Is there any way to have a familiar (improved or otherwise) take a feat? I'd like to get a brownie improved familiar and have it take the Cooperative Crafting feat. Is this possible in any way?
A witch can give a feat to its familiar instead of taking the feat itself. I think you have to take a certain archetype though to do it.
Ah, well. I'm playing an alchemist, and I wanted the brownie (tumor familiar) to help with craft (alchemy) checks.
"Come hither my liver! I need your help boiling some poison!"
The witch archetype is "Beast Bonded" and it's the only way, AFAIK.
How do the additional hit dice translate into feats for a homonculus? The homonculus doesn't seem very realistic for an alchemist, since the feat/skill requirements to create it don't fit the alchemist archetype.
That said, what about taking Leadership (the DM will allow this) and having a brownie as a monster cohort? How would the brownie rate in terms of "level?"
|
Homonculus is THE familiar for the alchemist since it is an alchemically created familiar. As for the feats every time a creature gains 2 hit die it earns an additional feat (and a bunch of other stuff, look in the bestiary for it all). Homonculi are unique in that for every additional 2K gold you spend when brewing one up it gets an additional hit die. There is no actual limit to how much you can spend increasing their HD.
Leadership is a WHOLE different bag and that's entirely up to your GM.
Homonculus is THE familiar for the alchemist since it is an alchemically created familiar. As for the feats every time a creature gains 2 hit die it earns an additional feat (and a bunch of other stuff, look in the bestiary for it all). Homonculi are unique in that for every additional 2K gold you spend when brewing one up it gets an additional hit die. There is no actual limit to how much you can spend increasing their HD.
Leadership is a WHOLE different bag and that's entirely up to your GM.
How is the homonculus easily craftable by an alchemist? It requires Craft Construct, arcane eye, mirror image, mending, and either Skill Craft (leather) or Craft (sculptures). That's an extra feat, and mirror image and mending aren't even on the class "spell" list, not to mention sinking skill ranks into leather or sculptures.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
|
How do the additional hit dice translate into feats for a homonculus? The homonculus doesn't seem very realistic for an alchemist, since the feat/skill requirements to create it don't fit the alchemist archetype.
That said, what about taking Leadership (the DM will allow this) and having a brownie as a monster cohort? How would the brownie rate in terms of "level?"
I don't know how well it fits mechanically, but homunculi are very much thematically in line with the Alchemist.
Seriously, read this: Link
Extra HD get you extra feats because that's how you earn feats, gaining HD.
That said, ask your GM before trying to build a custom familiar.
The 'Building and Improving Constructs' rules from Ultimate Magic are optional and not all GMs will want to use them. Even GMs that do allow them may have an issue with you using them on your familiar (since familiars are generally limited to being unmodified versions of their base creature).
Erm...homunculus is the canonical familiar for an alchemist.
There's a discovery in SGG's Advanced Options: Alchemist's Discoveries that grants a homunculus (first one free, but later ones cost more). If that's allowed, you could conceivably get the familiar, and dismiss it, creating a new one with the standard increase in price for higher HD.
Can you vouch for the pdf? I'm always wary of buying stuff (anything) without looking at the contents first.
|
|
How is the homonculus easily craftable by an alchemist? It requires Craft Construct, arcane eye, mirror image, mending, and either Skill Craft (leather) or Craft (sculptures). That's an extra feat, and mirror image and mending aren't even on the class "spell" list, not to mention sinking skill ranks into leather or sculptures.Homonculus is THE familiar for the alchemist since it is an alchemically created familiar. As for the feats every time a creature gains 2 hit die it earns an additional feat (and a bunch of other stuff, look in the bestiary for it all). Homonculi are unique in that for every additional 2K gold you spend when brewing one up it gets an additional hit die. There is no actual limit to how much you can spend increasing their HD.
Leadership is a WHOLE different bag and that's entirely up to your GM.
Never said it was easy to craft or that you even have to craft it yourself.
If you are playing in Golarion you go to Magnimar with a pint of your blood and a big bag of gold. Walk into the Golemworks and tell em what you want. You'll have your personal homonculus in a few days and then you do the familiar ritual (spend the feat) and you're done.It's not that hard.
I enjoy the PDF immensely, especially the Spagyric devices idea. It's wonderful. Check out the reviews, and check your PMs.
Okay, I have to ask: given that, for alchemists, the familiar is a tumor (ie, a mass of flesh grown inside their bodies), do you really need to "craft" a homonculus-shaped tumor? Yes, yes, RAW...
Cheapy, do you have thoughts on this product?
Nope. I do tend to follow Endzeitgeist's thoughts though. A general issue I've had with that series is one of the main things End brings up though. The series doesn't really work off the class they're based on. It's kind of odd, tbh.
Okay, it looks like the homonculus idea won't work (for the purposes of getting an improved familiar with the cooperative crafting feat). As a construct, you can add one additional HD to a homonculus (50% more HD than base). This gives it 3 HD, which gives an extra feat and some skill points. While skill points can be invested in Craft (alchemy) to meet the feat's requirements, the feat also requires that you have another item creation feat...which the homonculus doesn't. Basically, you're still a feat short.
Oh, well. It would've been cool to have a little homonculus alchemy helper.
[edit]
Here's the feat in question:
Cooperative Crafting
Your assistance makes item crafting far more efficient.
Prerequisites: 1 rank in any Craft skill, any item creation feat.
Benefit: You can assist another character in crafting mundane and magical items. You must both possess the relevant Craft skill or item creation feat, but either one of you can fulfill any other prerequisites for crafting the item. You provide a +2 circumstance bonus on any Craft or Spellcraft checks related to making an item, and your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day.
Is this feat even as good as I'm thinking it is? Obviously a +2 to the craft check is nice, but it's that last part: "your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day." Does that basically mean that items take half as long to make (since time to craft is measured by the gp value)?
|
It has been stated by Devs in other threads (about representing different breeds of horses in PFRPG IIRC), that you can swap the feats Animals have according to the Bestiary for other Animal Feats. I believe it was also mentioned, in still another thread, that this held true for Familiars as well.
As always, check with your GM first.
Any thoughts on the feat itself? Am I misreading just how good this feat is?
|
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
|
I would just give up on the familiar getting Cooperative Crafting. Crafting items faster is a nice bonus, but it's not worth jumping through so many hoops to get it.
And plus, I don't even think a homunculus can take it, since it requires an item crafting feat, and all the item crafting feats require a caster level (and your familiar doesn't share your caster level).
It could take Master Craftsman in order to qualify for Craft Magic Arms and Armor or Craft Wondrous Items, but at that point you're spending three feats and a pile of skill points just just to craft stuff faster. Not worth it.
See if one of the other spellcasters in the group would be willing to take Cooperative Crafter, and work with them instead. Or, take Leadership, and gain a spellcasting cohort to assist you in crafting.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Okay, it looks like the homonculus idea won't work (for the purposes of getting an improved familiar with the cooperative crafting feat). As a construct, you can add one additional HD to a homonculus (50% more HD than base). This gives it 3 HD, which gives an extra feat and some skill points. While skill points can be invested in Craft (alchemy) to meet the feat's requirements, the feat also requires that you have another item creation feat...which the homonculus doesn't. Basically, you're still a feat short.
Oh, well. It would've been cool to have a little homonculus alchemy helper.
[edit]
Here's the feat in question:
Cooperative Crafting
Your assistance makes item crafting far more efficient.
Prerequisites: 1 rank in any Craft skill, any item creation feat.
Benefit: You can assist another character in crafting mundane and magical items. You must both possess the relevant Craft skill or item creation feat, but either one of you can fulfill any other prerequisites for crafting the item. You provide a +2 circumstance bonus on any Craft or Spellcraft checks related to making an item, and your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day.Is this feat even as good as I'm thinking it is? Obviously a +2 to the craft check is nice, but it's that last part: "your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day." Does that basically mean that items take half as long to make (since time to craft is measured by the gp value)?
Just wanted to jump in and correct an error in your assumptions.
First, the rule that Gignere is quoting is an OPTIONAL generic rule for modifying constructs and is different then the increasing hit die rule specific to Homonculi.By default the only limit to how many Hit Die you can add onto a normal Homonculus is how much cash you spend.
Second the feat is really not worth it, as Benchak said it's much easier to just buy your Homonculus with Master Craftsman, craft wondrous item and evolved familiar (skilled) feat. Take that little trunk monkey and put it in a bag of holding with the materials it needs and have it craft the items for you.
As a construct he never gets tired so he can craft 24/7 (3 times faster then you) and with his significantly higher skill ranks then you can easily make anything you tell it to make faster then you ever could. Add to that since you can have more then one Homonculus at a time buy it 2 lesser ones to assit it with aid another checks (or up their HD and have them craft other items alongside it in the same bag).
This is how the Kingmaker AP is probably churning out all those potent magic items every month. :P
Thanks for all the feedback. I'll have to consider how much I really want a little crafting helper. Basically, I'm trying to build an alchemist that focuses on party buffing and healing, with a heavy dose of item creation (specifically alchemy items and poisons).
Grab an Elixir of Shadewalking, and with alchemical allocation, you become the party's taxi as well.
I'm not seeing the Elixir of Shadewalking in the PFSRD. What book is it in?
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/elixi r-of-shadewalking
What product is that from? It's not on http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/.