improved familiar questions

[samuraijaques]

Hi guys, i searched the forums for an answer to this but had no luck. I apologize in advance if it has been answered elsewhere.

If i take the improved familiar feat do i really have to take the experience hit from dismissing my old familiar before i can use it? if i do that seems odd to me as, to my knowledge, no other feat in the game requires an experience penalty in order to be used. Additionally, the rules state that if i dismiss my familiar that i cannot obtain a new one for a year and a day, so even if i got the improved familiar feat i wouldn't be able to use it for a year and a day in game time.

is there a way to circumnavigate the 100 exp per level penalty and the year and a day time loss for dismissing a familiar?

looking forward to hearing from you.

cheers.

[Uncle Pine]

You don't actually need to dismiss your familiar when you take the Improved Familiar feat. If you already know that you'll take the feat, you could just don't summon a familiar until you take it. Doing so, you'll meet all the prerequisites for the feat and you won't incur in any exp penalty or time loss.
I don't know exactly what would happen if you summon a familiar and then you take the feat, though.

EDIT: As a DM, I'd let the character to change the familiar without exp cost, but that's not what the RAW seems to suggest.

[samuraijaques]

I think my DM is going to let me do exactly that. I am taking obtain familiar and then improved familiar and not getting my familiar until the latter is taken. it works, but it seems odd that there isn't a good way to make use of the improved familiar feat.

thanks for the reply

[Uncle Pine]

I think my DM is going to let me do exactly that. I am taking obtain familiar and then improved familiar and not getting my familiar until the latter is taken. it works, but it seems odd that there isn't a good way to make use of the improved familiar feat.

thanks for the reply

You're welcome. 'Glad to have been useful. :smallsmile: