Under the animal type, there's this little sentence that could take some wind out of the sails of those who wish for a monkey archer pal:
"Proficient with its natural weapons only.[...]"
There is a blog post on intelligent animals. This is from the attached thread.
The rulings on this where left open, letting the individual DM's to allow/disallow weapon/wand use. There IS no right answer. I suggest anyone that's curious to check out the blog and thread if interested.
In the end, if you want monkeys in your game wielding greatswords and using wands, thats fine. Its your game (Core Rulebook, page 9). The rules are relatively unclear so we left that door open at this time. Its not really what I envision the druid being about (and there are serious power balance issues to be considered, which is why many consider the druid to be terribly unbalanced), but for now anyway, the rules leave it open.
Animal Archive has a pretty interesting section on intelligent animals which includes this part in the section for animals, and in the primate section it's noted that intelligent primates use a wide variety of weapons, listing greatclubs for gorillas, greatswords for chimpanzees and hand crossbow/blunderbuss for monkeys as examples. These were clearly written with Awaken in mind however, and game balance for companions/familiars is probably another issue altogether.
The druid could also confuse people by wild shaping into an eagle and having the eagle take the druid's shape. Who's the real druid now?I thought of a combo last night: druid with bear animal companion with eagle familiar decoy archetype and druid takes telepathic bond feat.
Now the druid can be in two places at once, running a meeting with the fey court at one end of the forest and staking out a goblin lair with the party at the other! :)
So many npc / villain options too!
Lmao I'm laughing so hard right now.
The druid could also confuse people by wild shaping into an eagle and having the eagle take the druid's shape. Who's the real druid now?I thought of a combo last night: druid with bear animal companion with eagle familiar decoy archetype and druid takes telepathic bond feat.
Now the druid can be in two places at once, running a meeting with the fey court at one end of the forest and staking out a goblin lair with the party at the other! :)
So many npc / villain options too!
exactly! And when the timer runs out on the decoy it reverts to its eagle form, which is not uncommon sight when druids are concerned!
Honestly Mark i think Familiar Folio is a game changer. Years of fun ahead thanks to this!!!
I agree an amazing book. I have never bought a book before this will be the first one I have ever bought. I love any type of companions.
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Mark i have a suggestion for a future book! For a while now people have been trying to combine familiar / animal companion / leadership cohort (our variations of these) into one creature.
However it either falls short or it's overpowered. Would you consider tackling this concept in a future book?
When i look at the synergist witch i see the potential foundations of combined creatures... You could have a synergist type of build where the character absorbs all these creatures within herself of you could combine familiar/ac/cohort into one separate creature by working out an "equivalent CR" formulae... etc.
That would help speed up the game too...
You are a man man. That creature would be stronger than a min/maxed fighter
I'm very entertained by the idea of an Eldritch Guardian archer with a Mauler monkey familiar. Just drop a spare bow and quiver on the ground and the monkey can be doing just as much Rapid Shot/Multishot nonsense as you!Ok I've heard this many times before... can monkeys really wield weapons by RAW?
Edit: mauler archetype monkey in battle form i.e. medium size with bow in his hand = planet of the apes?
YES! The guy said that as long as they have the limbs to be able too. You can give the weapons and armor. He clearly stated that they can, once they hit 3 int. and a familiar has 6.
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One of my favorite characters is a beast-bonded witch/fighter. He had a monkey and gave the monkey a crossbow proficiency and all the related crossbow feats. I then took the monkey and put it in one of those performing outfits you always see monkeys in where they do tricks and collect money. Also I gave him a music box that when he spins the handle it plays music. This box has a switch that while it played music, it also shot out bolts as a Tiny sized heavy repeating x-bow!
It was a whole lot of fun. he didn't do much damage with it, but gosh it was fun.
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Decoy's Alter Self is at will (no limit listed) you just have to go back to animal form for the same amount of time before using it again.
upon changing back, the decoy must remain in its natural form for an equal amount of time before transforming again.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? at WILL? LMAOROTFL! there's no doubt in my mind anymore, Decoy is ALWAYS the way to go... Decoy assume human form please! (dons hat of disguise to look like he's got clothes on, pass the potion belt so he can buff himself... DONE!)
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Alter Self does not give you proficiencies. It is a Transmutation Polymorph spell. This gives you proficiency in the natural attacks of the creature only. So, no joy about proficiency in all simple weapons.
/cevah
Cevah sorry I should have clarified, but I was talking about Decoy in the context of the Eldritch Guardian fighter archetype (all Combat feats are passed down to the Decoy, including, IMO, martial weapon and armor proficiencies)
Something to bear in mind for PCs with low to hit options and a hard time surviving in melee (I'm looking at you CRB rogue): the Emissary archetype gives them either a +1 to hit every round (casts Guidance at will) or hands out a +3 AC bonus in melee (for this familiar Aid Another to grant AC works even if not threatening and gets a +1 boost).
By 3rd level a PC needs to hit an average AC of 15. With a ranged attack this needs an investment of 2k GP and at least a +3 from Dex as well as this familiar.
- A wizard built on Ray attacks could use an Emissary familiar from level 1 and be extremely accurate w/their rays
- A rogue could use their level 1 and 3 feats to pick up this familiar, using their Rogue Trick at level 2 for Weapon Focus with a ranged weapon. Since Dex is likely to be their highest stat and assuming a 20 pt build it's not a stretch to see a level 3 rogue with the advantage of the Guidance spell cast on them to be sneak attacking with a +9 to hit.
I can't find it on the additional resources page. Anyone know if this is PFS legal?
Not yet.
PFS is taking an extra look at stuff before declaring it legal, after a few biggies slipped through last time. It now goes to a review on the top secret VO boards where they review the items using an arcane mixture of chocholate, crystals, old bike parts and0
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Nothing in game that I can think of uses the first table, except during Monster Creation.
The spriggan is the only monster I can find with an (SU) size altering ability and its stat boosts are in line with the monster advancement table. Likewise, EVERY animal companion uses that table to determine their bonuses upon size increase. In fact, I've only ever seen the Polymorph size table used for spell and spell-like effects. Maybe the editors use the ability type as a rule of thumb for which table to use; polymorph for (SP) & spells and Monster Advancement for (SU) & (EX).
Just a thought.
Nothing in game that I can think of uses the first table, except during Monster Creation.The spriggan is the only monster I can find with an (SU) size altering ability and its stat boosts are in line with the monster advancement table. Likewise, EVERY animal companion uses that table to determine their bonuses upon size increase. In fact, I've only ever seen the Polymorph size table used for spell and spell-like effects. Maybe the editors use the ability type as a rule of thumb for which table to use; polymorph for (SP) & spells and Monster Advancement for (SU) & (EX).
Just a thought.
The Spriggan does not follow the Monster Advancement Size Chart. If it did, it would lose 4 Dex upon going Small -> Large.
Giant Crab, Goblin Dog, Llama, Giant Leech, Monitor Lizard, Panda, Stag & Thylacine are all animal (or vermin) companions that goes Small -> Medium and does not follow the Monster Advancement Size Chart.
There are plenty of animals that goes Medium -> Large and gain different stats then the Monster Advancement Size Chart claims.
Granted, Animal companions could probably have just been worded as 'follow the normal rules for monster advancement', but instead each and every one was given their own listed stat bonus. Just like the Spiggan : )
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I took one look at the Chosen One archetype for Paladins and thought:
The familiar gets Knowledge (Religion) but you don't. Then, at level 7, it reveals its True Form...
*POOF* "I'm actually a quasit, and now you're an anti-paladin!"
Makes me think of Emperor Palpatine leading Anakin, one of the greatest war heroes of his day, down a path of false righteousness, ultimately on to his corruption.
Makes me think of Emperor Palpatine leading Anakin, one of the greatest war heroes of his day, down a path of false righteousness, ultimately on to his corruption.I took one look at the Chosen One archetype for Paladins and thought:
The familiar gets Knowledge (Religion) but you don't. Then, at level 7, it reveals its True Form...
*POOF* "I'm actually a quasit, and now you're an anti-paladin!"
It was the younglings...
The Spriggan does not follow the Monster Advancement Size Chart. If it did, it would lose 4 Dex upon going Small -> Large.
Giant Crab, Goblin Dog, Llama, Giant Leech, Monitor Lizard, Panda, Stag & Thylacine are all animal (or vermin) companions that goes Small -> Medium and does not follow the Monster Advancement Size Chart.
There are plenty of animals that goes Medium -> Large and gain different stats then the Monster Advancement Size Chart claims.
Granted, Animal companions could probably have just been worded as 'follow the normal rules for monster advancement', but instead each and every one was given their own listed stat bonus. Just like the Spiggan : )
There is one part of the monster advancement section you are forgetting. "These values are not absolute." When the developers and editors look over the final product for those creatures, they skewed them for their intended role. That does not mean that the other numbers do not fall within the charts capabilities.
The spriggan and animal companions stat modifications for size follow monster advancement, with the stated variation, and most certainly do not follow the polymorph size chart.
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I just know a player who really wants, one day, to play as a paladin who abruptly turns anti-paladin without infuriating the other players.
Also, she says the ioun wyrd looks like a Pokemon, inspiring a conjuror out of her; not counting her half-Orc sea witch who dispenses beneficial hexes via kisses from her giant isopod, Brunnhilde.
There is one part of the monster advancement section you are forgetting. "These values are not absolute." When the developers and editors look over the final product for those creatures, they skewed them for their intended role. That does not mean that the other numbers do not fall within the charts capabilities.
The spriggan and animal companions stat modifications for size follow monster advancement, with the stated variation, and most certainly do not follow the polymorph size chart.
Yes, developers. Never ever players.
Because all that the Monster Advancement Chart is used for is creating new monsters or advancing old ones by DMs and developers. They are design guidelines (and as you mentioned, not even 'absolute') - why the heck would they apply to anything outside their explicit purpose when there already is a table for magical size change?
But you don't have to take my word for it, Mark confirmed which one to use (I want to say in this thread, but I am not sure! I'll get a source).
edit: Linky
Now, on topic, I must say that the (anti-)paladin idea is quite neat. Very neat ... : )
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Familiar Adept says "School Familiar (Ex): At 1st level, a familiar adept must select a familiar for his arcane bond. His familiar automatically gains the school familiar archetype (see page 14), "
After I take one level of this Archetype then 6 levels into Sorcerer. Do I Gain the Lesser school power if I get the Boon Companion Feat? Or Do I just have to take Bloodline Familiar/Arcane Bloodline and go off what the CRB says "Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master’s level." Also what the Arcane and Bloodline Familiar says " The character gains a familiar (as a wizard’s familiar), treating her class level as her wizard level for the purposes of this ability."
Okay my Mauler build is for the grapplers out there.
Human w/Mauler King Crab Familiar
1 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, Mauler's Endurance, Spirit's Gift, (Familiar Feat Improved Unarmed Strike)
2 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior
3 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, (Familiar Feat Final Embrace), Precise Strike +1d6 SA
4 Carnivalist
5 Carnivalist, Shared +2d6 SA, Outflank, Combat Expertise RT (Familiar Feat Light Armor Proficiency)
6 Strangler, +3d6 SA while Grappling
7 Strangler, +4d6 SA While Grappling, Improved Grapple, Greater Grapple,(Familiar Feat Medium Armor Proficiency)
8 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, Gang Up
9 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, Power Attack, (Familiar Feat Heavy Armor Proficiency)
10 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, Rapid Grappler
11 Eldritch Guardian/Martial Master/Mutation Warrior, Coordinated Charge
Did have a question about rogue/ninja talents though. If I use say Pressure Points or bleeding attack to augment my shared Sneak Attack dice, do the familiar's sneak attack dice get augmented too?
Familiars do not gain feats of their own as they gain HD. An Eldritch Guardian's familiar just shares the combat feats its master has.
Something I noticed recently is that bloodline familiars make a one level dip into bloodrager extremely powerful. Consider a Bloodrager with a hedgehog familiar with the Protector Archetype. You get the following from a 1 level dip:
-Rage
- +1 BAB
- Fast movement (alternatively this can be traded out for a number of different goodies)
- +2 to to Fort and +2 to Wil (from hedgehog)
- +2 to AC against 3 attacks per round from the Hedgehogs Bodyguarding skills
- Bloodline Familiar special ability for the familiar
- 4+Int Skill points per level
- Access to Wands and scrolls
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Why don't you have a tumor familiar with the figment archetype and be a massive hypochondriac?
Familiars do not gain feats of their own as they gain HD. An Eldritch Guardian's familiar just shares the combat feats its master has.
Then why are there feats like "Spell Sponge" & "Critical Conduit" that have the specific requirement of being a familiar? Their descriptions include the phrase "For Your Master". Feats are a function of hit dice for intelligent creatures, and since HD are always equal to the character level they just didn't include them in the familiar table.
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Familiars do not gain feats of their own as they gain HD. An Eldritch Guardian's familiar just shares the combat feats its master has.Then why are there feats like "Spell Sponge" & "Critical Conduit" that have the specific requirement of being a familiar? Their descriptions include the phrase "For Your Master". Feats are a function of hit dice for intelligent creatures, and since HD are always equal to the character level they just didn't include them in the familiar table.
You can trade any feats your familiar would have from their natural form with Familiar feats.
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Familiars don't actually gain HD - they merely use your HD value when determining the the effect of HD-dependent effects like Colour Spray. Similarly, they get the master's BAB and skill ranks, and half the master's HP, rather than getting the values that would be appropriate for their HD according to their creature type and ability scores.
In absence of actual HD gain, or an ability like the Eldritch Guardian's, familiars cannot increase their number of feats.
Yeah, you just switch out their standard feats, non-bonus feats. Since their "true" hit dice never goes up, they usually only have one feat to switch.
Feats (for intelligent creatures),Saves*, Ability Increases* and Skill Ranks* (*by creature type) are effects related to number of Hit Dice, per beastiary pg 292-293.
In the CRB pg 82-83 (6th printing) it states:
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.
Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the
familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an
animal of that type or the master’s skill ranks, whichever
is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability
modifiers. Regardless of a familiar’s total skill modifiers,
some skills may remain beyond the familiar’s ability to
use. Familiars treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception,
Stealth, and Swim as class skills.
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I do not believe that BAB, HP, or number of skill ranks or feats are considered effects.
Moreover, the intended use of familiar feats is clarified in the texts in which they appear, and it isn't "choose them any time your familiar gains a feat from increased HD."
Animal Archive, Page 20:
Feats that are meant for familiars can be switched out for a familiar's default feats (as listed in the familiar's statistics) if the familiar meets the prerequisites. Such
feat replacements must be made when the PC first acquires a new familiar, and-like all new feats from supplemental sources-the new feats should be approved by the GM before being integrated into play.
Alternatively, Familiar Folio page 18:
The following feats can be taken by characters who have familiars that meet the listed prerequisites. Wizards can take a familiar feat as a bonus feat, and witches can select a familiar feat in place of a hex. If you lose your familiar and gain a new familiar that doesn’t meet the listed prerequisites for a familiar feat you possess, your new familiar doesn’t gain the benefits of that feat. A new familiar that meets the prerequisites automatically gains the benefits of that feat. When you gain a new level, if your current familiar does not meet the prerequisite of a familiar feat you possess, you can learn a new familiar feat in place of the feat your familiar doesn’t qualify for. In effect, you lose the old familiar feat in exchange for the new one. The feat lost can’t be a prerequisite for another feat you possess, and your familiar must meet the new feat’s prerequisites. You can exchange only one feat in this way each time you gain a level.
Yeah, as far as everything I've ever read on familiars they don't advance like ACs or Cohorts or whatever when their HD or Level increases.
Their HP and BAB are static, dependent on the master. Similarly their saves advance only with their mistress. The only feat they get is the one they start with as base animals or outsiders or whatever. The only one you can really jack up is the homunculus which you can drop gold on constructing more powerfully.