When does a Nycar pass out?

[Ansibelle]

A Nycar (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/dragons/nycar) is one of the improved familiar options. It has both regeneration and ferocity.

Given that regeneration means it can't die unless exposed to its weakness (cold iron) and ferocity means it doesn't go down until its HP equals its negative con, at which point it dies... what happens when it takes a bunch of damage, reducing it below its negative con?

Right now, I would probably rule that at the point a monster with ferocity would normally die, a Nycar falls unconscious until its regeneration brings it back above 0 HP, but I'd love to hear other views...

[Byakko]

Ferocity allows them to be staggered while under 0 hp, instead of unconscious.

Regeneration prevents them from dying unless their regeneration is turned off.

So yeah, that Nycar is going to keep fighting no matter how low you take its hit points, until you hit it with something that defeats the combo.

Btw, just *in case* someone was thinking about combining this with a familiar archetype.... most familiar archetypes (eg Mauler) can't be used on Improved Familiars since they lack Speak with Animals of Their Kind. (this won't work even with the Animal patron)

[Castilonium]

Never. NEVER. A Nycar is the dragon version of Big Fido from the late and great Terry Pratchett's Discworld, you see. Nycars have a dream. They know that deep down, they are spiritual great wyrms, deprived of their heritage by the cruelty of fantastical evolution.

They're powered less by muscles and more by the determination that means that even if you brutalized one with fireballs, vorpal swords, or even AM BARBARIAN pounces, you'd better not turn your back on what's left, because it will not have given up.

[Matthew Downie]

RAW seems to support the idea that they can keep fighting at minus a million HP. Game balance suggests a house rule along the lines of 'unconscious at -CON, staggered between -CON & 0'. Otherwise you can just send it off to fight most enemies on its own and there's nothing they can do to win, or even to stop it attacking.

[Ascalaphus]

Byakko wrote:

Btw, just *in case* someone was thinking about combining this with a familiar archetype.... most familiar archetypes (eg Mauler) can't be used on Improved Familiars since they lack Speak with Animals of Their Kind. (this won't work even with the Animal patron)

Thanks for pointing this out. A while back I saw a player using a regenerating familiar with the Protector archetype to halve all damage he took. I was thinking "that can't be right", and now I finally know why.

[Ansibelle]

Byakko wrote:

Btw, just *in case* someone was thinking about combining this with a familiar archetype.... most familiar archetypes (eg Mauler) can't be used on Improved Familiars since they lack Speak with Animals of Their Kind. (this won't work even with the Animal patron)

Thanks also for reminding us of that. It looks like they can be a Sage or an Emissary though.