So, I've never really played a caster, especially one that uses a familiar. However, playing last night with my Bloodrager I got a boon that allows me to take a specific special familiar as an Improved Familiar option at 7th level.
I thought "This is so cool!" even if it isn't the most mechanically optimized, and remade my future character plans to incorporate it (Iron Will, Familiar Bond, Improved Familiar).
However, looking at the familiar I get... Both the feats it start with do nothing on a Familiar (Improved Initiative + Toughness), since familiar's HP is 1/2 the master's, and work off the master's initiative roll.
I tried to do some research into the matter, but I can't find any options that would work for replacing those familiar feats, if it's even possible?
Please advise.
No. Your familiar's feats are set in stone. You can't choose their feats like you can with an eidolon or animal companion.
Cyrad wrote: Your familiar's feats are set in stone. Not quite.
You can pay to Retrain them.
There was a ruling by Mike Brock (a previous Campaign Coordinator) that you could freely replace your Familiar's starting feats with feats from Animal Archive, using the rules set forth in that book.
Except, specifically for Weapon Finesse, if you trade that away then the Familiar also loses the ability to use Dex in place of Str for their touch attacks.
Plus, there are at least two Archetypes that can grant your Familiar extra feats or other abilities.
There may be more recent rulings from current members of Campaign Leadership as well.
Interesting. So some more reading, and it seems like one of the only feats I can replace with is Familiar Focus unfortunately, because it is an improved familiar... And my low strength, decent dexterity familiar is stuck using strength for touch attacks.
Since I'm gaining my familiar through the feats, I don't get the deliver touch spells ability, which is what most of the feats seem to require.
Minor correction: the point about familiars who trade out Weapon Finesse was changed to the opposite ruling in this faq: http://paizo.com/organizedplay/faq#v5748eaic9whc
Cool cool. I figured there'd been some sort of update since Mike Brock's rulings.
There's also an option called Bloodline Familiar (from Familiar Folio).
It trades your 1st level bloodline power away and gives you a familiar (with a minor additional power dependent on your bloodline). In addition, you get your bonus bloodline spells one level later.
Depends on your concept, but that could be cheaper than taking 2 feats.
It would be, and if I had done this scenario first I would probably have done that but unfortunately I'm second level now, so the feats are my only real option. And it's actually 3 feats at this point, because I need Iron Will, Familiar Bond, and Improved Familiar.
Was there really no additional feat replacement options added with Familiar Folio? Only the Animal Archive?
You can take Extra Item Slot in place of one of the feats for free. It’s useful in PFS because of the extra limitations on items from the faq.
Extra item slot wouldn't help, since it's a Biped [hands] type and gets all slots anyway. Actually gets rather confusing since it's a creature that can't normally be a familiar anyway.
Extra Item Slot works best for Familiars that have access to all slots.
Familiars in PFS only start with access to Neck and Armor, and any items that might be specifically designed for that particular creature (like Horseshoes for Horses).
Taking Extra Item Slot allows your Familiar to benefit from wearing additional items beyond Neck and Armor, but you can only take Extra Item Slot if the creature's body can accommodate that slot.
So, for example, you couldn't give your Viper access to Extra Item Slot (hands), because it doesn't have them, but you could give that selection to something like a Soulbound Doll, because it does.
OH! I didn't realize that they only start with those two slots unlocked! Well dang, definitely I'll be taking Extra Item Slot, and I guess Familiar Focus. I noticed that the Organized Play FAQ also mentions retraining future feats gained. I didn't think Familiars gained feats at higher levels?
On a related note then, what item slot do you think would be the most effective to grant a Soulbound Doll? My character is a natural attacking melee Bloodrager with UMD ranks and traits, so the familiar will probably be doing a lot of wand using etc.
Kiesman wrote: I didn't think Familiars gained feats at higher levels? Not normally, because unlike animal companions, they don't actually gain additional hit dice, but a beast-bonded witch can give her feat slots to her familiar.
That said, the FAQ that covers retraining a familiar's feats also covers animal companions and eidolons, which do gain feats as you level up. More importantly, you only get to freely swap out a familiar's starting feats when you first get them; if you later decide you want your familiar to have a different feat, you have to use the retraining rules. You could also use the retraining rules to swap their feats for non-familiar feats.
Kiesman wrote: It would be, and if I had done this scenario first I would probably have done that but unfortunately I'm second level now, so the feats are my only real option. And it's actually 3 feats at this point, because I need Iron Will, Familiar Bond, and Improved Familiar.
Was there really no additional feat replacement options added with Familiar Folio? Only the Animal Archive?
If you have the Ultimate Campaign, you can use the retraining rules to retrain your bloodline. This costs 5 prestige for each bonus feat and bloodline power you change. if you're level 2, this will cost you a total of 5 prestige. Still a bit cheaper than 3 feats :D
Also, I think you'll actually need Iron Will, Familiar Bond, And Improved Familiar bond to make your familiar a "true" familiar before you can replace it with Improved familiar. I could be mistaken though!
Tommi Ketonen wrote: If you have the Ultimate Campaign, you can use the retraining rules to retrain your bloodline. This costs 5 prestige for each bonus feat and bloodline power you change. if you're level 2, this will cost you a total of 5 prestige. Still a bit cheaper than 3 feats :D
Also, I think you'll actually need Iron Will, Familiar Bond, And Improved Familiar bond to make your familiar a "true" familiar before you can replace it with Improved familiar. I could be mistaken though!
Nothing about Improved Familiar states that your familiar needs to have all the abilities of a normal familiar, just that you have to have a familiar. So I think I'm okay without Improved Familiar Bond.
As for retraining... I'd have to completely retool how I wanted my character to be, I suppose. He was originally supposed to be a natural attacking Abyssal/Salamander cross-blood, but getting my natural attacks at 4 and 8 would be... rough.
Bloodline Familiars don't lose any abilities of a normal familiar. They gain a small additional ability.
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late to the party... but I'd agree with some of the posts.
the rules have changed over time and like many things, it can get a bit twisty at times and that's where you will see some table variance.
I'm just going to paraphrase from the rules followed by the {source}. Comments follow and don't have a {source}.
* A familiar starts with the slots based on its form {FAQ}.
* A familiar can wear mundane items in a slot it has {FAQ}.
* A familiar starts with only neck and armor slot for wearing magic items {FAQ}. It is highly likely that a familiar does not have armor proficiency and thus it will suffer penalties as usual when wearing armor. The exceptions are named magic items for the creature, such as magical horseshoes for a horse (if your familiar is a horse of course, of course).
* You can swap out a (one) non-bonus feat and/or weapon finesse(if your familiar is size tiny or smaller) feat for Extra Slot feat {FAQ}.
* Other feats require retraining {FAQ}. Retraining rules do not set restrictions other than the usual requirement of legal access for PCs via Addt'l Resources or chronicle. Familiars are mentioned only under Wizard retraining for swapping them out. I think you will see some table variance on the scope of feats (Extra Slot, AnmlArchv, FamilFolio, versus any legal feat).
* Addt'l Res grants access to most feats in AnmlArchv or FamilFolio AND the sources state the feats are for familiars {Addt'l Res}. One presumes that this is an alternative option for Extra Slot feat. These feats are clearly options for retraining.
* While some master's statistics(BAB, skill ranks, Caster Level) may substitute for familiar's it is only for effects. The familiar's feats and skill points are not effects thus the familiar is stuck with its own advancement by creature type, HD, and ability scores for those benefits. Of course it can usually(some archetypes swap this out) substitute its masters skill ranks for its own under the familiar rules. I am simply restating the scope of an effect to clarify that familiars do not gain skill ranks or feats(from advancement by type or HD) as the master progresses.
S R, I assume your'e referring to This FAQ? Your answers don't match the FAQ.
Familiars don't start with *any* base slots, they have to use Extra Item Slot feats to use any slot based items:
FAQ wrote: By default, familiars do not have any magic item slots, but they can unlock magic item slots associated with their respective body shape. See below for a list of which body slots each familiar is eligible to unlock. To unlock a magic item slot, a familiar must take the Extra Item Slot feat... Familiars don't start with Neck and Armor slots for free, that's a rule for Animal Companions:
FAQ wrote: An animal companion has access to the armor and neck magic item slots automatically, as long as its body shape is eligible for these slots.
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