Pathfinder Familiar

[Gandolfi Feesh]

I've acquired a familiar for my Magus in a friend's campaign. Apart from taking improved familiar I'm looking for the best way to beef him up as a secondary combatant..any suggestions?

PS. On Hero Lab it allows me the option of adding class levels to the familiar, what are the technicalities of doing so?

Thanks

[kestrel404]

Unfortunately, there's not all that much you can do with a Pathfinder familiar unless you've got access to 3.5 material as well.

Other than the Improved Familiar feat (a must have), you can also take the Evolved Familiar feat, which lets you choose a single 1-point evolution off the summoner's eidolon evolutions to add to your familiar. There are very few 1-point evolutions that are really worth the feat, but the single most useful is the skill bonus - to UMD. Then take a few ranks of UMD, choose a familiar with a decent Charisma score, and hand them a bunch of low-level wands - viola, you've got yourself an automated utility spell slinger (it's like having an extra standard action just for using wands). If you're high enough level, you don't need the extra feat for the evolution, either - just enough ranks in UMD.

Hope that helps!

[Drothmal]

I agree with the post above

If you really want to make the familiar a secondary fighter, I'd suggest the reach evolution so you can get flanking through your familiar without making him go within the squishy range

[Doorhandle]

Yeah. Familiars are pretty much noncombatants in Pathfinder.