Swarm abilities animal companion Swarm Monger Druid

[cjunqueira]

Dear all

Im building a Swarm Monger Druid with a Bat as animal companion, but i have a question considering his abilities in the swarm form.

When he becomes a swarm with Fecund Familiar's ability, does he gets the distraction special attack and the wounding special ability just like the Bat Swarm creature?

And why they can't get feats and skills like ordinary animal companions?

Thank you all.

Best regards

[LordKailas]

How do you have a bat animal companion?

Swarm Monger wrote:

A swarm monger bonds with an urban familiar, treating her druid level as her wizard level for the purposes of determining her familiar’s abilities.

The swarm monger must select her familiar from the following options: cat, house centipede, rat, raven, or scarlet spider. The fecund familiar gains the benefits of its master’s child of pollution, shadowy opportunist, and venom immunity class abilities.

...

This ability replaces nature bond.

you get a familiar not an animal companion and bat isn't on the list of familiars you can pick.

That being said, you only get what the ability gives you. Regardless what kind of familiar you have it gains a swarm attack and sicken/nauseate ability. Nothing in the description states that while it's a swarm that it gains any of the normal abilities that a swarm of that type would have.

[Melkiador]

The list of options is made up of size Tiny familiars. This was probably because they didn't want you getting a swarm of smaller size creatures that would be immune to weapons. If a DM did choose to let you have bat as an option, they should probably be scaled to size Tiny bats, or just not give you the weapon immunity. Of some concern is that you could take an improved familiar of any size. As a DM, I'm not sure if I'd allow a player to take a non-tiny improved familiar for this ability, though.

To be clear, the archetype gives your familiar the swarm subtype, but this is not necessarily the same thing as all of the abilities of a swarm of that type. However, distraction is part of the swarm subtype.

Quote:

Swarms do not threaten creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.

Swarms possess the distraction universal monster rule. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a caster level check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Will save.

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Quote:

It uses its normal AC, saving throws, and skill bonuses, and it gains the swarm subtype and the ability to make swarm attacks (dealing 1d6 points of damage at 1st level and using the swarm monger’s druid level as the swarm’s Hit Dice to determine damage increases as per the swarm subtype).

The swarm attack is singled out to make it absolutely clear that the damage of the attack increases with the master's hit dice. If that line weren't there it would be unclear if the familiar's swarm attack scaled with the master's HD, as there was never any official ruling as to whether hit dice based familiar abilities scale with the master's hit dice.

So in conclusion, the familiar has all of the powers of the swarm subtype, which includes distraction.

[Azothath]

yes, it's rather restricted and for good reason. Familiars(not expected to be in combat) are a different class feature than animal companions(which are expected to be in combat).

Many try to tweak it with Improved Familiar and complications arise. There are rulesets about Improved Familiars, archtypes, and how the rules interact (FAQs) and what is possible within RAW. Unfortunately clarity and simplicity isn't a hallmark of these rules.

[cjunqueira]

Thanks Guys.

I have now new doubts about familiar and swarms.

1) The rule about fecund familiar says that the familiar burst into the swarm, is creates in 5 consecutive foots of its size. Can i change after during combat these formation? Like a square of 10 x10ft?

2) The swarm feature specify that when the swarm drop to 0 HP it dissipates. What happens with my familiar if he dropped to 0 HO while in the Swarm formation? He dies? He return to his form?

3) Can i move my familiar in the swarm form the way i wnat during combat? Move over here, attack that enemy, stay at theses formation?

Thanks again

[Melkiador]

Quote:

A single swarm occupies a square (if it is made up of nonflying creatures) or a cube (of flying creatures) 10 feet on a side, but its reach is 0 feet, like its component creatures.

I believe the intention is that the swarm stays "square", except for when "squeezing" into smaller spaces.

Quote:

Reducing a swarm to 0 Hit Points or less causes it to break up, though Damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack..... A swarm rendered unconscious by means of Nonlethal Damage becomes disorganized and dispersed, and does not reform until its Hit Points exceed its Nonlethal Damage.

Quote:

the transformation lasts for 1 minute per druid level, or until the swarm monger reverts her familiar back to a singular form as a standard action.

If the familiar swarm were going to end early on damage, it'd probably be mentioned along with duration and the standard action for ending. So, my assumption is that a few of the creatures/bodies of the swarm will stick around until the effect ends or is ended.

I really don't think you can change the "formation" of the swarm. But it should still understand your intent as well as a regular familiar would. So, by the time you get Speak with Master, your familiar should be capable of "move there" or "swarm that guy". It's up to your DM how much you can get done with empathic link, so you'll have to talk that one over.