Improved Familiar and a few questions

[Dazed&Confused]

I didn't put this in the Q&A because I think it might be a bit more complex, and I wanna ask more than one question(only two, but w/e).

I'm making an Unseen Seer(Whisper Gnome 2 rogue/3 wiz/8 unseen), and I wanna make use of my spell-sharing with my familiar, so I got Improved Familiar. I'm also going to use the classic hunter's eye and also Divine Power.

The questions: 1. Is it possible that my familiar would follow me in combat, never leaving the squares adjacent to me, allowing it to attack alongside me in my next round with all those shared spells and hitting like crap? 2. In my book (translated DM's book) it shows I can also choose a Bralani or Erinyes, is that serious? Those things are too powerful for a "familiar", what the hell.

[sonofzeal]

The DMG list should be here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedFamiliar). Expanded list here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187251). Neither contains the two you mentioned.

[Medic!]

Once had an imp with alternate form: Rust Monster, LOVED IT!

Not much of a contribution but mildly on topic right?

[Dazed&Confused]

Nevermind about the Eladrin question, it's just a bad translation. Devir bookstores just suck - the table was supposed to be up, on "special cohorts", not right after the familiar stuff...

The first question remains though.

[sonofzeal]

I believe it's generally assumed that your Familiar stays in your square, yes. But they can only do this if they're Tiny or smaller, and Tiny creatures can't make their melee touch attacks unless they enter the opponent's square, which might provoke an Attack of Opportunity and otherwise leave them vulnerable. And getting your familiar killed suuuuuuuuuuuucks.

[Incriptus]

The questions: 1. Is it possible that my familiar would follow me in combat, never leaving the squares adjacent to me, allowing it to attack alongside me in my next round with all those shared spells and hitting like crap?

You probably want your familiar to share your space by riding you [or vice-versa] if that is not available, because you have an improved familiar that is too large to do that . . .

I think the answer is kinda no

There are no rules for simultanious actions so I think the hard core RAW lawyer says you move on your turn, it moves on its. Even if the familiar attempts to ready a move action to move with you the rules say his movement interupts yours and is completed before yours gets to continue.

Softcore says that it can ready an action to travel along with you while remaining within 5 feet. But this constitutes a standard action to ready a move action.

Non-Core says sure go for it as long as there is no real barrier to prevent the familiar from retaining it's own 5 foot square adjacent to yours.

I'm personally somewhere between Softcore & Noncore . . . if it was any other creature than your familiar who is "practically one being" I would probably go Soft Core. If a team mate is conciously trying to stay within 5 feet of you [in a stressful situation] then it's going to take a signifigant amount of effort.

[NeoSeraphi]

I believe it's generally assumed that your Familiar stays in your square, yes. But they can only do this if they're Tiny or smaller, and Tiny creatures can't make their melee touch attacks unless they enter the opponent's square, which might provoke an Attack of Opportunity and otherwise leave them vulnerable. And getting your familiar killed suuuuuuuuuuuucks.

The feat Combat Familiar (from either Complete Arcane or Complete Warrior, can't remember which) prevents your familiar from provoking attacks of opportunity for entering creatures' squares.

Or you can get a raven and have it take Fly-By Attack. Maybe.

[sonofzeal]

The feat Combat Familiar (from either Complete Arcane or Complete Warrior, can't remember which) prevents your familiar from provoking attacks of opportunity for entering creatures' squares.

Or you can get a raven and have it take Fly-By Attack. Maybe.
Still, the penalties for losing a familiar are too harsh, and investing feats in it only makes it worse. I wouldn't want my familiar leaving my square; as long as it's there, gentleman's agreement is usually that I'm the one that gets targetted.

[Flickerdart]

Technically, absolutely nothing is stopping your familiar from riding you like a mount using the relevant skill, so long as it is at least one size category smaller than you. If you're not suitably shaped for a mount, they just take a -5 penalty.

[NeoSeraphi]

Still, the penalties for losing a familiar are too harsh, and investing feats in it only makes it worse. I wouldn't want my familiar leaving my square; as long as it's there, gentleman's agreement is usually that I'm the one that gets targetted.

200 XP per class level isn't that harsh, especially with a save for half at a pitiful DC. Most wizards will only be Wizard 5. A few will be Wizard 3/Master Specialist X.

The inability to Summon again for 366 days is pretty harsh, however. Still, get a raven. Teach it Flyby Attack. Cast stoneskin on it for good measure. Have it start delivering all your touch spells.

The other option, is, of course, that you can go and deliver your own touch spells. And the penalties for you dying are much harsher than your familiar...

[sonofzeal]

200 XP per class level isn't that harsh, especially with a save for half at a pitiful DC. Most wizards will only be Wizard 5. A few will be Wizard 3/Master Specialist X.

The inability to Summon again for 366 days is pretty harsh, however. Still, get a raven. Teach it Flyby Attack. Cast stoneskin on it for good measure. Have it start delivering all your touch spells.

The other option, is, of course, that you can go and deliver your own touch spells. And the penalties for you dying are much harsher than your familiar...
You can't share spells if it doesn't stay within 5 feet of you, making Flyby pretty worthless.

And while the penalty for you dying is worse, you've got double its hp and probably have defensive items or buffs of various kinds. And you're still pretty squishy. Not that you should be tanking for it, just that familiars are massively squishy and will likely die fast if you start exploiting them in combat.

[Dazed&Confused]

Don't worry about AoO, the plan is to give it a bow and let it sneak, since after the first round I'm gonna have cast Hunter's Eye + Improved Blink.

And I don't worry if it lost its actions for the first round. I mean... the plan is to cast the spells in the first round and move while it follows me. Then, in the next round, if I have reached my enemy, me and my familiar are going to attack - the familiar should be an adjacent square "behind" me (in a way that the enemy doesn't get cover) shooting his arrows.

Of course, many monsters just can't use bows - but if I'm not wrong, devils/demons/any outsiders are proficient with martial weapons, no? I'll check which ones can and can't; but I remember there is a spell that makes me (therefore, my familiar) proficient with a touched weapon, which one is that? If anything, -4 on attacks isn't thaaat big of a deal if you're attacking as invisible.

[Dazed&Confused]

Once had an imp with alternate form: Rust Monster, LOVED IT!

Not much of a contribution but mildly on topic right?

Isn't the alternate form supposed to work as Metamorphosis? Given that the Imp has 3hd, doesn't that make him unable to shift to Rust Monster(5hd), even if the CL is 12?

[Flickerdart]

You can't share spells if it doesn't stay within 5 feet of you, making Flyby pretty worthless.
There's a Dragon Mag feat that increases this range to 1 mile, for what it's worth. Or you can always adapt the Animal Companion feat that increases spell sharing range to 30ft.

[Incanur]

There's a Dragon Mag feat that increases this range to 1 mile, for what it's worth.

Quite a bit, I'd say. That's Enspell Familiar, and it also appears in The Dragon Compendium. Familiar are funny. They transform from liabilities to combat gods with the right buffs.

[Medic!]

Isn't the alternate form supposed to work as Metamorphosis? Given that the Imp has 3hd, doesn't that make him unable to shift to Rust Monster(5hd), even if the CL is 12?

Operating under the (possibly flawed?) premise that he has the master's HD for HD related effects, the DM (foolishly?) ruled it fair game!