I'm looking for a way for my Magmakineticist to gain an elemental familiar, but I don't think I could pick one up using the Improved Familiar feat without a very generous interpretation of the rules. Other than multiclassing with a Wizard or other Arcane caster, is there a way for me to do this? I'm talking a full-time familiar, not a Summon Monster equivalent like in Spark of Life.
I have the all of the main line Pathfinder hardcovers, plus Occult Origins, Familiar Folio, and Animal Archives, if that helps.
Could this even possibly fall under the jurisdiction of a Wish?
This is for a home game with a fun and permissive GM, but he has to know how our characters can rules-legal do the things they want to do.
No problem! Small elementals are a fifth level improved familiar.
Iron Will -> Familiar Bond -> Improved Familiar
-or-
Variant Multiclass (Wizard, Witch, or Sorcerer with the Arcane bloodline) -> Improved Familiar
I really like VMC Wizard with Enhancement Transmutation school. Gets you some nice things as you level up, especially at seventh. It's trading out feats, so you keep full Kineticist progression. In both cases, human really helps for the free feat.
A Wysp familiar would be great... provided they provide familiar rules for these...
A Wysp familiar would be great... provided they provide familiar rules for these...
Oh, they did provide rules. 7th level improved familiar. Glad they have that.
A Wysp familiar would be great... provided they provide familiar rules for these...Oh, they did provide rules. 7th level improved familiar. Glad they have that.
Wysps happily offer their services to kind allies, though generally only elementally attuned creatures, kineticists, and spellcasters who summon elementals can make much use of a wysp's assistance. A 7th-level spellcaster who has the Improved Familiar feat can gain a wysp as a familiar.
I stand corrected then :P
Whoa. That's pretty cool for a familiar. I hadn't even looked at wysps.
There are many people for and against having non-arcane casters qualify for improved familiars.
I side with the rules don't allow it. You have an effective wizard level for the abilities of your familiar, not for the improved familiar feat. And effective wizard level does not mean arcane spellcaster level.
Especially since the investigator archetype with a familiar explicitly says it counts as a effective arcane spellcaster levels for improved familiar feat. Which it wouldn't need to if effective wizard levels for your familiar was already enough.
it's saying the kineticist can benefit from they wysp's abilities. So if your party's wizard picks up a wysp (because they are going to summons lots of earth elementals) then the wysp's resonate has a bonus for the kineticist too.
It says nothing about a wysp being available for a kineticist as a familiar.
There's enough of a split on the boards that you're not going to get far arguing about it. You have to ask your GM. My suggestion should have included the caveat that both methods will require the GM to take the looser interpretation, or else be fine with allowing it anyway.
As far as the rules not supporting other ways of getting wysps, the rules don't prevent befriending or paying one.
You're misreading that sentence.
"Wysps happily offer their services to kind (wizards, fighters, barbs, paladins, elementals, angels, frogs), (but) generally only elementally attuned creatures, kineticists, and spellcasters who summon elementals can make much use of a wysp's assistance.
The wisp is the wizards familiar
Wysp: "Hey fighter you're kind, here's a boost to your fire attacks"
Fighter: "I can't make much use of this assistance"
Wysp: "Hey wizard you're kind, here's a boost to your fire attacks"
Wizard : "Perfect, summon fire elemental to make use of it!"
Wysp: "Hey kineticist you're kind, here's a boost to your fire attacks"
Kineticist: "perfect"
Wysp: "Hey Other kineticists you're mean, I'm not helping you boost your fire attacks"
Other Kineticist: "dang"
So it's not saying that they offer their service to kind kineticists, it's saying that even though it's willing to help people, only a few people can really benefit from that help.
It's still useful in home games because many GMs allow general access to Improved Familiar. Just because some people take a particular RAW reading of something doesn't mean it's usually run that way. (I would also be surprised if Kineticists didn't get more direct access to them in the future.)
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
It's still useful in home games because many GMs allow general access to Improved Familiar. Just because some people take a particular RAW reading of something doesn't mean it's usually run that way. (I would also be surprised if Kineticists didn't get more direct access to them in the future.)
For now, they're on the monstrous leadership chart in Intrigue (so you can have them progress in bard and become conductors; I suggest flame dancer for a fire wysp!), and in home games, the PCs might befriend a wysp non-mechanically as well.
However...I think your parenthetical may be on to something as well. Hmm, can't wait to see what the deal is with that elemental whispers ability mentioned on the blog.
It's still useful in home games because many GMs allow general access to Improved Familiar. Just because some people take a particular RAW reading of something doesn't mean it's usually run that way. (I would also be surprised if Kineticists didn't get more direct access to them in the future.)For now, they're on the monstrous leadership chart in Intrigue (so you can have them progress in bard and become conductors; I suggest flame dancer for a fire wysp!), and in home games, the PCs might befriend a wysp non-mechanically as well.
However...I think your parenthetical may be on to something as well. Hmm, can't wait to see what the deal is with that elemental whispers ability mentioned on the blog.
That was indeed what I was parenthetically alluding to! It seemed like a likely fit. (Hoping Void gets some love there, though.)
Okay... This situation has been answered in the FAQ!! And Paizo says that it DOES work. See here.
That actually makes me think about possibly getting a Wysp for some of my kineticist. Happy hunting OP!
A Wysp familiar would be great... provided they provide familiar rules for these...Reviving an old thread but wanted everyone to know that they gave Kineticists two wild talents to get a familiar/improved familiar.
Improved Familiars can only be small elementals or wysp of your element type
Yep, the Elemental Whispers wild talents from Ultimate Horror ;)
