I am looking into making a Wizard/Cyphermage(Inner Seas Magic) and I was thinking about having a cat familiar, then getting improved familiar for a Silvanshee.
I have been looking around the forums and it looks like there is a clear consensus that familiars do not get feats, but I what I would like clarified is if they get any new skill points and their base saves increase when their master levels up?
Also I just want to be clear on the rules it looks as though the hit dice and HP are based on the master's level no matter what other class they may have.
Lastly while the Cyphermage does not say that the class gets a familiar it is coming from a class with a familiar, so my question is, when taking levels of Cyphermage does my familiar still level up?
My understanding is that they do not level up. Instead, they have many attributes that are based on their master's level.
Their effective hit dice is the same as their master's.
Their hit points are half of their master's.
Their base attack bonus is their master's.
Their saving throws track their master's.
Their skills track their master's.
So they don't get any new skill points themselves, but if you get a new skill point, they have access to it as well.
I like the idea of my tiny toad familiar steering the ship using my Profession (sailor) skill in the Skull & Shackles campaign....
Their level is always assumed to match yours.
If you take a class where you don't get progress in the familiar, it stops there.
I don't think this is true. If my mage decides to take a level in barbarian, my familiar gains a substantial number of hit points, improved saving throws, better effective hit dice, an improved base attack bonus, and more skills.
But they're all based off my skills; the familiar gets nothing "for himself."
I think what EldonG means is that your familiar stops gaining familiar abilities and natural armor bonuses if you take levels in a class that doesn't have the familiar class feature. If that is what he is saying then he is correct. However, you are also correct: HP, saves, skill rank access, BAB is based off master's stats and not the levels he has in the class that grants the familiar.
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If the Familiar is targeted with a spell that effects so many hit dice, use the master's familiar-granting hit dice to see if the spell goes off or not.
Also, a Familiar begins with one feat and one skill point of its own, but these are usually predetermined. This is why I usually go for a Homunculus and spend the extra gold to give it extra hit die/feats/skill points.
Class levels in classes that grant familiars stack. Familiar stats are dictated by their base animal plus changes listed in the familiar section under wizards unless you take the Improved Familiar feat.