Wizard Familiars and Feats

[Whale_Cancer]

Question: does the following feature of familiars...

Familiars wrote:

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.

...mean that the familiar gets a feat every 2 HD beyond the 1st? It seems like this would be listed explicitly if it was, but I'm hoping that's not the case.

[Tinalles]

No. The familiar doesn't gain feats, skill points, or similar.

The intent of that is for adjudicating spells and effects based on hit dice. For example, the spell Sleep affects up to 4 hit dice of creatures. For purposes of that spell, the familiar of a level 2 wizard would count as 2 hit dice.

[Whale_Cancer]

Tinalles wrote:

No.

The intent of that is for adjudicating spells and effects based on hit dice. For example, the spell Sleep affects up to 4 hit dice of creatures. For purposes of that spell, the familiar of a level 2 wizard would count as 2 hit dice.

I've seen that interpretation before, but I know there is a lot of debate around that term 'effect'.

A citation of some sort would be nice, but I doubt it is spelled out plainly anywhere in the core.

Any way to get a feat onto a familiar without being a beast-bonded witch?

[Tinalles]

If you're going to give a familiar feats based on its master's level, surely it should get all the rest of the benefits that come with an improved hit die: skill points, improved saves, BAB progression.

But that renders the rest of the familiar rules nonsensical.

If the familiar is getting skill points of its own, why is it using the master's?

If it gets hit points on its own, why would it get half the master's hit points instead?

If its base attack bonus is going up, why is it using the master's BAB when animals get a 3/4 progression and wizards only get 1/2?

If the familiar's saves go up with the master's hit dice, then it's getting full progression on all three saves -- its fortitude and reflex saves will always be the best possible, because those are good saves for creatures of the animal type.

Quote:

Any way to get a feat onto a familiar without being a beast-bonded witch?

As far as I know, there's exactly one way.

House rules.

[Whale_Cancer]

Tinalles wrote:

As far as I know, there's exactly one way.

House rules.

That sounds more like an infinite number of ways.

[LazarX]

Familliars don't gain feats or skills because they don't have true hit dice. If a familiar loses its bond with it's master it either dies, or reverts to it's bestiary entry.

They get their master's skills, half their master's hit points and the amount of hit dice based on their master's character level as virtual hit dice.