Q's about Familiars.

[Kyberwulf]

Okay, I have a questions regarding Familiars.

Say you have a Wizard, turned into a Cat by Baleful Polymorph. Can he then be turned into a familiar, assuming either of two things. One he fails his will and it turned into a common house kitty. The second assumption is that he makes his will save.

Now, assuming he is your Familiar, according to the spell, he would keep his Class's Base Attack, Saving Throws, and other things like that? If that being the case, could I then turn a Fighter, or Barbarian into an Animal. Make him or her, my Familiar and have it be that much more powerful?

On the subject of Polymorph. Can I Polymorph my familiar into anything? The Previos Fighter or Barbarian, as my Familiar, turn him into anything I want? Say from a cat to Tiger, and have all his Class Abilities.


I came up with a backstory for my Wizard. My Wiazrd and his Rival in a College for Wizardy, where dualing. The other Spell caster, named Larry, lost the dual. My wizard manage to Baleful Polymorp him into a cat. I was just curious as to how much of his former life Larry would remember, and if he would have any lasting hatred of me.

[Novawurmson]

"A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent. The creature serves as a companion and servant" - From the SRD

Or, if this is Pathfinder:

"A familiar is an animal chosen by a spellcaster to aid him in his study of magic. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but is now a magical beast for the purpose of effects that depend on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar."

I.e., it doesn't work like that. In 3.5, your familiar is a special magical beast that you summon with a ritual, not a person you turned into a cat. In Pathfinder, our familiar is a normal animal that becomes magical through your bond with it. If your DM allows you to do this for backstory, it's up for you and your DM to decide how that would work out memory-wise, but you can't do it via RAW.

Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) -


The subject gains the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores of the new form but retains its own Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. It also gains all extraordinary special attacks possessed by the form but does not gain the extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities.

[gomipile]

Well, by RAW..... I thought I had a contradiction here, but upon reading the spell text for Baleful Polymorph, it might work as you describe. Then again, a familiar has to be a "normal animal" before becoming a familiar, and a Baleful Polymorphed person is anything but a "normal" animal.

@Novawurmson: Actually, with Baleful Polymorph, unlike Polymorph, "The subject takes on all the statistics and special abilities of an average member of the new form in place of its own except as follows..."

[Kyberwulf]

I thought the rules meant, by a "normal" animal, that it couldn't be altered as a race. For example, Celestial or Infernal, or as an Magical Animal. Like an Animal Companion. It doesn't say in the Polymorph's text, to treat it like a modified animal.

[Anderlith]

Yeah, I once had an idea to make an NPC brother & sister where the brother got turned into a cat & served the sister as a familiar... rule slapped that right in the face. Can't be done

[gomipile]

In 3.5, your familiar is a special magical beast that you summon with a ritual
Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) -

This isn't necessarily true. For example, one of the options for Improved Familiar is a homunculus which you must create yourself before it becomes your familiar. So there exist examples in RAW of familiars which can be sitting in front of your character before becoming a familiar.

[gbprime]

Yeah, I once had an idea to make an NPC brother & sister where the brother got turned into a cat & served the sister as a familiar... rule slapped that right in the face. Can't be done

Have her spend a feat on it (Improved Familiar) and make him something other than a regular cat.