Anyone ever actually build around this? I have a CG male human wizard 1 with an owl familiar. When he hits level 3 what if he took his little buddy more seriously?
- pick up a Medium size masterwork sickle
- grab a Medium size masterwork crossbow
- make a few scrolls: Alter Self and Mage Armor
Then before expected combats for the day:
- Cast Mage Armor
- (just before combat) drop Alter Self through the familiar
Now I have a tengu with a sickle, a crossbow and some Mage Armor:
Melee sickle +5 (1d6 -1)
Range crossbow +5 (1d8)
AC 17
Not a bad little dude that can now also speak, use wands and ALSO still deliver touches and such. Granted he only sticks around 3 minutes at a time, but that's not a bad flanker right? The only drawback I see here is that he's only got 8 HP. Owls get Weapon Finesse as a feat meaning it can use any light weapon w/its dex and a Tengu lets him keep his low-light vision. Alter Self gives him an 8 Str (from his original 6).
Does anyone have any practical experience on this sort of use of their familiar they'd like to offer since right now I'm just theorizing?
I asked my DM for the same thing once (except with a sorcerer instead of a wizard, a rat instead of an owl, and a crossbow instead of a sickle).
I think this is mostly legal by RAW, except for one little detail:
your familiar can't actually use any weapon, except of its own natural weapons.
Weapon finesse doesn't change that.
Alter Self doesn't change that either.
Maybe you could teach your familiar how to use a weapon as a trick - but that seems far-fetched enough to be subject to DM fiat.
Soo...nothing then? Man, there's a TON of threads about people's helpful suggestions on how to use familiars but no one's EVER polymorphed them and sent them into the fray. That is genuinely surprising.
your familiar can't actually use any weapon, except of its own natural weapons.
I am curious about this statement.
Familiars are intelligent beings (minimum Int 6), so while they aren't proficient with weapons, I don't see why it would be impossible to use them (if one was given hands) with the non-proficiency penalty.
Further, if subjected to a Polymorph spell that provided natural weapons (such as Alter Self into a Troglodyte) why it couldn't use those natural weapons?
And of course, an Improved Familiar may well have the means and proficiency to use weapons (an Imp has hands and is proficient with all martial weapons from the Outsider type).
The chief complaints seem to be: familiars will die easily and that the creature is incapable of using weapons.
1. Alter Self into something with natural weapons. The entry for magical beast (the familiar's original type) says it's proficient with its own natural attacks. It changes into something with natural attacks, "it's" natural attacks...it's proficient. It could then use weapons at -4 which is fine if you're using it for +2 Aid Another/Flank bonuses for the remainder of your crew.
2. Your familiar goes at your initiative. Make sure he attacks single opponents and do what you need to (buffs, stealth, readied actions) to ensure he goes first
3. buff spells: you get cheap scrolls, potions (as a witch), and you can buy wands. You would use these to buff your teammates. Why can your familiar not be an eligible buff recipient? Because HP is too low? Infernal healing, shield other, regeneration, cure spells, false life; all of these and more might be used to drop some extra life on your little buddy. Plus if you buff him high enough he is at very little risk for destruction.
Even if you were just using the humanoid version of your familiar as an extra pair of hands this simple utility seems priceless to me. Am I really the only one who envisions the reward outweighing the risk here?