Improved Familiar for a Chaotic Good Warrior?

[NeoSeraphi]

So the Improved Familiar feat in Complete Warrior seems to be pretty useless for a Chaotic Good caster. I'm playing a duskblade in a solo game and I want to own people with a Chaotic Good familiar with full BAB and decent hit points, but...the list doesn't have anything for me.

So I thought "No big deal, if Lawful Evil dudes can get devils like imps and Chaotic Evil guys can get demons like quasits, then I'll just get myself a pet Eladrin."

I did not know, at this time, that there were only two eladrin in the entire Monster Manual. Now I do, and I am very disappointed.

So, Playground, does anyone have any suggestions for an appropriate Chaotic Good familiar for a 7th level caster? Please give the source of the monster as well.

[Swok]

You might be able to swing a Coure Eladrin from BoED for a CG improved familiar, though RAW the only way to acquire it is the Celestial Familiar feat from the same book.

[NeoSeraphi]

You might be able to swing a Coure Eladrin from BoED for a CG improved familiar, though RAW the only way to acquire it is the Celestial Familiar feat from the same book.

A Coure Eladrin seems pretty terrible for my purposes. I want a familiar who walks into combat with me, a flanking buddy that can dish out some real damage.

[Thefurmonger]

You might be better off with leadership then Imp Familiar.

Normaly I would never recomend Leadership, but in a solo game it might be perfect.

[NeoSeraphi]

You might be better off with leadership then Imp Familiar.

Normaly I would never recomend Leadership, but in a solo game it might be perfect.

Leadership doesn't really fit the character. He's an apprentice who is rebelling against his master and starting a revolution (in a lot of ways, he's more like a cohort than a leader).

Plus, I don't want to control two characters. I don't want a bunch of class features to deal with, just a few easy-to-remember SLAs and some nice natural attacks.

There has to be some kind of Chaotic Good equivalent of a hellhound/howler/blink dog, right?

[Callista]

What about a pseudodragon or a lantern archon? Both have flight and can serve as scouts. And they both have a significant cool factor.

[NeoSeraphi]

What about a pseudodragon or a lantern archon? Both have flight and can serve as scouts. And they both have a significant cool factor.

Archons are Lawful Good, the Improved Familiar feat states you can only get a creature of up to one alignment away from you, on each axis. (So my options are Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Good, and Neutral).

Pseudodragons are indeed cool, but have the same problem with being completely useless in combat that Coure Eladrins do.

[Yorrin]

Pick up Wild Cohort and whatever the feat is that allows stacking of Animal Companion and Familiar. You've just gotten yourself a super intelligent animal of your liking.

[NeoSeraphi]

Pick up Wild Cohort and whatever the feat is that allows stacking of Animal Companion and Familiar. You've just gotten yourself a super intelligent animal of your liking.

I don't know which feat you're talking about. The closest I could think of would be Devoted Tracker, but that doesn't work since that's special mount/familiar. You might be thinking of the Arcane Hierophant prestige class.

Either way, your proposal wouldn't work, since I'm sure that if such a feat exists, it would require the ability to have a familiar, which duskblades don't, so I would have to spend a feat on Wild Cohort, Obtain Familiar, and this mystery feat of yours, and I only have 2 free slots.

[Yorrin]

it would require the ability to have a familiar, which duskblades don't, so I would have to spend a feat on Wild Cohort, Obtain Familiar, and this mystery feat of yours, and I only have 2 free slots.

...if you dont have a familiar why are you worried about Imp. Familiar on this character?

[NeoSeraphi]

...if you dont have a familiar why are you worried about Imp. Familiar on this character?

I have to spend a feat on Obtain Familiar. I am spending two feats, one on Obtain Familar and one on Improved Familiar, so I want the end result to be pretty damn good, since it's consuming about half of my starting feat resources.

[gorfnab]

I don't know which feat you're talking about. The closest I could think of would be Devoted Tracker, but that doesn't work since that's special mount/familiar. You might be thinking of the Arcane Hierophant prestige class.

Wild Cohort Feat
(http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)

[NeoSeraphi]

Wild Cohort Feat
(http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)

I know about the Wild Cohort feat. I'm talking about the feat Yorrin mentioned that apparently combines your levels for familiars and animal companions.

[gorfnab]

I know about the Wild Cohort feat. I'm talking about the feat Yorrin mentioned that apparently combines your levels for familiars and animal companions.
Theurgic Bond (Drg 325)

For an Improved Familiar though what about a Hippogriff or a Krenshar?

[NeoSeraphi]

Theurgic Bond (Drg 325)

Ah. Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. Unfortunately, Dragon Magazines are not approved source material for this game. I'll go update the OP with the approved source materials and other stuff.

[Yorrin]

I think what gorfnab might have been pointing out in his first post is that Wild Cohort is better for your purposes than Obtain Familiar, even without the feat I mentioned. Wiild Cohort + Natural Bond (PHB2, I believe. Increases your level by 3 for calculating animal companions.) would serve you better than Obtain Familiar+Imp. Familiar.

[Wyntonian]

Ah. Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. Unfortunately, Dragon Magazines are not approved source material for this game. I'll go update the OP with the approved source materials and other stuff.

Although, given the feat description, I would be willing to allow it.

Oh, and let's stick to non-outsiders, if possible. Setting and all.

I'm the DM, by the way.

[NeoSeraphi]

I think what gorfnab might have been pointing out in his first post is that Wild Cohort is better for your purposes than Obtain Familiar, even without the feat I mentioned. Wiild Cohort + Natural Bond (PHB2, I believe. Increases your level by 3 for calculating animal companions.) would serve you better than Obtain Familiar+Imp. Familiar.

Not really. A familiar can deliver touch spells, which duskblades are good at; share spells, which Wild Cohort does not get; and they have a Base Attack Bonus equal to the master's, which means the familiar's BAB would be equal to mine, rather than 3/4 of its HD as a Wild Cohort's does. If I can use the Improved Familiar feat to get a 14-16 Str familiar with a decent natural attack, that will be much better than the Wild Cohort feat in pretty much every way.

[gorfnab]

Not really. A familiar can deliver touch spells, which duskblades are good at; share spells, which Wild Cohort does not get; and they have a Base Attack Bonus equal to the master's, which means the familiar's BAB would be equal to mine, rather than 3/4 of its HD as a Wild Cohort's does. If I can use the Improved Familiar feat to get a 14-16 Str familiar with a decent natural attack, that will be much better than the Wild Cohort feat in pretty much every way.
Hippogriff is an option. Plus having a flying familiar is nice too.

[NeoSeraphi]

Hippogriff is an option. Plus having a flying familiar is nice too.

Very nice! Thank you very much, a hippogriff will work perfectly.