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I've been hunting around with my google-fu, and been unable to find any solid examples/rulings on this archetype, so here goes:
How do the Beast Bonded Witch archetype and the Improved Familiar feat interact with respect to the class features of the archetype?
Say, for example, Stan the Spooky is a Beast Bonded Witch with a Voidworm as his familiar. Stan is level 8, and wants to use his Familiar Form power, but a voidworm is not a normal animal. Does he simply lose out on that class ability? Would he be restricted to the two animal forms that his familiar can assume via the voidworm's Change Shape ability? What if he had a pseudodragon?
Moreover, what's up with Twin Soul?
Should Stan die and occupy the body of his faithful familiar, what happens when he tries to hop into a new meatbag? Magic Jar is the basis for the ability, but the spell has a duration now [much to the chagrin of former body-hopping players]. Do you only seize control temporarily, like a ghost's Malevolence ability, or is it permanent, resulting in the death of the former host? Imagine the sheer flavorful bizarre-ness of a witch with a Spirit Oni familiar who resides not in his original body, but in a fiendish flying mask, hopping from body to body and living the good life.
And Transfer Feats . . .
Say Stan the Spooky decides to bank a couple feats in his "starter" familiar, knowing he's going to pick up Improved Familiar at 11th level. At 11th, he gets his spanking-new familiar and withdraws those banked feats, cashing them in immediately for a couple shiny Extra Hex feats of the Major Hex persuasion. Does that work like my fiendish little heart hopes it will, or must my previous familiar actually die?
Anyway, thanks in advance for any help, advice, or feedback!
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Well this has been asked a few times and some of the answers have been determined.
A. Stan is out of luck. The Familiar Form ability functions off the Beast Shape spell and limits you to only the forms that spell allows. A voidworms type when they change shape doesn't change so Stan can never assume the form of his Voidworm or any of the shapes IT can take. This power does nothing for you.
B. This one is more complicated but per the examples in play is far more powerful then you think. When the witch jumps into a new meat suit that soul is evicted and, Per RAW, a soul with no body to inhabit dies and goes to the boneyard. Yes the witch has a save or die at will power now but there is contention over this interpretation.
Next the Magic Jar spell has a duration but the Witch can simply repossess the same body as a move action.
There is an example of a creature using it's magic jar power to continually possess the same body over and over again in an official Paizo product.
C. It works like you think it does, when you upgrade to an improved familiar you do not lose anything as the devs have stated repeatedly so you recover those feats and immediately give them to your new familiar (along with all the old familiars spells known).
Yes the Beast bonded with is an EXTREMELY powerful archetype, enjoy.
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Thanks much for the clarifications, Mathwei. I had a hunch Familiar Form worked that way. Bit of a bummer, but the pure fantasticness of the Twin Soul makes up for it in spades. I've got this cruel little plan in place for the next level 10+ game I play in that involves letting my PC die just so he can ride around in his familiar's body all day long. The fact that I can also gank enemies with cruddy Will saves is pure icing on the cake.
Again, thanks very much!
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That's a good plan but you're not going far enough. Kill yourself and body jump to something interesting and then kill your familiar and have IT jump to something else. This way you are both immortal and you can hijack 2 targets a round and no one will ever be able to figure out who's who AND this makes you functionally immortal.
Suicide attacks will be key to your attack style since you can never really die but all your opponents will think you do and keep letting there guards down when they chop off your head.
My DM allowed me to use Improved Familiar with the Familiar Form ability, so now my Changeling Witch is a medium sized Devil with all of an Imp's abilities, including DR/Good and Fast Healing.
My eyes are on an Adamantine Golem's body for and my Familiar.