I was thinking just about the "ludic component". (i Love my mage that roleplay with is cat or hawk and maybe at higher levels with mephit too)
Havin a Familiar Pet is really nice for roleplay, for scounting etc...
But is it usefull for "Magic-touch attacks?" or the bounded item overwhelm the utility of the Familiar Pet?
A bad thing about the item is the DC check if you lose it in some way :)
What do you think about that?
Familiar or bounded arcane item? And what use can you suggest me for the familiar?
Thank you :)
|
It is a really hard choice. The bonded item is really pretty awesome. Bonus spells are always nice. Losing it is awful though.
The familiar is handy for scouting and you get a nice skill or save bonus. Getting an improved familiar is cool, too. Mephits are really handy because of their spell like abilities. Getting a free casting of Blur, Wind Wall, or Gust of Wind can be nice. The only issue there is that they are small instead of tiny making them much easier to target and kill. In any case, I probably wouldn't use it for delivering touch spells. Most of the best Wizard spells are ranged touch if they need an attack roll at all.
In the end, it's a matter of personal choice. Each has positives and negatives.
It is a really hard choice. The bonded item is really pretty awesome. Bonus spells are always nice. Losing it is awful though.
The familiar is handy for scouting and you get a nice skill or save bonus. Getting an improved familiar is cool, too. Mephits are really handy because of their spell like abilities. Getting a free casting of Blur, Wind Wall, or Gust of Wind can be nice. The only issue there is that they are small instead of tiny making them much easier to target and kill. In any case, I probably wouldn't use it for delivering touch spells. Most of the best Wizard spells are ranged touch if they need an attack roll at all.
In the end, it's a matter of personal choice. Each has positives and negatives.
I think i will go for the familiar just because is fun, is roleplay-oriented and at 7th level is also an interesting utility :)
But yeah, Jason & Cook gave us an true choice :D
As for the touch delivery of the familiar, don't forget that there are quite many thouch spells and not all of them are offensive. You can use your familiar to deliver buffs to your frontline fighters without endangering your mage. And with invisibility cast on your familiar, it won't be in much danger either - remember, Invis won't break from delivering a buff spell.
The whole idea is better for a Witch who has even more touch spells (healing, anyone?) and is even MORE fragile then a mage. But I think a Mage will do just fine.
That being said, a bonded Item is very nice, too. Especially with the "free Enchantment feat" built into it. Get a Ring as Bonded item and you get a big discount on your first Ring of Wizardry! ^^
I was thinking just about the "ludic component". (i Love my mage that roleplay with is cat or hawk and maybe at higher levels with mephit too)
Havin a Familiar Pet is really nice for roleplay, for scounting etc...
But is it usefull for "Magic-touch attacks?" or the bounded item overwhelm the utility of the Familiar Pet?
A bad thing about the item is the DC check if you lose it in some way :)What do you think about that?
Familiar or bounded arcane item? And what use can you suggest me for the familiar?Thank you :)
The downside to the Item Bond is just soooo harsh. I don't think that vulnerability is usually worth it unless you are going to be at levels higher than 12th. In that case, having a Bonded Staff and Craft Staff is some strong mojo.
That being said, I still think Familiars can be better with the same investment of feats; at least in the mid-high levels. Maxing your UMD so you can have a Mephit or Imp/Quasit toting around your bag of wands/scrolls and using them when you need them, at level 7, is pretty strong.
With Imp. Familiar, every skill rank you have, just makes your buddy that much more awesome.