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I'm confused by several things relating to Improved Familiar, both in general play and how PFS handles them... and looking through several threads with the word "Familiar" in them haven't quite cleared it up for me. Can I ask for PFS-legal (I'm not concerned with "but your GM might say otherwise" in this case) answers on the following?
Improved Familiar and Alignment: The wording I have handy says "You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil)." Am I right in understanding that, for example, a Neutral Good spellcaster could have a Chaotic Neutral (or Lawful Neutral for that matter) familiar since it's One Step Away on Each Axis? (from socially Neutral to Lawful or Chaotic, then from there Good to morally Neutral)
If yes, how does this apply to Familiar descriptions that discuss the spellcaster needing to be a precise alignment? Does the body text for that Familiar override the general Alignment mentioned above? For example, must one be EXACTLY Chaotic Good to acquire a Lyrakien Azata, EXACTLY Lawful Good for a Harbinger Archon, and so on? Also, how are apparent typos (for example, Cassissian Angels talk about "Lawful Good alignment" requirements even though they're NG) handled insofar as PFS cares, if this is true?
Or is this a case of the sources conflicting so you go by what the table and its accompanying text says?
Restricted Familiars?: I've come across discussions that suggest some Improved Familiar choices aren't automatically legal even if you meet the pre-reqs. For example, there are several threads indicating you can only get a Faerie Dragon with a very specific chronicle sheet award.
Are there any others that are similarly locked out? Looking through the FAQ and Additional Resources didn't entirely clear this up for me.
If it matters, what I'm broadly considering is something like (provided I can get all the Feats for this set up at the appropriate levels) the following 'Familiar sequence' for a Neutral Good align Sorcerer that picks up Arcane Bloodline's first ability via Eldritch Heritage:
Celestial Thrush,
then upgrade to a Sprite a few levels later,
then finally to any one of Silvanshee Agathion, Lyrakien Azata, Cassissian Angel, Harbinger Archon, or Pseudodragon. Is there anything that would unavoidably prevent this from working (alignment issues perhaps explained above, requirement of certain boons, familiar explicitly illegal in PFS, etc.)?
Sorry for the lengthy questions... I've tried to research it, but I either get contradictory answers or I'm just not parsing what's currently out there. Any clarification would be a big help!
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1. Improved familiar alignment - text trumps the 1-step rule.
2. Restricted Familiars - Additional Resources make this clear:
Bestiary: Familiars: all familiars listed on pages 131–133;
Bestiary 2: Familiars: brownie, compsognathus, lyraken azata, snapping turtle, voidworm protean;
Bestiary 3: Familiars: all familiars listed on pages 112-113 and the carbuncle and sprite;
Anything not on those pages or lists needs to be granted from another legal source (such as a chronicle sheet or the Animal Archive entry in Additional Resources)
3. I don't see harbringer archon on the list.
Basically you want to look at THIS LIST and if you own Ultimate Magic THIS LIST. Those lists plus any specifically listed in the Additional Resources are your options.
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Okay. Now I understand. I'll need to re-read the specific page lists, but I've got what I need now. Thanks a lot, both of you!
Edit: Actually one quick thing. Am I right in reading the other aspect of the Alignment rule? That is, if no other text says otherwise, you get to be a step away on BOTH aspects of Alignment? E.g. NG can 'dip' as far over as LN or CN, a N creature can work with any alignment familiar that doesn't have a specific restriction in its text, etc.? That's my absolute last question. Otherwise I'm good to go!
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True neutral can have anything it pleases unless the familiar itself limits you.
This is a case of the more specific over ruling the general.
The improved familiar gives general rules about what the requirements are for you to obtain a better familiar. The Raktavarna however gives you a slightly different set of requirements. Because the Raktavarna's requirements are for the more specific case they over rule the general rules of improved familiar.
So true neutral can have and imp because they are within one on both alignment spectrum and the imp has no specific requirements of its own. But true neutral can not have a Raktavarna.
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True neutral can have anything it pleases unless the familiar itself limits you.
This is a case of the more specific over ruling the general.
The improved familiar gives general rules about what the requirements are for you to obtain a better familiar. The Raktavarna however gives you a slightly different set of requirements. Because the Raktavarna's requirements are for the more specific case they over rule the general rules of improved familiar.
So true neutral can have and imp because they are within one on both alignment spectrum and the imp has no specific requirements of its own. But true neutral can not have a Raktavarna.
Fair enough.
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Since the thread apparently has a bit of life left in it, I wanted to get clarification on one point, the Cassisian. The text for it says Lawful Good is required, which is strange since it's an NG align creature.
Is this considered an error, subject to errata? A search through the site for both 'Cassisian' plus 'errata' didn't turn up much. If the LG requirement is correct, then I suppose that makes my choices even easier.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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My plan is to arm him with a wand of vanish in addition to other wands and just have him hide under improved invisibility,
Something like this...
Talyn: Attack, move
Riddywipple:Ready action use vanish wand on Talyn.
Talyn: Full (sneak) attack, 5' step
Riddywipple: vanish
Repeat as needed ;-)
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At the risk of thread bumping, how is the Cassisian's situation handled? I didn't see any errata posted, but it sounds like it should be a typo... or else it's a weird way of handling giving Lawful Good a 7th Level Improved Familiar, given it's a representative of a NG race; I'd think some sort of Archon would be more suitable instead?
If it is indeed intended and Lawful Good is the requirement, that's fine; it just confused me to see this since the other examples (the Agathion and Azata) correspond to their alignments in the pre-reqs for obtaining one.
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My plan is to arm him with a wand of vanish in addition to other wands and just have him hide under improved invisibility,
Something like this...
Talyn: Attack, move
Riddywipple:Ready action use vanish wand on Talyn.Talyn: Full (sneak) attack, 5' step
Riddywipple: vanishRepeat as needed ;-)
remember vanish, like invisibility, will disappear after the first attack, therefore only giving sneak attack dice on the first attack.
however, invisible tiny creatures with a reach weapon (even a reach weapon they have no clue how to use) still provides a flank.
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I just got the Faerie Dragon Familiar for my just-now level 7 Witch by DMing the scenario (my first time DMing, too!) last night! BONUS: Who says MY Faerie Dragon has to be Riddywipple? I DM'd the Scenario, my Witch never met him - he was busy using some crazy chronomantic ritual to supercharge his scorpion's evolution, HAHAHAHAHA! That being said, I need to clarify some points for my new old friend:
- Are his hit points still equal to half mine, or can he perhaps stick with what it says in the Faerie Dragon monster entry if they're better there?
- Faerie Dragons cast spells as 3rd-level Sorcerers. I know I can't ever switch out his Spells Known (which does kind of blow if only because one of those spells is that useless-against-high-HDs wunderzauber sleep). My question is not that, but rather: Do his sorcerous powers enable him to use Sorcerer/Wizard spell wands with the ease of a Sorcerer, and not have to use Use Magic Device? I was told 'yes' by the usual DMs at the table, but they've been wrong before.
- Finally, do/can Improved Familiars grant the special bonuses (+4 initiative, +3 Stealth, +1 natural armor, etc etc) granted by normal Familiars, or is there some way to enable them to grant some such thing?
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@shiftey
** spoiler omitted **
@I'm hiding in your closet
Mark has said the dragon is Riddywump and that if Riddywump dies that's it.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pk4w?Chronicle-Sheet-Clarification-Spoilers#6
That's not what I asked - RiddyWIPPLE survived my scenario, so we're all fine - I just don't see why MY Faerie Dragon HAS to be THAT Faerie Dragon provided that that criteria is met, especially since the character of mine who's getting a Faerie Dragon Familiar never actually met him, and it would imply everybody who gets a Faerie Dragon gets the same one - I could be mistaken, but I don't think "Riddywipples" are like the ubiquitous "Igor" clan from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
Permit me to reiterate my questions:
- Are his hit points still equal to half mine, or can he perhaps stick with what it says in the Faerie Dragon monster entry if they're better there?- Faerie Dragons cast spells as 3rd-level Sorcerers. I know I can't ever switch out his Spells Known (which does kind of blow if only because one of those spells is that useless-against-high-HDs wunderzauber sleep). My question is not that, but rather: Do his sorcerous powers enable him to use Sorcerer/Wizard spell wands with the ease of a Sorcerer, and not have to use Use Magic Device? I was told 'yes' by the usual DMs at the table, but they've been wrong before.
- Finally, do/can Improved Familiars grant the special bonuses (+4 initiative, +3 Stealth, +1 natural armor, etc etc) granted by normal Familiars, or is there some way to enable them to grant some such thing?
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I just got the Faerie Dragon Familiar for my just-now level 7 Witch by DMing the scenario (my first time DMing, too!) last night! BONUS: Who says MY Faerie Dragon has to be Riddywipple? I DM'd the Scenario, my Witch never met him - he was busy using some crazy chronomantic ritual to supercharge his scorpion's evolution, HAHAHAHAHA! That being said, I need to clarify some points for my new old friend:
- Are his hit points still equal to half mine, or can he perhaps stick with what it says in the Faerie Dragon monster entry if they're better there?
- Faerie Dragons cast spells as 3rd-level Sorcerers. I know I can't ever switch out his Spells Known (which does kind of blow if only because one of those spells is that useless-against-high-HDs wunderzauber sleep). My question is not that, but rather: Do his sorcerous powers enable him to use Sorcerer/Wizard spell wands with the ease of a Sorcerer, and not have to use Use Magic Device? I was told 'yes' by the usual DMs at the table, but they've been wrong before.
- Finally, do/can Improved Familiars grant the special bonuses (+4 initiative, +3 Stealth, +1 natural armor, etc etc) granted by normal Familiars, or is there some way to enable them to grant some such thing?
1) no, his hp are always half of yours. even if that is worse than his normal hp.
2)he is a sorcerer, and all that entails. that includes having the sorcerer/wizard spell list, and able to activate spell trigger and spell completion items. and pages of spell knowledge :)
3)no, improved familiars do not add skill bonuses etc. like normal familiars. the bonus you have is an extra standard action per round from a 3rd level sorcerer. that's pretty damn good.
buy him a page of spell knowledge for liberating command (1000g) it is very much worth it.
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if you can afford it, a staff of minor arcana is much better for magic missiles, and rechargeable by him. if youre going to spend so much money on a wand of scorching ray, that staff might be a better idea.
ring of wizardry 1 helps also if you need more spells.
my rogue spent 10k on 1st level pages of spell knowledge just to have a bunch of utility. helped a bunch when my familiar can cast 6 or so floating discs when our ship got destoryed in the middle of the ocean in a certain scenario. just got people on the discs then flew across the water until we got to land.
riddywipple with the correct gear is an incredibly useful companion in a lot of situations. he has saved my group several times in just the 6 or so scenarios ive had him in (were in eyes of the ten right now)
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I guess it's time I actually took a serious look at Ultimate Equipment - I have it, just haven't slogged through the meat of the tome, clearly.
The Staff of Minor Arcana costs nearly twice as much as a 2nd-level wand (and I bought the 1st-level magic missile wand with Prestige), but it does have its appeal. Explain to me two things:
- You say my Faerie Dragon can recharge it. How?
- Shield is not a spell Witches get, so it would be nice if he could cast it on me. Question then is: Can a Familiar's Share Spells ability go both ways? Shield (unlike mage armor) is normally a caster-only spell - or can spell-trigger items circumvent that?
P.S.: Your ROGUE? Dare I ask what a Rogue is doing with a familiar?
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it looks like by raw you can cast target of "you" spells on the famalair but it can not do the same. So it can not cast you spells on you.
Share Spells: The wizard may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on himself. A wizard may cast spells on his familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).
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I guess it's time I actually took a serious look at Ultimate Equipment - I have it, just haven't slogged through the meat of the tome, clearly.
The Staff of Minor Arcana costs nearly twice as much as a 2nd-level wand (and I bought the 1st-level magic missile wand with Prestige), but it does have its appeal. Explain to me two things:
- You say my Faerie Dragon can recharge it. How?
- Shield is not a spell Witches get, so it would be nice if he could cast it on me. Question then is: Can a Familiar's Share Spells ability go both ways? Shield (unlike mage armor) is normally a caster-only spell - or can spell-trigger items circumvent that?
P.S.: Your ROGUE? Dare I ask what a Rogue is doing with a familiar?
he can recharge it because he is a sorcerer, and (with a page of spell knowledge) can lose one spell slot per day of the highest level it can cast (level 1) in order to recharge it. note the staff of minor arcana casts magic missile at 8th level, not 1st, so that's 4 missiles.
and finlanderboy is correct, you can cast 'you' spells on him, not vice versa
oh and my rogue is being awesome :) him having a 20 int and a familiar who has all the skill ranks he does. riddywipple can take 20 on opening a lock and get a 50 iirc (with 2 items to boost the skill).
but i guess the most important thing he does is use the minute hand from a broken clock tower (it was broken before i got there, i swear!) as an improvised weapon and flanks for me.
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he can recharge it because he is a sorcerer, and (with a page of spell knowledge) can lose one spell slot per day of the highest level it can cast (level 1) in order to recharge it. note the staff of minor arcana casts magic missile at 8th level, not 1st, so that's 4 missiles.
I got that last part. I would still like the know the exact rules surrounding recharging staves. Are you saying one of those pages is required? Could my Witch (who can cast spells of up to 4th level now) recharge it too? Given that the time between adventures in Organized Play is deliberately ambiguous, could my Faerie Dragon and/or I potentially recharge the staff to full between each adventure? Could it still potentially be recharged if it were ever reduced to 0 charges?
oh and my rogue is being awesome :) him having a 20 int and a familiar who has all the skill ranks he does. riddywipple can take 20 on opening a lock and get a 50 iirc (with 2 items to boost the skill).but i guess the most important thing he does is use the minute hand from a broken clock tower (it was broken before i got there, i swear!) as an improvised weapon and flanks for me.
But...you need some sort of ability to acquire a familiar in the first place to take Improved Familiar. Do you have a Wizard/Witch level or what?
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he can recharge it because he is a sorcerer, and (with a page of spell knowledge) can lose one spell slot per day of the highest level it can cast (level 1) in order to recharge it. note the staff of minor arcana casts magic missile at 8th level, not 1st, so that's 4 missiles.
I got that last part. I would still like the know the exact rules surrounding recharging staves. Are you saying one of those pages is required? Could my Witch (who can cast spells of up to 4th level now) recharge it too? Given that the time between adventures in Organized Play is deliberately ambiguous, could my Faerie Dragon and/or I potentially recharge the staff to full between each adventure? Could it still potentially be recharged if it were ever reduced to 0 charges?
I reiterate this question.
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recharging staves require 2 conditions
1) have a spell slot equal to the highest level spell the staff can cast.
2) be able to cast at least one spell that the staff can cast
since it can only cast level 1 spells, all you need is to give it a page of spell knowledge so it will know one of the spells the staff can cast. so either shield or magic missile.
yes you can completely recharge staves between scenarios.
your witch could only recharge it if she had the capacity to cast shield or magic missile.
yes you can recharge it even if it gets down to 0 charges. it only has 10 to begin with and casting magic missile with it costs 2 charges.
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yes you can recharge it even if it gets down to 0 charges. it only has 10 to begin with and casting magic missile with it costs 2 charges.
HE, actually (then again, he's an Elf, so what's it matter, right? ;)).
What's its maximum charge capacity, and are all staves the same in this regard? I was assuming it had 50.
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yes you can recharge it even if it gets down to 0 charges. it only has 10 to begin with and casting magic missile with it costs 2 charges.
HE, actually (then again, he's an Elf, so what's it matter, right? ;)).
What's its maximum charge capacity, and are all staves the same in this regard? I was assuming it had 50.
staves work very different now in pathfinder. 10 charges max, and they are all rechargeable. also you can only give a staff one charge per day.
i suggest reading the rules on staves in the CRB