Pooka Familiar and UMD

[Mahtobedis]

Simply put can a Pooka familiar, from bestiary 4, use wands, and should it be able to in PFS?

From what I understand of the rules as they are strictly written it cannot because it is not on list of creatures that count as bipedal with hands.

However I cannot help but think this may be an over site as the Pooka does have UMD as a skill in Bestiary 4. It seems a little odd to me that a Pooka without a wizard can activate wands but as soon as it becomes a familiar it suddenly developed a crippling allergic reaction to activating magic items.

[John Compton]

Hey Mahtobedis,

I imagine this is something I should address along with prior inquiries about arbiters and some other improved familiars being able to use wands. It's on my list o' stuff to resolve (such a list actually exists!), but I anticipate needing to revisit my notes on the morphologically similar familiars before I can provide you a firm yea or nay.

Oh, and thanks for pointing out the UMD aspect of the pooka's Bestiary 4 entry. That's a good point that I'll take into consideration.

Thanks,
John

[Mahtobedis]

Thank you John, I greatly appreciate your dedicating some time to this. I know you guys at Paizo can get really busy, and it really means a lot to us players that you are willing to spend some time clarifying things for us.

[Mendeth]

Also, their main listed attack is with daggers. Doesn't that imply it has hands to wield a wand?

[Mahtobedis]

I don't suppose anyone has had a chance to think more about this question in the last few weeks?

My poor imp familiar got epically exploded

Spoiler:

Weapon in the Rift Hard mode, he activated the fully charged weapon

and I want to replace it with a pooka, but I don't really know what a pooka can and cannot do at the moment.

[Kyrie Ebonblade]

Mahtobedis wrote:

I don't suppose anyone has had a chance to think more about this question in the last few weeks?

My poor imp familiar got epically exploded

** spoiler omitted **

and I want to replace it with a pooka, but I don't really know what a pooka can and cannot do at the moment.

Ow..

I blew up two Animal companions in that same scenario. :D

[Mahtobedis]

yeah, particularly painful since it was a witch familiar.

[Rogue Eidolon]

Mahtobedis wrote:

I don't suppose anyone has had a chance to think more about this question in the last few weeks?

My poor imp familiar got epically exploded

** spoiler omitted **

and I want to replace it with a pooka, but I don't really know what a pooka can and cannot do at the moment.

One of the few imps that will be remembered by paladins as a martyr, albeit inadvertently. A paladin can only dream of making such a sacrifice for the cause of good.

[Mahtobedis]

Who knows maybe he went back to the good aligned plains instead of the evil ones. I can't think that the other devils would be too happy about what he did.

[Jason Wu]

Anyone else find the picture of the Pooka downright disturbing?

Spoiler:

Also, my Lissala-touched barbarian got exploded by the superweapon. He got better, though. Actually, he was more upset that they interrupted his fight against the ginormous thingy.

-j

[Mahtobedis]

but it's disturbingness is part of the appeal

[Mahtobedis]

John Compton wrote:

Hey Mahtobedis,

I imagine this is something I should address along with prior inquiries about arbiters and some other improved familiars being able to use wands. It's on my list o' stuff to resolve (such a list actually exists!), but I anticipate needing to revisit my notes on the morphologically similar familiars before I can provide you a firm yea or nay.

Oh, and thanks for pointing out the UMD aspect of the pooka's Bestiary 4 entry. That's a good point that I'll take into consideration.

Thanks,
John

In the interim of a final decision from you, how do you recommend GM's treat the new familiars? I'm planning on playing my witch this weekend and I don't want to throw a curveball at my GM. Are we to treat all of the new familiars as only having neck and barding available?

[MichaelCullen]

Any update?

[Mergy]

No update to these as such, so I would recommend people with wand familiar aspirations make use of a sprite instead. Very similar in ability, but full use of opposable thumbs.

[Dhjika]

Mergy wrote:

No update to these as such, so I would recommend people with wand familiar aspirations make use of a sprite instead. Very similar in ability, but full use of opposable thumbs.

opposable thumbs is not an issue - the artbier familiar has hands (uses a weapon), spell like abilities including commune and a high charisma - but did not make the UMD possible list.

[The Fourth Horseman]

You know what also makes a great wand familiar? The Azata one. Lyrakien, I think?

[Baron Iveagh]

Any movement on this? I'm rather curious about this one myself.

The stats have it using daggers, and it's Poison (SU) ability says it has hands.

[CelestinaAdams]

Yep, still wondering here, as well. I have a character that could really use a pooka as a familiar, just as a character-based counterbalance...but I'm loathe to do it if it can't use wands. Seems logical that it can, given everything listed above, but of course we're confined to the letter of the law...

[Ascalaphus]

Right now it can't. If the VO team in charge of tidying up rulings and clarifications gets around to it then it might change. I can't promise any timetable or outcome however.