I want to be the very best...

[Flickerdart]

Token Familiar is a feat from Dragon #280 which lets you collapse your familiar into a diminutive token that returns to normal form upon command.

You can see where I'm going with this.

Getting a beefy familiar is easy with Arcane Hierophant, and getting six of them is easy just with Extra Familiar, but doing both is tricky. Since a real Pokemaster doesn't just grind his starter to the exclusion of all his other Pokemon, how do we end up with a party of six familiars who are all relatively powerful? If you really must, you can have five familiars and a Wild Cohort, since some people think it's acceptable to let one of their Pokemon run around and pee on the furniture.

Extra Familiar lets all your familiar feats apply to all your familiars, so it's easy to get a party of Improved or Dragon Familiars, but those are far too weak to be used in battle at the level you can get them. Besides, a true Pokemaster diversifies.

So, strongest fleet of familiars you can build. Go!

Alternatively, post a lineup of six familiars you can produce with a single build, and see how well you can cover all the bases.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Arcane Heirophant doesn't have a familiar at all, it gives you an animal companion that also gains the bonuses/benefits of a familiar.

"In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the abilities that a familiar would normally possess."
Note that it does not say it gets the abilities that your familiar would possess, nor does it get any benefits that an ordinary familiar wouldn't normally get, so feats that improve your familiar will not apply to your companion familiar.

[Flickerdart]

Ok, sure, but it doesn't work in this case anyway, so that's kind of besides the point.

[Coidzor]

If Urban Companion could work with, say, Beastmaster that would be 4 right there, and the only thing from there would be to be competent with only 10 levels so that the critters would have decent BAB and HP. Say, White Raven focused Warblade or Crusader. Wild cohort would give you a 5th. Improved/Dragon/Planar Familiar being OK'd as working with urban companion would allow some more variation as well for all but the last of the urban companions. I suppose going Bard for 4 levels could get one obtain familiar and not too shabby bardsader abilities, though it'd be very resource and feat intensive.

Big if and if wishes were fishes and all that jazz...

ACF Chaining from Wizard familiar into Unearthed Arcana's wizard animal companion into Cityscape's web enhancement's urban companion might also be a potentially interesting houserule.



As it stands... I'm thinking a gish base would be the best bet for good HP and good BAB to put onto one's posse.

Let's say we don't care as much about casting, so it's a Wizard 3/Full BAB(probably fighter) 2/Wizard +1/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/X 8. Maybe Wizard 2/Fighter 2/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Swiftblade 10.

Human - Extra Familiar
1st - Token Familiar
3rd - Extra Familiar
6th - Improved/Planar/Dragon Familiar
9th - Extra Familiar
12th - Extra Familiar
15th - Extra Familiar (5 from feat + 1 from wizard = 6)
18th - Practiced Spellcaster/Improved Toughness/????

18 or 19 BAB... Though HP does seem like it would be a bit low even though mostly gish, especially after it gets cut in half.

[Vizzerdrix]

Hmm... I like where this topic is going. Cookies for you sir!

Anyways. Human Duskblade is what I'd use for the "Trainer". Level wouldn't be too important with retraining. Just have a total of 7 feats.

And for a lineup, with some alignment shenanigans I think I'd go with:

Earth Mephit
Watchspider
Krenshar
Mustival guardinal
Eyeball Beholderkin
Gem Scarab

That gives 3 beaters, 2 ranged and a utility.

Other things to keep in mind.
having 7 Formian Workers would net you free healing.
Mirror Mephit Team. Yep.

[Coidzor]

Team Mirror Mephit. Gives new meaning to the term Mirror Move.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Don't forget Familiar Pocket, which allows you to store a Diminutive-sized familiar-coin in, say, a small pocket on your belt (or six) to draw later as a free action, available at first level.

Or the spells Enhance Familiar and Fortify Familiar, which enhance their combat abilities, each a third-level spell. Eternal Wands of each might be fitting for when you think you might need it.

The spell Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability also lets your pokem... I mean familiars... Cast 5pp... Er, 30 spell levels' worth of spells, if you get your CL up to 18. For, you know, when you need your familiar to cast Fire Bla... I mean, Firebrand. :smallwink:

[Feytalist]

Elemental Archon from Faiths and Pantheons gets you three mephits linked to your chosen element. They're "underlings", not familiars, though. I'm pretty sure it's arcane casting, but I might be wrong.

[sol_kanar]

If you are also considering PF, you could go with a Summoner (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner). The Broodmaster variant (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner/archetypes/paizo---summoner-archetypes/broodmaster) lets you control a number of different Eidolons instead of a single one, and you can summon them (which is not as Pokéball-like as Token Familiar, though).

[Darth_Versity]

Why use Familiars at all? I'd use the Pathfinder Summoner to make my pokemaster. My Eidolon is my legendary, and my Summon Monster class feature is my remaining team of 5. Of course the legendary clears up most things, just as it should.

I'd love to see the look on my DM's face when i shout "I CHOOSE YOU! MEWTWO!!!"

[Flickerdart]

Why use Familiars at all? I'd use the Pathfinder Summoner to make my pokemaster. My Eidolon is my legendary, and my Summon Monster class feature is my remaining team of 5. Of course the legendary clears up most things, just as it should.

I'd love to see the look on my DM's face when i shout "I CHOOSE YOU! MEWTWO!!!"
a) Too easy
b) No pokeballs
c) Ew, Pathfinder

[nedz]

My first thought was 6 Shocker Lizards would require Improved Familiar and net you a 12d8 25' radius Lightning Ball (Su) at will, but it would only be a DC 16 Reflex so this is a bit meh.

How about 6 Item Familiars which you can Tokanise ?
This is not quite your Pokemon concept but the combination of Item Familiar and multiple Extra Familiars does sound quite, well with Token Familiar as well you ought to turn them into small cheeses.

You could however animate them to fit with your concept.

The obvious cheese here is to Give them Spell Use, Greater Sapience and Greater Sapience again. At most levels you ought to be able to nova quite a lot of your highest level spell, depending upon how many extra familiars you have acquired.