Improved Familiars and Special Abilities

[Dukai]

So while the Improved Familiar feat is really really nice, I noticed that the list of improved familiars does not give a special ability to the wizard (like the +3 stealth a cat does for example).

I'm just wondering if you keep the special ability from your first familiar when you get an improved familiar, or if you don't get a special ability because of the innately better abilities of the improved familiar itself. I would lean toward the latter, but I think it would be nice to keep a bonus to saves or certain skill checks (or something completely different related to the new familiar).

Thoughts?

[BenignFacist]

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With no regard for RAW I will recklessly guess that, the bond to the first familiar gave you the bonus. Without the bond to that familiar around anymore, you don't get the bonus.

I have no evidence to support this - I'm sure someone will say yay or nay with EXTREME PREJUDICE!

:)

*shakes fist*

[BobChuck]

Improved Familiars, as a general rule, do not grant any sort of bonus.

A Regular familiar is basically a pet that gives you alertness and a feat/half-feat. An Improved Familiar is a pocket-tank or pocket-healer or something with hands that can use wands/staves and thus double your action economy.

That said, as a GM, if someone took Improved Familiar and picked specifically the "as a normal familiar, but also with the celestial/fiendish template", I'd let the bonus continue to apply.

[Selgard]

On the upside- Imp. Familiars do still continue to grant you everything on the Familiar table that accompanies the wizard class- such as Alertness and whatnot.

-S

[Necroluth]

BobChuck wrote:

Improved Familiars, as a general rule, do not grant any sort of bonus.

A Regular familiar is basically a pet that gives you alertness and a feat/half-feat. An Improved Familiar is a pocket-tank or pocket-healer or something with hands that can use wands/staves and thus double your action economy.

That said, as a GM, if someone took Improved Familiar and picked specifically the "as a normal familiar, but also with the celestial/fiendish template", I'd let the bonus continue to apply.

This is what I did in my campaign. The wizard had lost her squirrel familiar to a fireball, and wanted to bring her back. After some weeks and months of research, she found a way to coax her familiar's spirit back from the Outer Plane where it resided. As soon as she could take the Improved Familiar feat she did so, while in character she performed the spirit ritual. Long and short of it is, she now has a celestial flying squirrel that gives her all of the normal squirrel bonuses, as well as the ability to smite evil.

If she had gone for one of the more unique critters on the list, I don't think I would have allowed any extra bonuses. They have a utility far beyond one little squirrel's ability to do a little damage in combat.