Improved Familiar and Summoner

[Lei Xiao]

Hey just a quick question. I'm playing around with a summoner concept which would take Eldritch Heritage at 3rd level for acquiring a familiar. Now, by the rules on Eldritch Heritage, my sorcerer level would be equivalent to level - 2. However, when I take Improved Familiar to get, say for example a Pseudodragon (requires arcane caster @ 7th level), would the requirement be based upon my effective sorcerer level (meaning I would have to take it at 9th to qualify), or could I use my summoner level (as 7th level arcane caster) to meet this requirement?

[LazarX]

It would have to be on your effective sorcerer level as your summoner levels don't qualify by themselves.

[Matthew Pittard]

By the same token how does Improved Familiar work with the Tumor discovery that the Summoner can take?

[Mackaylee]

forget all those feats, just take a level in diabolist.
you gain an imp companion that can ride on your eidolons shoulders

[jjaamm]

Mackaylee wrote:

forget all those feats, just take a level in diabolist.

you gain an imp companion that can ride on your eidolons shoulders

remember though, only one is active per scenario.

[Rerednaw]

Jeff Morse wrote:

Mackaylee wrote:

forget all those feats, just take a level in diabolist.

you gain an imp companion that can ride on your eidolons shoulders

remember though, only one is active per scenario.

What he said :) Though by default eidolons already have many of the edges an Improved Familiar can grant.

Your eidolon can have hands, is sentient, and can have UMD as a class skill with a +8 on top of ranks+train bonus...you are pretty set already.

[Matthew Pittard]

Im confused. That means I cannot have both the familiar from the Tumor and the Eidiolon active at the same time?

[DesolateHarmony]

Matthew Pittard wrote:

Im confused. That means I cannot have both the familiar from the Tumor and the Eidiolon active at the same time?

PFS rules are that you can have only one companion active for combats during a scenario.

[Matthew Pittard]

My apologies, I assumed one was a Familiar and the other was a Companion (ie two separate entities from a rules perspective).

[CRobledo]

It is GM discretion. You can have both, but if your turns are taking longer than other players he can ask you to tone it down to one. If all you have is a familiar for the +4 to initiative or whatever, I'm sure it is fine.

[james maissen]

Lei Xiao wrote:

Hey just a quick question. I'm playing around with a summoner concept which would take Eldritch Heritage at 3rd level for acquiring a familiar. Now, by the rules on Eldritch Heritage, my sorcerer level would be equivalent to level - 2. However, when I take Improved Familiar to get, say for example a Pseudodragon (requires arcane caster @ 7th level), would the requirement be based upon my effective sorcerer level (meaning I would have to take it at 9th to qualify), or could I use my summoner level (as 7th level arcane caster) to meet this requirement?

You can use your arcane caster level whatever it is.

For example a wizard1/summoner7 could use the 7th level arcane caster to qualify for an improved familiar. The standard familiar abilities would still be based off of a 1st level wizard in regards to link, spell resistance, etc.

There are no rules tying the arcane caster level requirement to levels in the class granting the familiar.

That said, PFS has some house rules in disallowing you from having more than one combat creature with you. So for PFS, this is a dead issue I'm afraid until the time that they might remove that house rule.

-James

[LazarX]

Matthew Pittard wrote:

By the same token how does Improved Familiar work with the Tumor discovery that the Summoner can take?

We've had one answer from at least Mr. Jacobs on this issue in that it doesn't. at all. The tumor familliar is not meant to be a gateway to non tumor familliars and there isn't an "improved" variant of it.