When I take a prestige class (in my case Harrower) that grants caster levels to my base class (Witch for me) that grants a familiar, does my familiar continue to improve, or does it stop with my witch levels? I can't find anything in any of the books that says if they do or don't.
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Your familiar ceases to improve.
Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master's level.
If the prestige class does not provide a familiar, or say that it counts towards the master's level for determining familiar progression, it does not stack.
That's what I thought. Guess my familiar is just going to suck at high levels. Thanks.
I want to resuscitate this thread if possible, and revisit this question. I'm presently playing a wizard, and I intend to move into the Stormcaster prestige class when I hit level 11 (from the 3.5 Stormwrack splatbook.) I have a familiar, and want to keep it a viable part of our team as long as possible. Now, I understand the thinking behind the position given above: if the prestige class doesn't explicitly grant a familiar, and the RAW say only classes that grant a familiar stack for determining the qualities of a familiar, then that position seems the right one: the familiar stops progressing. Two further thoughts, though:
(1) most prestige classes intended for wizards would assume that, if the wizard were going to take a familiar, s/he already would have done so. I've been looking through PF/3.5 prestige classes, and very, very few specifically mention familiars. This seems to me to be a simple oversight. I mean, honestly, you become a loremaster, for instance, and your familiar stops improving? That just seems wrong to me.
(2) What if I had chosen a bonded item instead? It looks to me like it would remain exactly the same and continue to give exactly the same benefits, whether my wizard spells were coming from wizard levels or prestige class levels that granted me more wizard spells. Does it seem fair that the bonded item continues to improve in value when I take prestige class levels, and the familiar doesn't?
I'd love to hear more views about this.
1. It is not an oversight. Most prestige classes don't advance class abilities and that is what a familiar is. Animal companions would have the same issue.
2. The bonded item does not advance that is why. Basically class features that advance don't get improved unless the PrC calls them out. Taking a PrC is still multiclassing, and unless otherwise written does not get any special favors.
I guess it depends on what counts as "advancing". If my bonded item lets me spontaneously cast any 9th level spell I know whether I'm a Wizard 20 or a Wizard 10/Loremaster 10, I'd say that the bonded item is becoming increasingly more valuable as I go up in levels, and I think that's a kind of advancement. (Unless you want to suggest that when I started taking levels in the PrC the bonded item's ability stopped allowing me spontaneous access to higher level spells.) So, while I understand why others might rule differently, I guess I think that on that interpretation the bonded item has a lot more benefits to offer, at least if you're planning on taking PrC levels. Although maybe that's more an argument for taking a bonded item rather than for allowing familiars to continue advancing.
Advancing means the ability itself gets better. The bonded item never changes. It always does the same thing, which is allows you to cast any unprepared spell in your spellbook. What gets better is the spells you have access to.
Increasing in value in and of itself, and gaining value because you get better spells are two different things.
It is the difference between my computer's cpu being upgraded, which is my computer advancing and me being able to use it(the computer) better because I am better. The second example would fall in line with getting access to be more powerful spells.
Fair enough. But the point I started with was that the bonded item's usefulness isn't affected by taking levels in a prestige class in anything like the same way that the familiar is, and if it is a good idea to keep the familiar and the bonded item comparable in value (maybe it's isn't, your view may vary), this is a feature that counts against that outcome.
I understand that. Some class features stay useful without advancing, and others are better as they improve.
I don't think it is broken to allow the familiar to improve, but my first post was just an explanation on how class features work, and that is all a familiar is.
Rules aside a familiar and a bonded item won't be equal. If dont take improved familiar the bonded item will probably be better, but if you do take it the improved familiar is more useful depending on which familiar you use.
edit:It makes sense now. :)
Happily, the issue is now moot (for me at least), since I just got a ruling from my DM that my familiar will improve whenever I get another level of spellcasting. So this means that I can still take the PrC I want without nerfing my character, and I'm a happy spellcaster =7