Griffon as a Familiar?

[CreganTur]

I've been scouring a number of different books and SRDs for rules in Improved Familiars. I'm building a Magus who desires to be a griffon rider. I was thinking it would be the best option if the griffon became his Improved Familiar.

I thought I remembered reading that, once you take the Improved Familiar Feat, you chould choose a creature who has hit die up to your level (for determining Familiar attributes). As a 5th level Magus, that would mean I could take a creature with up to 5hd.

Can anyone point me to any rules/documentation that deals with this?

[Novawurmson]

The list in Table: Improved Familiar by Alignment presents only a few possible improved familiars. Almost any creature of the same general size and power as those on the list makes a suitable familiar.

Shocker lizard, Stirge, Formian worker, Imp, Pseudodragon, Quasit...not near the same size or power of a griffon :P

Talk to your DM about a Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a).

[Dusk Eclipse]

There is the Improved Familiar feat from Complete Warrior which allows you to have a griffon as your familiar, I don't recall the details; but I am pretty sure that you can't have one till level 7 or so.

[MesiDoomstalker]

There is the Improved Familiar feat from Complete Warrior which allows you to have a griffon as your familiar, I don't recall the details; but I am pretty sure that you can't have one till level 7 or so.

It doesn't have Griffon. You may have been thinking of a Hippogriff. I'd put Griffon as needing +10 CL and BAB to obtain based on its stats vs. the Hippogriff. Which basically means you need to be a Gish to have any remote chance of being effective with a Griffon mount.

[Dusk Eclipse]

It doesn't have Griffon. You may have been thinking of a Hippogriff. I'd put Griffon as needing +10 CL and BAB to obtain based on its stats vs. the Hippogriff. Which basically means you need to be a Gish to have any remote chance of being effective with a Griffon mount.

:checks books: hmm you are right:smallredface:

[CreganTur]

Hippogriff's close enough for me. We're starting our game at lvl 5, so I'll just have have to wait till 7th lvl to take Improved Familiar and then do whatever the DM requires to get my hippogriff.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Hippogriff's close enough for me. We're starting our game at lvl 5, so I'll just have have to wait till 7th lvl to take Improved Familiar and then do whatever the DM requires to get my hippogriff.

You need CL 7 and BAB of 7 to get hippogriff. Pure Wizard/PrC won't reach that till mid to late game.

[Ravens_cry]

Familiars are supposed to be fairly useless in direct hand to hand combat. If you want a beast, magical or otherwise, that lays down the beats, an animal companion or Wild Cohort are the game mechanics meant to emulate that.

[Dusk Eclipse]

He is building a Magus from Pathfinder, though IIRC they have 3/4 BAB so he would still wait a bit more than level 7 to get a Hypogriph