[PFS] Winter Witch Familiar question

[Tempest_Knight]

Looking for an official answer to this question...

ISM wrote:

Winter witches must choose a familiar that is native to the frozen north, even when they themselves operate in other regions. Traditionally, this limits winter witch familiar choices to bat, cat, fox, hawk, owl, rat, raven, or weasel. A winter witch who gains the Improved Familiar feat can select any familiar she desires, save for familiars with the fire subtype

This would seem to state that the allowable familiar options are limited to those that meet either of the following;

1.) Environment: Cold
2.) Bat, Cat, Fox, Hawk, Owl, Rat, Raven, or Weasel

Is this correct?

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Before the inevitable call to just use the list... The rule is, if the option states 'at GM discretion'.

This does not state a requirement of 'GM discretion' just states a requirement and a supplemental list.

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The list is odd for the 'native of the frozen North' requirement...

Bat - Temperate and hot forests and deserts
Cat - Temperate and hot plains or urban
Fox - Any
Hawk - Temperate forests
Owl - Temperate forests
Rat - Any temperate
Raven - Any temperate
Weasel - Temperate hills

This is why I list it as a supplement, it violates that listed rule.

For those who might need a real world example of the environments...

Cold - Siberia/Alaskan bush/the Arctic
Temperate - Washington/Oregon/Idaho
Hot - Arizona/Florida/Baghdad

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If we take the first sentence as the formation of the clause(/rule subject).

Then the second sentence can only be an addendum(/addition) to the stated clause.

The last sentence forms a method for exclusion from the clause.

This is the reasoning I used to form my position as stated above.

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If we take the first sentence a flavor and not a rule we are left with the list.

The second sentence forms a list that is in opposition to the flavor of the first sentence. (If we ignore the first sentence there is no opposition.)

The last sentence forms a method for exclusion from the list.

This is unsound reasoning as it requires the removal of the first sentence to make sense.

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Hopefully we get an official answer soon.

Please hit the FAQ request button, thanks.

[Mahtobedis]

So the FAQ button is going to be more for things for the design team to address which this is not. That being said this would probably be a good thing for the developers to consider adding to their clarification page.

[Jessex]

Using the bestiary as gospel on where animals come from strikes me as silly. All the listed animals can be found in cold climates, several have species specific to cold climates.