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I realize this has probably been discussed before, but getting 3000+ hits on my searches convinced me to just start the discussion anew:
- How do high-level wizards prevent their familiars from getting killed in every single fight?
My group just finished the Scarwall module of Curse of the Crimson Throne, and basically, after the very first room, the wizard decided that his silvanshee familiar couldn't survive the area effect attacks that were flying around, and he had to leave his familiar outside the castle with all the riding animals. He was right; the party got hit with at least 3 area effect attacks that would have killed the familiar, and sheer luck prevented another 2 such effects. So 5 dead familiars in one module.
It set me to thinking: In every campaign, as your party becomes more powerful, you're going to get hit by more and more area-effect spells that do more and more damage. With the familiar having only half the hit points of his master, a single failed save and the familiar is toast/an ice cube/a bubbling pool of acid. Even a successful save might not keep it alive, and suddenly your wizard has lost a level.
So obviously there are other non-malicious GMs out there who don't want to slaughter every familiar on sight. What strategies have parties/GMs implemented to allow the wizard to travel with the party without getting his familiar killed constantly? While I am a "kinder, gentler" GM, I am not going to ignore the fact that he has a familiar with him. And now that they're traveling into hostile territory, there is no "safe" place to leave the familiar any more. I see no way around killing his familiar, and I think that's rather brutal. There's got to be something other parties do to keep familiars alive without cheesing their way around the issue.
Ideas?
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Re-read the Familar rules. They all have Improved Evasion (half damage from area attacks on a failed save, no damage at all on a sucessful one) for this specific reason. Unless the Wizard will die fom one failed save the Familiar sure won't.
So, to answer, they keep them alive by following the rules. :)
Re-read the Familar rules. They all have Improved Evasion (half damage from area attacks on a failed save, no damage at all on a sucessful one) for this specific reason. Unless the Wizard will die fom one failed save the Familiar sure won't.
So, to answer, they keep them alive by following the rules. :)
True, but that sure didn't protect him from Channel Negative Energy :|
Even a successful save might not keep it alive, and suddenly your wizard has lost a level.
I am pretty sure that losing a familiar in Pathfinder does not make you lose a level.
Still, the Improved Evasion of the familiar should provide some protection. The familiar's saves should be at least as good as the wizard's. If he makes the save, he takes no damage. If he fails the save, he takes half damage -- which proportionately is about as bad as the master failing his save.
Also, at level 11+ a familiar gets spell resistance. That should help quite a bit on its own.
Finally, don't overlook magic items that could help out. If you just got a +3 cloak of resistance, consider putting your old +2 cloak of resistance on your familiar (or maybe even keeping the +2 cloak and giving the +3 cloak to your familiar).
Re-read the Familar rules. They all have Improved Evasion (half damage from area attacks on a failed save, no damage at all on a sucessful one) for this specific reason. Unless the Wizard will die fom one failed save the Familiar sure won't.
Channeled Energy. Alignment Blasts (doubly effective if you paid a feat to have an Outsider Familiar). Where's your Improved Evasion now?
Also, at level 11+ a familiar gets spell resistance. That should help quite a bit on its own.
Umm... the SR is 5 + Master's Level. Given the fact that most people on this board consider anything below APL+1 boring (which would be Spellcaster of Master Level +2), said enemy needs a whopping 3 on his d20 to bypass Fluffy's SR.
D'oh!
Rule #1: Re-read the rules before posting.
You are all correct; Improved Evasion is provided at 1st level, making familiars just as "tough" as their masters against area effect attacks. (Except those noted above). A wizard does not lose a level when he loses a familiar. (I have no idea where I thought that one up -- must be in the D&D 4.0 rules that I dumped as soon as I read them and realized what an abomination they were).
So Mysticat is as safe as his owner; i.e., not very. But it's better than what I thought it was.
Also, isn't there a class talent somewhere that reads, "You get a Reflex save, even if you are normally not allowed one"? Or is my brain playing tricks on me? It would be nice to grant that one to the familiar as well, just to prevent attacks like the ones Midnight Angel lists.
Thanks!
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I have handled this issue in several different ways in the past;
1: Give the familiar an extra dimensional space to hide in when things get nasty. The magic 'familiar pouch' was been almost standard issue in some campaigns.
2: Allow a familiar to be enchanted as a 'Figurine of Wondrous Power' ala Pathfinder's 'Classic Treasures' book. If it 'dies' it just reverts to figurine form until the next day.
3: Give the familiar invisibility/etherealness/gaseous form/dimension door/sanctuary so that it can avoid combat.
4: Make the familiar tougher to kill by taking a special creature, casting permanent enchantments on it, giving it magic items, and/or house ruling additional defenses.
Indeed, with their 'spectral mist', DR, elemental resistances and immunities, high saves, flight, +19 stealth, dimension door, and other abilities I'd say a Silvanshee is one of the better choices for 'how do I avoid my familiar getting killed'... even before adding in some of the other options above.
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There was an old 3.5 spell called "familiar pocket" that allowed you to enchant a cloak (or whatever) with a small pocket that the familiar could slide into or out of at their own whim.
If you are having serious issues with familiar survival, you might consider asking your DM if you can import it. It was permanent-able (i think?) and had a long duration anyway (1h/level I believe).
I have a witch with a silvanshee at the moment (because of their "get away from badguy" abilities) but so far we haven't had alot of bad AOE's going around.. if they started cropping up I might ask the DM for such a spell or ability to hide the familiar.
I will say though- if you use your familiar for combat/wands/etc don't expect alot of mercy from the DM when you are trying to find/invent new ways to protect them from harm.
For the silvanshee in particular though- remember their incredible flight and stealth abilities. The familiar doesn't have to be in your pocket to be hanging around. It can hang back quite aways and just.. hide and fly out of sight/range. This is especially true if you yourself go ahead and max out stealth. tiny+Your ranks+racial bonus = nearly invisible anyway and its flight speed ensures that if something comes up behind you all it can catch up /quickly/.
(more an issue for me, since its my spellbook.. but can help you keep it around and alive at the same time).
Otherwise- get the biggest bag of holding and toss in a blanket and pillow.. it should have enough air to last it quite awhile :)
-S
Heh, I love how almost all the advice given so far is either "give the familiar super resistance" or "import 3.5 items the PF designers must have deliberately left out."
Or to put it another way, "just give the familiar something for free that keeps it protected so you don't have to worry you're pretty little head about it surviving."
So, some advice towards actually keeping your familiar alive without giving it free feats, super powers or extra-dimensional hideaways...
1. Invisibility
2. Buff the damn thing. You're a spellcaster, cast some spells on it.
3. Barding
4. Magic items
5. Concealment and/or cover
6. Tactics
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Bag of holding + Bottle of air+ bedding of choice +nightlight.
Selgard -- I love the "familiar pocket" spell; I'll have to take a look at that one. And inside a bag of holding carried by the gnome rogue is "practically indestructible", since she's got the evasion, Stealth +30, and a CON of 18. Or inside the paladin's plate mail, though I might rule that just because the paladin is immune to everything I throw at him, his clothing isn't. (On the other hand, naked paladins running amok is NOT one of my favorite mental images).
And since I'm the GM and I'm trying to avoid killing the familiar, I think the GM will be OK with these options. ;-)
(The wizard is now 13th level and has yet to use his familiar in any way that annoys me, so I'm returning the favor and trying to keep it alive when I know what's coming his way).
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Or to put it another way, "just give the familiar something for free that keeps it protected so you don't have to worry you're pretty little head about it surviving."
Note... I don't think anyone said "for free". Take out that addition and your suggestions of invisibility, buff spells, magic items, et cetera are really no different than what has come before.
Barding, on the other hand, is unique. One plate armored toad coming up.
As stated above. Familiar pouch is the way to go. If you plan on having your pet out during combat. Take Improved Familiar and start buying it magic items.
Best item - Buy your mage a +6 con item (or the best he can afford). You and your familiar will benefit.
After that items of resistance and scrolls and wands (because an improved familiar should be able to use them).
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Bag of holding + Bottle of air+ bedding of choice +nightlight.
Note: As long as you keep him fed he can stay there until the bag fills with poo.
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Heh, I love how almost all the advice given so far is either "give the familiar super resistance" or "import 3.5 items the PF designers must have deliberately left out."
To be fair, you don't know that. Paizo hasn't finished publishing Pathfinder rules yet. Just because a spell, feat, or magic item doesn't exist yet doesn't imply it never will. There's no reason to believe a simple lack of a rule is due to deliberate desire for it to not exist.
That all said, I think the most common way familiar hardiness is dealt with is how GMs treat them. In my experience, familiars are typically treated like sheltered gear... things inside backpacks or under your clothes don't have to make saves and don't take damage. They're not specifically targeted by attacks, and they basically don't exist unless exposed. Most GMs allow snakes and toads and spiders and the like to shelter within their master's gentle embrace. Sure, a raven probably won't crawl under your cloak (though it might if it's smart enough to trust you and understand shelter).
The moment a familiar gets involved or active, that's when it becomes a target.
In fact, this is such a common way of dealing with familiars that Rich Burlew made a big ongoing joke about it in Order of the Stick. Varsuvius' raven familiar didn't exist for something like four hundred comic strips then appeared, acting as if it'd always been around. Everyone was in-character surprised "what, you have a familiar?!?" Yet V and the raven were nonplussed, claiming Blackwing had always been present. There's even a "poof" effect when the raven appears or disappears, underlining how out-of-sight-out-of-mind most of us treat familiars.
So I don't think most GMs give familiars special abilities... we just don't go out of our way to hose our wizard players.
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Bag of holding + Bottle of air+ bedding of choice +nightlight.
I used to do this. That is until the bag was destroyed and I lost my familiar.
My character eventually moved past it. But the lost familiar never did.
He came back years later as the BBEG who had been lost to time and space for thousands years, now a horrific demigod mutant monster, his mind and body twisted by the mysterious energies of the multiverse. Having suffered eons of torture outside of time before escaping back to reality he had but one goal: The utter obliteration of all that his former master's existence (body and soul) whom he thought responsible for his exile.
Anguish, the OP asked "how do high level wizards keep their familiars alive?"
All of the "advice" so far has been non-standard stuff from previous versions of the game, cheesy stuff that was unusual even in those games, special abilities or free feats "just because" or ways to pretend you don't have a familiar until it is convenient to "deploy" it.
I took the OP at his word that he was looking for ways to protect a familiar, and made the silly assumption that he meant "within the rules."
Sure, as a GM I don't target familiars either unless the PC uses them tactically.
But some GMs do go after familiars, and in general those GMs aren't the ones who allow cheese to protect them. The OP has since revealed that he was the GM and was wanting to avoid killing his PC wizard's familiar. It looks like he is just fine with one or more of the "make it so the wizard doesn't have to care about the familiar" options being posted. So my advice to actually use the abilities that exist in the game to protect a familiar are clearly wasted internet bandwidth.
I should have just said "do it like 4e and make the familiar a meta game thing that exists purely for the PC to exploit but is otherwise invulnerable and untargetable" since that is clearly how the vast majority of people want to play it.
Put a bag of Devouring in there as well?Bag of holding + Bottle of air+ bedding of choice +nightlight.Note: As long as you keep him fed he can stay there until the bag fills with poo.
You might just open it up to find an empty bag. ;-)
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So my advice ... are clearly wasted internet bandwidth.
Well, we agree on that much.
All of the suggestions preceding yours were well within the bounds of standard Pathfinder rules EXCEPT for the specific spell from v3.5, which is really just a variation on numerous other 'extra-dimensional space' spells and items that ARE in Pathfinder.
Bag of holding + Bottle of air+ bedding of choice +nightlight.I used to do this. That is until the bag was destroyed and I lost my familiar.
My character eventually moved past it. But the lost familiar never did.
He came back years later as the BBEG who had been lost to time and space for thousands years, now a horrific demigod mutant monster, his mind and body twisted by the mysterious energies of the multiverse. Having suffered eons of torture outside of time before escaping back to reality he had but one goal: The utter obliteration of all that his former master's existence (body and soul) whom he thought responsible for his exile.
Was he named Marvin, and was he depressed?
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The Familiar Satchel (Adventure Gear) item provides Total Cover and is, therefore, sufficient protection from Burst (Negative Channel, etc.) and Emanation (Aura of Doom, etc.) spells that are blocked by Total Cover. Note that Emanation is the same as Burst in this regard.
A burst spell affects whatever it catches in its area, including creatures that you can't see. It can't affect creatures with TOTAL COVER from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don't extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere, but some burst spells are specifically described as cone-shaped. A burst's area defines how far from the point of origin the spell's effect extends.
An emanation spell FUNCTIONS LIKE A BURST SPELL, except that the effect continues to radiate from the point of origin for the duration of the spell. Most emanations are cones or spheres."
The Satchel does not provide protection from Spread effect spells (Fireball, etc.). However, as above, for Reflex Saves, Improved Evasion provides half damage on failed save or no damage on success, but first, the Master would have to roll a natural 1 as a saving throw, since the Satchel is an attended item.
Fireball & Failed Saves (SKR Reference)
If the Satchel ends up being randomly selected as the ONE affected item, then there would be a save for the Satchel and then for the familiar, applying Improved Evasion for Reflex saves. However, in the hierarchy of items in the Core Rulebook on p.216, the Familiar Satchel falls into the "Anything Else" cateogry and is last in priority after checking everything else first, then there would be a random inventory roll among the items in that category.
So, it seems relatively unlikely that a familiar can ever easily be damaged (or even targeted) by AoE spells...IF it is in its Satchel. If not in its Satchel or doesn't have one, then it's subject per other circumstances and interpretations.
If any of this information is incorrect, please provide a correction - thx!
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If you are lawful neutral, you could get an arbiter inevitable as your familiar; you pretty much never have to worry about it dying from hit point damage ever again (since almost nothing published can bypass its regeneration).
I'm playing with a Ratling familiar and to be honest, my number one strategy in this regard is - avoid AOE spells. I'm currently playing a 10th level Witch, so far more often than not I'm flying (and maybe invisible) and not within 30' of any AOE target.
I also make it a priority to target enemies capable of AOE effects and somehow shut them down... if I can't directly stop them, I'll do so indirectly, by blocking line of sight or line of effect.
When I GM, I don't allow players or enemies to visually pinpoint AOE effects when they don't have line-of-sight - so a caster in a fog can't "be smart" about an AOE target it can't see, trying to capture multiple characters, etc., it can only do things like target sounds or make guesses at targets (50' thataway)... I've played with people who don't realize they are metagaming away these problems and try to gently remind them. It encourages more tactical play.
That being said, I also will send the familiar away from me if I need to (the Ratling's own invisibility and dimension door abilities come in handy here)... but there's almost no situations in which I want to remain a target, so...
Is your familiar vulnerable to raise thread, however?
Another option is the Hosteling enchantment on a mithral buckler.
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Is your familiar vulnerable to raise thread, however?
Another option is the Hosteling enchantment on a mithral buckler.
Hmm...in the event of rolling a 1, the shield is first in the list of prioritized items that would potentially be destroyed, albeit with a +1 to hardness and +10 to hp, since the item is enchanted (but also expensive vs. Satchel). Also, the Hosteling enchantment negates certain benefits of the familiar for the Master, which the Satchel does not.
ps. Sorry to "Raise Thread." (Nice one.) I spent time researching the Satchel as a good general solution to the problem of familiar safety and thought having all the info in one place would save time and seemed to be needed here. The benefits of the Familiar Satchel vs. spell effect types and spread effect rules were not immediately obvious to me and I had to work out the details.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/familiar-figment
50% miss change on familiar
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/familiar-double
for witches as project image
And there is a magic item that converts your familiar, animal companion, etc into a statuette and then can be command to make it whole again. I just can't remember where it is.
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Heh, I love how almost all the advice given so far is either "give the familiar super resistance" or "import 3.5 items the PF designers must have deliberately left out."To be fair, you don't know that. Paizo hasn't finished publishing Pathfinder rules yet. Just because a spell, feat, or magic item doesn't exist yet doesn't imply it never will. There's no reason to believe a simple lack of a rule is due to deliberate desire for it to not exist.
That all said, I think the most common way familiar hardiness is dealt with is how GMs treat them. In my experience, familiars are typically treated like sheltered gear... things inside backpacks or under your clothes don't have to make saves and don't take damage. They're not specifically targeted by attacks, and they basically don't exist unless exposed. Most GMs allow snakes and toads and spiders and the like to shelter within their master's gentle embrace. Sure, a raven probably won't crawl under your cloak (though it might if it's smart enough to trust you and understand shelter).
The moment a familiar gets involved or active, that's when it becomes a target.
In fact, this is such a common way of dealing with familiars that Rich Burlew made a big ongoing joke about it in Order of the Stick. Varsuvius' raven familiar didn't exist for something like four hundred comic strips then appeared, acting as if it'd always been around. Everyone was in-character surprised "what, you have a familiar?!?" Yet V and the raven were nonplussed, claiming Blackwing had always been present. There's even a "poof" effect when the raven appears or disappears, underlining how out-of-sight-out-of-mind most of us treat familiars.
So I don't think most GMs give familiars special abilities... we just don't go out of our way to hose our wizard players.
As I recall when he sent the raven scouting over the Orc camp every single archer in the camp fired enough arrows to blot out the sun trying to hit that single specific bird as well.
Personally I just try to get the spell familiar pocket from 3.5 in as well even if its done by researching it as a custom spell. Sadly most DM's wont let me make my familiar a cohort in its own right (only one actually but I keep asking). Really that spell is a great way for keeping a non-combat familiar safe.
Familiar Pocket
Universal
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 2.
Components: V,S,M.
Casting Time: 1 Standard Action.
Range: Touch.
Target: One container or garment with a pocket touched.
Duration: 1 hour/level (D).
Saving Throw: None.
Spell Resistance: No.
When you cast this spell, a garment or container becomes a safe haven for a Tiny or smaller familiar. The spell turns the target item into a comfortable extradimensional space (about 1 cubic foot). The familiar can fit inside the space without creating any noticeable bulge in the item. Whenever the familiar is touching you, you can whisk it inside the sapce as a free action by speaking a command word chosen by you when the spell is cast. If the familiar can speak, it can command itself inside. As a free action you can call the familiar forth or it can leave the space on its own.
Once inside, the familar has total cover (+4 AC) and concealment (20% miss chance), and as a free action, you or the familar can further seal the space to make it airtight and waterproof. The air supply inside the sealed space lasts for 1 hour, but with the pocket unsealed, the familiar can remain inside indefinately. The familiar can not attack or cast spells from within the space, but can use supernatural or spell-like abilities as normal (provided they don't require line of sight, which the pocket blocks).
The spell ends if the familiar pocket is placed within or taken into another extradimensional space (such as a portable hole). If your familiar is within the pocket when the spell duaration expires or if the spell ends abnormally (as above), it appears in your space unharmed.
Also has the related 3.5 belt of many pockets which is another item I like.
Belt of Many Pockets.
This broad belt seems to be nothing more than a well-made article of clothing, but closer examination reveals eight small pouches along its inner front. In fact a total of sixty-four extradimensional pouches exist in the belt, with seven more "behind" each of the eight readily apparent ones. Each pouch is similar to a minature bag of holding, able to contain up to 1 cubic foot of amterial weighing as much as ten pounds. In addition, if the wearer has a familiar, any pouch can hold it no mater what its size or weight. The familiar has no need for food, water, or air whilst inside the pouch, but any other living creature of suitable size placed within a pocket has enough air for only 1 minute, after which it suffocates.
Anything stored in the belts pockets is effectively weightless and doesn't affect the wearer's carrying capacity so long as the belt is worn around th waist. If removed, the belt weighs one-tenth of the total weight of all the items stored within it.
While worn around the waist, the belt responds to its wearers desire to extract something (by opening the correct pouch) or store something (by opening an empty pouch).
Retrieving a specific item from the pouch is a move action, but doesn't provoke the attacks of opportunity that retrieving a stored item usually does.
Moderate conjuration; CL9th, Craft Wondrous Item, familiar pocket, Leomunds secret chest, locate object; price 11,000 GP; weight 1 lb.
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merge with familiar keeps the familiar completely safe.