thank you for the help! :)
Glad to lend a hand! You'll probably get some different advice from other people. I know the scorpions are popular- certainly easier to hide. I usually use familiars that can pass for normal local animals without trouble, though.
The drawback of a Hare though, is that it's edible...
Personally I like the Raven.
I like the Scarlet spider
Familiars I've used recently:
Greensting scorpion
Compsognathus
Hedgehog - for a witch. Custom made by GM, with a bonus to Fortitude saves.
Raven
and
Imp (Diabolist companion)
Pick whichever you like the best, the mechanical benefit is nice, but as a witch you won't be sending it off on scouting missions, or combat (because it's your spellbook too).
Compsognathus is awesome!
I don't really like the flavour of the +4 initiative familiars, despite their mechanical benefits.
I'd just take something that is cool and suits your character. A familiar is a pretty big part of your witch and a scorpion or stupid little dinosaur are just not cool. Despite the less advantageous mechanics, a viper, owl or the classic black cat are just much more appealing to me.
Yeah, I'd ask the GM if I could replace a flaverful familiar's inherent bonus with +4 init (for a similar type of animal, so no raven etc.). Loosing a feat (or rather the stacking benefits of a feat you probably want to take as well) just for flavor hurts.
Or you play an evil witch with a dodo familiar and call yourself The Extinctioner.
Honestly, I mean, yes +4 Ini is great, but I pick familiar based on flavor.
My Wizard has +0 Perception, I picked up a Owl, completely useless from mechanical standpoint, but it's freaking cool.
Your DM might be cool enough and let you switch the bonus, but imo familiars are balanced around that too. Those which can fly have worst bonus, those who cannot get +4 init.
Honestly, picking a scorpion is freaking ugly thing
I enjoy a nice mole.
In a pinch these little guys can burrow into the ground and be safe from predators with their 10ft burrow speed.
Later on, when you can talk to it, he can infiltrate enemy camps through tunneling, and report back.
No one expects the Mole Inquisition!
I enjoy a nice mole.
In a pinch these little guys can burrow into the ground and be safe from predators with their 10ft burrow speed.
Later on, when you can talk to it, he can infiltrate enemy camps through tunneling, and report back.
No one expects the Mole Inquisition!
I like armadillos for similar reasons. Only 5ft burrow speed, but they can hold their breath for several minutes, allowing for underwater shenanigans too.
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Most people Enjoy the Initiative Familiars, +2 Fort Familiars, Or talking/flying options. Some enjoy the monkey for early UMD tricks.
But all those mean squat as a Majority of Witch take Improved Familiar and you loose the bonus all together. At this point the IMP becomes the best familiar on the list. A strong 2nd would be the Dust Mephit which can do Blur 1/HOUR and wind wall 1/day Both are great spells ontop of the ability to UMD and Fast healing 2 in "dusty locations".
The main concern of all witches is losing their familiar means losing your spell book. You should invest in the item that stores your spells like a familiar. Then it doesn't matter if your Familiar dies.
A very overlooked Improved familiar is the Small Elemental. As far as defensive goes an Earth elemental is very hard to kill while earth gliding. Scouting becomes easier as well with earth gliding. Making it one of the safer Familiars when you can't back up your spell list for what ever reason. If you can use 3PP the Small elemental Negative Energy Elemental can make your Enervation Maxmimized. Nothing like a touch attack that does -4 levels by level 7. It has better effect on a Wizard but a witch can do some work with it. Buffing it with Personal buffs helps make you a pretty strong body guard as well.
Platypus can be good for roleplaying where you show people you have been able to tame a minor chimera.
Consider me on team monkey. Sure the +3 acrobatics isn't helpful, but it's the only simple familiar with hands. All sort of options are unlocked with those from UMD to having something that can stabilize another party member in an emergency to someone to untie you. You can even incorporate them into your backstory with them saving you from various threats.
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I personally like Fairy Dragons, because they have sorcerer spellcasting, and it's usually a house rule at my table that share spells works both ways, so my witches (or my player's witches) get access to some nice first level sorcerer spells like shield that they otherwise couldn't. Greater Invisibility is also nice when it comes to delivering touch spells like cures.
I enjoy a nice mole.
In a pinch these little guys can burrow into the ground and be safe from predators with their 10ft burrow speed.
Later on, when you can talk to it, he can infiltrate enemy camps through tunneling, and report back.
No one expects the Mole Inquisition!
Most people Enjoy the Initiative Familiars, +2 Fort Familiars, Or talking/flying options. Some enjoy the monkey for early UMD tricks.
But all those mean squat as a Majority of Witch take Improved Familiar and you loose the bonus all together. At this point the IMP becomes the best familiar on the list. A strong 2nd would be the Dust Mephit which can do Blur 1/HOUR and wind wall 1/day Both are great spells ontop of the ability to UMD and Fast healing 2 in "dusty locations".
The main concern of all witches is losing their familiar means losing your spell book. You should invest in the item that stores your spells like a familiar. Then it doesn't matter if your Familiar dies.
A very overlooked Improved familiar is the Small Elemental. As far as defensive goes an Earth elemental is very hard to kill while earth gliding. Scouting becomes easier as well with earth gliding. Making it one of the safer Familiars when you can't back up your spell list for what ever reason. If you can use 3PP the Small elemental Negative Energy Elemental can make your Enervation Maxmimized. Nothing like a touch attack that does -4 levels by level 7. It has better effect on a Wizard but a witch can do some work with it. Buffing it with Personal buffs helps make you a pretty strong body guard as well.
You forgot about the Fairy Dragon, Arbiter, Azata Lyrakian, Nykar, Raktavarna Rakshasa, and my personal favorite the Pooka. All of these are equally good choices to the imp because they open up some crazy exploits or are super hard to kill.
Consider me on team monkey. Sure the +3 acrobatics isn't helpful, but it's the only simple familiar with hands. All sort of options are unlocked with those from UMD to having something that can stabilize another party member in an emergency to someone to untie you. You can even incorporate them into your backstory with them saving you from various threats.
Afaik, only Improved Familiars can use UMD, unless DM fiat
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Consider me on team monkey. Sure the +3 acrobatics isn't helpful, but it's the only simple familiar with hands. All sort of options are unlocked with those from UMD to having something that can stabilize another party member in an emergency to someone to untie you. You can even incorporate them into your backstory with them saving you from various threats.Afaik, only Improved Familiars can use UMD, unless DM fiat
Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers.
Monkey has thumbs and a hand that can grasp/hold a wand. If the Master has UMD then the familiar will as well.
a chicken because free eggs.
I tend to go for the bat for its blindsense.
Consider me on team monkey. Sure the +3 acrobatics isn't helpful, but it's the only simple familiar with hands. All sort of options are unlocked with those from UMD to having something that can stabilize another party member in an emergency to someone to untie you. You can even incorporate them into your backstory with them saving you from various threats.Afaik, only Improved Familiars can use UMD, unless DM fiatMonkey has thumbs and a hand that can grasp/hold a wand. If the Master has UMD then the familiar will as well.
Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers.
Too bad it can't say the activation word. You have to be able to speak to use umd.
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Too bad it can't say the activation word. You have to be able to speak to use umd.Consider me on team monkey. Sure the +3 acrobatics isn't helpful, but it's the only simple familiar with hands. All sort of options are unlocked with those from UMD to having something that can stabilize another party member in an emergency to someone to untie you. You can even incorporate them into your backstory with them saving you from various threats.Afaik, only Improved Familiars can use UMD, unless DM fiatMonkey has thumbs and a hand that can grasp/hold a wand. If the Master has UMD then the familiar will as well.
Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers.
Please cite source
Needing to speak a word is buried down in the rules for spell trigger items.
However, if the wand was made to activate when a monkey word was spoken, then it might work.
wands activate by intent and pointing, not a command word. There was a debate on whether wands worked while in a silenced area/person when this was discused.
As for the OP, the witch in one of my current campaigns had a hedgehog to start then once she got improved familiar she upgraded to a faerie dragon.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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One thing to double check with your GM is about how they handle Improved Familiar for witches - the "replacing your familiar" rules for witches are super harsh. I'm not sure any improved familiar is worth losing most of your spells.
However, all the GMs I play with allow the old familiar to simply "change" into the new one, keeping the spells. This is certainly a house rule, though.
For those unfamiliar (heh) with the witch RAW for replacing familiars, you get all 0s plus two per spell level you can cast, plus patron spells. That's it. So a 7th level witch who takes IF gets a critter with all 0, 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, and 2 4th, plus their 1st-3rd level patron spells. They likely before had all 0, 9-10 1st, 4 2nd, 4 3rd, 2 4th, and those patron spells, plus whatever else they taught the familiar from scrolls. Harsh.
One thing to double check with your GM is about how they handle Improved Familiar for witches - the "replacing your familiar" rules for witches are super harsh. I'm not sure any improved familiar is worth losing most of your spells.
However, all the GMs I play with allow the old familiar to simply "change" into the new one, keeping the spells. This is certainly a house rule, though.
For those unfamiliar (heh) with the witch RAW for replacing familiars, you get all 0s plus two per spell level you can cast, plus patron spells. That's it. So a 7th level witch who takes IF gets a critter with all 0, 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, and 2 4th, plus their 1st-3rd level patron spells. They likely before had all 0, 9-10 1st, 4 2nd, 4 3rd, 2 4th, and those patron spells, plus whatever else they taught the familiar from scrolls. Harsh.
Retraining could potentially fix that, or bite the bullet and pay for it.
For those unfamiliar (heh) with the witch RAW for replacing familiars, you get all 0s plus two per spell level you can cast, plus patron spells. That's it. So a 7th level witch who takes IF gets a critter with all 0, 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, and 2 4th, plus their 1st-3rd level patron spells. They likely before had all 0, 9-10 1st, 4 2nd, 4 3rd, 2 4th, and those patron spells, plus whatever else they taught the familiar from scrolls. Harsh.
But, as witches' familiars can teach each other spells, one would imagine it wouldn't be stretching credibility to have your former raven teach your new, improved imp the remaining spells?
I prefer the non-improved familiars anyway, personally.
Please cite source
Not allowed on PFS unless Improved Familiar. All base familiars lack the Hand slot, it was explained by JJ or someone from Paizo, don't recal where