I was redoing some of my notes. Because there are like 5 races that can get you a familiar via an Ancestry feat.
Azarketi
Gnome
Kitsune
Ratfolk
Sprite
Familiars are a lot more flexible than they used to be post APG.
The Skilled ability that is a very significant. I know you don't get any ranks or skill feats, so it will be under that of a specialist. But it is still not a bad way to pick up a different lore or skill every day. Its almost like you are an Elf.
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If you give your familiar Skilled and Manual Manipulation, you can cast most rituals by yourself.
And my party's Witch has now taken the habit to make sure her familiar has Spellcaster, so that she can have them drop either Slow or Fear III as a single action. I lost count of how many things that thing does by now but that always comes up big time.
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I just like the fact that I can get 40ft move on my Corgi at level 1 and use that with the mounted Sprite. I can see why they banned the familiar flight ability for Corgis.
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I just like the fact that I can get 40ft move on my Corgi at level 1 and use that with the mounted Sprite. I can see why they banned the familiar flight ability for Corgis.
Banned corgi flight? Why? Do they just hate awesomeness?
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Played a level 3 one shot with a sprite Bard and having a free move action each turn via independent Corgi was strong ngl.
Note that there is some doubt as to the legality of that (basically, the mount rules and the familiar rules clash).
That said, I've played my Sprite 4 times in PFS so far and every GM has allowed it (sometimes with muttering about killing the dog if it gets too aggravating). For my current character (a cleric/warpriest shooting a bow) it hasn't been much of a problem (he gets to shoot his longbow at more than 30 ft ever round to combine with his electric arc but he misses a lot and an extra D8 now and then is hardly over the top :-))
But I can see it being an issue with something like an archer ranger. Although even then it only really replaces a Ftr/Precise Shot dip. Which is almost certainly too much for a racial feat, admittedly.
My alchemist uses independent and manual dexterity for a free elixir and a pseudo "spell" delivery. My witch teammate uses hers as for a free +1 to initiative to the whole team via scout, and the yoski investogator on our team uses her rat buddy to discretly eavesdrop.
I also cooked up a corgi mounted eldritch archer sprite (although I reflavored it to be a norwegien forest cat because I much favor cats to dogs, and another moniker for that breed is "faerie cat", so it's still in flavor), but I have concerns the poor kitty might die a lot if the dm gets annoyed at how mobile I am
Played a level 3 one shot with a sprite Bard and having a free move action each turn via independent Corgi was strong ngl.Note that there is some doubt as to the legality of that (basically, the mount rules and the familiar rules clash).
That said, I've played my Sprite 4 times in PFS so far and every GM has allowed it (sometimes with muttering about killing the dog if it gets too aggravating). For my current character (a cleric/warpriest shooting a bow) it hasn't been much of a problem (he gets to shoot his longbow at more than 30 ft ever round to combine with his electric arc but he misses a lot and an extra D8 now and then is hardly over the top :-))
But I can see it being an issue with something like an archer ranger. Although even then it only really replaces a Ftr/Precise Shot dip. Which is almost certainly too much for a racial feat, admittedly.
Regular archery is reasonable but not super strong in PF2. For me the Volley trait is too big a penalty so I won't complain about a mobility solution to help it. Normally a regular archer can keep at range if he wants. The problem is more to do with line of sight, and lesser cover than anything else.
They have clearly thought the Sprite through before doing this. Mark is the writer responsible for it. That must have been a deliberate choice. The penalty to tiny martial characters is less apparent as there is no weapon size damage adjustment, just the strength penalties. But no normal reach is a major reduction in power - even just in terms of slowing enemy movement. Athletics checks will be a problem. Clearly an effective Ranger/Rogue/Swashbuckler is possible.
If the Sprite didn't have an option to zip around it wouldn't feel like the fast little Sprite it is supposed to be. We would all really notice that is didn't get flight till much later. (Something that was more important to keep under control for balance reasons)
I'm very happy to see it in the game.
But it is Rare so there is an easy out if you find it too much.
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Personally I think that the Kitsume can be considered to have the best familiar because you can give it no abilities and take it all as Master abilities. Just like the Leshy.
Personally I think that the Kitsume can be considered to have the best familiar because you can give it no abilities and take it all as Master abilities. Just like the Leshy.
Huh, I never considered that. Pet rock familiar was the single aspect that sold me to the Kitsune but this makes it even better!
And to confirm, the Star Orb’s innate surge master ability takes up one of its familiar ability slots, correct? It’s written more open-ended than with other familiars so I had to ask.
Personally I think that the Kitsume can be considered to have the best familiar because you can give it no abilities and take it all as Master abilities. Just like the Leshy.
Huh, I never considered that. Pet rock familiar was the single aspect that sold me to the Kitsune but this makes it even better!
And to confirm, the Star Orb’s innate surge master ability takes up one of its familiar ability slots, correct? It’s written more open-ended than with other familiars so I had to ask.
Yes the Star Orb says it always has that ability. I presume that means you always have to pay for it. Just like you always have to buy the Corgi familiar its scent ability.
But it is still a master ability, so I'm happy with that.
If you want to get really into the RAW on Familiars it says
"If your familiar is an animal that naturally has one of these abilities (for instance, an owl has a fly Speed), you must select that ability." There is technically a way out in that a Star Orb is clearly not an animal. As a GM would you allow that to stand? I mean the pet rock has lost its movement speed, are we going to argue that is a fair trade?
Still not bad, yeah. Especially since Kitsune have a lot of innate spells to play with. Very neat.