I am starting a game this fall in my own world and because of the size of the group wanted to avoid including my own full fledged npc. I am, however, unable to have zero influence so I have decided that my own part of the party will be a story device without being a character that needs to role play to the extent of a player.
As a result, i have decided that I will have my "npc" be an ex-familiar. The idea being that in this world when a wizard's familiar meets an especially brutal or tragic end and the familiar is the sole witness, the familiar will not lose its sentience when its master dies. Instead, fate kicks in and the familiar is awakened, as per the spell, and seeks to avenge or right the wrong.
In this case the familiar was a viper. His wizard was brutally murdered by an evil wizard and is the only witness to this wizard's cruelty.
My question arises in the context of advancement and building the viper.
As i understand awaken, he gains 2 HD and all of it (including his previous HD) becomes magical beast rather than animal?
Assuming this is correct, id like to ask what you all would do for advancement. Would you suggest the viper being taking class levels (rogue probably) or would you feel continuing with magical beast HD would be the best approach?
Thanks, and i can help clarify anything I've missed.
I am starting a game this fall in my own world and because of the size of the group wanted to avoid including my own full fledged npc. I am, however, unable to have zero influence so I have decided that my own part of the party will be a story device without being a character that needs to role play to the extent of a player.
As a result, i have decided that I will have my "npc" be an ex-familiar. The idea being that in this world when a wizard's familiar meets an especially brutal or tragic end and the familiar is the sole witness, the familiar will not lose its sentience when its master dies. Instead, fate kicks in and the familiar is awakened, as per the spell, and seeks to avenge or right the wrong.
In this case the familiar was a viper. His wizard was brutally murdered by an evil wizard and is the only witness to this wizard's cruelty.
My question arises in the context of advancement and building the viper.
As i understand awaken, he gains 2 HD and all of it (including his previous HD) becomes magical beast rather than animal?
Assuming this is correct, id like to ask what you all would do for advancement. Would you suggest the viper being taking class levels (rogue probably) or would you feel continuing with magical beast HD would be the best approach?
Thanks, and i can help clarify anything I've missed.
Well, looking at the Awaken spell, there are a couple of things to notice. First, the familiar is likely going to have its ability scores (whatever those actually are) change. I mean a guaranteed X INT score at levels Y-Z is very different from a random 3d6 INT and a +1d3 CHA. I mean, you can fake it (i.e. simply choose the same stats), sure, and that's up to you, but it's something to think about. It also brings up the idea that it's either nature, or the wild nature of magic, or both intermingling if the familiar's mind is completely shuffled about.
ANYWAY. On the same page, something else is clarified:
FAQ
If you cast awaken, an animal's type changes to magical beast. Do you change its HD to d10s, increase its BAB to that of a magical beast, and gain other features of the magical beast type? It also gains two Hit Dice; are these d8s or d10s? If the animal was trained to wear barding, does it retain this ability once it is awakened? If the animal wasn't trained to wear barding, how can the awakened creature learn how to wear armor?Only the animal's type changes to "magical beast"--it doesn't gain all the mathematical benefits for this type change (think of it as a "quick rules" version of adding a template to a creature).
The 2 HD it gains are d8s.
An animal trained to wear barding can continue to do so without penalty once it is awakened. Once it's awakened, it can either spend a feat on armor proficiency or take class levels in a class that grants armor proficiency, just like any intelligent creature.
[Source]
Source, if you like.
That pretty solidly answers your question, I'd say: all the HD are just like animal HD, and thereafter it gains class levels, as if multiclassing. Rogue is certainly a valid option, and quite a good one, mechanically (especially something like the Poisoner archetype. Something like Bard for social enhancement purposes (charisma penalty and loss of spells aside the idea of a persuasive "serpent's tongue" is a pretty solid one in cultural literature) or a ranger (for surviving the wilds, which I presume he did) would also work well. Keep in mind, the viper is never going to have a higher CHA modifier than -2 with a normal Awaken spell (starting CHA of 2 plus 3 from 1d3 = 5, granting a modifier of -2). It's intelligence will be very random unless you decide to set it to a specific value, so it might not have any actual skill points from the animal hit dice at all (well, okay, they always get one skill point per HD), but if it does have a high intelligence becoming a wizard would be an interesting thematic choice.
Still, I'm also partial to the idea that the animal actually transforms into a magical beast (as in, for real instead of the kind of "half transformation" they get with Awaken), or can gain the Advanced template on its own or something. That'd be pretty cool. Also consider the idea that if a wizard has the Improved Familiar feat or something similar that the familiar might actually be an outsider (ala a celestial creature or something). Anyway, those are just some ideas.
(also, just in case you're interested: Templates!)
If you want the hard fast version, though:
* The bonus HD are strictly Animal HD, despite becoming a magical beast
* from that point on they level up by taking class levels or (apparently) more animal HD ()
since it is to be a NPC, monster advancement would be the best approach (in the common or general sense) however if you are planning the viper to serve a specific purpose such as story advancement that requires it to utilize a character classes, well then you would probably want to select the appropriate class.
But with all technicalities a familiar can’t be awakened as it’s intelligence would be above 2.
But if it were me doing this, I would probably, just say that the beast survived the death effects due to some mystical intervention and advance the creature equally to the players based and use the “Animal companion” table.
I think the Awakened idea effectively comes from the fact that when a wizard dies its familiar (presumably) becomes a normal animal again (complete with animal intelligence), as happens when it's dismissed. Thus it becomes a valid target again.
PC v. NPC classes, I can see what you're saying, but at the same time, there are more character options (and RP opportunities) with PC classes.
The animal companion table is a pretty good alternate idea, though.
Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't considered the animal companion chart, but it is an interesting point. I did roll the 3D6 and in my normal infallibility forced the poor serpent to subsist on a mere 10 intelligence.
As for the HD question, thanks for posting that. I must have looked right over it. I was on the fence as to whether the animal HD changed, or if it didn't. The spell suggests, by stating that the type is "augmented animal", and so it made at least logical sense that the HD would still be animal HD.
I am still considering class levels for him, specifically rogue, ranger, or fighter, though this will not be something he will figure out by himself and will instead be based on his interactions with the group. I cannot remember which of those classes will be represented in the group though ill make that determination when i can.
If I followed the animal companion chart, do you all think his ability to contribute and not die will be sufficient? I know animal companions can be quite strong, though I do wonder whether its enough power considering its nature as a mere "class ability". Though I do guess I can fix this by giving him the advanced creature template.
Anyway, thanks again for the feedback.
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PC v. NPC classes, I can see what you're saying, but at the same time, there are more character options (and RP opportunities) with PC classes.
More options true, but keeping to at least a little realism, it’s a viper, what can it actually do, ranger combat style natural attack, Non somatic spells sorcerer, I myself might be intimidated by a viper inquisitor putting me to the question, but in all sense to me "animal companion table" is the best choice.
just my opinion
VIPER INQUISITOR! VIPER INQUISITOR!!!! With the Serpent domain! :P
Make him a summoner, with his eidolon looking like his lost wizard. :D
Make him a summoner, with his eidolon looking like his lost wizard. :D
If you can make this happen, do it. The viper might even want it to be the wizard, but alas, it is simply a poor reflection of him based on the serpent's desires. Great RP stuff there. This would ONLY be an RP choice, though, as the viper lacks the CHA to be a decent summoner (so probably only one level, if you go this route).
Inquisitor is neat, but again the limited wisdom would make it only valid for a level or two.
I apologize for the sloppy post - I'm on an iPad, and it's not as easy to type clearly, especially with auto-correct constantly interfering.
Ya actually i own a copy of Noble Wild as i know its author lol.
I flipped through it. He has 13 Wis, which would be 15 if i went the advanced template route. Int would rise to 12 and cha to 6 i think.
Ill look into it more in a little while, thanks all.
Snakes have a climb speed, which kindve surprised me, so that particular thing isn't really a prob. Although i would obviously not let a snake climb a flat surface. Rogue with the tricks that grant spell-likes would be an interesting option. Allow some magical stuff accumulated by years as a familiar, and still use his strengths in a good way.