I'm intrigued by the Putrefactor witch archetype's unusual familiar ability, and am looking for effects that utilize it. It gains:
"While within her, the familiar cannot be targeted for effects or take any action, but effects affecting it persist, and their duration continues until the next time she disgorges it."
So what I'm looking for is spells and other effects that benefit people nearby or in contact, but don't require the person affected to take any action to make them work.
One example of this kind of spell is:
"
Archon's Aura
School evocation [good, lawful]; Level cleric/oracle 3, paladin 3
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range 20 ft.
Area 20-ft. radius centered on you
duration 1 minute/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell resistance yes
DESCRIPTION
You gain a powerful aura, similar to an archon’s aura of menace. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of you must make a Will save to resist the effects of this aura. If the creature fails, it takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and saving throws and to Armor Class for the duration of this spell, or until it successfully hits you with an attack.
"
You can cast it on your familiar because of share spells, then you swallow the little guy. The effect persists and never expires, and because the familiar is swallowed they can't even hit it to negate the effect, so you're just permanently giving nearby enemies the penalty.
You load up your familiar with as many spells as you can, swallow it, and only hock the thing up when you get extra spells to empower it with or get another spell level and want to use Heighten spell to increase the DC.
The Putrefactor gains this ability at 1st level and it's not a great archetype overall, so dipping a level just to get the familiar seems like a good option unless there's enough stuff on the witch tree to make it worthwhile.
Or am I overlooking something that stops this from working? (Beyond your GM throwing a book at you.)
Dunno that your familiar has line of effect to the enemies while swallowed. It'd work I think if you cast the spell, then the enemy is affected, then you swallow the familiar, but not if you cast the spell and swallow the familiar before meeting the enemy.
If leveling up as a witch or another class that will advance the familiar abilities, the Protector archetype seems like the obvious option. It can't utilize Bodyguard, but still gives a powerful defensive bonus at 5th and 11th levels (at which point it's basically doubling your health), like a cut-rate tumor familiar before they disallowed that option.
Potentially inconvenient though, because you can't heal the familiar without coughing it up and running down the time on its spells. Some of those might be measured in rounds, or acquired through Use Magic Device or hiring a caster.
Real shame we can't take the Figment archetype for it.
If you can contrive a way to make it a bloodline familiar the Celestial one can grant you fast healing.
Dunno that your familiar has line of effect to the enemies while swallowed. It'd work I think if you cast the spell, then the enemy is affected, then you swallow the familiar, but not if you cast the spell and swallow the familiar before meeting the enemy.
Aw that's a shame. Yeah I forgot about line of effect, that ruins it. You can still get some benefits out of it (ones that only depend on it touching you), but the main benefit probably doesn't work.
Well you could argue about whether your body counts as a solid barrier - after it's not like an aura stops working on the second row if there are two rows of people blocking a passage, but you've started to quibble with the GM at that point. If they can't target the familiar, probably your body counts blocking line of effect.
If the witch casts Magic Circle against Evil on the familiar and then swallowed it would the witch still gain the benefit of the spell? While it could be argued that the witch's body might block line of effect for other creates it would be pretty ridiculous to say the witch isn't effected.
If the witch casts Magic Circle against Evil on the familiar and then swallowed it would the witch still gain the benefit of the spell? While it could be argued that the witch's body might block line of effect for other creates it would be pretty ridiculous to say the witch isn't effected.
Yes, I'd say any effect that emanates from the familiar or requires the familiar to be touching the target (but not one that requires them to touch the target) would function on the witch. So a magic circle works, and a celestial familiar's heavenly touch works (I think? That one may depend on how you interpret the wording, but if it's an ability the familiar gains until they stop touching the person or time runs out it works).
I don't see a reason you couldn't get magic circle against evil, law, chaos, and good cast on it to get the bonus against most enemies. Perhaps this can still work.
Okay running through the spell list for good options given the restrictions laid out.
Arcane Concordance (Bard 3): A great start to the list, +1 to arcane spell DCs, free metamagic feat. Would multiple castings let you have multiple feats?
Bestow Auras (Paladin/antipaladin 3): A paladin could cast this on your familiar, granting them their aura, thus granting you the effect of their aura. So, Aura of Courage and Aura of Resolve for +4 morale vs fear and charm. An insinuator antipaladin could also give it their Aura of Ambition for an untyped +1 bonus to all saving throws. There might be other useful auras granted by other archetypes. I'm not clear on whether they would ever get the aura effect back though, so this could be a hard sell. For the most part I'm not going to list most spells that have durations affecting multiple targets like this, it's too unclear whether they would expire.
Bestow Planar Infusion I, II, III (Various, including witch 1, 4, 7): I'm not sure if any of them provide a beneficial emanation or touching effect and it seems unlikely, not looking through the book right now.
Font of Spirit Magic (shaman 3): Too many unanswered questions. If your familiar is a spirit animal does it count as having a spirit or wandering spirit? If so good, if not useless.
Spirit Call (shaman, druid 1): Same basic issue.
(Greater) Infernal Healing (various, witch 1 or 4): This doesn't affect the player, but it will give the familiar permanent fast healing so you can take the Protector archetype without worrying about how to heal it. The tumor familiar is reborn!!
Invisibility Sphere (Various 3, not witch): Permanent invisibility until you attack someone.
Magic Circle Against Good, Evil, Law, Chaos (Various 3, not witch): As discussed.
Magic Circle Against Technology (cleric, wizard 4): Sure whatever.
Thaumaturgic Circle (various 4, not witch): So you're now not protected against: True neutral non-outsiders.
Music of the Spheres (bard 5, cleric 6): Presumably the requirement to maintain concentration stops this from working.
Peerless Integrity (Various 2, not witch): Why certainly officer, you can trust me and my vermin-infested rags to return this jewel to its owner.
Sharesister (cleric, witch 3): A multiple target duration effect that requires your familiar to cast it on you, but a +3 insight bonus to spell DCs might be worth losing Protector so it has deliver touch spells, or you can use another method.
Siphon Magic (cleric, wizard, witch 5): A potentially useful tool for getting more of these spells from various lists onto your familiar, unfortunately it does require the share touch spells ability and is thus harder to use with the Protector archetype.
Siphon Might (druid, magus, wizard, summoner, witch 3): It's not a touch spell and its duration affects multiple people. In addition it's debatable whether the effect is on you and you're granting a bonus an adjacent creature, or if you put the effect on the adjacent creature. But if you can pull off getting your familiar to cast this at full caster level how do you feel about a permanent +11 enhancement bonus so Strength?
Source Severance (cleric, druid, witch 6): This one is pushing against our discussed restrictions - does an antimagic field blocked by the player's body protect that body against spells that target them? Dunno, but if so you're immune to divine or arcane magic, or maybe even both (does anyone remember, if spells have multiple modes can you cast both modes on someone?) if you don't care about casting them yourself.
Spellcasting Contract (cleric 7): Giving your familiar the ability to cast spells directly, potentially very useful. Who even cares about share touch spells?
Transfer Familiar (wizard, witch 6): Might be useful for some of these shenanigans.
Zone of Silence (bard 4): No one can ever hear you. You probably don't want this one.
So that's what I found on a hasty run through of spells. I suspect a sky-high Use Magic Device skill and some friends are needed, but assuming everything works out let's see the potential so far:
You almost certainly can get:
+2 resistance bonus on saves and deflection bonus to AC vs almost anything: Not very impressive, you'll get better items
Immunity to possession and mind control from almost anything: Now we're getting somewhere
+1 enhancement bonus to arcane spell DCs and free enlarge, extend, silent, and/or still spell on all arcane spells: Yeah pretty good, makes a big difference depending if it's one of those or all of them.
Constantly appearing to be lawful good, +2 circumstance bonus to bluff and diplomacy checks
Invisibility until you attack someone, but you can only reset it but throwing up the familiar
A untargetable Protector familiar with fast heal 4 that is a decent substitute for the old tumor familiar, unless this catches on and it gets errattaed too.
That's not bad, and I'm sure there's a lot of things people could find.
Now if we use more permissive rulings (notably that an effect on the familiar persists even if the effect is from another person and expires on them, which I believe is technically RAW) we can also get:
+11 enhancement bonus to Strength
Another +3 insight bonus to the DC of spells, arcane or otherwise
Depending on how you rule the emanation effect, you can also get immunity to divine or arcane magic or both.
Overall pretty happy with this as a start, thanks for pointing out the initial issue and how it could still be made to work
Magic Circle against Evil also prevents bodily contact from evil summoned creatures.
Right, also immunity to natural attacks from basically all summoned creatures (there might be some Summon Nature's Ally options it misses?)
Okay reviewing I found this in regards to spells like Arcane Concordance:
"
The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts.
"
How would people parse this? Given that it says "usually" I would read it as their effects become irrelevant if they...actually become irrelevant, which is what would *usually* happen, but I can understand the reading that effectively only the last one ever applies (though it's very poorly worded it so).
I see three ways this can work:
1. There's no point in casting Arcane Concordance multiple times, pick the version you like most and enjoy the free metamagic.
2. If you have four castings you can cast the spell with any one of the metamagic options, but only one (because you can only apply the arcane concordance metamagic feat once per spell).
3. You can cast Enlarged Extended Silent Still spells.
Option 2 is the one that seems most natural to me, option 3 seems like it requires a very generous reading.
I overlooked that Sharesister almost certainly doesn't work - the duration on the player is the bonus and expires, all you can do with it is give your familiar permanent negative levels. So scratch that +3 spell DC, oops, that's a blow. I also noticed that the wording on the Putrefactor's fimiliar is "their duration continues until the next time she disgorges it", which read strictly means any spells on it expire when you disgorge it - so you technically can't even do what I thought was the intended use, giving it buffs before combat then throwing it up.
Reviewing paladin/antipaladin auras for Bestow Auras I'm assuming that it works with any paladin or antipaladin class feature with "Aura" in the name, but of course a lot of them give no benefit from inside.
Base paladin: 3rd level Aura of Courage, +4 on saves against fear; 17th level Aura of Righteousness, +4 on saves against compulsion
Forest Preserver: 8th level Fireproof Aura, +2 on saves against fire, fire resist 5, bonus doubled and gain evasion vs fire if you're a plant (possible); 14th level Aura of Preservation, Spell resistance 11+ paladin level if you're a plant or animal; 17th level Aura of Righteousness.
Okay we've found a decent option if you're a vine leshy.
Enlightened paladin: 3rd level Aura of Excellence; 11th level Aura of Perfection, both extremely situational bonuses against misfortune-type effects; 17th level Aura of Righteousness
Gray Paladin: Base auras + 11th level Aura of Subtlety, +4 morale vs divination, nondetection
Hospitaler: Base auras + 11th level Aura of Healing, Immune to bleed, automatically stabilize, and while it can only give you the healing once, as written would let you reroll one saving throw a day (dubious)
Kraken Slayer: Base auras + 14th level Aura of Elusion, gain half the paladin's level vs grappling stuff
Martyr: Base auras + 3rd level Aura of Health, +4 vs diseases
Oathbound paladins:
Oath Against Corruption: 3rd level +1 sacred bonus on saves against aberrations, 17th level Righteousness
Oath Against the Way: Base auras + 8th level Aura Against Necromancy +2 morale bonus against necromancy effects
Oath Against Undeath: Base auras + 8th Aura of Life, level +2 morale bonus against negative level effects
Oath of the
Oath the People's Council: Base auras + 11th level +4 vs phantasm illusions
Wilderness Warden: 3rd level Aura of Comfort, +4 on con checks vs various environment effects; Aura of Purity, +2 vs poison & disease; 17th level Aura of Righteousness
Base antipaladin: All harmful and thus useless
Insinuator: 3rd level Aura of Ego, +2 vs fear; 8th level Aura of Ambition, +1 to all saves
Seal-Breaker: 8th level Aura of Death, +2 profane bonus on all saves if you're undead.
Overall some not bad bonuses, although it's somewhat redundant with the protection from x effects. Unless you can hold a very weird talent show it's gonna be tricky to get more than a few of these active on your familiar at once though, assuming the castings can stack for separate auras.