Alchemist Familiar Questions

[SCheuvront]

RAW referenced in these questions...

" This alchemical familiar appears to be a small
creature of flesh and blood, though it might have some unusual or distinguishing aspects
depending on your creative process. Like other familiars, your alchemical familiar assists
you in your laboratory and on adventures."

"Familiars are mystically bonded creatures tied to your
magic. Most familiars were originally animals, though
the ritual of becoming a familiar makes them something
more. You can choose a Tiny animal you want as your
familiar, such as a bat, cat, raven, or snake. Some familiars
are different, usually described in the ability that granted
you a familiar; for example, a druid’s leshy familiar is a
Tiny plant instead of an animal, formed from a minor
nature spirit."

I have read a couple things both from the RAW as well as some of the other threads. Though I haven't seen these questions answered.

1) is the size of the familiar for an alchemist "small"? The text states...
" a small creature". Is this mean a small or just a generalization for tiny.

2) Can a familiar not be an animal? I saw words in the Familiar entry about can be or may. I did not see any language that would say it must be. Like could we have a classically identified homunculus: wings, bipedal, etc. Perhaps some other nondescript creature form yet to be imagined.

3) the general way its describe a familiar sounds like a summoner's elodian. You can pick new traits every day, so can we just assume basic forms like an elodian and then add the traits we want?(Serpent, bipedal, or quadruped as a base form) If then you want to declare a form (bat, cat, rat, etc.) Then you would be restricted.

4) The RAW also show that you can spend downtime days to recover your familiar in the case it dies. The text says no cost for 7 days. In society I may not have 7 days of downtime if it dies. What is the cost of your familiar's recovery if I need it faster then 7 days?

I noticed that some of these question seem to repeat themselves I just want to make sure I am playing my familiar correctly. Thank you for your answers!

[shroudb]

1) generalisation, not actual size category.

2)expect table variance. Even in the official stream where we made the developers characters, the developers made their familiar something like a homunculus. BUT if you're going to somewhere like pfs, it's just safer to go with at least looking like an animal.

3)the form doesn't change, so if it has a feature that gives an ability, you'd have to always pick said ability.
Apart from that, modify it as you wish every day. Not every ability change needs to be represented by a form change. Your monkey may be dextrous in one day or a climber in the other day.

4)i don't play pfs, sorry.

[coriolis]

One thing to note: Unlike all the other classes that can have a familiar, alchemists have no way of improving their familiar, so they have no way of creating a full homunculus with this ability; at most, it will be a very limited version.

Their Bestiary entry implies that they are relatively easy to create, but comes up just shy of actually providing a level for the formula. You would need to talk to your GM to determine that.

[SCheuvront]

Thank you for the quick response. That makes sense, now I need to figure out what animal my familiar is.

[Wheldrake]

Regardless of what animal your familiar is, or whether or not it is an animal, it will have no stats or attacks or carrying capacity or other abilities beyond the 2-4 abilities that you grant it.

And what you can do with it outside encounter mode (combat) is completely dependent on how much leeway the DM wants to give you. Expect major table variance.

This, until such time as a future Paizo book clarifies or expands familiars.

[Homunculus23]

Does an alchemist familiar count as a companion to the extent that I could add a fiery leopard (Plaguestone) boon on it? I ask because familiars are under the same heading/chapter.
"Familiars
Familiars are mystically bonded creatures tied to your magic. Most familiars were originally animals, though the ritual of becoming a familiar makes them something more. You can choose a Tiny animal you want as your familiar, such as a bat, cat, raven, or snake." (Core book, page 217)

[HammerJack]

No, the fiery leopard is an animal companion, with animal companion stats. It is not a familiar and the two don't translate into each other.