Item Familiar: How to Protect it(3.5)

[Protecar]

Hello all! I'm effectively a sorcerer 5/Binder 4(Taking Anima Mage) and have gotten my DM to agree to let me taken my artifact into an Item Familiar. I'm trying to pick some spells that will be versatile and such, but I also want to know how I can protect my newfound toy! :smallbiggrin:

I know my DM will cook up some sort of mischief to make me eat that xp penalty from losing the familiar if he gets the chance--and if he wants to, I know he'll succeed. What I want to know is what can I do to make it a little more difficult for him without nerfing my Sorcerer(we're a group of three: Cleric, Barabarian/Rogue, Sorcerer/Binder/Anima Mage).

Also, if you have advice for 1 first level spell and/or 2 2nd level spells I should take(related to the Item Familiar or not), I would appreciate the advice.

Right now I also have around 15k gp to spend and we're in a fairly large town.

Right now for easy ideas to protect it include:

casting an extended alarm on it(0-level spell right?)
And maybe casting Arcane Mark on it(if it gets stolen I can track the person down...or I think that works?)

So: any ideas?

[Claudius Maximus]

casting an extended alarm on it(0-level spell right?)
And maybe casting Arcane Mark on it(if it gets stolen I can track the person down...or I think that works?)

Extended Alarm is a 2nd level spell, and it only affects areas, so you'd have to keep it in the same place to get its benefits (though it seems reasonable when you're sleeping or something).

Arcane Mark only helps you find people in that you can cast Instant Summons to learn about the thief once it's stolen.

[Protecar]

@arcane mark. Well lame.

Also, I should have clarified, I have a rod of metamagic extend, lesser--which is how I would extend the alarm.

Edit: just noticed about the area-effect. I'm....a dunce. Well hmmm....what else can I do? The alarm while sleeping would help, but how to trap the familiar itself?

[jiriku]

Alarm is 1st level, and not portable. However, a properly worded magic mouth spell could probably be used as an alarm, and it's permanent to boot.

Nystul's magic aura can be used to hide its magical aura, making it a less tempting target for thieves.

If it's a weapon, you can give it the called quality from MiC, which allows you to teleport it into your hand, provided the item is within a set range.

Of course, you can take mundane precautions too, like tying it to your wrist with a small chain so you can't be disarmed of it, hiding it in a secret compartment when at home, scuffing it up so it doesn't look like an attractive target for thieves, etc.

[Fouredged Sword]

Sovern Glue the thing into it's apropreate body slot. Nothing else will do. It's an artafact, so it sould be dificult to actualy destroy. This works best if the artafact is a necklace or something on somewhere dificult to cut off of your player.

But really, item familers are a slipery slope. The adavntage comes at the cost of not only having a disadvantage, but the risk of loosing a large chunk of your character forever. If it gets stolen, be prepared to reroll your character.

I sugest that you avoid the feat personaly. It has the power to ruin a good game by makeing the DM feel he needs to take the item away from the player to balance the power he has ocasionaly, but the player feeling put out when he looses thousands of EXP.

It's playing with fire. If you do take it, don't invest so much into it you can't function without it.

[AmberVael]

But really, item familiars are a slippery slope. The advantage comes at the cost of not only having a disadvantage, but the risk of loosing a large chunk of your character forever. If it gets stolen, be prepared to re-roll your character.

I suggest that you avoid the feat personally. It has the power to ruin a good game by making the DM feel he needs to take the item away from the player to balance the power he has occasionally, but the player feeling put out when he looses thousands of EXP.

This (but with correct spelling). Item Familiars are a terrible mechanic that unbalance the game no matter how they are used- either by making a character underpowered or overpowered. There is no balance to them, because they're like see-saws, with one end on the ground either way (either the character has it and are godly, or they don't, and are weakened).

[Ormagoden]

I seem to recall a weapon crystal in Magic item compendium, Crystal of Admant Weaponry (least, lesser, greater)

Least increases the hardness by 2 for 300g but the item must be masterwork.

Lesser increases the hardness by 5 for 1,400g (I think) but the item must be +1 or better

Greater increases the hardness by 10 for 3,400g (I think) but the item must have a total enchantment bonus of +3 or better (so a +1 flaming burst longsword counts)

Weapon augment crystals are just little gems that attach to your stuff magically. Good luck!


EDIT: I just re-read and saw this


The alarm while sleeping would help, but how to trap the familiar itself?

Put contact poison on it, and wear gloves.


Cast extend or persist invisibility on it and strap it on. ;)

Use shrink item on it and sew the cloth patch to your sash.

[2xMachina]

Implant it in your body. Maybe the Magic Tooth series? Or just go get a pacemaker or something installed.

They ain't gonna steal it unless you're already dead.

[Another_Poet]

Make it fireproof and then add 1 explosive runes to it every day.

Someone had posted a cool hiding method once, by putting the item in the shape of a weapon, and then using some spell or power that lets you hide weapons inside your body safely. I forget the name of the spell/power though.

Can you make the item only a few microns wide? That would allow for a multitude of possibilities. Better have a way of locating it though.

[2xMachina]

Hmm, not really sure of the name, but it's an assassin spell to hide weapons....

[Protecar]

Thanks for the help--some useful information here.

What I don't get is why is it so broken. I mean, I get it can be abused...somehow. But all I really see is that I'm a sixth level character and I'll get a 10%xp boost. I only get 2 skill points per level so I can't really do any skill abuse. And I don't get how I'd get a free spell slot because at best you trade a high level slot for a lower level slot. :smallconfused:

Maybe I just don't get it. Perhaps I'll just get sudden maximize or sudden empower for my next feat.

Any good spell suggestions?

[Wolf Warhead]

Hmm, not really sure of the name, but it's an assassin spell to hide weapons....

Absorb Weapon, level 2 assassin spell. It's in the Spell Compendium. 1 hour/level duration, so you'd need to remember to recast it at the appropriate times. Also, did item familiars count as intelligent items? Because those might not appreciate getting sucked into your body...

[Another_Poet]

I don't know that it's "broken" but it does have serious benefits:

*Objects have numerous immunities
*Carried/worn objects make their saving throws using the carrier's mods, i.e. your own mods, which you presumably buff to great heights
*Objects can be enchanted as woundrous items, making your familiar item insanely powerful

Also, the one drawback of the thing is that the DM can dispel/disjunction it, which most DMs are loathe to do because it feels like they are nerfing someone and taking their toys away.

[2xMachina]

Make sure it has a low ego score.

Would be fun though. Talk to it, and people will look at you funny. "Is he talking to himself?"

[Swok]

10%xp boost.

That is pretty much why it's so powerful when not destroyed/taken. That adds up to an obscene amount over a long game.

[2xMachina]

It can be balanced though.

Every party member have 1. Or those who have it must go craft something to use the extra xp.

[Starbuck_II]

Make it fireproof and then add 1 explosive runes to it every day.

Someone had posted a cool hiding method once, by putting the item in the shape of a weapon, and then using some spell or power that lets you hide weapons inside your body safely. I forget the name of the spell/power though.

Can you make the item only a few microns wide? That would allow for a multitude of possibilities. Better have a way of locating it though.

Explosive Runes does Force damage not fire. Unlike Magic missile, it can destroy objects.

[Vizzerdrix]

What About Animate Wood (Druid 1st Lv.)? Make it a livewood Staff and give it that spell. Now the thing can just slither back to you when ever it's taken, and heal on its own.

[The Antigamer]

Have it replace a body part, say an eye.

[Private-Prinny]

1. Be a Warforged.
2. Have your own metal plating be your item familiar.
3. Watch your DM cry.
4. ???
5. Profit.

[Starbuck_II]

1. Be a Warforged.
2. Have your own metal plating be your item familiar.
3. Watch your DM cry.
4. ???
5. Profit.

I'm assuming you have enhanced your metal plating to be +1 because Item Familiar is magic item required.

[Zaq]

And a copy... and a paste.



The first step is to make them out of riverine, from Stormwrack. Riverine is expensive, but it's essentially made out of miniature walls of force. You heard me. Walls of force. Items made from it are nearly invincible. Disintegrate and Disjunction will destroy them, but Disintegrate and Disjunction will destroy damn near any items you have no matter what you do, so that really isn't much of a strike against it. Best of all, for non-armor items, it's priced by the pound, so it's not prohibitively expensive (I won't pretend it's cheap, but it's definitely not as bad as it could be) to buy, say, an amulet and a ring made out of it.

The next step is to prevent them from being stolen while you sleep. What follows is perhaps not the only solution, but it's the one that I ended up using. If you don't have access to the books needed (Complete Arcane or Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, and Dungeonscape), I guess you should try to find something else. Anyway, what I did was to buy a light shield made of darkwood (not proficient with it, but there's no ACP, so big deal) that contained a hidden space, using the oil bladder rules from Dungeonscape. Then, since UMD is on the Truenamer skill list, I purchased two Eternal Wands (from MIC)... normal wands will work just as well, but I like Eternal Wands. The first one is a wand of Greater Alarm. It's just what it sounds like... not quite on the Rope Trick or MMM level of protection, but it's cheaper and very handy. The second, however, is the really important one: a CL 8 wand of Absorb Weapon.

Absorb Weapon is an Assassin-only spell, so it's more likely that you'll get a Warlock, a Chameleon, or an Artificer to make it for you... talk to your GM. The upshot of it, though, is that it lets you absorb a light weapon into your body for one hour per CL (hence why we wanted it CL 8). It's more or less impossible to detect while absorbed, and you're the only one who can bring it back out (unless it gets dispelled or something, which is what the Greater Alarm is for).

Remember the light shield I mentioned? Well, since you can make a shield bash with it, it counts as a light weapon. So, every night, you put your amulet (and your ring, if applicable) inside your hidden compartment on your shield, and then absorb it into your body while you sleep. Not foolproof, perhaps, but pretty close to it.

That's a slightly trimmed version of my comments on protecting a critical magic item from another thread. (That same thread contains my opinions on Item Familiars, too, but that's neither here nor there.)

[Lysander]

Be an elf. You never need to sleep so you can watch your item 24/7.

The item should also gain sapience, and can telepathically warn you of danger.

Plus, you can also choose to have a normal animal familiar, correct? That provides an additional guard.

Another idea is to carry a fake of the item so that if someone tries to steal it they'll take that one instead.

[Ingus]

As already said, the item gains senses and sapience, so it warns you of incoming danger. Then, you've to calculate its ego score. Since it is an artifact, as you were saying, it will end aving 30some ego. It does not affect you, because Item Familiar is complete loyal, but any thief has to save (DC equal to EGO) or be forced in:



Obedience from the character so the item can direct where they go for its own purposes.
/.../
That the character relinquish the item in favor of a more suitable possessor due to alignment differences or conduct.


or in extreme circumstances



Strike at its wielder or her associates.
/.../
Cause itself to drop from the character’s grasp.

(from SRD)

So, they're in some way self protected. Your worst problem is destruction in combat, but there are good suggestion already to avoid destruction

[panaikhan]

Make it a graft.
As I remember, those are incredibly difficult to remove unless the recipient is permanently maimed (grafted limb is removed) or killed.
Grafts are counted as a natural part of your body once attached, so disjunction 'may' not work on them (don't have the books to hand).
I don't think grafts can be targetted seperately for damage purposes either.