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My 9th level Magus (in PFS) is looking to get a Quasit Familiar. I've been doing a lot of research to make it legal, and I've found no shortage of questions that seem unanswered. To start things off...
1) What would the Intelligence score of my new friend be? A Quasit normally has an Intelligence of 11, but according to this chart (need to scroll down just a bit) at 9th level a Familiar's Intelligence is only 10. Is that meant for just basic, non-Improved Familiars, or is that a blanket application? Obviously in this case there's not a huge mechanical difference, but it would be good to know going forward for other Familiars where the difference might be much bigger.
Previous discussions can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and in many other threads.
2) Delivering Touch Spells. "If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the 'toucher'." What exactly does, "in contact" mean? My Quasit will likely be Invisible most of the time. Do I have to "touch" my Familiar to use this ability? Like wielding a weapon, is it a free action to grab my Familiar with one hand, and a free action to let go? Would it work if he was touching me instead? If he's just sitting on my shoulder, does it just "happen". And/or do I have to see my Familiar to use this ability?
I could not find that this question had been asked before.
3) Familiars treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills. Those are, coincidentally, the same class skills that Animals receive. The Quasit is an Outsider, and Outsiders normally treat Bluff, Craft, Knowledge (planes), Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth as class skills, and "due to their varied nature, outsiders also receive 4 additional class skills determined by the creature's theme". Which method should I use? Or should I combine the two lists? And if the Quasit is allowed to keep his Outsider class skills, what "4 additional class skills" am I able to choose? The stock Quasit has Intimidate, but that is the only skill outside of the normal set that it has. Could I have him learn Use Magic Device?
Previous discussions can be found HERE and HERE.
4a) A Quasit is normally a "CE outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)". The rules for Improved Familiar state that its "type" does not change, but does this include subtypes? My Magus is Chaotic Neutral, so the Quasit is, too. Does it retain the Evil subtype? What about the Chaotic subtype? Both are important when determining whether his attacks bypass DR.
4b) According to its entry, "Newly created quasits are birthed directly into the Material Plane, where they become familiars". Does this mean my newly created Quasit does not yet have the Extraplanar subtype? Or would I be receiving a second hand Quasit from the local Goodwill? Being an Outsider, does it gain the Native subtype? This would be good to know for determining how it interacts with spells like Banishment and Dismissal.
5) According to its entry, "When a quasit's master dies, the quasit can attempt to follow the master's soul into the Great Beyond by making a DC 15 Will save. This functions as Plane Shift, but affects only the quasit and transports it into the Abyss and places its master's soul in the quasit's possession as a writhing larvae rather than using the evil master's soul to create new demonic life. In this manner, a quasit can use its newly captured soul to bargain with more powerful denizens of the lower planes, and perhaps secure a vile transformative 'promotion' to a more powerful form of life in the process."
If my character dies, by whatever means, does this mean that not even a Raise Dead or Resurrection will bring him back, due to the "the subject's soul must be free and willing to return" clause? I am not familiar with the "Great Beyond". This entry seems part fluff and part crunch, given the need for a DC 15 Will Save. Would this happen the moment I died, the round after, or a day after? I'm willing to accept that. My character is choosing a Quasit partly for this reason IC, but if it's possible to keep playing him if/after he dies that would be good to know, too.
I think that's all I can come up with right now... Thanks in advance!!
My 9th level Magus (in PFS) is looking to get a Quasit Familiar. I've been doing a lot of research to make it legal, and I've found no shortage of questions that seem unanswered. To start things off...
1) What would the Intelligence score of my new friend be? A Quasit normally has an Intelligence of 11, but according to this chart (need to scroll down just a bit) at 9th level a Familiar's Intelligence is only 10. Is that meant for just basic, non-Improved Familiars, or is that a blanket application? Obviously in this case there's not a huge mechanical difference, but it would be good to know going forward for other Familiars where the difference might be much bigger.
Previous discussions can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and in many other threads.
Since the phrase "whichever is better" comes up a lot in the familiar text, and this would only apply to the improved familiars, we have always extended that clause to them. It seems to make the most sense.
2) Delivering Touch Spells. "If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the 'toucher'." What exactly does, "in contact" mean? My Quasit will likely be Invisible most of the time. Do I have to "touch" my Familiar to use this ability? Like wielding a weapon, is it a free action to grab my Familiar with one hand, and a free action to let go? Would it work if he was touching me instead? If he's just sitting on my shoulder, does it just "happen". And/or do I have to see my Familiar to use this ability?
I often have my familiar sitting on my shoulder, leg etc, when I cast and then it runs off or hangs out until I need him. I have one character that uses a familiar to later cast abundant ammo for me without taking my action; for him I just reach into a familiar satchel and touch him while casting as part of the spell. No one has ever had a problem with this.
3) Familiars treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills. Those are, coincidentally, the same class skills that Animals receive. The Quasit is an Outsider, and Outsiders normally treat Bluff, Craft, Knowledge (planes), Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth as class skills, and "due to their varied nature, outsiders also receive 4 additional class skills determined by the creature's theme". Which method should I use? Or should I combine the two lists? And if the Quasit is allowed to keep his Outsider class skills, what "4 additional class skills" am I able to choose? The stock Quasit has Intimidate, but that is the only skill outside of the normal set that it has. Could I have him learn Use Magic Device?
Never really thought about it.
4a) A Quasit is normally a "CE outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)". The rules for Improved Familiar state that its "type" does not change, but does this include subtypes? My Magus is Chaotic Neutral, so the Quasit is, too. Does it retain the Evil subtype? What about the Chaotic subtype? Both are important when determining whether his attacks bypass DR.
I can't see any reason its alignment would change to match yours any more than your god's alignment which is one step away would change to match yours.
4b) According to its entry, "Newly created quasits are birthed directly into the Material Plane, where they become familiars". Does this mean my newly created Quasit does not yet have the Extraplanar subtype? Or would I be receiving a second hand Quasit from the local Goodwill? Being an Outsider, does it gain the Native subtype? This would be good to know for determining how it interacts with spells like Banishment and Dismissal.
I would just stick to what it says in the stat block unless you can find one in an AP, scenario, whatever, that is a familiar and has something different listed. I admit a good argument could be made for doing otherwise though if you had some mechanical desires in mind.
5) According to its entry, "When a quasit's master dies, the quasit can attempt to follow the master's soul into the Great Beyond by making a DC 15 Will save. This functions as Plane Shift, but affects only the quasit and transports it into the Abyss and places its master's soul in the quasit's possession as a writhing larvae rather than using the evil master's soul to create new demonic life. In this manner, a quasit can use its newly captured soul to bargain with more powerful denizens of the lower planes, and perhaps secure a vile transformative 'promotion' to a more powerful form of life in the process."If my character dies, by whatever means, does this mean that not even a Raise Dead or Resurrection will bring him back, due to the "the subject's soul must be free and willing to return" clause? I am not familiar with the "Great Beyond". This entry seems part fluff and part crunch, given the need for a DC 15 Will Save. Would this happen the moment I died, the round after, or a day after? I'm willing to accept that. My character is choosing a Quasit partly for this reason IC, but if it's possible to keep playing him if/after he dies that would be good to know, too.
Kind of like the last question, I consider the Ecology block to be fluff for GMs and roleplay, but perhaps I should pay it more mind.
6) "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."Would this make my Quasit's caster level 9th as well, instead of 6th, as is listed in its entry?
I have always thought of this as effects on the familiar rather than effects created by the familiar, but you could make a good argument. I have always assumed they stay at the same level, this extends also to the fairy dragon who "casts spells as a third level sorcerer."
Sorry so much of my stuff is anecdotal/opinion, but I know when I ask a rules question I would rather have that than nothing at all.
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4a) A Quasit is normally a "CE outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)". The rules for Improved Familiar state that its "type" does not change, but does this include subtypes? My Magus is Chaotic Neutral, so the Quasit is, too. Does it retain the Evil subtype? What about the Chaotic subtype? Both are important when determining whether his attacks bypass DR.I can't see any reason its alignment would change to match yours any more than your god's alignment which is one step away would change to match yours.
Pathfinder must have dropped that from 3.5, or maybe I'm thinking of an earlier version of Familiars. I remember them matching the caster's alignment. Thanks for pointing that out.
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The caster level question based on HD is a no go. The caster level of 6 is set, normally the Quasit's caster level would not be that high (It normally has 3HD). So it's not based on HD in this particular instance, but the whims of the creator of the Quasit entry.
That's my opinion on that one at least.
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The intelligence thing isn’t explicitly stated anywhere but I believe the int is whatever is best, the natural score or the enhanced one.
You basically touch your familiar and charge it with the touch spell then you send it out to deliver the attack for you.
I believe the familiar uses your ranks with its ability modifiers. It doesn’t get ranks itself so no bonus. But when it’s rank+mod score is better than yours it can use that instead.
I don’t think the Familiars alignment changes to yours, but it is loyal to you. Or at least wont betray you until after you are dead.
I just read that Quasit entry. I would say that IF the Quasit follows your soul to hell when your soul gets pulled back to the material the Quasit comes with it. If the Quasit does not go with you it is free to run wild until you get back at which point it is bound to you again.
Your familiars’ effective hit dice are kind of virtual hit dice. They do not effect anything except effects that rely on hit dice, like how the sleep spell only works on so many hit dice.
As the OP mentioned PFS... On the alignment, I'm 90% sure the familiars alignment doesn't change. IIRC, last time it came up PFS ruled you have to use the default stat block, period (for balance reasons), with Imp. Familiars.
Maybe if it was just narrative it would be one thing, but going evil to neutral has definitive gameplay effects (protects it against spells, avoids detect evil scans, makes the familiar much easier to manage and likely less inclined to grab your soul and run to the dark south with it when you die).
I would definitely double check on the PFS legality of that. AFAIK, only Black Blades change with/for you, and those aren't technically familiars (they're... unique).
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You basically touch your familiar and charge it with the touch spell then you send it out to deliver the attack for you.
Okay. So if the Familiar is touching me instead, does that not count? I'm probably overthinking this. I'm imagining that if my Quasit begins the round Invisible, touching him for this purpose might be problematic.
I believe the familiar uses your ranks with its ability modifiers. It doesn’t get ranks itself so no bonus. But when it’s rank+mod score is better than yours it can use that instead.
A regular Familiar typically has one skill rank of its own, while a Quasit has six (one rank in each of Bluff, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (planes), Perception, and Stealth). But my question was regarding what skills it should consider as class skills.
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On the alignment, I'm 90% sure the familiars alignment doesn't change.
Yes, I realized that in an earlier post. It remains Chaotic Evil.
IIRC, last time it came up PFS ruled you have to use the default stat block, period (for balance reasons), with Imp. Familiars.
Good to know. So, class skills of Outsiders, then? What "4 additional skills" does my friend treat as class skills? Or would it be nothing since there is no definition?
I would definitely double check on the PFS legality of that. AFAIK, only Black Blades change with/for you, and those aren't technically familiars (they're... unique).
Quasits are a legal choice for Improved Familiar. It's just all these other questions I'm trying to iron out.
....IIRC, last time it came up PFS ruled you have to use the default stat block, period (for balance reasons), with Imp. Familiars.....
If anyone has a link on this I would love it. I recently saw some pretty dramatic mechanics worked into the ecology box for the Imp.
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5) According to its entry, "When a quasit's master dies, the quasit can attempt to follow the master's soul into the Great Beyond by making a DC 15 Will save. This functions as Plane Shift, but affects only the quasit and transports it into the Abyss and places its master's soul in the quasit's possession as a writhing larvae rather than using the evil master's soul to create new demonic life. In this manner, a quasit can use its newly captured soul to bargain with more powerful denizens of the lower planes, and perhaps secure a vile transformative 'promotion' to a more powerful form of life in the process."
If my character dies, by whatever means, does this mean that not even a Raise Dead or Resurrection will bring him back, due to the "the subject's soul must be free and willing to return" clause? I am not familiar with the "Great Beyond". This entry seems part fluff and part crunch, given the need for a DC 15 Will Save. Would this happen the moment I died, the round after, or a day after? I'm willing to accept that. My character is choosing a Quasit partly for this reason IC, but if it's possible to keep playing him if/after he dies that would be good to know, too.
First, given that this bit talks about the master being evil, I assume that the Quasit can only nab your soul if you're already generally headed to the Abyss after you die - it's powerful enough to follow you there and snatch you up, but not powerful enough to actually re-route a CN master's soul. Of course, this would mean that a Quasit would be particularly keen to corrupt you before your death, since it otherwise loses out on its personal investment.
Not sure whether this means a CE master would be impossible to resurrect, though I suspect not, since magic that interferes with a soul being "free to return" usually explicitly states that Raise and/or Resurrection won't work (for example, the Cacodaemon notes that its Soul Lock imposes a DC 12 CL check on attempts to resurrect the affected soul).
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*looks over his Quasit's sheet*
It looks like Bluff / Fly / Intimidate / Knowledge (planes) / Perception / and Stealth are all treated as class skills in the Quasit's statblock. Of these, only Fly and Intimidate are not normally class skills for Outsiders. I didn't give my Quasit any more class skills than the base six that Outsiders get, and those two. I figured that nobody could have a problem with that rationale, but if I added in any two others, odds are I'd encounter at least 1 GM that might take issue (especially UMD!).
So, for your Air Elemental, it appears to break down like this:
[2 HD x (6 ranks/HD - 3 INT) = 6 total skill ranks for a small elemental]
Acrobatics +7 (1 rank + 3 class + 3 DEX)
Escape Artist +7 (1 rank +3 class + 3 DEX)
Fly +17 (1 rank + 3 class + 3 DEX + 2 size + 8 perfect)
Knowledge (planes) +1 (1 rank + 3 class - 3 INT)
Perception +4 (1 rank + 3 class + 0 WIS)
Stealth +11 (1 rank + 3 class + 3 DEX + 4 size)
Which means that in addition to the six class skills that all Outsiders have, Air Elementals also treat Acrobatics / Escape Artist / and Fly as class skills.
So, if you take the least confrontational path that I took, at least you get 3 out of the 4 possible bonus class skills, and if you decided to get just a little bit confrontational, you could pick UMD as your 4th, but I wouldn't chance it.
Wow. I haven't played my Magus in 3 months. I gotta get him retired!