Best. Familiar. Ever!


Advice

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This thread serves two purposes.

1) What do you think is the best familiar and why? I think a lot of people are going to say the wand use thing, which is super, but blasé. If you go that route i'd at least like to ask for context or an interesting story about it.

2) Share you stories about things familiars did in your games that were epic and or amusing.

Alright, thats it. Dazzle me. ;-)


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Arbiter inevitable. Can't kill it without chaotic aligned damage.


I agree with creepy... there is alot of cheese that can be done with eldritch heritage improved familiar


Daxthemonk wrote:
I agree with creepy... there is alot of cheese that can be done with eldritch heritage improved familiar

The point of this thread is things about familiars that you like. Lets be careful not to go down the "here's why familiars suck" line of thinking.

Thank you.


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I never actually got around to doing this, but I always thought it would be really cool to have the feat False Focus and a Raktavarna familiar. The Raktavarna changes into an elegant holy symbol for you to power your spells (I'd certainly allow it to be run that way anyway), and if you need an infiltrator you have it disguise itself as treasure (and maybe see if you could even enchant it, DM depending) and have it find its way into your enemies hands and stay there until you learned all you need to know or face them in combat... in which case their fancy new magic ring stops being a fancy new magic ring and starts biting. A homebrew "teleport familiar" spell would make that scenario even better.

I'd probably go Tattooed Sorcerer (mainly for the Tattoo Familiar) or False Priest (to play up the charlatan angle) if I ever did try to do this... that is also definitely going to happen at some point if I ever DM again.


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Ravens because they can talk. You can make a real nasty raven that can annoy the party and make for tons of laughs.


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Greensting Scorpion .

+4 Initiative, Alertness.

What it does? Sits on your shoulder and gives you awesome bonuses.


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At level 1, I like the bat familiar. The ability to auto-detect invisible and hiding creatures is very, very handy.


I played a wiz (big surprise, not) with a raven familiar on my first ever PbP. He was useful in game terms because whenever my (admittedly flighty) mage needed to spot/perceive something, he got 2 chances to do so. That usually worked out in my favor, since my Wiz's Per was handicapped. Also in game terms, when we were running around on street level, trying to spot all of the nasty goblins running around, it was able to be my 'eyes in the sky' at 1st level. Very handy.

The talking was a bonus, both for warnings, (which it usually did without talking) and carrying messages when the party was split.
(Theoretically, does talking mean a Raven familiar can use a scroll?!?)

It actually provided a minor plot twist when;
(minor) ROTRL spoiler alert:

Spoiler:

It was bird-napped by the Imp hiding in the tunnels. Snagged in mid-flight by the Imp using its invisibility. The Imp use the familiar as a captive to power the runewell. When the mage tried to rescue him, HE fell in, was wounded, and powered it himself! ;P


hogarth wrote:
At level 1, I like the bat familiar. The ability to auto-detect invisible and hiding creatures is very, very handy.

While I have never tried this, I have always wanted to. This sounds VERY useful. Even if it doesn't remove the neg to hit from the invisibility, at least you know what hex it is in! :)

Shadow Lodge

I'm a fan of the snake and imp familiars for their poison. My Serpentine sorceress likes to deliver Pernicious Poison via Serpent's Fang. At level 6, she can do upwards of 8 Con per round. Next level, the imp comes in and will probably deliver a lot of Calcific Touches while stinging for large amounts of Dex damage. And of course, he'll be using wands. For example, he can True Strike me so that I can be sure to hit when delivering touch spells with my bite (since doing so means they target normal AC). Also, he'll likely fly around invisibly tapping allies with wands of Infernal Healing or Shield. And he's got all those handy little SLAs, including Commune and Augury.


Before the errata the silvanshee was an amazing familiar because of it's lay on hands ability, and which got better as your level got higher.


does this include improved versions? because a faerie dragon with the right equipment is hard to beat.


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Goat, small quaraped that is perfect for carrying my beer kegs. Also she has managed to kill a few things.


Silvanshee is still rather nice -- a variety of options at all points.


What is this errata about the Silvanshee?


I've not seen any actual errata yet, there was a developer that thought that the silvanshee was too strong and suggested they might do something about it, but nothing official has been done yet.

I'm going to suggest it's because they realized that compared to regeneration a few uses of lay on hands a day isn't any worse.


asthyril wrote:
does this include improved versions? because a faerie dragon with the right equipment is hard to beat.

This absolutely included improved familiars.

What equipment?


As a witch, I love the silvanshee as my walking spellbook. It walks, talks (speaks every language), flies, can use Gaseous Form and can D-Door not to mention its other various immunities/resistances. Just have the master take up some ranks in stealth and you have a familiar that can handily avoid getting itself blown up regardless of what the owner itself is doing.

-S

Grand Lodge

Celestial Vampiric Earth Mephit.


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Otis, a friendly country bumpkin witch with a pig familiar (+3 to diplomacy because everyone loves a man with a pig). Whenever he makes a knowledge check only because the pig was using Aid Another roleplay it so the pig is seen correcting him:

Otis: I believe it was ancient Azlanti.
Pig: SQUEEEE!
Otis: You're right, must have been Thassolian.

Also, Otis loves to be sloppy and dirty but the pig prefers to be well-groomed and fed prepared meals in a clean bowl while Otis eats whatever he can get his filthy hands on.

Shadow Lodge

Odraude wrote:
What is this errata about the Silvanshee?

I think there was a debate over whether the fact that a familiar's HD is equal to your HD means that the Silvanshee's Lay on Hands scaled up as a Paladin of the master's class level. Which would be a very powerful ability (though probably still not as good as Regeneration).


Anyone have any stories about familiars doing somethting particularily interesting in game?

Shadow Lodge

Weirdo wrote:
Odraude wrote:
What is this errata about the Silvanshee?
I think there was a debate over whether the fact that a familiar's HD is equal to your HD means that the Silvanshee's Lay on Hands scaled up as a Paladin of the master's class level. Which would be a very powerful ability (though probably still not as good as Regeneration).

Ah, if only it were so. My familiar's poison DCs would scale with level then. As if poison wasn't scary enough.

Shadow Lodge

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Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:
Anyone have any stories about familiars doing somethting particularily interesting in game?

In a recent session, we were fighting a purple worm, and I had just been paralyzed by a ghoul from a previous fight. I still had a good four rounds left, and I was roughly one full-round from death. However, I was right next to an Obscuring Mist that had been popped earlier, and I had my familiar with me. So... he tried a Drag combat maneuver. With a STR of 3 and a BAB of +2, he succeeded and pulled me safely into the mist. I had to go to the carry weight table to see if he could even drag my weight.


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Summoner is a great familiar.

It's got spontaneous casting, early access to Haste, and the only spells that can heal you. It can also wear armor, which, you, as a creature of more refined dimensions, find tedious and chafing. Still, it keeps the poor thing alive.

Also, when you take a nap, your Summoner familiar can summon other creatures to amuse itself.


I've always thought it aa travesty that there's no divine means of gaining a familiar (that I know of). The Bestiary entries for the Lantern Archon and Cassisian Angel just scream cleric's companion to me. (I know about Eldritch Heritage, but that's not the flavor of holy familiar that I imagine.)
I just think that having a tiny angel on your shoulder, literally, could be a ton of fun.


My best familiar was a little monkey named Beebu. He carried around a box that had a crank on it. When the crank was turned, it did one of two things. Played cute music, or fired crossbow bolts as heavy repeating crossbow out of a hole hidden in the art on the box. Through the beast bonded witch arch -type he received all kinds of feats making him one kick but killing machine.

Until he got hammer the gap and couldn't bypass DR it would throw poo once he realized he couldn't do damage.


Wildebob wrote:
I've always thought it aa travesty that there's no divine means of gaining a familiar (that I know of).

There is one, but that only makes it worse.

2nd level Adepts get a Familiar, while the PC classes do without.


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My arcane tricksters familiar is a monkey named Jack II. Jack I dies in an unfortunate scouting accident. Jack II is a nervous wreck and chainsmokes. He knows about jack I.


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Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:
asthyril wrote:
does this include improved versions? because a faerie dragon with the right equipment is hard to beat.

This absolutely included improved familiars.

What equipment?

a faerie dragon is the only familiar (allowed in pfs anyway, not sure about others) with an actual class (unlike others who just have spell like abilities). this means that you can buy it pages of spell knowledge to increase its spells known, and a ring of wizardry to double its number of 1st level spells. also items that help skills are nice too if you happen to have good skills on your character. (my rogue has a 20 int so he has tons of skills, all of which get passed to the familiar, which is nice because he has the dragon skill list, which is a good one)

currently in PFS i have a level 12 rogue who at level 10 took the advanced rogue talent to get a familiar, and at level 11 took improved familiar to get a faerie dragon. he currently has the following gear, most of which is secondary gear for my rogue,excepting the spellcaster only items:

- hat of disguise (he can change himself into any dragon between 6 inches and 2 feet,6 inches according to the spell)
- +1 silken ceremonial armor with shadow (because of how tiny armor works he only gets 1 ac total from the armor but its mainly for +5 to stealth)
- heavyload belt and muleback cords (even with the penalty for tiny creatures encumbrance he can still FLY with 129LBS! meaning he can actually fly my rogue around (hes a skinny elf))
- ring of wizardry 1 (doubles 1st level spells per day to 12 a day)
- pages of spell knowledge (shield, feather fall, enlarge person, animate rope, floating disc, magic missile, vanish, detect charm, comprehend languages, liberating command, arcane lock, summon monster 1) these are in addition to silent image, grease, sleep that he stars with.
- cracked orange prism ioun stone (to give detect magic as a 0 level spell known)
- eyes of the eagle (he has a better wisdom therefore can find traps better)
- staff of minor arcana (so he can cast caster level 8 magic missile 5 times a day)
- trapspringer gloves, bracers of steadiness (combined will let him take 20 on opening a lock and get a 50 DC)

he can use silent image to make a wall between you and some enemies, then telepathically tell you and all your allies that its an illusion giving you a free save with a +4 so that you aren't affected by it. that makes a wall that you and your allies can see through (providing you make the DC 16 save with a +4 bonus), but none of your enemies can see through it until they interact with it (spend an action of some sort to get a save)

note this use will let a melee character who can make the save get an attack off against an opponent who cannot see them.

also a combination of grease as a standard action on one of your allies who is grappled and liberating command as a swift action on your turn will in one turn allow said grappled character make a free escape artist check to get out with a +16 to the roll (+10 grease +6 liberating command from a 3rd level caster)

that is just some of the tricks you can do with him, i'm still finding ways that it is incredibly useful to have a 3rd level caster with another standard action per turn along with your own.


asthyril wrote:
Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:
asthyril wrote:
does this include improved versions? because a faerie dragon with the right equipment is hard to beat.

This absolutely included improved familiars.

What equipment?

a faerie dragon is the only familiar (allowed in pfs anyway, not sure about others) with an actual class (unlike others who just have spell like abilities). this means that you can buy it pages of spell knowledge to increase its spells known, and a ring of wizardry to double its number of 1st level spells. also items that help skills are nice too if you happen to have good skills on your character. (my rogue has a 20 int so he has tons of skills, all of which get passed to the familiar, which is nice because he has the dragon skill list, which is a good one)

currently in PFS i have a level 12 rogue who at level 10 took the advanced rogue talent to get a familiar, and at level 11 took improved familiar to get a faerie dragon. he currently has the following gear, most of which is secondary gear for my rogue,excepting the spellcaster only items:

- hat of disguise (he can change himself into any dragon between 6 inches and 2 feet,6 inches according to the spell)
- +1 silken ceremonial armor with shadow (because of how tiny armor works he only gets 1 ac total from the armor but its mainly for +5 to stealth)
- heavyload belt and muleback cords (even with the penalty for tiny creatures encumbrance he can still FLY with 129LBS! meaning he can actually fly my rogue around (hes a skinny elf))
- ring of wizardry 1 (doubles 1st level spells per day to 12 a day)
- pages of spell knowledge (shield, feather fall, enlarge person, animate rope, floating disc, magic missile, vanish, detect charm, comprehend languages, liberating command, arcane lock, summon monster 1) these are in addition to silent image, grease, sleep that he stars with.
- cracked orange prism ioun stone (to give detect magic as a 0 level spell known)
- eyes of the eagle (he has a better wisdom...

Very interesing.


Nosoi psychopomp

DR adamantine.

Immune to death effects, disease, and poison.

Ghost touch with natural weapons, which helps with those pesky incorporeals.

Spiritsense, which is only slightly worse then blindsight.

Speak with Dead, 6 questions, 3 times a day.

Plus, it can write, yo.

Otherwise, Cassian.

Perfect Memory. The RP implications are boundless.

Shadow Lodge

You got the faerie dragon boon a character that could actually use it? It's as though millions of wizards cried out and were suddenly silenced.


Sesharan wrote:
Weirdo wrote:
Odraude wrote:
What is this errata about the Silvanshee?
I think there was a debate over whether the fact that a familiar's HD is equal to your HD means that the Silvanshee's Lay on Hands scaled up as a Paladin of the master's class level. Which would be a very powerful ability (though probably still not as good as Regeneration).
Ah, if only it were so. My familiar's poison DCs would scale with level then. As if poison wasn't scary enough.

IT does, both of them do, that's why the developers thought it might be a bit too powerful.

You can find the link by looking through my threads.


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VRMH wrote:
Wildebob wrote:
I've always thought it aa travesty that there's no divine means of gaining a familiar (that I know of).

There is one, but that only makes it worse.

2nd level Adepts get a Familiar, while the PC classes do without.

Good. Freaking divine cheaters get enough as is.


Thread in question about silvanshee

EDIT: And it turns out I was wrong -- there was an erata, and I disagree with it but hey that's life.

Remember that you can still get more uses out of it by raising the charisma mod, but that's about it.

But hey it can share it's luck bonus so that's something too.


Sesharan wrote:
You got the faerie dragon boon a character that could actually use it? It's as though millions of wizards cried out and were suddenly silenced.

well my rogue got the first one, my wizard got the boon from me running the scenario. shouldn't be that hard to get 1 character you want to have it, get it.


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In one of my games, a witch at 8th level had Improved Familiar, and took a fairy dragon as the familiar. At will invisibility, etc. Used it to scout.

First game, they saw, from 1000ft away, a strange rocky/mossy form guarding the path they were taking toward the woods. Instead of the ranger sneaking up closer using stealth, the witch stood up, said "I have this covered." and sent her familiar flying up the path invisible to scout.

The bandersnatch that was napping there, something big and nasty enough to convince them to take the alternate path, opened one eye, saw the invisible fairy dragon flying toward it, and zotched it with heat vision from one eye. Insta kill, just a pile of dust drifting down.

The player of the witch had a jaw drop moment, then sighed, turned in their character sheet, and pulled out their backup character while the rest of the group laughed and went back to town to pick up a new spellcaster. :)


Why was a familiar dying enough reason to essentially re-roll? You just have to wait a week and have 200 gold per level and you're back in business.


mdt wrote:

In one of my games, a witch at 8th level had Improved Familiar, and took a fairy dragon as the familiar. At will invisibility, etc. Used it to scout.

First game, they saw, from 1000ft away, a strange rocky/mossy form guarding the path they were taking toward the woods. Instead of the ranger sneaking up closer using stealth, the witch stood up, said "I have this covered." and sent her familiar flying up the path invisible to scout.

The bandersnatch that was napping there, something big and nasty enough to convince them to take the alternate path, opened one eye, saw the invisible fairy dragon flying toward it, and zotched it with heat vision from one eye. Insta kill, just a pile of dust drifting down.

The player of the witch had a jaw drop moment, then sighed, turned in their character sheet, and pulled out their backup character while the rest of the group laughed and went back to town to pick up a new spellcaster. :)

the problems i see with that story is that faerie dragons do not have at will invisibility, they have greater invisibility 3 times a day.

also a bandersnatch has no way to notice an invisible creature more than 120 feet away, and within 120 feet it just knows what square theyre in, it cannot see them. and i would think a faerie dragon would leave the area and report long before getting within 120 feet of a gargantuan creature.


chaoseffect wrote:
Why was a familiar dying enough reason to essentially re-roll? You just have to wait a week and have 200 gold per level and you're back in business.

I assume its because he lost his spellbook... though he could have gotten it rezed.


A) The problem with that story is, I typed Bandernatch when I meant Jabberwocky, which has true sight.

B) It was the first game with the new character, he spent a bunch of money on spells he taught to it, and finally he was playing a witch in two different games, and decided he would rather play his backup (decided it was a sign).


And it's 500gp per level for a witch.


mdt wrote:

A) The problem with that story is, I typed Bandernatch when I meant Jabberwocky, which has true sight.

B) It was the first game with the new character, he spent a bunch of money on spells he taught to it, and finally he was playing a witch in two different games, and decided he would rather play his backup (decided it was a sign).

ah, well that would make more sense. except that true sight also has the limitation of only 120 feet, i think a faerie dragon would get the hell out of there before that, imo.


asthyril wrote:
mdt wrote:

A) The problem with that story is, I typed Bandernatch when I meant Jabberwocky, which has true sight.

B) It was the first game with the new character, he spent a bunch of money on spells he taught to it, and finally he was playing a witch in two different games, and decided he would rather play his backup (decided it was a sign).

ah, well that would make more sense. except that true sight also has the limitation of only 120 feet, i think a faerie dragon would get the hell out of there before that, imo.

That assumes it's player can avoid rolling a 1 on perception checks 3 times in a row, and the player also sneaks the fairy dragon, rather than having it fly 15ft off the ground in the open.


mdt wrote:
asthyril wrote:
mdt wrote:

A) The problem with that story is, I typed Bandernatch when I meant Jabberwocky, which has true sight.

B) It was the first game with the new character, he spent a bunch of money on spells he taught to it, and finally he was playing a witch in two different games, and decided he would rather play his backup (decided it was a sign).

ah, well that would make more sense. except that true sight also has the limitation of only 120 feet, i think a faerie dragon would get the hell out of there before that, imo.
That assumes it's player can avoid rolling a 1 on perception checks 3 times in a row, and the player also sneaks the fairy dragon, rather than having it fly 15ft off the ground in the open.

having to make perception checks means that the jabberwock was actively making stealth checks, which would mean it knew there was something coming in the first place. the jabberwock has base -3 stealth so even with 120 feet distance that would only be +9, IF it were actively stealthing, which if it was just lying there there is no perception check required. and the faerie dragon minimum perception roll is 10, which is plenty good enough to see something huge taking a nap.

you run your games like you want to, but i still call shenanigans on killing a players familiar in that manner.


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Call what ever the #$*@ you want. Not every creature in the world is a perfect clone from the book. This particular jaberwock had put points into stealth, and yes, it was hiding. And yes, it knew something was coming because it was hiding next to a well used path going into the forest which had regular travellers which it like to eat. Perhaps you're one of those people that prefers if living animals are only found deep in dungeons with no source of food and no ability to be smarter than a tree stump?

Sheesh, talk about making a judgement without knowing what the heck i going on.


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Try to stay on topic please.

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