Alchemist Tumor Familiar Discovery with the Protector archetype...

[LeesusFreak]

Does this work the way it seems to me like it does? Because it seems to make 5th-level alchemists into Deadpool... Which is insane.

[Eltacolibre]

Yes, its working as intended.

[sunbeam]

Are you sure about this? My Rules Fu is weak (because that kind of thing bores me to death parsing text to come up with a conclusion about something I'm reasonably sure the developers never thought of).

But wasn't there something about taking these archetypes with Improved Familiars? Meaning that these archetypes only applied to vanilla familars, rats and the like?

I'd think Tumor Familiar would be in the same category, but like I said I don't like parsing.

Plus can you take Improved Familiar if you have a tumor familiar? What do you have then? Your tumor is a flying helmet with wings, or a flying cat?

Or what if a Tattooed Sorcerer with the aberrant bloodline takes the Aberrant Tumor feat. Is it a tattoo or a tumor? And can he take improved familiar or give his tattoo or tumor an archetype, regardless of that?

Personally I don't think they thought of all this when they wrote all these feats and rules.

But as near as I can tell a Tattooed Sorcerer can do the same thing, regardless of bloodline, assuming a tattoo familiar can take an archetype.

[Eltacolibre]

tumor familiars have all the abilities of regular familiar. Alchemist dont use all of them cuz of spells stuff but with familiar archetype...they can get rid of abilities that they dont use anyway.

[LeesusFreak]

So basically, for the price of a discovery (or a feat), Alchemists and some Sorcerers can effectively double their hitpoints, IN ADDITION to the other assortment of wonderful things a familiar is good for...

Meanwhile, later this month the Rogue gets updated to be a marginally useful class. Something-something martials, something-something 'nice things'.

[Chess Pwn]

Hey Bloodragers can do it too!

[Firebug]

Or anyone who can afford to dip sorcerer/bloodrager (abberant bloodline) plus abberant tumor and boon companion feats. Since shield master comes online at 5, its a 1 level dip plus feats.

Also blood arcanist for the bloodline works too. Coupled with unlettered arcanist you swap your spell list for the witch list. While normally a downgrade this puts both cures and infernal healing on your list so you no longer have to hope someone else at the table in PFS can use your wand on you.

[Mark Seifter]

Firebug wrote:

Coupled with unlettered arcanist you swap your spell list for the witch list. While normally a downgrade this puts both cures and infernal healing on your list so you no longer have to hope someone else at the table in PFS can use your wand on you.

I would be extremely hesitant to have a protector familiar if I had to pay as much money to replace it as the witch equivalent familiars cost. In my quick playtests when writing the familiar archetypes, protector familiars die super lots.

[Firebug]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. You still take abberant tumor and boon companion with the arcanist.
It has fast healing 5 when attached and is not targetable (its part of you).
Per shield master you decide when either of you take damage to split it or not. You would have to willingly kill your familiar by splitting too much damage before it has a chance to fast heal.
Its effectively just an hp battery that never detaches.

Then you cast duplicate familiar and attach another...
Edit for clarity.

[Mark_Twain007]

it seems more concerning to me that the Alchemist could take the Die for your master feat, and have a figment Tumor familiar, who comes back to life for free the day after it dies.

[Selvaxri]

My friend has a Ragechemist with this strategy; he also has the Spontaneous Healing discovery so he can somewhat mitigate the damage his familiar siphons.

[Firewarrior44]

Imbue hex + Life Link. Effectively fast healing 5 on the alchemist (the familiar's fast healing effectively negates the 5 damage he takes each turn. Adding protector grants you an effective 50% increase in HP.

For even more healing have a celestial totem Skald doing his thing for "fast healing" 14.

[Dragonboxer]

Tumor Familiars can't be Protector Archetype...maybe this forum was posted prior to that rule?

[Trokarr]

There are actually 2 versions of the protector familiar archetype. One is found in Familiar Folio and doesn’t increase your familiars hp. The other is found in Ultimate Wilderness and it grants the familiar it’s masters full hp at lvl 10 I believe but in the rules section prior to listing familiar archetypes in that chapter it states that tumor familiars can’t be protectors (among other familiar rules updates) prior to Ultimate Wilderness it was totally legal to have a tumor protector. As the 2 versions differ somewhat I’m not sure if using the familiar folio version still permits this I guess this may be a GM call I’m not sure though.