Losing Familiars

[dhemery]

The APG text for Specific Familiars (p147) wrote:

Once you’ve selected a specific familiar, you can’t change it without losing your familiar—this uses the same rules as if your familiar had died.

What constitutes "losing" a familiar?

Does it have to die? (Probably not, or the "as if it had died" text wouldn't be meaningful.)

Can a familiar simply be dismissed? Can a Witch essentially choose a different familiar each day by dismissing their current one just before daily prep?

[Farien]

It is not defined very completely - because it is a decision that should be made between the player, the GM, and maybe the rest of the table.

It isn't even fully defined in the rules regarding if your familiar dies and you get a familiar back. Is the same familiar that gets revived or if it is a new familiar with a new personality? It is up to the players to decide.

[shroudb]

the second part of your question though is defined by the rules, you pick up the familiar abilities on your daily preparation.

so for sure if it's something not vital for said familiar (wings for a raven as an example) then you can switch it up no problem each day. But if it's something that changes the whole familiar then indeed it's mostly how the table runs them.

i've played a witch once where her familiar kept surprising her each morning as a different animal. It was fun :P