Summoner's Familiar (Sorc/Wizard feat)

[Lysander]

This is a feat that effectively allows you to shapeshift your familiar. It has pros and cons. The pro is that you can control summonings better through your empathic link and later on by speaking with it. The con is that you effectively don't have a familiar for the duration of your summoning.

Summoner's Familiar

Prerequiste: Familiar class ability

Benefit: When you cast any summoning spell from the Summon Monster X line, if your familiar is within the spell's range instead of summoning a new creature you can choose to turn your familiar into whatever creature you'd otherwise summon. When a familiar transforms any spells on it are suppressed until the summoning spell ends, and its current hit point total is temporarily set aside until the spell ends and replaced with the fully healthy hitpoint total of the summoned formed. Your familiar is the summoned creature in all respects, and loses all familiar abilities other than its empathic link, speak with master, and speak with animals of its kind (its original kind) abilities. All stats and physical abilities other than intelligence and wisdom are replaced with that of the summoned shape. Anyone improvements the summoned creature would have, such as those granted by augmented summoning feat, apply to your familiar's new form. When the summoning spell ends or if the summoned form is killed, your familiar is restored to the shape and hitpoint total it had previously, and all spells cast on it and effects applied to it while in summoned monster form end as well. You do not lose experience if your familiar's summoned monster form is killed since it does not actually kill the familiar.

[Geiger Counter]

So you basically want to turn the summon monster spell into polymorph. :confused:

[DracoDei]

The con is that you effectively don't have a familiar for the duration of your summoning.

Most players would consider that an ADVANTAGE.

Does "Speak with Animals of Kind" still apply to the old set of animals, or the new one?

[Latronis]

That's only because most player's don't take advantage of a familiar.

[Lysander]

Most players would consider that an ADVANTAGE.

Does "Speak with Animals of Kind" still apply to the old set of animals, or the new one?

It'd apply to the old set of animal.

[Barbarian MD]

What advantage does this give?

[Lysander]

What advantage does this give?

In terms of direct combat not much, since it doesn't make the summoned monster stronger or make it last longer. Your familiar is smarter than a summoned creature though, it knows about you and your goals, and you can communicate with it. That allows you to give it complex orders that require human level intelligence. You're limited to pretty basic instructions with most Summon Monster X creatures, and unless you can speak to it all it can do is attack.

It also is a way of shielding your familiar from damage since it takes no damage from attacks while in the summoned monster form. It's like granting it a buffer of hitpoints. Many summoned forms also grant energy resistance or damage reduction.

You can also use it to help your familiar scout through terrain it isn't suited for. Give your familiar a winged shaped so it can fly up for a minute and survey the area, or an aquatic shape to examine the bottom of a lake.

[Latronis]

I wouldn't use it if i had feats like augment summoning and greenbound summoning though

[Milskidasith]

Any summoner who can actually summon worth a damn wouldn't use this because familiars don't get buffs so they can't get augment summoning, malconvoked, etc.

It's a feat to do something that is essentially a nonability, and actually a penalty since you wouldn't get the familiars skill bonus at the time (which, if it were +3 HP or +2 concentration, might matter. Rarely, but it's possible.)

[Lysander]

I wouldn't use it if i had feats like augment summoning and greenbound summoning though

Why not? The transformed familiar would still get the enhancements from augment summoning. It gets turned into whatever creature you'd otherwise summon, including any improvements. Greenbound summoning does't work with Summon Monster X spells.

[Eurus]

It's situational, but it's optional... if it was an ACF that replaced Scribe Scroll, I might occasionally take it, but probably not as a normal feat. Especially for an Arcane Hierophant, who could transform his animal companion while letting it keep its AC abilities. :smallbiggrin:

[Latronis]

ok i forgot it was specifically for summon natures ally, bad example. But it was only an example.

You should clarify it better in that case, if you want such summon improvement feats to apply to familiar, atm it sounds like using summon monster X as a specific shapeshift like effect

[Lysander]

If this is the only way the summoner can perform his craft, I think it makes for an interesting variation on the norm, maybe even a subclass.

Does it make a difference if instead of using a familiar, the summoner uses a homunculus or other arcane construct?

It depends on what the construct is. If the construct is a useful fighter itself then you're better off summoning a separate creature.

[Xzoltar]

Why would I ever use this ? You what you do is force the character to take a feat AND Lose is Familair for nothing more ?

I will stick with my Familair and Share Spell ability and let him Polymorph anyway... he just have to stay close...