Well, depending on the skill check you can roll twice (perception for instance) or have it aid another on you for +2
If your familiar has the mauler archetype, they can become reasonably solid in melee. Eldritch guardian fighters take advantage of this well.
Don't forget familiars grant you bonuses for simply having them. The greensting scorpion for instance gives +4 to initiative, as does Compsognathus, which is pretty damn powerful as a Mauler.
Also note that maulers don't have to be medium all the time - they can switch back and forth at will. So you can have a scorpion that fits in your pocket, increases your initiative by 4, and then when a fight comes, bam! Giant scorpion making your enemies soil themselves.
Improved familiars are also another great way to use the feature - get something with hands and speech, like a lyrakien azata or faerie dragon, and you can have it use wands, either to buff you or to use offensively against enemies. Then there's the silvanshee agathion, who I just love to imagine "laying on hands" by doing the happy kitty kneading massage. :)
They're fun just flavor-wise, too. Like a really smart pet.
Unfortunately, I do not know of any way for them to get sneak attack. The Bodyguard archetype is an interesting way to get a lot of benefit from them while they're still hiding in your pocket, though.
Valet Familiars are great for builds that get free teamwork feats.
Protector familiars are sort of like +2 to AC.
Mascot Familairs paired with Fate's Favored offer a lot as well.
If you're small then you can ride your mauler hawk familiar. The usefulness and cool factor should be obvious.
Could be fun to have a easy to go flanking partner if you play a rogue or ninja. An inquisitor could use this to use "solo tactics". If somehow you get access to "Improved Familiar" there is a nice selection of familiar one might have such as the fairy dragon. A druid could use one and have one hell of a menagerie combined with his natural companion.
Familiar grant awesome bonuses (Compsognathus +4 to initiative anyone?), can carry object around such as your potions and scrolls. Familiar can also carry message, scout and sometime use spell like abilities.There is also a definitive "cool" factor to having a familiar.
Fastest way I know is either one level dip in a class that give a familiar, I must say that I do not advise to do this. The best way in my opinion is this:
You can arrange yourself to have 13 in Charisma, take skill focus (any knowledge you want) and then get the feat Eldritch Heritage at level 3, select the arcane bloodline bond and take a familiar.
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You can be a 5 int fighter that has a pet monkey that is a lot smarter than you (sage archetype) And once you can talk to it you can ask it for advice, then tell your party that "Mr. Banana says we should..."
A tumor familiar with the protector archetype becomes overpowered at level 5. It basically lets you take half damage all day long. A life shaman can get similar benefit from the protector archetype, but their familiar doesn't heal it off as fast.
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You can arrange yourself to have 13 in Charisma, take skill focus (any knowledge you want) and then get the feat Eldritch Heritage at level 3, select the arcane bloodline bond and take a familiar.
I prefer Iron Will> Familiar Bond > Improved Familiar Bond myself. Iron Will is generally more useful than skill focus, and there is no need to have an above average CHA to pull it off.
Anyone know if Eldritch Heritage can qualify you for Aberrant Tumor?
Anyone know if Eldritch Heritage can qualify you for Aberrant Tumor?
It does. Take the necessary Skill Focus, get Eldritch Heritage (Aberrant), then you need to take Aberrant Tumor as a feat.
So, it may take longer to grab Aberrant Tumor, but until it gets nerfed, combining it with the protector archetype is just too good to pass up.
I'm not sure about the Aberrant Tumor route because I'm not sure if you can upgrade your Tumor via Improved Familiar or not, adn that is something I would want to do.
To be clear, the Aberrant Tumor route has very little reason to go for Improved Familiar. Its big selling point is that it functions as +2 AC and damage redistribution while still being attached to you and having fast healing 5. So, it should stay attached to you almost all of the time.
I do expect this to get nerfed some day though. It's just really too good.
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I'm liking the idea of a Rogue/Ninja type character (I'm thinking Unchained Rogue) that gets a familiar to be his partner in crime and both go around pick-pocketing, stealing, doing heists, etc.
If you want to make a Rogue with a familiar, the Carnivalist is an archetype that gives you a familiar at level one and allows you to share your sneak attack damage with the familiar, at the cost of a lower sneak attack progression. It is compatible with the Unchained Rogue.
Is there a way to get a familiar to actually level up, gaining HD, skills, feats, etc, like an Animal Companion? I found the Diabolist prestige class that essentially does that for an Imp, but that class isn't quite fitting for the character.
Two alchemist archetypes, the Promethean Alchemist and Homunculist do something similar with a Homunculus.
Could be fun to have a easy to go flanking partner if you play a rogue or ninja. An inquisitor could use this to use "solo tactics". If somehow you get access to "Improved Familiar" there is a nice selection of familiar one might have such as the fairy dragon. A druid could use one and have one hell of a menagerie combined with his natural companion.
Familiar grant awesome bonuses (Compsognathus +4 to initiative anyone?), can carry object around such as your potions and scrolls. Familiar can also carry message, scout and sometime use spell like abilities.There is also a definitive "cool" factor to having a familiar.
Fastest way I know is either one level dip in a class that give a familiar, I must say that I do not advise to do this. The best way in my opinion is this:
You can arrange yourself to have 13 in Charisma, take skill focus (any knowledge you want) and then get the feat Eldritch Heritage at level 3, select the arcane bloodline bond and take a familiar.
Familiar Folio made it so you can take lots of different bloodlines and gain a Familiar from them. Usually with a boost as well.
I like the path of taking a few levels in Carnivalist before ditching the class. Besides the Mauler archetype Martials get a lot less out of gaining levels in their Familiar class. And you can just take Boon Companion Improved Familiar instead, so why not? Another option is just to take levels in an Alchemist with both a Homunculus and Sneak Attack.
Or, hey, Eldritch Heritage can be used to buff your effective level with Carnivalist. It's one more feat than Boon Companion, but you can pick out whatever you like.
Carnivalist looks ok. Saves me some feats, but at the cost of SA damage and talents. And the only feature I really like is the getting a familiar at first level. The rest I'm not so interested in, and are even a waste once I get Improved Familiar, since it's no longer an animal.
Actually, familiars are intelligent magical beasts, so you can't normally use Handle Animal on them anyway. An improved familiar should work just as well as a regular familiar.
For the Homunculist, you still give up Mutagen (but can get it back with a Discovery, so that's fair), but I don't think the Familiar actually levels up at all. You get some points to invest in some various special abilities for it, but I don't see where it says it levels up like an Animal Companion or an Eidolon does.
There is also an unofficial errata that the Homunculist familiar can only Improve to a Homunculus.
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I'm interested in the trait mentioned that counts as Iron Will. anyone know what trait that is? Supposedly from Distant Shores.
That would be House of Green Mothers Pupil.
House of Green Mothers Pupil (Magic): You studied
at Anuli’s center for druidic magic long enough to begin
bonding with a familiar. You gain a +1 trait bonus on
Handle Animal checks. You may substitute this trait for
Iron Will as the prerequisite for the Familiar Bond feat
(Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio)
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I don't know if you'd count my bloodrager 1 / beastmorph vivisectionist alchemist X a non-spellcaster, but I'm basically using a valet familiar to feed me potions, clean my cllothes and armor, and to share the escape route feat with me so that I can position better for my sneak attacks.
I got the familiar from one level of draconic bloodrager, and as my second discovery I'll take tumor familiar so that it can be full level...
Jekyll is a winged monkey. Just so that I could tell people, "Don't make me release the flying monkey."
I thought about going protector archetype with him, and then realized that while a HP battery is useful, I'd much rather have an Igor to my mad scientist!
Anyone know if Eldritch Heritage can qualify you for Aberrant Tumor?Yes. It gives you the bloodline, with an effective sorcerer level of CL -2. The only requirement of the feat is Aberrant Bloodline. It works.
Does it give you the Bloodline? I thought it only gave you the Bloodline power with a sorcerer level of CL-2. I'll have to give that feat line another look.
Does it give you the Bloodline? I thought it only gave you the Bloodline power with a sorcerer level of CL-2. I'll have to give that feat line another look.Anyone know if Eldritch Heritage can qualify you for Aberrant Tumor?Yes. It gives you the bloodline, with an effective sorcerer level of CL -2. The only requirement of the feat is Aberrant Bloodline. It works.
It's unclear in the feat, but the wording of all the rules that mention it consider it to be the bloodline.