Drakevarg
2010-05-23, 01:07 AM
I've done something similar to this with the Animal Companion and Paladin Mount, but out of necessity I've made one for the familiar as well. As for why I'm posting it... well, I'm bored. Good enough?
Anywho, the basic idea here is that instead of the generalized boosts that the familiar normally gets, the animal in question is treated like another character, only one that has say, a cat as its race. All the way down to having its stats actually rolled and having the racial modifiers... blah blah blah. Point being, this cat is probably tougher than the average cat even before gaining the class, just as your average PC has better stats than John Doe the NPC farmer.
Since its a familiar, it earns XP along with its master. On the other hand, if the poor thing dies and needs to be replaced, this means that the new familiar needs to be grown up again. (Fortunately due to the fact that higher level = more XP, the familiar should catch up in short order.) But, unimportant. Moving on!
When I was first making this I was afraid it'd be stupidly overpowered, since as a magical beast they have the same BAB growth rate as a fighter. Then I remembered that all familiars are Tiny or smaller, which means that they'll only ever have at best 6 HD. And since saves and BAB are tied with HD, that means that while the familiar continues to level, its saves and BAB stop with its HD (at level 6 for Tiny creatures, and 4 for Diminutive creatures).
Blah blah blah so on and et cetera. Here's the class:
FAMILIAR
Hit Dice: d10 (Note that a creature of Tiny size may only have up to 6 HD, while a Diminutive creature may only have 4 HD.)
Prerequisites:
Size: Tiny or smaller.
Special: Must be selected by a Wizard to serve as their Familiar.
Class Skills
As Race
Skill Points: 2
Class Features
Magical Beast: If Familiar is an Animal, it's type changes to Magical Beast and it's Intelligence increases to 5.
Arcane Hide: A Familiar gains a Natural Armor Bonus equal to their Class Level/2, rounded up.
Arcane Intellect: A Familiar has an Intelligence Bonus equal to half their class level, rounded up.
Alertness: At 1st Level, a Familiar gains Alertness as a Bonus Feat.
Improved Evasion: At 1st Level, when subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex Save for half damage, a Familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells: At the Wizard's option, they may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) they cast on themselves also affect their Familiar. The Familiar must be within 5 ft. at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell of effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the Familiar if it moves farther than 5 ft. away and will not affect the Familiar again even if it returns to the Wizard before the duration expires. Additionally, the Wizard may cast a spell with a target of "You" on their Familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on themselves. A Wizard and their Familiar can share spells even if the spells do not affect creatures of the Familiar's type.
Empathic Link: The Wizard has an empathic link with their Familiar out to a distance of 1 mile. The Wizard cannot see through the Familiar's eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content (such as fear, hunger, happiness, or curiousity) can be communicated. Because of the empathic link, the Wizard has the same connection to an item or place that their Familiar does. For instance, if their Familiar has seen a room, the Wizard can teleport into that room as if they have seen it too.
Deliver Touch Spells: At 3rd Level, a Familiar can deliver touch spells for their Wizard. If the Wizard and the Familiar are in contact at the time the Wizard casts the spell, they can designate their Familiar as the "toucher." The Familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the Wizard could. As usual, if the Wizard casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.
Speak With Master: At 5th Level, a Familiar gains the ability to communicate verbally with their Wizard as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.
Speal With Kin: If the Familiar is an Animal (prior to taking the class), after 7th Level it can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (such as "rodent", "bird", "feline", etc.). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.
Spell Resistance: At 11th Level, a Familiar gains Spell Resistance equal to their Class Level +5. To affect the Familiar with a spell, another spellcaster mmust get a result on a Caster Level Check (1d20 + Caster Level) that equals or exceeds the Familiar's Spell Resistance.
Scry On Familiar: At 13th Level, a Wizard may scry on their Familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.
The Familiar
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|NAB +1, INT +1, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Emphatic Link
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|--
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|NAB +2, INT +2, Deliver Touch Spells
4th|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|--
5th|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|NAB +3, INT +3, Speak With Master
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+2|--
7th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +4, INT +4, Speak With Kin
8th|
--|
--|
--|
--|--
9th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +5, INT +5
10th|
--|
--|
--|
--|--
11th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +6, INT +6, SR 16
12th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 17
13th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +7, INT +7, SR 18, Scry On Familiar
14th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 19
15th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +8, INT +8, SR 20
16th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 21
17th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +9, INT +9, SR 22
18th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 23
19th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +10, INT +10, SR 24
20th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 25[/table]
Anywho, the basic idea here is that instead of the generalized boosts that the familiar normally gets, the animal in question is treated like another character, only one that has say, a cat as its race. All the way down to having its stats actually rolled and having the racial modifiers... blah blah blah. Point being, this cat is probably tougher than the average cat even before gaining the class, just as your average PC has better stats than John Doe the NPC farmer.
Since its a familiar, it earns XP along with its master. On the other hand, if the poor thing dies and needs to be replaced, this means that the new familiar needs to be grown up again. (Fortunately due to the fact that higher level = more XP, the familiar should catch up in short order.) But, unimportant. Moving on!
When I was first making this I was afraid it'd be stupidly overpowered, since as a magical beast they have the same BAB growth rate as a fighter. Then I remembered that all familiars are Tiny or smaller, which means that they'll only ever have at best 6 HD. And since saves and BAB are tied with HD, that means that while the familiar continues to level, its saves and BAB stop with its HD (at level 6 for Tiny creatures, and 4 for Diminutive creatures).
Blah blah blah so on and et cetera. Here's the class:
FAMILIAR
Hit Dice: d10 (Note that a creature of Tiny size may only have up to 6 HD, while a Diminutive creature may only have 4 HD.)
Prerequisites:
Size: Tiny or smaller.
Special: Must be selected by a Wizard to serve as their Familiar.
Class Skills
As Race
Skill Points: 2
Class Features
Magical Beast: If Familiar is an Animal, it's type changes to Magical Beast and it's Intelligence increases to 5.
Arcane Hide: A Familiar gains a Natural Armor Bonus equal to their Class Level/2, rounded up.
Arcane Intellect: A Familiar has an Intelligence Bonus equal to half their class level, rounded up.
Alertness: At 1st Level, a Familiar gains Alertness as a Bonus Feat.
Improved Evasion: At 1st Level, when subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex Save for half damage, a Familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells: At the Wizard's option, they may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) they cast on themselves also affect their Familiar. The Familiar must be within 5 ft. at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell of effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the Familiar if it moves farther than 5 ft. away and will not affect the Familiar again even if it returns to the Wizard before the duration expires. Additionally, the Wizard may cast a spell with a target of "You" on their Familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on themselves. A Wizard and their Familiar can share spells even if the spells do not affect creatures of the Familiar's type.
Empathic Link: The Wizard has an empathic link with their Familiar out to a distance of 1 mile. The Wizard cannot see through the Familiar's eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content (such as fear, hunger, happiness, or curiousity) can be communicated. Because of the empathic link, the Wizard has the same connection to an item or place that their Familiar does. For instance, if their Familiar has seen a room, the Wizard can teleport into that room as if they have seen it too.
Deliver Touch Spells: At 3rd Level, a Familiar can deliver touch spells for their Wizard. If the Wizard and the Familiar are in contact at the time the Wizard casts the spell, they can designate their Familiar as the "toucher." The Familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the Wizard could. As usual, if the Wizard casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.
Speak With Master: At 5th Level, a Familiar gains the ability to communicate verbally with their Wizard as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.
Speal With Kin: If the Familiar is an Animal (prior to taking the class), after 7th Level it can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (such as "rodent", "bird", "feline", etc.). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.
Spell Resistance: At 11th Level, a Familiar gains Spell Resistance equal to their Class Level +5. To affect the Familiar with a spell, another spellcaster mmust get a result on a Caster Level Check (1d20 + Caster Level) that equals or exceeds the Familiar's Spell Resistance.
Scry On Familiar: At 13th Level, a Wizard may scry on their Familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.
The Familiar
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|NAB +1, INT +1, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Emphatic Link
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|--
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|NAB +2, INT +2, Deliver Touch Spells
4th|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|--
5th|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|NAB +3, INT +3, Speak With Master
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+2|--
7th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +4, INT +4, Speak With Kin
8th|
--|
--|
--|
--|--
9th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +5, INT +5
10th|
--|
--|
--|
--|--
11th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +6, INT +6, SR 16
12th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 17
13th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +7, INT +7, SR 18, Scry On Familiar
14th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 19
15th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +8, INT +8, SR 20
16th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 21
17th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +9, INT +9, SR 22
18th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 23
19th|
--|
--|
--|
--|NAB +10, INT +10, SR 24
20th|
--|
--|
--|
--|SR 25[/table]