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Iden
2010-06-10, 01:01 PM
So I'm making a new character for a semi-evil campaign. The concept I wanted to start with this time is to play a guy pretending to be something's familiar. I was gonna use charm or dominates to keep that guy (NPC) under my control. Then I wanted to use stuff like the meta-magic feat from Cityscape to make my spells look like they are coming from other places. Such as my minions hands.

I don't wanna use Leadership to get this minion and I'm not particularly fond of the psionics so I don't wanna go "Thrall-herd." As I understand Mindbender sucks at higher levels so maybe just one level of that for the telepathy. The DM will probably let me have the "npc" working for me before we even get into the game, so I'm looking for idea's on the build.

I'm guessing either wizard or sorc, maybe trade my familiar for alt class feature from one of the books. I like mindbender for telepathy and fatespinner for making people hate my DCs... Other ideas?

Also I need a race or some other way to pretend to be a familiar. A tiny race to begin with? Polymorphing? Vampire and stay as a bat the whole time? Maybe even have the transformation be a permanent thing I'm trying to reverse to give me a story of some sort.

So yeah, this is a little scatter shot but I have the basic ideas, I just need some more concrete concepts and was hoping you all could help.

Iden

Stompy
2010-06-10, 01:06 PM
Have you ever seen any of the spy flicks were the main bad guy has a cat? Be that cat.

Enchant-a-cat!™ Sold wherever silly ideas are found. :smallbiggrin:

Wolf Warhead
2010-06-10, 01:06 PM
I'd need to look up what book it was from, but I recall a spell called Appear As Wizard, which makes it look like someone else is casting your spell. With Deceptive Magic, you still have to use any Somatic or Vocal components, making it kind of obvious that you are casting, unless you use Silent and Still magic as well (Or just Silent while invisible)

Flickerdart
2010-06-10, 01:09 PM
Take a look at the races that you can get through Improved Familiar. A Pseudodragon makes a decent character if you can drain away the HD and buy off the LA. Ditto the Quasit and Imp, who get some good SLAs besides. Alternately, Outsider type and Alter Self is an easy way to access those two forms. Dragon type is harder to grab but can be had as well.

Stompy
2010-06-10, 01:11 PM
I recommend Tibbit (from dragon magazine compendium, it's a "halfling" that can turn into a housecat.) Beguiler, with a 1 level splash in mindbender for telepathy. Beguiler should give you enough skills, as well as silent and still spell, to infiltrate and dominate someone important.

And then you can get all the cheezburgers tuna you want.

nedz
2010-06-10, 01:17 PM
Fiend of Possession from Fiend Folio
Basically you can possess your stooge, or even a weapon etc.
You get to be Ethereal pretty much at will.
Three good saves, and various other goodies.

You need to be an evil outsider however and it doesn't advance casting.

Thiyr
2010-06-10, 01:26 PM
I recommend Tibbit (from dragon magazine compendium, it's a "halfling" that can turn into a housecat.) Beguiler, with a 1 level splash in mindbender for telepathy. Beguiler should give you enough skills, as well as silent and still spell, to infiltrate and dominate someone important.

And then you can get all the cheezburgers tuna you want.

As someone who's about to actually play this, don't forget that tibbits can't normally cast as a cat. Which is why you go to savage species and take the surrogate spellcasting feat to get around it.

Kylarra
2010-06-10, 02:05 PM
Be a Beguiler (race).

Double points for being a Beguiler Beguiler.

Flickerdart
2010-06-10, 02:10 PM
Be a Beguiler (race).

Double points for being a Beguiler Beguiler.
And then dip Warlock for Beguiling Influence. :smallbiggrin:

Stompy
2010-06-10, 02:19 PM
Be a Beguiler (race).

Double points for being a Beguiler Beguiler.

And then dip Warlock for Beguiling Influence. :smallbiggrin:

Yo dawg, I heard you liked Beguiler, so I put a Beguiler in your Beguiler so that you can dominate while you dominate.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Thurbane
2010-06-10, 09:36 PM
I'm gonna chime in with Tibbit Beguiler/Mindbender.

The Surrogate Spellcasting feat will even let him cast in kitty cat form...

Ormagoden
2010-06-10, 10:38 PM
So you're going to be Peter Pettigrew (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBRSPaASLFA)?

PId6
2010-06-10, 10:54 PM
Fiend of Possession from Fiend Folio
Basically you can possess your stooge, or even a weapon etc.
You get to be Ethereal pretty much at will.
Three good saves, and various other goodies.

You need to be an evil outsider however and it doesn't advance casting.
As someone who has played this, I have to say it's definitely a lot of fun. Psionics does it best, however, since you can still manifest while possessing someone.

For being a familiar, Anthropomorphic Animals may work, if you fluff away the hands and legs.

gbprime
2010-06-10, 10:59 PM
What about a Jermlaine from MM2. Tiny Fey, no level adjustment, no racial HD. Str -6, Dex +6, Con -2, Int -2, Wis +6, Cha -4. Speed 40', lowlight vision, Speak with Rats at will.

Clearly, you'd have to be a wisdom caster, but you could make that work. Just act like a rat. Or something. :smallbiggrin:

Iden
2010-06-11, 12:41 AM
Fiend of possession does look cool.

And so does that Pseudodragon... DM said I could burn down the HD by working him down a bit, and is already giving us one free LA so I don't think it's so bad right now. And with Telepathy we get rid of that pesky level of Mindbender... Tempting...

Irreverent Fool
2010-06-11, 01:02 AM
Have you ever seen any of the spy flicks were the main bad guy has a cat? Be that cat.

Enchant-a-cat!™ Sold wherever silly ideas are found. :smallbiggrin:

Now available at Totally Not Evil Bob's Discount Orphan Smile Farm and Emporium (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7423216).

There was a story or PrC or build or race or something I saw recently that had to do with a wizard who either has a human as a familiar or who uses magic to make his familiar appear human. I think it was in the Homebrew forums.

Dracons
2010-06-11, 01:17 AM
I've used that as a npc wizard villain. Drove players nuts, because they slay the evil wizard and think they were done. He reappeared looking different, so they thought it was a changling lich. Killed him, destroyed all the items in lair.

They never once thought it was the cat.

PId6
2010-06-11, 01:18 AM
They never once thought it was the catbutterfly.
Fixed it for more awesome.

Prime32
2010-06-11, 06:44 AM
Bhu has a PrC in his Handbook O' Kittehs (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3107.0) which lets you turn into a cat and turn your familiar into a human.

Lev
2010-06-11, 07:18 AM
Your pseudomaster could be a golem or guardian of sorts.

Gnaeus
2010-06-11, 07:48 AM
Take a look at the races that you can get through Improved Familiar. A Pseudodragon makes a decent character if you can drain away the HD and buy off the LA. Ditto the Quasit and Imp, who get some good SLAs besides. Alternately, Outsider type and Alter Self is an easy way to access those two forms. Dragon type is harder to grab but can be had as well.

If your race winds up taking more than 1-2 LA/HD, you would probably be better with Wizard 3/Druid 4/Arcane Hierophant 4. Not as good as straight wizard or druid, but if you want to be an animal all day...

Thurbane
2010-06-11, 09:29 AM
Tibbit Sorcerer/Effigy Master riding around on the shoulder of an effigy human? For bonus tricksiness, it casts Awaken Construct on the effigy, which can then take class levels.

Take the Deceptive Spell feat to make it look like the effigy is casting...

Darrin
2010-06-11, 10:41 PM
What about a Jermlaine from MM2. Tiny Fey, no level adjustment, no racial HD. Str -6, Dex +6, Con -2, Int -2, Wis +6, Cha -4. Speed 40', lowlight vision, Speak with Rats at will.


Jermlaine might work as a druid, but only if you can keep it alive long enough to get wildshape. Muckdwellers (Serpent Kingdoms) are also tiny LA +0, but have better stats: Str -6, Dex +6, Wis -2, Cha -2.

Hengeyokai (Oriental Adventures) have a variety of alternate forms that might look like familiars: badger, carp, cat, crab, crane, dog, fox, hare, monkey, raccoon dog, rat, sparrow, or weasel. There's no provision against spellcasting in animal form, and they can speak in animal form, but I'm not sure about somatic components... they make bitchin' warlocks, though. Also, flight at ECL 1 with no LA.