five years old before you resurrected it.
Neck romancer!
edit: Ninja'd by mere seconds.
My player has a L1 Pathfinder RPG Sorcerer. He is on a path to be a Sorc/Druid. Is there somewhere in the PFRPG rules I can look to provide him a familiar. Its part of his character concept, likely a grey wolf.
Please advise.
Thanks friends,
-Pax-
A Sylvan Sorcerer doesn't get a familliar, but gets a full style Druidic animal companion. Maybe this is the road you're looking for as it's a way to build an arcane caster with a nature flavor. And it should stack with Druid levels for the purposes of developing the companion.
If you just want a familliar you have two options.
1. Take the Arcane Bloodline and pick familliar for your arcane bond.
2. Take one of the Familiar archetypes from the Familliar folio.