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My witch will be hitting level 7 shortly, and I would like to take my Sprite Familiar as a cohort via the Leadership feat.
I don't believe that a familiar can qualify as a cohort, so I plan to dismiss my sprite from is familiar-duties, and take it then as a cohort instead.
Relevant text quotes:
Witch's Familiar (APG 69)
"[The familiar] uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature."
Arcane Bond (CRB 78)
"Rules for familiar appear on page 82.."
Familiar (CRB 82)
"If a familiar is dismissed, lost, or dies ...."
This leads me to believe that dismissing a familiar is RAW legal.
There are no details regarding "dismissing," so the logistics of the act are probably up to GM discretion. Some GM's might rule that dismissing your familiar sends it away forever or something?
However, simply losing track of your familiar (IE: BBEG kidnaps it or something)allows eligibility for gaining a new familiar. Its easy to conceptualize doing a ritual to replace a stolen familiar, only to later rescue the prior familiar. So, I don't think that "dismissal" necessarily has to send a familiar away.
Now, of course once a familiar has been dismissed or replaced, it would no longer gain the benefits it enjoyed while it was a familiar.
So, my Sprite would be back to an ordinary Sprite. But, it would have its good history and relations with me, and it would then be eligible to take class levels as a cohort.
(Probably a decent chunk of class levels, since Sprite CR is only 1/3 ?)
Unlike a conventional cohort who has backstory legitimizing why it starts with all its class levels, my sprite might only start with 1 and need to work into the rest or something, but that's alright.
Other than possible GM-Fiat, does this seem like a legitimate course of action to change my current sprite from my familiar to my cohort?
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familiars/improved familairs can be cohorts, but they loose familiar abilities and gain class levels. The rules for them are listed in the ultimate intrigue page 133. Sprite isn't specifically listed, but I would assume with its CR it would match the other level 5 caster level familiars (like brownie) and have a starting cohort level of 3.
and yes you can dismiss a familiar, but you have to spend the gold and time to get a replacement. The only exception that I know of is when you gain the improved familiar feat the devs went on record to say the first one from the feat is free. :)
Yes, you can dismiss a familiar.
Yes, you could, in theory, take a creature such as a Sprite as a Cohort.
However, there are a number of issues here.
1) What is the equivalent cohort level of a Sprite?
All monstrous cohorts have an equivalent level, sprites are not on the list of monstrous cohorts so determining the equivalent level is a GM call but the equivalent level should probably be 3 as thelemonache stated.
2) (the bigger issue) You will lose most of your spells when you lose (dismiss) your familiar.
If a familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced 1 day later through a special ritual that costs 500 gp per witch level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete. A new familiar begins knowing all of the 0-level spells plus two spells of every level the witch is able to cast. These are in addition to any bonus spells known by the familiar based on the witch’s level and her patron (see patron spells).
I would keep your familiar and acquire a cohort some other way if you are really set on doing so.
To keep most of your old spells, get a Stone Familiar before you dismiss your old Familiar.
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2) (the bigger issue) You will lose most of your spells when you lose (dismiss) your familiar.
That's a really important thing to consider, but I'm alright with it.
The spells that I use the most are one's that I picked up with my human favored class bonuses, and those get to transfer to my new familiar for free. Plus a new familiar still gets 2 spells for each level, and I'll get my patron spells back.I dont think I have many spells that I'll lose that I was in a big need of, but if there are a handful, maybe I can offer them up to another witch to hang onto. My sprite can teach them to a 3rd party, and then the 3rd party can teach them to my new sprite.
"A witch's familiar can learn spells from another witch's familiar. [...] Most witches require a spell of equal or greater level in return for this service."
I'll essentially be giving them a ton of free spells (some of which are bound to be new to them, in return for them not having to share anything new to me. Just bringing back a few old stuffs.
GM territory, but even if such a plan didn't pan out, it's still worth it to me.
EDIT
To keep most of your old spells, get a Stone Familiar before you dismiss your old Familiar.
That's hella worth it too ._. cool item!