In hand-to-hand combat, the only familiar I can think of that might be useful is the pseudodragon, but even its poison DC is pretty low. Imps and quasits can polymorph into a slightly tougher form, but that's about it.
But familiars can do other useful things in combat, like using spell-like abilities, using magic items, using alchemical items, and so forth.
your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.
As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
"Alter Self" him and let him man the ballista, using your skills.
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Eh, to do this it already has to be an Improved Familiar (Nothing that can speak can hold a wand on the standard list) and at that level of investment you deserve to get something out of it. Wands cost money per use, so using one every round gets expensive fast. and an occasional (effective) quickened spell at minimum caster level sounds about right for a feat.your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
Incorrect. EVERYTHING on the normal familiar's list can talk... at 5th level. The speak with Master ability grants them the ability to speak a specific language and that's all it takes to use a wand.
As for keeping it safe in combat it's not that hard. Build a nice top opening cage and attach it inside your napsack with the flap open. Familiar lays in the cage and stands up (move action), uses the wand (standard action), drops prone (free action). While it's in the cage it has full cover and full concealment making it REALLY hard to target or melee and with it's evasion and concealment it's pretty safe from every spell that you can throw it's way.
I worked out some decent combat familiars awhile ago when I saw that snagging one from the bloodline feat tree required a pretty low investment.
Elementals can be made to be decent flankers particularly lightning due to metal mastery and spark leap for cmb.
Nuglub gremlins make great buddies for cavaliers due to tandem trip. On their own they have decent boosts to cmb and they start off small so they can flank.
Of course if you're a standard caster then pick your partner of choice and polymorph away.
As it was mentioned to me a few weeks ago you can also have them deliver touch spells for you. Many of them come prepacked with invisibility at will. The only thing you've got to watch out for is the round that they're not invisible.
your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
First how is it metagaming? Secondly I think you might find familiars are harder to kill off and keep killed off than you might think. I've had familiars in the past with more HP than some of my other party members had.
When I think of a familiar, I don't think of something that is going into combat. However, I have hear that an imp with the familiar bonuses is effective. I really don't see how. It does 1d4 damage per turn. Sure, there's the poison but DC 13 isn't going to remain effective for long. Am I missing something? Can someone tell me how an imp (or any other familiar) can become a combat threat?
Imps are pretty good naturally at sneaking up.
Over the course of playing for some 31 years, I've seen familiars get into the action many times. Generally, it's a last ditch scenario, when most of the party are down and the wizard is in dire straits. But some familiars can be played effectively in combat under the right conditions for them. Again, such as an imp sneaking up on an opponent.
In our last major 3.5 campaign, for instance, the wizard's pseudo dragon put a few foes to sleep with his stinger.
Of course if you're a standard caster then pick your partner of choice and polymorph away.I'm not sure I would fear anything with a wizard's base attack bonus.
Ehh low bab is less of an issue for natural attackers. Consider the lowly 6th level wizard. He is the type of guy who wants to stay out of melee so he picks up a hawk for fly and monstrous physique for his dream upgrade an imp(since imps seem to be in style these days).
His hawk is running str 3 dex 17. He has made his little hawk an aomf with agile on it or he can wait until level 7 and buy an upgraded familiar. So the group is going into the evil room in a minute so he morphs his familiar into a charda. It gets a +2 size bonus to dex and a +1 nat armor. Woot.
His familiar instead of doing 2 talons +6 1d4+3, he is batting +7 bite 1d6+4, 4 claws at +7 1d4+4. Is he awe inspiring? Not really. He's a flanking buddy and a little more damage. They get a great deal better once you start opening up the higher shapes.
Can any familiars give you potions? A tattooed sorc 1/ barb X/ dragon disciple could be fun, with a monkey feeding him potions and then becoming a tattoo again... i'm looking at you, skull and shackles, haha.
But yeah, a full bab high hp class can get a nice tough buddy, or if a tattoo sorc, a passive familiar bonus and alertness.
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your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
As a player if my GM called me using my class features intelligently 'metagaming', I would laugh in his face.
With only half the Hp of their master (who likely has a 14 con and hopefully toughness), they can often take a hit before going down, and there's a reason imps get invisibility at will.
your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
Metagaming is such a buzzword...
You know what's funny?
A paladin familiar with divine favor and smite evil. That's hilarious.
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I'm pretty sure opposable thumbs or some equivalent is a prerequisite. Unless you know how that house centipede is holding and aiming that wand.
You know what's funny?
A paladin familiar with divine favor and smite evil. That's hilarious.
"Stop, evildoers! *ribbit*"
your familiar should be using wands with the UMD skill, it is like having a quickened spell every turn.As a DM if someone was metagaming their familiar this hard, it would be dead, very quickly. With only half the HP of their master, pitiful AC, and mediocre saves your better off not making it a easy target.
Also I like the faerie dragon if you want something neat. Cone of euphoria while it has a low DC, is good RP fluff and the occasional lol at lower levels.
If you really need to make your familiar like a summoner eidolon in power, make a summoner. Familiars are better off as passive bonuses, seeing as how your spellcasting is tied to them.
Also this is part is generally false -- only the witch has anything to do with her spell casting tied to the familiar and even then it's only spell storage. If the familiar dies then anything the witch already has memorized is still available to the witch to cast (good luck filling those slots again though).
Please note that familiars have few HD, a single energy drain can kill them on the spot.
You might wan't to take a look at the arbiter, I am still looking for something to kill it besides chaotic aligned strikes.
You should take him if you wan't to send your familiar to fight, they tend to be expensive to replace, plus sending your "friend" to death might be considered evil.
They are good subject for polymorph spells, dragon form + transformation make a decent fighter while you can still cast, then toss a true strike on him if need be.
Considering you take a 7th level familiar, they scout, use wands, translate, send messages, stabilize friends, throw caltrops, etc. Some like lyrakiens are effective diplomat, if you need a "face" for the group.
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Please note that familiars have few HD, a single energy drain can kill them on the spot.
You might wan't to take a look at the arbiter, I am still looking for something to kill it besides chaotic aligned strikes.
You should take him if you wan't to send your familiar to fight, they tend to be expensive to replace, plus sending your "friend" to death might be considered evil.
They are good subject for polymorph spells, dragon form + transformation make a decent fighter while you can still cast, then toss a true strike on him if need be.Considering you take a 7th level familiar, they scout, use wands, translate, send messages, stabilize friends, throw caltrops, etc. Some like lyrakiens are effective diplomat, if you need a "face" for the group.
Familiars have effective HD equal to the spellcaster's level.
The most survivable regular (without the Imp. Familiar feat) familiar is the house centipede, IMO. Just because its bite attack includes a poison that dazes the victim, and presumably has the DC scale with your -- hence its -- HD.
Still would never risk it, though.
Improved Familiars with wands are great, though. Or regular familiars with Anthro. Animal spell.
Familiars have effective HD equal to the spellcaster's level.
They don't:
"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."It is an old debate as you can see here or here, if you're in necromancy you can go back in 3.5, the wording of this rule is the same.
As for what is an "effect based on HD", it is something that checks HD to see what it does, such as spells like Sleep, Color Spray or Blasphemy.
Abilities are not effects, and ask your GM in what category he puts "negative level", if it is "effect based on HD" then you're good and you can scratch my previous post first sentence.
If you want to put some money into it, you can get a familiar homonculus with 2+ (X*2000gp) HD.
"Stop, evildoers! *ribbit*"You know what's funny?
A paladin familiar with divine favor and smite evil. That's hilarious.
It's all fun and games until the hawk familiar comes flying at someones face with two attacks at +25 with 1d4+13 damage. Not much by certain standards at that level but enough to make you think.
Please note that familiars have few HD, a single energy drain can kill them on the spot.
If the enemy caster sees fit to be popping level 4+ spells on a familiar I can replace the very next day I think it's performed its task admirably.
It should be noted that "Shocking Grasp" is a touch spell that works quite well through familiars. Incidentally, a hawk familiar dropping thunderstones from a few hundred feet up makes for a FANTASTIC distraction on the far side of an encampment.
I'm of the opinion that Familiars can be an INCREDIBLE boon to the caster who is willing to utilize them. They make great spies, scouts, and distractions, and I am always saddened when one of mine gets blown up by the opposition.
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Energy Drain is a 9th level spell. I'll be honest, I'd much rather that hit my familiar than me. And if you meant Enervation, then many Improved Familiars have at least an even chance of surviving one hit.
I love my Imp familiar. He can use some nice wands- Ill Omen right before I cast Dominate Person is a pretty frightening combo. Also, he can heal me when I go down, deliver my Vampiric Touches, and he's got some nice SLAs that are great for information-gathering.
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Personally I think the most important ability of any familiar is not the ability to use wands, but to talk. It comes online at level 1-7 depending on raven or Improved Familiar.
Familiars are highly mobile. They're tiny, which is a flat +8 bonus to Stealth. Stealth and Perception are class skills. If your familiar can fly, he's an excellent scout.
Don't obsess about wand-wielding familiars. Scouts that cost almost nothing to operate, are intelligent, can go nearly anywhere and tell you what they've seen - that's super useful.
My alchemist had a pseudodragon ad familiar.
Free poison (DC is HD related, so grows with level).
Reach 5 feets, can provide flank or attack to poison.
Can give potions, extract or heal dying character (or use a full round action to give potion or extract).
Yeah, arbiter inevitables are the next thing to indestructible. From the description of Constructed (Ex):
"They are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Inevitables are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. They are not at risk of death from massive damage."
Metagaming is such a buzzword...
When you have a pseudodragon using their telepathy to provide poor-man's TacNet, metagaming is the new norm.
"Can familiars really be used for combat?" My first thought was "Wielded or thrown?"
"Can familiars really be used for combat?" My first thought was "Wielded or thrown?"
Hedgehog + throw anything + Critical Conduit (makes the crit range 19-20 when the familiar delivers it) ]
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We did a Skulls and Shackles campaign in which the druid's raptor familiar racked up a higher kill count than most of the PCs (It was our first game ever). That raptor was ridiculously lucky, and went out with a blaze of glory as it was killed after landing the final blow against an alchemical golem. RIP Steve the Raptor.
Familiars using wands is not "meta-gaming". Is it exactly what would Familiars and Casters with Familiars would do.
Paizo has included things like escaped/freed Familiars in APs (CoCT) and these low-CR magical beings who are familiar with magic, do indeed use magic themself. A coherent dynamic world is under no obligation to not develop in ways that may not be obvious to you or that were ignored by your playstyle. That said, reducing Familiars to Self-Triggering-Wands is simply ignoring most of what they have to offer... Even with Wands they are a great resource. Of course, you still don't win the game even with a Familiar with or without a Wand.
We did a Skulls and Shackles campaign in which the druid's raptor familiar racked up a higher kill count...
Is that really a Familiar you gained somehow (Domain? Improved Eldritch Heritage?) or is this mixing up Familiar with Animal Companion?
When you polymorph a Tiny creature it gains +4 Str. A master with higher BAB and HP and access to the right spells could indeed field a fairly nasty combat familiar, at least nasty enough to act as a flanking buddy. The small earth elemental also has a pretty high Str and Power Attack. The ability to Earth Glide through walls and floors to appear behind enemies makes him pretty good at flanking. If you polymorph a familiar into something which can do decent damage (say a giant scorpion) you can also make sure it hits and makes CMB checks using True Strike. It isn't a foolproof plan, but it can be fun.
That said, my favorite use for an improved familiar is definitely as a wand jockey. A faerie dragon with a wand of Magic Missile helped one of our parties get rid of a spectre really fast recently. I'm sure that this saved us from a lot of negative levels and maybe a PC death.
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Barbarian, eldritch heritage, weasel familiar
"Go for the eyes, Boo!"
Barbarian, eldritch heritage, weasel familiar
"Go for the eyes, Boo!"
I believe that's referred to as the "grappling death weasel" build.
I'll have to check out this weasel thing. Unfortunately the stats I rolled for an upcoming "goblin game" have a Charisma too low for Eldritch Heritage, else a Feral Gnasher who follows the weasel totem might be pretty amusing.
We did a Skulls and Shackles campaign in which the druid's raptor familiar racked up a higher kill count than most of the PCs (It was our first game ever). That raptor was ridiculously lucky, and went out with a blaze of glory as it was killed after landing the final blow against an alchemical golem. RIP Steve the Raptor.
Eh? Thats an animal companion, not a familiar.
BIG difference.
A buffed velociraptor is an absolute terror in any mobile fight.
In 3.5 I had a weasel named "pop" on a Barbarian 5 Sorcerer 1 Dragon disciple X. 1 enlarge person and he was a good flanking buddy for the rogue. And if they hit the weasel then.. well being the familiar of someone with mostly d12 hit tide has its benefits, Like having more HP than the rogue...