Recently my group has started the serpents skulls campaign and for the first time ever I am playing a wizard. Playing a wizard has been fairly simple but due to constantly getting cornered and wailed on by monsters I was looking at exchanging my familiars feats taking combat reflexes and body guard as it's feats. then I was considering taking an familiar archetype for it the Mauler archetype suits what I need however I've found a number of things confusing, The Archetype states that it cannot speak any language in a descriptor and replaces the speak with master and speak with animals abilities. Would this apply to a improved familiar since they start speaking a lot of languages sometimes including common?
additionally the later powers of the archetype give a 'battle form' which turns the creature into a medium creature and reads "In battle form, the mauler’s size becomes Medium and it gains a +2 size bonus to its Strength score. Since many familiars are Tiny or Diminutive, be sure to check for any additional Strength and Dexterity adjustments for increasing in size from Tiny or Diminutive to Medium. This is a poly morph effect." does this mean for the power I need to add the size bonus for each size category and add a +2? Also does this power run out or is it a constant affect until turned off?
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1. FAQ
In other cases, treat Improved Familiar as if it was an archetype to see if it stacks with other familiar options: since the two things it alters from a regular familiar are that it removes the ability to speak with animals of its kind and it prevents changing the creature type for non-animals, you couldn’t make a familiar that changes the creature type of non-animals or alters or removes speak with animals of its kind an Improved Familiar.
Mauler and Improved Familiar both replace the speak with animals of its kind familiar feature, so they aren't compatible.
2. Use the rules from the polymorph subsection of the Magic section to adjust ability scores for your familiar as would result from changing its size to Medium, then apply the +2 size bonus to its Strength score. (For example, a Tiny familiar using battle form would adjust its Strength by +4 and its Dexterity by -2, then apply a +2 size bonus to Strength on top of that.) There is no listed duration for the change, only a limit on the number of times the familiar can assume said form per day.
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Improved familiars can’t take the mauler archetype because the mauler archetype replaces the speak with animals ability and improved familiars don’t gain that ability.
You do apply size increase adjustments when the mauler familiar grows.