Are familiars worth their time? If so which one?

[killem2]

Gnome Illusionist, level 1, haven't decided on taking a familiar yet. I can wait and get an advanced one later when appropriate caster level or get a basic one.

I noticed a few feats you can take instead of a familiar as well.

[Hirax]

Hummingbirds (Dragon 323) grant a +4 initiative bonus. That same issue has several other familiars.

[Snowbluff]

Dread Necro gets some good ones.

[Venger]

take a raven, it can talk so it can use wands/scrolls. the stitched flesh familiar feat is worth it if your DM allows spellstitching.

[Flickerdart]

The owl and eagle are incredibly good scouts in the early game. Then, once you have the opportunity, take Improved Familiar for something better such as a Coure Eladrin (BoED) or Beguiler (Shining South).

[hangedman1984]

they can be, but it generally requires some amount of opt-fu to make them worth it. I generally just go with one of the many ACFs that are better, out of the box, then familiars.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Improved Familiar for a Pseudodragon with Mindsight is also worth considering. Consider naming him R'dar.:smallbiggrin:

[dextercorvia]

The owl and eagle are incredibly good scouts in the early game. Then, once you have the opportunity, take Improved Familiar for something better such as a Coure Eladrin (BoED) or Beguiler (Shining South).

Don't you have to pay the penalty if you dismiss the 1st familiar though?

[Lord.Sorasen]

http://dictummortuum.blogspot.com/2011/08/familiars-handbook.html

Here is some information of familiars and the possible value.

[Zaq]

I find that familiars are generally only worth it at higher levels. At higher levels, you can afford wands for the talking ones to use (woo, action economy!), you can cast shared buffs on them that make them not die in one hit and actually contribute, you can get improved familiars that open up all kinds of avenues of optimization . . . fun times. At low levels, though, they're pretty much only good for scouting, and that's a risk in itself.

If your GM rules that the familiar is actually the spirit bound to you and not the rat/bird/whatever itself (and thus will let you swap it out for an improved familiar when the time comes without you being a horrible familiar-killing monster), you might as well take it and just keep it in your cloak for when you need it, but otherwise, if you want to eventually get an improved familiar, you might hold off. Of course, they're usually good for applying a +2 from Aid Another on most skill checks, so they're not a total loss.

(This is, of course, speaking from a mechanical perspective. From a roleplaying perspective, having a familiar can be great fun, and if you think you could have fun with that, by god, do so!)

[Big Fau]

The mechanical drawbacks of a familiar are utter trash. Seriously, is it too much to ask that the DM remove the XP penalty and year-long delay between dismissing and summoning one when the Druid's Animal Companion is comparable to a limited version of Leadership?

[Gotterdammerung]

Definitely worth it.

The horrible wording of share spell makes a familiar very strong at high lvls of play.



Share Spells

At the master’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.

If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself.

A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar’s type (magical beast).


Example of getting extra mileage out of a spell.




EFFULGENT
EPURATION
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: One magic-absorbing sphere
per caster level
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
(harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Completing the powerful spell, you bring
into being fl oating spheres of silver, like
bubbles of mercury.

When you cast this spell, you bring
forth one floating, silvery sphere per
caster level, each about the size of your
head. These spheres hover around you
to provide protection from magical
effects. As a standard action, you can
shift the spell’s effect (and thus all the
spheres) to any other creature within
range. You can shift the effect once
per round.

Each of these spheres can absorb and
completely negate any spell or spell-like
ability, regardless of level, that directly
targets the subject. The spheres do not
automatically absorb all spells; the
subject can choose whether or not to let
them absorb any given spell cast upon
it. (This option allows the creature to
benefi t from helpful spells.) Area spells
and spells that do not actually have
a target cannot be absorbed. Once a
sphere has absorbed a spell or spell-like
ability, it simply fades away. Only spells
and spell-like abilities of deifi c power
can overcome the protection provided
by effulgent epuration.




Let's say a normal 17th lvl wiz with nothing extra casts effulgent epuration.
He gets 17 of these nice defensive orbs.
If he has a familiar and uses share spell, his familiar also gains 17.
The familiar can spend a standard to give the wizard his 17 orbs.
He now has 34 orbs.



Another example

Would be to share spell Magic Jar to steal extra bodies. Or just share it but only the familiar takes a body. Now your familiar gets to go around in a gray renders body all day. Just keep his original body within 5 feet of you.



Any of the cheezy polymorph line of spells are twice as strong when shared with your familiar.



This is just 3 examples. There are LOTS of ways to get more mileage out of your spells per day when filtering them through share spell.

[killem2]

The mechanical drawbacks of a familiar are utter trash. Seriously, is it too much to ask that the DM remove the XP penalty and year-long delay between dismissing and summoning one when the Druid's Animal Companion is comparable to a limited version of Leadership?

I am the DM of this gnome. :smallbiggrin:

I'd have to confer with my players if they would allow me to. If we do, it'll be a quest of some sort so they can all participate.

[Rubik]

Let's say a normal 17th lvl wiz with nothing extra casts effulgent epuration.
He gets 17 of these nice defensive orbs.
If he has a familiar and uses share spell, his familiar also gains 17.
The familiar can spend a standard to give the wizard his 17 orbs.
He now has 34 orbs.This doesn't work, since it doesn't actually affect the familiar. If it was Target: You, or Target: One creature, or something similar, then yes. But as it stands, no.

Also, it can be worth it if your familiar can talk. It can call out command-word items, which means everything from UMD to tinfoil hats.

Psicrystals are better though. Not nearly as fragile, and they get more abilities!

[Hbgplayer]

I always take a raven. Not for the bonus (why would a wizard need appraise?) but because they are always very sarcastic, and so I can chastise bad RPing or whatever with out too much trouble. :smalltongue:

[killem2]

Definitely worth it.

The horrible wording of share spell makes a familiar very strong at high lvls of play.

Is this a feat, or is this just what every familar with intelligence can do?


Are the thrush stats really accurate for a hummingbird? I've found a couple home brew options has anyone taken those seriously?

Also can you use the familiar for ranged touch attacks?

[Gotterdammerung]

Is this a feat, or is this just what every familar with intelligence can do?


Are the thrush stats really accurate for a hummingbird? I've found a couple home brew options has anyone taken those seriously?

Also can you use the familiar for ranged touch attacks?

Share spell is a part of every familiar. You don't need a feat to access it (unless you needed a feat to obtain a familiar).

Hummingbird does give +4 initiative if thats what you were asking. Homebrew is between you and your GM, it doesn't really matter if anyone else takes them seriously.

No, you can let your familiar hold and deliver the charge from a touch spell. But you can later give your familiar the ability to cast a range spell if you wanted (various different ways). Or he can cast one from a wand if he can talk.



This doesn't work, since it doesn't actually affect the familiar. If it was Target: You, or Target: One creature, or something similar, then yes. But as it stands, no.


The spell allows you to shift the effect from you to someone else. If you can shift the effect from yourself to someone else, then it was affecting you. Since it is a spell affecting you, you can share it with your familiar.

[Flickerdart]

The spell allows you to shift the effect from you to someone else. If you can shift the effect from yourself to someone else, then it was affecting you. Since it is a spell affecting you, you can share it with your familiar.
The criteria isn't "a spell that's affecting you", it's "a spell that you cast on yourself". Since that spell has no target line, it is not a targeted spell, and cannot be cast "on" anybody.

[dextercorvia]

Since it is a spell affecting you, you can share it with your familiar.

Not quite. It has to be a spell you cast on yourself. This isn't one.

[killem2]

Hmm, well if a hummingbird can't do ranged touch attacks, and it can't talk, and can't wield anything, is it really worth it for JUST the +4 initiative?

How can you tell which familiars are able to talk and use wands and such?

[Flickerdart]

Initiative doesn't usually scale, so a +4 is very potent throughout a character's entire career (or until you get the insta-win stuff like Moment of Prescience anyway).

As for the wands, any familiar capable of speech (listed as having a language) can use wands, since they are activated by command words.

[Palanan]

I'm working on a hummingbird familiar right now, and I'd say the stats for a thrush have nothing to do with a hummingbird (or with a thrush, for that matter). A song thrush is about eight inches long and weighs about 80 grams; hummingbirds are about three inches long and weigh around 5-10 grams. That's easily a size category smaller. Go with the homebrew.