Sage familiars are masters of useful facts, able to recall them for their master's benefit, though this leads many to become haughty and proud.
Class Skills: A sage treats all Knowledge skills as class skills.
Dazzling Intellect (Ex)
A sage's Intelligence score is always equal to 5 + its level, but the sage gains the additional natural armor increases of a familiar only half its level.
This ability alters the familiar's Intelligence score and natural armor adjustment.
Sage's Knowledge (Ex)
A sage stores information on every topic and is happy to lecture its master on the finer points. A sage can attempt all Knowledge checks untrained and receives a bonus on all Knowledge checks equal to 1/2 its level. Additionally, a sage gains 2 skill ranks at each level.
Its maximum number of ranks in any given skill is equal to its level.
This ability replaces alertness and the familiar's ability to share its master's skill ranks.
I'd like to know, how does the familiar "lecture its master".
Must one take a talking familiar to use this?Otherwise, is it useless until level 5 when a familiar gains Speak With Master?
Must/can the character do something at level one to be able to speak the animal language of her familiar?
I love the notion of my (viper) familiar being a know-it-all that sits on my shoulder hissing in my ear, but I don't want to roll this character and be told it's useless for my first 12 scenarios. (I play PFS, but this question doesn't seem PFS specific.)
Thanks!
Familiars can roll their eyes when you say something stupid.
Otherwise, you might have to rely on the empathic link to relay feelings, which in absolutely no way is a method of communication fine tuned enough to distinguish "Errol was the first mayor of Adventuretown" or "you probably shouldn't look at the basilisk directly".
So the familiar is going to have no way to communicate what it knows.
I'm sure the GM and other players would love me trying to play 20 questions to figure out what my familiar knows!
Sounds like I take a thrush or raven familiar, since each "speaks one language of its master's choice as a supernatural ability" (Familiar Folio)
Since I'm a shaman, I could take the Nature spirit and blow my first shaman hex on Speak With Animals, but I don't want a snake anywhere near that badly!
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Sage familiars start at Intelligence 6. That and the empathic link should be enough to get basic concepts across through gestures and emotions;
<point at thing> + *fear* = That thing is dangerous
<listen to master's guess> + *annoyance* = Master guessed wrong
<close eyes> + *impatience* = You should close your eyes
et cetera
Far from perfect, but also far from useless.
All of these are fun ideas, but your best chance in the event of a rules stickler GM, would probably have your familiar take a rank in linguistics, and have them write out what they wish to explain. Or else take a Raven or Thrush like Whipstitch suggested.
I like the idea of using empathic link to convey emotions and trying to translate that to knowledge. As a player it may be less fun but as an observer I would find it entertaining.
Sage familiars don't lose the Speak with Master ability, and can be enchanted with Tongues and if, in this forum, people cannot come up with better approaches, I am disappointed.
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Sage familiars don't lose the Speak with Master ability, and can be enchanted with Tongues and if, in this forum, people cannot come up with better approaches, I am disappointed.
<pssst> Read the OP... see the part about BEFORE 'Speak with Master' becomes available at level 5? Not likely to be using Tongues at 1st level either.
Give it a rank of linguistics and give it a chalkboard
Sage familiars don't lose the Speak with Master ability, and can be enchanted with Tongues and if, in this forum, people cannot come up with better approaches, I am disappointed.<pssst> Read the OP... see the part about BEFORE 'Speak with Master' becomes available at level 5? Not likely to be using Tongues at 1st level either.
All true, but I'm still happy for anyone willing to offer any advice!
Give it a rank of linguistics and give it a chalkboard
Useful for those that can hold things and write, but it would be tough for familiars like weasels, bats, etc to be able to use the chalkboard.
I know 3.5 has it but does pathfinder have the Pearl of Speech? If not then maybe you can get your GM to allow the 3.5 item into the game.
I know 3.5 has it but does pathfinder have the Pearl of Speech? If not then maybe you can get your GM to allow the 3.5 item into the game.
The question, while not PFS specific, was still posed by somebody who plays it, and whose reluctance to wait until 5 was based on that. So GM allowances are basically a no go.
I found another way, which I will share for the benefit of anyone else stumbling upon this thread. This will work with any type of animal!
The Ancestors spirit from the Pathfinder Player Companion Cohorts and Companions:
Spirit AnimalThe shaman's spirit animal has streaks of gray or silver hide, hair, or fur, and long facial hair that appears similar to a wispy mustache or bushy eyebrows.
The spirit animal can speak and understand a number of bonus languages equal to the shaman's Charisma bonus.
Level 3: Cast Alter Self on the familiar. Now the familiar can be a human/elf/halfling/... that can speak. It then uses your rank in Linguistics (you have a rank in it, right?) to speak the language you learned to lecture you.
/cevah
Would comprehend languages work?
Dexterous familiars could use wand of ventriloquism?
Vocal alteration maybe be beyond whats expected of the spell...
Mindlink or detect thoughts are both level 1
Cast Alter Self on the familiar.
I'm not convinced this works. The ability to speak and understand a language isn't a natural ability of humanoids, and it's not listed under the specific abilities the spell may grant.
Borrow skill would also let you yoink those skill ranks for yourself if needed too
Cast Alter Self on the familiar.I'm not convinced this works. The ability to speak and understand a language isn't a natural ability of humanoids, and it's not listed under the specific abilities the spell may grant.
Under the polymorph rules, the capability for speech is address as an ability possessed when it comes to changing shape and casting spells with verbal components (dragons being specifically called out).
The familiar has its own skill ranks if a sage. The familiar rules seem to be silent on whether it understands your language but a point in linguistics either way should solve that.
Under the polymorph rules, the capability for speech is address as an ability possessed when it comes to changing shape and casting spells with verbal components
Ah, yes. I hadn't thought of that; you're quite right.
A Ring of Eloquence or a Traveller's Translator cost a bit more than you're likely to be able to afford at levels 1-4 but might help to allow the familiar to speak with others later on.
Under the polymorph rules, the capability for speech is address as an ability possessed when it comes to changing shape and casting spells with verbal componentsAh, yes. I hadn't thought of that; you're quite right.
That's why I specified the rank in linguistics. :-)
Would comprehend languages work?
Dexterous familiars could use wand of ventriloquism?
Vocal alteration maybe be beyond whats expected of the spell...
Mindlink or detect thoughts are both level 1
For comprehend languages to work, the familiar must have a language. Does it? Most don't.
Using a wand is out as well, 'cause they need to "speak" the command word. They can't do that until after they get speech, at which point they don't need the spell.
Share Language is 2nd for most, but 1st for bards. Thus a wand is 750 gp. Each charge will last a day.
/cevah
Speak with master is different from being able to speak. The ability states its a shared language which others cannot understand. Is that enough for a wand?
For me, it is. Still have the UMD problem.
/cevah
Share Language wouldn't help for the same reason a rank of Linguistics wouldn't help.
The target must have the physical capacity to articulate sounds, make gestures, or engage in whatever other method speakers of the language use to communicate with each other in order to actually converse.
In my home games, I just give Sage and Emissary Familiars the ability to speak a language as a Raven familiar, replacing the normal bonus granted by a familiar of its type.