[3.5] Factotum & Familiars

[Engine]

I'm playing a Factotum right now, and I'm thinking about taking Obtain Familiar and Improved Familiar. I would really appreciate any tip or advice to use a familiar with a Factotum and what's in your opinion the best familiar for a Factotum.

Thanks.:smallsmile:

[Curmudgeon]

The first tip is: ask your DM to make a house rule to allow this, because Factotums don't qualify for Obtain Familiar. The sticking point is that they have a caster level, but not an arcane caster level. Despite their class ability being called Arcane Dilettante, their caster level is not associated with any type of spells because they don't know any spells ─ just spell-like abilities.

[dextercorvia]

It's arguable that having a Caster level for your arcane SLA's is the same as having an Arcane Caster Level. Many PrC's that require Arcane Caster Level X list that under Spells or Spell-like abilities. You should still check with your DM, because it is something that I can easily see someone disallowing, based on Curmudgeon's reading.

Even if you argue that it is RAW to obtain a familiar, your familiar advancement is based on your levels in arcane spellcasting classes, so it gains no special abilities. That means no share spells, improved evasion, etc.

It is even worse for Improved Familiar -- that requires an Arcane Spellcaster level just to obtain one.

[JaronK]

Check Complete Arcane, pages 18 and 71. Those allow Warlocks to qualify for classes like Mindbender that require an Arcane Caster Level based solely on Spell Like Abilities. From that, it's easy to extrapolate that a Factotum could do the same.

JaronK

[Engine]

It's ok for my DM to allow my Factotum to have a Familiar.:smallwink:

[dextercorvia]

Check Complete Arcane, pages 18 and 71. Those allow Warlocks to qualify for classes like Mindbender that require an Arcane Caster Level based solely on Spell Like Abilities. From that, it's easy to extrapolate that a Factotum could do the same.

JaronK

But, RAW, the familiar would have no advancement. That is based on levels in arcane spellcasting classes.