Familiar Melding

[weschaos]

Recently I had a GM with an overly literal reading on how Share spells works with Familiar Melding

Share spells:

Share Spells: The wizard may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on himself. A wizard may cast spells on his familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).

Familiar Melding:

You project your soul into your familiar, taking over its body while leaving its consciousness intact. When you transfer your soul upon casting, your body is, as near as anyone can tell, dead.

While possessing your familiar, you can communicate with it telepathically. You keep your Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities. The familiar's body retains its own Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, hit points, natural abilities, and automatic abilities. A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You may use any abilities the familiar has, including spells and spell-like abilities. You cannot speak unless your familiar has the ability to speak a language. You cannot cast spells with somatic components if your familiar does not have anthropomorphic limbs that can perform the appropriate motions.

As a standard action, you can return to your body as long as it is within range. If your familiar is slain while your soul is in it and your body is within range, your soul returns to your own body, unharmed. If your familiar is out of range when slain, you die. The spell ends when you shift from the familiar to your own body.

My plan was to use Familiar Melding as a buff spell in the morning, then stuff my body into a bag of holding and fly around as my favorite minion, casting spells and whatnot. However, my GM didn't see it that way, citing that whilst my soul was inhabiting my familiar's body, I could only use the share spells from the standard familiar skillset for legal uses of my spells.

I just said Whatever, missed a few turns in combat we were in when he sprang this on me so I could empty myself out and dismiss the spell, seeing as he likes to challenge my little idea's for creative use of spells. I said it wasn't worth it to fight him and waste everyone elses time, we were already going to run long on the session, so it was in my interest.

Anyway, am I misreading Familiar Melding, or does it, by RAW. state that you can cast spells, but not spells that have components that you can't provide due to the limitations. That logically implies that you can, in fact, cast your spells.

Input appreciated, I'd love to be able to tell him that this works. I thoroughly enjoy picking my favorite Tiny Outsider or Faerie Dragon or whathaveyou and playing that, and if I need to sacrifice a fourth level spell slot and half my hit points, I should be allowed to do so at my discretion and have it come with all the benefits that RAW grants it.

[Ellias Aubec]

I'm not sure why the Share Spells even comes into it. You case Familiar Meld and you inhabit their body and can use their spells and Spell-likes and your own spells - surely they would be classified as mental abilities.

Share Spells only allows you to cast spells onto the familiar that you couldn't otherwise do (like truestrike).

[Taenia]

I don't understand why your GM thinks this applies. It specifically calls out that not only can you cast all the spells/special abilities of your familiar but you can still use your own, provided you have access to necessary resources, like V, S and material components. If anything by calling out only the Somatic ones it either assumes you have access to the others or that since the familiar can speak with you, it can also cast spells.

[Claxon]

Share Spells has nothing to do with this scenario.

However, that aside unless your familiar has the normal ability to speak you cannot cast spells with a verbal component. If your familiar doesn't have arms you cannot cast spells with a somatic component or a material component because you have no way to provide the gestures or manipulate the materials for the spell.

Suffice it to say, inhabiting your familiar to cast spells probably isn't going to work out the way you want to. Unless you take improved familiar and take a familiar with arms and the ability to speak.

[weschaos]

I am taking improved Familiar, and nearly all of the outsiders can speak. In addition a good many of them have hands, and even if Faerie Dragons don't have hands, they can still cast spells since their stat block specifically outlines them as sorcerers, casting spells that require somatic components.

[Chris Lambertz]

Removed a post and reply. Personal insults really add nothing to the conversation.