Hi,
Now as far as regular Familiars go I'm a raven man myself (flight, speech) or even a compasauraus (however you spell it- the little dino that grants +4 initiative)
I don't believe in always optimizing a Familiar until lvl 7 when you can turn a quirky tool/nuisance into a force multiplier.
What I don't get is all the big love for the silvernanshee. I know it gets lay on hands as a Pally (1/day) and flies but how does that compare to something that can use wands.
Heck, you don't even need an evil familiar, since the Lyrakien Azata is good aligned and has thumbs.
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I understand the interest in the silvanshes I just don't share it personally.
For a familiar being used it has an amazing survivability (DR, 2 immunities, 2 resistances with Flight and gaseous form), decent Sensory abilities (Darkvision) and enough perks to be a decent combat pet (3 natural attacks and a +8 strength boost with POUNCE). Add to that the free stabilize and lay on hands it makes for a decent support pet for a squishy caster.
It lacking hands and always trying to steer you towards good will always make it a 2nd tier familiar for me but others seem to like it.
I'm currently working on a familiar review to add to the Witch's handbook but there are a LOT of options to dig through so it's going to take a while.
It also matters on how you take the line, "Use the caster's class level for effects related to hit dice" in the familiar section. If you take that literally and allow it to apply to things like the silvansheen's lay on hands ability then at say 10th level the silvansheen is laying on hands for 5d6 6 times a day (and he should have the ability 2 times a day to start with, not 1 -- 1 from having the ability with a hit dice and 1 for his charisma mod).
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It also matters on how you take the line, "Use the caster's class level for effects related to hit dice" in the familiar section. If you take that literally and allow it to apply to things like the silvansheen's lay on hands ability then at say 10th level the silvansheen is laying on hands for 5d6 6 times a day (and he should have the ability 2 times a day to start with, not 1 -- 1 from having the ability with a hit dice and 1 for his charisma mod).
Yeah that would be a serious stretch for me. Everything we've read and found are pretty universal in stating none of the abilities a familiar has ever improve.
Whether at 1st level or 20th that silvanshe will be doing a lay on hands for 1D6 once per day.
I personally prefer the protean version of that particular one. It can change shape into different things and CN tends ot be the msot common alignment I've noticed in my games.
It also matters on how you take the line, "Use the caster's class level for effects related to hit dice" in the familiar section. If you take that literally and allow it to apply to things like the silvansheen's lay on hands ability then at say 10th level the silvansheen is laying on hands for 5d6 6 times a day (and he should have the ability 2 times a day to start with, not 1 -- 1 from having the ability with a hit dice and 1 for his charisma mod).Yeah that would be a serious stretch for me. Everything we've read and found are pretty universal in stating none of the abilities a familiar has ever improve.
Whether at 1st level or 20th that silvanshe will be doing a lay on hands for 1D6 once per day.
Twice per day -- the stat block is in error.
Twice per day -- the stat block is in error.It also matters on how you take the line, "Use the caster's class level for effects related to hit dice" in the familiar section. If you take that literally and allow it to apply to things like the silvansheen's lay on hands ability then at say 10th level the silvansheen is laying on hands for 5d6 6 times a day (and he should have the ability 2 times a day to start with, not 1 -- 1 from having the ability with a hit dice and 1 for his charisma mod).Yeah that would be a serious stretch for me. Everything we've read and found are pretty universal in stating none of the abilities a familiar has ever improve.
Whether at 1st level or 20th that silvanshe will be doing a lay on hands for 1D6 once per day.
Only 1d6? Then it REALLY sucks. I thought the draw was the lay on hands was as a pally equal to the familiars HD?
My witch just had a great session with her Lyrakien. I've given her a wand of Ill Omen, and it's crazy awesome to use it to prep for save or sucks.
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I'm still working on my list but so far the Homonculus is still coming out as the superior choice. The option for improving all their stats and abilities for a simple cash outlay is an advantage none of the other choices can't seem to beat.
Don't forget that it requires two feats, though: Improved Familiar and Craft Construct. That doesn't make it bad, it just means that there's a very specific path you're taking.
Don't forget that it requires two feats, though: Improved Familiar and Craft Construct. That doesn't make it bad, it just means that there's a very specific path you're taking.I'm still working on my list but so far the Homonculus is still coming out as the superior choice. The option for improving all their stats and abilities for a simple cash outlay is an advantage none of the other choices can't seem to beat.
Which means 4 feats -- craft wondrous item and craft magical arms and armor are prerequisites for craft construct.
However the homonculus entry suggests that you can make homonculus for other people and that homonculus don't have to be familiars either.
With that kind of investment plus the gold involved I think you're better off just getting the improved familiar feat and being happy with it. I mean if your familiar dies well you just have to get a new one. If your construct dies, well that's pretty bad.
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Don't forget that it requires two feats, though: Improved Familiar and Craft Construct. That doesn't make it bad, it just means that there's a very specific path you're taking.I'm still working on my list but so far the Homonculus is still coming out as the superior choice. The option for improving all their stats and abilities for a simple cash outlay is an advantage none of the other choices can't seem to beat.
Nope, 1 feat is all it takes.
The entry states you have make it not that you have to make it yourself. Hire an NPC to make it for you then use the summon familiar ritual on it.The homonculus entry specifically states that it can be made for someone else and they become the master.
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Nope, 1 feat is all it takes.
The entry states you have make it not that you have to make it yourself. Hire an NPC to make it for you then use the summon familiar ritual on it.The homonculus entry specifically states that it can be made for someone else and they become the master.
...Yeah, I haven't been able to meet any such NPC in my games. But for the sake of argument, let's say you do.
Ultimately, what you've got is a familiar that you can upgrade by pouring gold into, and you need to spend extra to get the upgradable option in the first place. Honestly, that's not bad at all. But I can definitely see situations in which this arrangement is less than ideal, compared to a fully formed, cheap, off-the-shelf familiar.
The homonculus, thus, is an Improved Familiar Plus. You've got to give up wealth in other gear in order to upgrade the familiar. So the proper comparison would have to be between an upgraded homonculus and a tricked-out improved familiar, not a base improved familiar.
Now a side bonus to the homonculus is the new spells in Ultimate Magic that affect constructs... but I'm thinking that's going to be of limited use.
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The homonculus, thus, is an Improved Familiar Plus. You've got to give up wealth in other gear in order to upgrade the familiar. So the proper comparison would have to be between an upgraded homonculus and a tricked-out improved familiar, not a base improved familiar.
Just taking the thought one more step: You could just as easily trick out the homonculus, so the question boils down to two pieces:
- Is a homonculus upgrade more cost-effective than magic items?
- Is the extra cost required to receive the base homonculus in the first place worth the funds given up in other gear?
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Nope, 1 feat is all it takes.
The entry states you have make it not that you have to make it yourself. Hire an NPC to make it for you then use the summon familiar ritual on it.The homonculus entry specifically states that it can be made for someone else and they become the master.
...Yeah, I haven't been able to meet any such NPC in my games. But for the sake of argument, let's say you do.
Ultimately, what you've got is a familiar that you can upgrade by pouring gold into, and you need to spend extra to get the upgradable option in the first place. Honestly, that's not bad at all. But I can definitely see situations in which this arrangement is less than ideal, compared to a fully formed, cheap, off-the-shelf familiar.
The homonculus, thus, is an Improved Familiar Plus. You've got to give up wealth in other gear in order to upgrade the familiar. So the proper comparison would have to be between an upgraded homonculus and a tricked-out improved familiar, not a base improved familiar.
Go to Bridgeward in Magnimar, there is a factory there named the Golemworks and, as the name hints at, they make Constructs on commission.
As for your second point it's really not that big of an issue. The point of getting the new Familiars is to use them to expand your options and use the extra gear you would have turned into cash anyway.
But lets follow it through and see if it works out.
Let's take any other Imp Fam on the list and give it some basics... a wand of a 2nd level spell it can use and a regular +2 weapon (or a 2nd wand if you don't want to use the weapon option).
That's 14-16K gold, not a lot at the level where you start using these new familiars (8th+) and the extra spell a round is good but not game breaking.
That same 14K gives us a familiar with effectively 8HD (same as us), 4 extra feats, 12 extra skill points, BaB = to its new HD, plus all the standard construct immunities as well as the familiar bonuses.
And being able to pour gold into the familiar is actually it's strongest selling point.
Unlike every other familiar on the list this one can be customized internally (modify the body itself) and externally (equip it with items) by spending gold.
Flexibility is the strongest attribute of the Familiar using casters (wizard, witch, magus, etc) and having that flexibility echoed in your familiar is worth far more than the cost of a couple of wands.
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Let's take any other Imp Fam on the list and give it some basics... a wand of a 2nd level spell it can use and a regular +2 weapon (or a 2nd wand if you don't want to use the weapon option).
That's 14-16K gold, not a lot at the level where you start using these new familiars (8th+) and the extra spell a round is good but not game breaking.
That same 14K gives us a familiar with effectively 8HD (same as us), 4 extra feats, 12 extra skill points, BaB = to its new HD, plus all the standard construct immunities as well as the familiar bonuses.
14-16K gold won't BUY you an 8HD familiar; there's still the constructor's profit to consider. Since construction is typically half price for other items, it is reasonable to assume the same here. So, you give the constructor 14-16K gold, and get a familiar with a construction cost of 7-8K gold. That's a 5HD familiar. Still not bad at all, but we could still compare this with a familiar with, say, a blowgun +2, a wand of Glitterdust, and some extra poisons.
It still stacks up well, but it's not necessarily a slam dunk.
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Let's take any other Imp Fam on the list and give it some basics... a wand of a 2nd level spell it can use and a regular +2 weapon (or a 2nd wand if you don't want to use the weapon option).
That's 14-16K gold, not a lot at the level where you start using these new familiars (8th+) and the extra spell a round is good but not game breaking.
That same 14K gives us a familiar with effectively 8HD (same as us), 4 extra feats, 12 extra skill points, BaB = to its new HD, plus all the standard construct immunities as well as the familiar bonuses.
14-16K gold won't BUY you an 8HD familiar; there's still the constructor's profit to consider. Since construction is typically half price for other items, it is reasonable to assume the same here. So, you give the constructor 14-16K gold, and get a familiar with a construction cost of 7-8K gold. That's a 5HD familiar. Still not bad at all, but we could still compare this with a familiar with, say, a blowgun +2, a wand of Glitterdust, and some extra poisons.
It still stacks up well, but it's not necessarily a slam dunk.
Well now you're reaching but I'll respond. The cost to make a homonculus is 1050 gold +1000 gold profit for the creator the additional HD adds 2000GP to the cost to create (1000GP for materials 1000gp for the crafter).
This is the standard rules for magical item creation and is why making it yourself costs half.Comparing it to your example the other familiar will have a terrible to hit (equal to the caster) and super low DC's on his wand and poisons.
The homonculus will have twice the BaB and AC and be large enough to ue whatever gear you want him to have without buying it at non-standard price. Remember every dobling of HD CAN increase the size of the homonculus 1 step.
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Well now you're reaching but I'll respond. The cost to make a homonculus is 1050 gold +1000 gold profit for the creator the additional HD adds 2000GP to the cost to create (1000GP for materials 1000gp for the crafter).
This is the standard rules for magical item creation and is why making it yourself costs half.
Not reaching at all. The cost to create is +2000gp per HD above 2. That cost is borne by the creator. Therefore, the cost to the buyer is 4000gp per HD, or whatever profit margin agreed to by the NPC.
But ultimately, since we're dealing with NPCs and specific campaign worlds, now we're comparing my game to your game, and the comparison doesn't matter as much. What's Magnimar?
The upshot is that the homonculus is clearly the single best choice in your game. Taking a look at the math and opportunities you're using, that's clear. However, it's not the best choice in my game because of a number of differences in the campaign world and assumptions on costs.
I still like Pseudodragons. The APG stuff has good options though.
I don`t know a reasonable RAW basis on which to say Silvanshee Lay on Hands DOESN`T scale up.
Same for DCs of special abilities, etc.
So many of the coolest stuff you can do DOESN`T involve UMD though. I don`t see why Sylvanshees couldn`t use Wands though... Really almost any Familiar, once they can speak, as long as they can carry around a stick somehow without blocking their mouth.
Talking personal tastes here not good/bad right/wrong.
I took the Silvanshee because it fit my character. The Witch familiars were sorely lacking but the flying, talking, and incredibly stealthy Silv has actually been pretty useful. I also like that it can't use wands. I didn't do UMD on this character (his previous familiar was a viper) and I really don't want to divert skills into it.
So why it? It can fly, it can hide, it can dim door and gaseous form, it can heal itself and others, it can speak every language, and.. well.. yeah..
it looks like a regular ole cat. It can go anywhere I go without any funny looks and can even scout reasonably well knowing that even if it gets seen.. well.. it looks like a house cat. And with the insane stealth mods it gets (i diverted some points into it just to make it higher) its not likely to be seen anyway. And even if so it's a dim door or gaseous form away from not being in trouble afterall.
(and a note: we're going by the "familiar stuff never levels up" idea rather than "he gets lots of d6's when I level up" idea)
Its not good/bad/right/wrong just.. whatever works for you and your group.
-S
I still like Pseudodragons. The APG stuff has good options though.
I don`t know a reasonable RAW basis on which to say Silvanshee Lay on Hands DOESN`T scale up.
Same for DCs of special abilities, etc.
So many of the coolest stuff you can do DOESN`T involve UMD though. I don`t see why Sylvanshees couldn`t use Wands though... Really almost any Familiar, once they can speak, as long as they can carry around a stick somehow without blocking their mouth.
Developers are set against it and have specifically stated so (I believe in an official capacity -- but am not sure) -- otherwise the RAW agrees with you.
Huh... I take it you`re referencing the `HD-dependent effects scaling with Character Level` and not Silvanshees holding Wands with their paws...
Yeah, I can`t remember such clarification... But assuming somebody at Paizo DID say that rule `officially` doesn`t apply to special abilities (officially probably meaning not James Jacobs)... That is a minor gripe of mine, where Paizo will even `officially` state things to work some way on the messageboards, even though that conflicts with RAW and yet they don`t Errata the RAW to reflect the change. I don`t mind the change, if that`s the intent and how the rest of the game is balanced around that ability, it SHOULD be changed, but not actually changing it and saying people should KNOW not to use the actual RAW in that case is just silly. Especially when the vast majority of players aren`t going to read that messageboard post, much less the FAQ.
(2Handed STR mod for Double Weapon or normal 2-Hander main-hand is a similar situation... Half the problem is that James Jacobs is Paizo`s most helpful/comment-full staff member, even though he isn`t a Crunch guy or anything)
Incidentally, while I can see how letting it scale for Lay on Hands can be over-powerful, for stuff like Pseudodragon Sleep Poison, it`s absolutely necessary to stay half-relevant. Otherwise, even poor Fort Save, Crappy CON monsters at high level will almost always pass that Save, meaning that ability just isn`t relevant anymore. Even if you buy CON belts for your Familiar (ONLY bumping up Fort Save and Ability DCs), that DC is just never going to be REALLY high even when Level Scaling is included. I could see a completely new line stating that only static modifiers and DCs are affected, not stuff like increased usages or number of dice. But the RAW suggests nothing like that of course.
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Well now you're reaching but I'll respond. The cost to make a homonculus is 1050 gold +1000 gold profit for the creator the additional HD adds 2000GP to the cost to create (1000GP for materials 1000gp for the crafter).
This is the standard rules for magical item creation and is why making it yourself costs half.
Not reaching at all. The cost to create is +2000gp per HD above 2. That cost is borne by the creator. Therefore, the cost to the buyer is 4000gp per HD, or whatever profit margin agreed to by the NPC.
But ultimately, since we're dealing with NPCs and specific campaign worlds, now we're comparing my game to your game, and the comparison doesn't matter as much. What's Magnimar?
The upshot is that the homonculus is clearly the single best choice in your game. Taking a look at the math and opportunities you're using, that's clear. However, it's not the best choice in my game because of a number of differences in the campaign world and assumptions on costs.
Well first we are on the Paizo boards so we are using the standard game world of Golarion when discussing these options any deviation from that is your choice, with that Magnimar is one of the major towns on that game world making this a default standard.
There are only two numbers used in item creation, market price and material cost, cost to create is neither. Basing it on costs rules that 2K will affect market price not material cost but if your GM wants to rule it that way it's up to him.
And finally all optimization guides and suggestions default to a standard assumption of Rules As Written from the default gameworld for the system. If you play on a different world then that then you need to adjust these recommendations to fit that not the other way around.
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You could have just said, "It's a major city in Varisia." Seriously, I had to look it up, I had honestly never heard of it. I was looking in Andoran and the Inner Sea coast, not there...
And there IS a cost to create, from the PRD: "A homunculus with more than 2 Hit Dice can be created, but each additional Hit Die adds +2,000 gp to the cost to create."
I haven't gone through the various options outside of core, but I have gone through the core options, and used a few of them.
I'm currently using a Dust mephit with my Witch and am pretty happy with the selection.
Being small sized and having hands there is really no question that a mephit can hold wands, throw tanglefoot bags or nets, and all that other useful stuff.
He can create a wind wall or cast blur 1/day as SLA's both of which are not overly dependent on CL, and you don't have to worry about saving throws.
Perfect fly is always useful as well.
If your DM is cool with tiny creatures using items meant for medium sized creatures, Imps and Quasits are both really tempting too. Invisibility at will and hands.
If you don't take improved familiar (or haven't taken it yet), Monkey is a really nice option. When he's not throwing feces, you can get him to throw other things!
Huh... I take it you`re referencing the `HD-dependent effects scaling with Character Level` and not Silvanshees holding Wands with their paws...
Yeah, I can`t remember such clarification... But assuming somebody at Paizo DID say that rule `officially` doesn`t apply to special abilities (officially probably meaning not James Jacobs)... That is a minor gripe of mine, where Paizo will even `officially` state things to work some way on the messageboards, even though that conflicts with RAW and yet they don`t Errata the RAW to reflect the change. I don`t mind the change, if that`s the intent and how the rest of the game is balanced around that ability, it SHOULD be changed, but not actually changing it and saying people should KNOW not to use the actual RAW in that case is just silly. Especially when the vast majority of players aren`t going to read that messageboard post, much less the FAQ.
(2Handed STR mod for Double Weapon or normal 2-Hander main-hand is a similar situation... Half the problem is that James Jacobs is Paizo`s most helpful/comment-full staff member, even though he isn`t a Crunch guy or anything)Incidentally, while I can see how letting it scale for Lay on Hands can be over-powerful, for stuff like Pseudodragon Sleep Poison, it`s absolutely necessary to stay half-relevant. Otherwise, even poor Fort Save, Crappy CON monsters at high level will almost always pass that Save, meaning that ability just isn`t relevant anymore. Even if you buy CON belts for your Familiar (ONLY bumping up Fort Save and Ability DCs), that DC is just never going to be REALLY high even when Level Scaling is included. I could see a completely new line stating that only static modifiers and DCs are affected, not stuff like increased usages or number of dice. But the RAW suggests nothing like that of course.
Well like I said, "I think that possibly official message board statement."
My personal opinion is if it isn't in the FAQ or errata then it's not actually official.
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I haven't gone through the various options outside of core, but I have gone through the core options, and used a few of them.
I'm currently using a Dust mephit with my Witch and am pretty happy with the selection.
Being small sized and having hands there is really no question that a mephit can hold wands, throw tanglefoot bags or nets, and all that other useful stuff.
He can create a wind wall or cast blur 1/day as SLA's both of which are not overly dependent on CL, and you don't have to worry about saving throws.
Perfect fly is always useful as well.
If your DM is cool with tiny creatures using items meant for medium sized creatures, Imps and Quasits are both really tempting too. Invisibility at will and hands.
If you don't take improved familiar (or haven't taken it yet), Monkey is a really nice option. When he's not throwing feces, you can get him to throw other things!
I was extremely happy with my Mephit familiar for quite some time and will always rate the little maniacs as an excellent choice for exactly the reasons you mentioned. And I always wanted the special abilities that an Imp brings but couldn't accept the backstabby habits of that little beast.
Now that I'm trying to quantify which one offers the best advantages for a straight caster each static special ability needs to be weighed against the other options from 50 different familiars. This far through my weighting process the construct is still coming out just a bit ahead of the other options but I'm still looking.
Oh and yes, beast bonded with a construct familiar is very, very broken.
Faerie dragon from bonus bestiary is pretty powerful with telepathy, grease, and silent image. It also comes with some useful cantrips and can greater invisibility on itself. Overall the scorpion can be useful with the +2 intitiative. The cosmophtherois also gives +4 inititive if you want to go first.
Faerie dragon from bonus bestiary is pretty powerful with telepathy, grease, and silent image. It also comes with some useful cantrips and can greater invisibility on itself. Overall the scorpion can be useful with the +2 intitiative. The cosmophtherois also gives +4 inititive if you want to go first.
Don't forget that because the faerie dragon is a sorcerer caster and doesn't require use magic device as much.
Faerie dragon from bonus bestiary is pretty powerful with telepathy, grease, and silent image. It also comes with some useful cantrips and can greater invisibility on itself. Overall the scorpion can be useful with the +2 intitiative. The cosmophtherois also gives +4 inititive if you want to go first.Don't forget that because the faerie dragon is a sorcerer caster and doesn't require use magic device as much.
That too.
Finally the breath weapon is nice -- staggered and sickened? That's a great stacking of problems, and what's more it isn't fear based, mind affecting, or a poison meaning it affects a wide range of things that it is normally hard to stagger or sicken.
Finally the breath weapon is nice -- staggered and sickened? That's a great stacking of problems, and what's more it isn't fear based, mind affecting, or a poison meaning it affects a wide range of things that it is normally hard to stagger or sicken.
The problem is the save dc is redioculouly low but if you use evil eye on the enemy it might work.
Finally the breath weapon is nice -- staggered and sickened? That's a great stacking of problems, and what's more it isn't fear based, mind affecting, or a poison meaning it affects a wide range of things that it is normally hard to stagger or sicken.The problem is the save dc is redioculouly low but if you use evil eye on the enemy it might work.
Hm... With 10+1/2 witch level the only real problem is the Con score which can be boosted.
I'm currently working on a familiar review to add to the Witch's handbook but there are a LOT of options to dig through so it's going to take a while.
I look forward to reading it and adding it to the witch's guide. :) It might be worthwhile trying to persuade Treantmonk to add it to his Wizard's Guide as well as it would be just as useful in there.
Not to poke my trunk where it doesn't belong; but where do I find said "cosmophtherois"? I'd like to look at it for a Magus build for initiative...
Thanks
Greetings, fellow travellers.
It's always nice to see, that names don't matter, only the mechanics.
The poor little dinosaur is called a Compsognathus.
Personally I am torn between the mephit (it's the most "standard" improved familiar and I know my GM is fine with it), the silv (for the looks of a normal cat - as mentioned above) and the Lyrakien (plans are to enlarge her and start a relationship with her... - here's the problem, that some players don't feel comfortable with that idea and my GM is silent on the issue.)
The last two are deemed to cheesy at my table. *sigh*
Ruyan.
On a related note - can somebody please tell my, why the faerie dragon was taken off of the list? It's neither on the PRD list for Improved Familiar nor on the D20PFSRD's list any more.
Ruyan.
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On a related note - can somebody please tell my, why the faerie dragon was taken off of the list? It's neither on the PRD list for Improved Familiar nor on the D20PFSRD's list any more.
Ruyan.
They'll be back in Bestiary 3 updated from the Bonus Bestiary, and with the rules for their use as advanced familiars if the Paizo crew feel comfortable with their version being used as such. Balance issues are why Lantern Archons aren't options for familiars any longer, either.
It's always nice to see, that names don't matter, only the mechanics.The poor little dinosaur is called a Compsognathus.
Nice with a link, thanks :)
I think I will call mine Steve. Having a tiny lizard as a friend reminds me of an episode of Phineas and Ferb ... though now that I think about it, their lizard grow rather large. Hmm, there's possibilities in that thought, I must research it more ...
Anyway, thanks :D
Talking personal tastes here not good/bad right/wrong.
I took the Silvanshee because it fit my character. The Witch familiars were sorely lacking but the flying, talking, and incredibly stealthy Silv has actually been pretty useful. I also like that it can't use wands. I didn't do UMD on this character (his previous familiar was a viper) and I really don't want to divert skills into it.
So why it? It can fly, it can hide, it can dim door and gaseous form, it can heal itself and others, it can speak every language, and.. well.. yeah..
it looks like a regular ole cat. It can go anywhere I go without any funny looks and can even scout reasonably well knowing that even if it gets seen.. well.. it looks like a house cat. And with the insane stealth mods it gets (i diverted some points into it just to make it higher) its not likely to be seen anyway. And even if so it's a dim door or gaseous form away from not being in trouble afterall.(and a note: we're going by the "familiar stuff never levels up" idea rather than "he gets lots of d6's when I level up" idea)
Its not good/bad/right/wrong just.. whatever works for you and your group.
-S
I will also take the Silvanshee agathion for a variety of reasons: as mentioned before it has a bunch of useful abilities, good survivability and can blend in as a normal cat. Another reason is that I came up with an idea that lets me keep my old familiar (sort of) after I take the Improved Familiar feat. In this way the "new" familiar can keep all the previously stored spells.
I came up with the following idea: First of all, I decided which Improved familiar would be most appropriate for my character/alignment: I chose the Silvanshee agathion from Bestiary 2. Next I chose the starting familiar, which had to be in some ways similar to the improved familiar. The obvious choice for me here was a cat. (OK, from an optimization point of view, this is certainly not the best familiar, but it suits my purpose just fine, as you will see...) Now when I take the Improved familiar feat, my cat familiar will be transformed into a silvanshee agathion. I consider it a boon / favor from my patron. She retains her own "personality" and all the stored spells, but gets some new powers/HP/skills etc as well. At first my character won't believe that she is the same being (the color of her eyes changed to purple, she can fly now, speak, cast spells, etc), but she insists that she is still good old "Masha".... which I believe makes for some fun roleplaying potential.
My GM likes my idea as well and will allow it to work like this in his Kingmaker campaign.
Myself i find the Arbiter (inevitable) very very good.
Link to the stat block of the Arbiter
It is very resilient because of two things:
- (most of) construct traits
- Regeneration 2 (chaos) (way better than fast healing !)
These two points make the familiar very hard to be killed (and that can be very interesting for a Witch master...)
Add to that some good SLAs (commune and protect/chaos) and the ability to fly coupled with the flyby attack feat and a good 16 DEX for easy delivery of touch spells from the master... yeah i like it a lot :)
Main drawback ? You have to be Lawful Neutral.
Improved familiars not withstanding I've always been a fan of the monkey. Its like a little human with all the appropriate slots. Oh, and thumbs, which is nice. My Arcane Trickster uses his monkey to great effect.
I still like Pseudodragons. The APG stuff has good options though.
I don`t know a reasonable RAW basis on which to say Silvanshee Lay on Hands DOESN`T scale up.
Same for DCs of special abilities, etc.
So many of the coolest stuff you can do DOESN`T involve UMD though. I don`t see why Sylvanshees couldn`t use Wands though... Really almost any Familiar, once they can speak, as long as they can carry around a stick somehow without blocking their mouth.
Its simple. Familiars do not get increases in Hit Dice. They are alway whatever HD they start with. However, they have this one clause:
Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.
Note that it says effect. This refers to when the familiar is targeted by a spell with an effect that is HD related (sleep, color spray, etc). This DOES NOT refer to any special abilities that the familiar may have. When it comes to their special abilities they always have the same HD (what they started with). So no, lay on hands does not get better. It is always 1d6, 1/day because the Silvanshee's HD never get better than 2.
The list has been updated.
Cool new options.
I like the Rhamphorhynchus
Flight + a bonus to initiative.
Great base option
Note that it says effect. This refers to when the familiar is targeted by a spell with an effect that is HD related (sleep, color spray, etc). This DOES NOT refer to any special abilities that the familiar may have.I still like Pseudodragons. The APG stuff has good options though.
I don`t know a reasonable RAW basis on which to say Silvanshee Lay on Hands DOESN`T scale up.
Same for DCs of special abilities, etc.
(Thread Rez)
Seriously, I don't see any basis for this belief in RAW. If this was intended, why wasn't it explicitly stated 'for purposes of effects TARGETTING the familiar' or something along those lines? I don't see why LoH should scale if it's gained from a spell cast on the Familiar, vs. it's gained from the Familiar's own racial ability... Nothing to constrain eligible effects was ever mentioned.
I actually remember know SKR commenting on this issue, and he definitely did not come at it from the perspective that the HD-scaling rules actually don't apply to said racial abilities per RAW. He DID say that he felt it would be more balanced for the effect (power) of Lay on Hands to scale, but not the usages/day. But that was wholly a personal take, and definitely even further from anything justified by RAW.
Anyhow, here's hoping they DO fix this in the next Errata/Print Run.
I feel that SKR's 'scaling effect but not usages' is a good approach, and it would be good if RAW justified it for PFS.
I still like Pseudodragons :-)
It's not explicity stated because in the game, effect means when you are targeted by a spell or special ability.
Silbvanshee LoH or viper's venom are special qualities or abilities, not effects.
Nevertheless, if by RAW it shouldn't work, the fact that these kind of abilities scale with the master level doesn't change much things.
But the major problem is the communication of the Paizo staff : this question has been several times and each time the answer is different.
The different answers we got vary from "No, it doesn't work like this by RAW", "by RAW it doesn't work, but I thinnk it should" to "Yes absolutely, this is how it works".
Myself i find the Arbiter (inevitable) very very good.
Link to the stat block of the Arbiter
It is very resilient because of two things:
- (most of) construct traits
- Regeneration 2 (chaos) (way better than fast healing !)
These two points make the familiar very hard to be killed (and that can be very interesting for a Witch master...)Add to that some good SLAs (commune and protect/chaos) and the ability to fly coupled with the flyby attack feat and a good 16 DEX for easy delivery of touch spells from the master... yeah i like it a lot :)
Main drawback ? You have to be Lawful Neutral.
Give it a ring of friend shield and the party tank has unlimited half damage as the Arbiter's regeneration let's it go to unlimited negative hp without dying.