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Hey, reading the familiar folio, got a few questions.
1st: Can a Homunculist take the Tumor Familiar discovery? There's really nothing against it in the rules, at least from what I've seen.
2nd: Assuming the answer to the first question is yes, can you also take the Familiar Bond feat, since at that point you'd have one homunculus, one tumor, and one regular familiar?
3rd: Again, assuming the answer to the first question is yes, when you take a feat that influences a familiar (Evolved Familiar, Improved Familiar, Mauler's Endurance), do you have to select one familiar with this, or does it apply to all of your familiars?
4th: Does a Homunculist's Homunculus use the stats for the Homunculus or the base creature for stats, size, and abilities such as poison and the Homunculus's telepathy?
5th: When you take Improved Familiar Bond, can you add an archetype to that familiar then? Do you have to wait until you level or until your familiar is destroyed, or would it be an act of retraining?
Sorry if this has already been asked, since I only have what's on the SRD, so I don't know if the book itself list a limit on familiars.
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Anything stopping adding Eldritch Heritage to that for a 4 familiar alchemist?
I think I remember an FAQ saying your levels would stack instead (up to character level), but I'm not sure.
I only feel like Eldritch Heritage wouldn't work because it's directly giving a familiar, just like Familiar Bond. In the case of the Homunculist and Tumor familiar, these are both abilities that give something that acts like a familiar but isn't one by technical standpoint.
I could see possibly only tumor and another one stacking too, but even then, that's two maulers, and that's hype.
And I think I've seen something similar, but these are all not 'technically' familiars, since one's a homunculus, one's a tumor familiar, and the other two are both just familiars (which is why I feel they wouldn't stack.
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Oddly enough, since a Homunculist's homunculus is not technically an improved familiar, it does seem to gain speak with animals of it's kind, opening it up for archetypes. Furthermore, though a homunculus cannot speak, a Homunculist's homunculus gains speak with master, which clearly is a language - though one with only two speakers. It should thus be able to use spell trigger items.
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You can never have more than one familiar. That answers that.
I believe the good chap N. Jolly would like either a rules citation or a FAQ link for that belief.
The answers to these questions will inevitably make it into his Alchemist guide and I'm sure he wants to be as thurough as possible
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"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."
That. Core rulebook. It's been discussed to death. General opinion is only ever one arcane bond.
i believve his issue is that Tumor Familiar and the Homunculist familiar are explicitly their own abilities, and not arcane bond
You can definitely have a familiar and a homunculus but I'm not sure you can also have a tumor familiar.
Particularly because the phrase "The tumor acts as the alchemist’s familiar" appears in the description of the tumor familiar.
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"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."
That. Core rulebook. It's been discussed to death. General opinion is only ever one arcane bond.
Who's talking about Arcane Bond? No one mentioned Arcane bond, this is about three abilities that give you something similar to a familiar that have different wording.
You can definitely have a familiar and a homunculus but I'm not sure you can also have a tumor familiar.
Particularly because the phrase "The tumor acts as the alchemist’s familiar" appears in the description of the tumor familiar.
Thank you, I'm not sure some people get that all of these are different named abilities that have some variance to how they work.
Regular familiars can't meld into their master, and the homunculist also doesn't get arcane bond. It's the alchemist who has an issue with this, and there's still other questions being asked.
Honestly, I'd assume that you can at least have a tumor familiar and another one, since it's the most 'other' of these abilities, and as of now, there's nothing that's countered this point.
The answers to these questions will inevitably make it into his Alchemist guide and I'm sure he wants to be as thurough as possible
Yeah, that's why I'm looking for this, as I had an idea for a new build but I need all the rulings for this.
Reference info:
Homunculus Familiar:
It functions in all ways as a familiar, treating the homunculist’s alchemist level as his effective wizard level.
Tumor Familiar:
The homunculist has created a living homunculus in the shape of an animal or vermin. The tumor has all the abilities of the animal it resembles (for example, a batlike tumor can fly) and familiar abilities based on the alchemist’s caster level (though some familiar abilities may be useless to an alchemist). The tumor acts as the alchemist’s familiar whether attached or separated (providing a skill bonus, the Alertness feat, and so on).
Familiar Bond:
You gain a familiar, as the wizard arcane bond class feature.... You can never have more than one familiar.
Improved Familiar Bond:
Your familiar gains all the normal abilities available to a familiar of a wizard with a level equal to your total Hit Dice. You also gain the special ability normally gained by a master of your type of familiar.
Evolved Familiar, Improved Familiar, Mauler's Endurance
Eldritch Heritage:
Select one sorcerer bloodline.
Arcane Bloodline:
At 1st level, you gain an arcane bond, as a wizard equal to your sorcerer level.
On to the questions:
1st: Can a Homunculist take the Tumor Familiar discovery? There's really nothing against it in the rules, at least from what I've seen.
Since both act as the Alchemist's familiar, so I think not.
2nd: Assuming the answer to the first question is yes, can you also take the Familiar Bond feat, since at that point you'd have one homunculus, one tumor, and one regular familiar?
Again, no.
3rd: Again, assuming the answer to the first question is yes, when you take a feat that influences a familiar (Evolved Familiar, Improved Familiar, Mauler's Endurance), do you have to select one familiar with this, or does it apply to all of your familiars?
Since the CRB assumption is that you only ever get one familiar, there was no text added to clarify this.
In general, I think it would be too strong to apply to all, but I would allow taking the feat a second time to apply to a separate familiar, or for things that add per level add to each familiar's effective wizard level contribution. [I.e. not the level=char HD, but ones that would count specific levels for a particular familiar.]
4th: Does a Homunculist's Homunculus use the stats for the Homunculus or the base creature for stats, size, and abilities such as poison and the Homunculus's telepathy?
You get a standard Homunculus, not the stats of the animal it looks like.
5th: When you take Improved Familiar Bond, can you add an archetype to that familiar then? Do you have to wait until you level or until your familiar is destroyed, or would it be an act of retraining?
No. However, when you replace the familiar, you can. But that costs a week and 200 gp/level, so don't do it too often.
Anything stopping adding Eldritch Heritage to that for a 4 familiar alchemist?
Yep. It is also the Alchemist's familiar.
6th: Can Improved Familiars take an archetype that require Speak with Animals?
No, since the defined familiars don't get Speak with Animals.
7th: The Homunculist referrers to the Homunculus as "living", does this mean it has a constitution score? Is it treated as a construct with a constitution score, and if so, what is its constitution score?
Nope. Stats as per the standard Homunculus.
8th: Can you improve a Homunculus made with the Homunculist class feature using the rules of Ultimate Magic? If so, do you need Craft Construct to do so? And what would the HD of the Homunculus be considered for the price and ability to increase them?
Yes. It is still a construct. Anyone [not just you] who can make a Homunculus can make the improvement. The new stats would be as the Homunculus as modified with the overlay of being a familiar. By adding HD you can add a feat, you can add stat points, you can give it a wispy voice, and so on.
Oddly enough, since a Homunculist's homunculus is not technically an improved familiar, it does seem to gain speak with animals of it's kind, opening it up for archetypes. Furthermore, though a homunculus cannot speak, a Homunculist's homunculus gains speak with master, which clearly is a language - though one with only two speakers. It should thus be able to use spell trigger items.
While not a question, I agree.
You can never have more than one familiar. That answers that.
While not a question, I have seen at least one way for this to happen. I don't remember how. Check the forums.
Arguably, you'd end up with an effective wizard level of (character level)*3, since there's not an explicit "stack up to your character level" clause. Effective wizard level doesn't matter for much, though.
While not a question, I don't agree.
High wizard level gives high spell resistance, so it does matter.
Getting double counting of levels is generally not allowed. I think there is an Oracle FCB that adds to effective Oracle level, but I am not aware of any other way to get the effective level higher actual level for anything. The feat Boon Companion can make up for 4 class levels, but not beyond HD.
You can definitely have a familiar and a homunculus but I'm not sure you can also have a tumor familiar.
You can have multiple homunculi, but only one from the class feature and it counts as a familiar.
1.can a homunculist make his familiar an improved familiar [humunculus]
Sure, but he won't get back mutagen.
2.can a homunculist improve his familiar with promethain disciple?
If he has it, then sure.
3.if i take a level of wizard archtype [clocksmith] and gain a familiar how do the 2 stack ?
Clocksmith states: He must select this familiar as his arcane bond.
The homunculus must have the clockwork subtype for this to work, since this must be the same creature.
/cevah