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View Full Version : Ways to substitute a familiar



Escheton
2010-04-24, 01:41 PM
how many ways are there to use the ability to summon a familiar without actually doing so?

such as the plaha 2 immediate magic ability (which my dm already shot down)

getting 1 lvl wizard and thats it, so won't get familiar as he will prolly die.

dextercorvia
2010-04-24, 01:54 PM
IIRC there are some other ACF's in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm) you can trade your familiar for.

Pluto
2010-04-24, 02:05 PM
Dungeonscape has its wonky "Wizard of the Sun and the Moon" thing that gives a little bit more versatility with spell slots.

But if the only reason you're giving up the familiar is that you only have 1 Wizard level, I'd probably keep it. Familiars generally get better as you gain more non-Wizard levels (skill points, HP and BA are shared).

Ishcumbeebeeda
2010-04-24, 02:15 PM
Dungeonscape has its wonky "Wizard of the Sun and the Moon" thing that gives a little bit more versatility with spell slots.

But if the only reason you're giving up the familiar is that you only have 1 Wizard level, I'd probably keep it. Familiars generally get better as you gain more non-Wizard levels (skill points, HP and BA are shared).

There are a bunch in the crystalkeep indices but I think most of them are from dragon, and if your DM shot down PHBII I doubt dragon has much of a chance ... Here's (http://crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Classes-Base.pdf) the link just in case.

EDIT: Personally I like the imbued staff. I never really liked familiars. Little walking xp liabilities

Aron Times
2010-04-24, 03:34 PM
Sorcerer Metamagic Specialist from the PHB2 is one of my favorites. You get to trade a huge liability into rapid metamagic.

Irreverent Fool
2010-04-24, 03:45 PM
There are a bunch in the crystalkeep indices but I think most of them are from dragon, and if your DM shot down PHBII I doubt dragon has much of a chance ... Here's (http://crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Classes-Base.pdf) the link just in case.

EDIT: Personally I like the imbued staff. I never really liked familiars. Little walking xp liabilities

+1 to this. The Imbued Staff is my favorite use of a wizard's familiar ability, in no small part because it gives a wizard a reason to carry a staff around. It can also be quite powerful if you apply the right spell-likes to it. It's a solid use on it's own, I think. For sorcerers, I don't think anything compares to the metamagic specialist.

obnoxious
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Escheton
2010-04-24, 03:48 PM
on full casters, its great

on arcanist dipping fightertypes, not so much

Irreverent Fool
2010-04-24, 04:14 PM
on full casters, its great

on arcanist dipping fightertypes, not so much

To what are you referring here?

obnoxious
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Escheton
2010-04-24, 04:23 PM
Imbued staff.

The link isn't working for me, but I assume it's for quarterstaffs only.
So a wizard fighter with a greatsword for example wouldn't be able to use whatever it is...yeah assumptions

aivanther
2010-04-24, 05:46 PM
1) Hawk is awesome fore a major increase in your party's spot checks.

2) Rat's/weasel's +2 to fort/ref is nothing to sneeze at especially at level 1

3) Raven's ability to speak can be very nice.

If you don't like any of those I +1 to Metamagic Specialist for sorcerers and point you towards Abrupt Jaunt for Conjuration Specialist Wizards

Escheton
2010-04-24, 05:58 PM
the jaunt is nice
to the point its broken
10ft teleport as an immediate action intmod/day
just got shot? teleport
barred door? teleport
dudes charging ya? teleport
etc etc

Runestar
2010-04-24, 06:10 PM
Hummingbird + elf generalist wizard2 gives you +6 initiative. :smallbiggrin:

Lycanthromancer
2010-04-24, 07:10 PM
Hummingbird + elf generalist wizard2 gives you +6 initiative. :smallbiggrin:Can you sub out your familiar then take Obtain Familiar for it?

Runestar
2010-04-24, 07:20 PM
Can you sub out your familiar then take Obtain Familiar for it?

I see no reason why not. :smallsmile:

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2010-04-24, 09:02 PM
There's a flaw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) called Forlorn (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Forlorn) which basically trades your Familiar for a feat of your choosing.

Fortuna
2010-04-24, 09:14 PM
There's a flaw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) called Forlorn (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Forlorn) which basically trades your Familiar for a feat of your choosing.

Awesome.

What if you took that and took Obtain Familiar as the feat? Wouldn't that basically give you standard familiar, but based on CL instead of wizard level?

Voice of Reason
2010-04-24, 11:07 PM
Awesome.

What if you took that and took Obtain Familiar as the feat? Wouldn't that basically give you standard familiar, but based on CL instead of wizard level?

As I understand it, it would be based on arcane character level. Secondly, since you need to have pre-existing caster levels (I believe 4), you would be unable to pick up the feat at level one without cheese. Of course, you could always take the bonus feat now and use your later feat to grab it.

Tytalus
2010-04-25, 05:09 AM
Hummingbird + elf generalist wizard2 gives you +6 initiative. :smallbiggrin:

It's +8, actually.

Escheton
2010-04-25, 01:29 PM
hummingbird...sounds...interesting

where can one find basic familiars that aren't in the plaha?

sofawall
2010-04-25, 02:09 PM
Hummingbird was from a Dragon Mag, I believe.

TheMadLinguist
2010-04-26, 01:39 AM
You don't get a bonus, actually, since elf generalist is pretty specific on what it applies to, and initiative check bonuses don't apply.

Seffbasilisk
2010-04-26, 02:35 AM
I recommend waiting a pace, then taking the feat: Betrayal of the Spirit Linked. Google it. Dragon #336. I'll wait.


Got it? Good.

Go with something small. A lizard is my personal favorite. Now make it a skeleton (no mess, no smell, cuter, etc etc.)

Congrats. The peasant who grabs up a +1 dagger and charges? You can ignore him and finish your spell.

Serenity
2010-04-26, 07:17 AM
My experience is that there are very few that aren't specifically for specialist wizards. Of those that aren't, my favorite is Arcane Recovery, which allows you to make a Spellcraft check to retain spells that are resisted by SR; if you appropriately pump the skill, its basically a sure thing for anything less than 9th level slots.

Escheton
2010-04-26, 07:46 AM
sounds good, source of the recovery?

Link to seff's suggestion: http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Betrayal_Of_The_Spirit_Linked

Serenity
2010-04-26, 08:47 AM
I don't know what book its in; I found it on Crystalkeep.

The Cat Goddess
2010-04-26, 09:31 AM
If I recall correctly, if you get the Forlorn Flaw, you cannot gain a Familiar by any means there-after.

I would assume that the same applies if you do any of the Familiar Substitutions.

Optimystik
2010-04-26, 09:33 AM
Can you sub out your familiar then take Obtain Familiar for it?

Yes, and you generally should. Obtain Familiar stacks with PrCs/multiclassing, the regular one doesn't.


I would assume that the same applies if you do any of the Familiar Substitutions.

It's reasonable for a DM to rule that way, but it's not stated anywhere, so it would be a houserule.