[PF] Faerie Dragon Familiar

[Barstro]

My Witch is about to take Improved Familiar (cannot take get an Imp, so don't bother telling me how much better that would be) and is considering a Faerie Dragon.

I want to make sure I understand how UMD will work for the Improved Familiar

Faerie Dragon
1) Faerie Dragon starts out at 3 HD.
2) HD will never change. Only some effects are changed, but actual HD remain.
3) Faerie Dragon has UMD as a class skill (UMD is 9 with 3 for HD and 3 for CHA, so the other 3 implies that it is due to being a class skill)
4) A familiar gets it's own skill ranks, or the master's ranks, whichever is higher.

Conclusion;
1) Faerie Dragon's UMD will be; 7 (master's ranks), +3 (class skill), +3 (Charisma), for a total of 13
2) While having the master take more ranks in UMD will help in the future, nothing can be done with the Faerie Dragon to improve this
a) Headband of Vast Intelligence (with UMD) does not add to ranks, since the Faerie Dragon is already at its max (and that is below the master's)
b) Since a familiar does not actually gain HD, the Faerie Dragon cannot get more ranks on its own.

Also thinking about Pseudodragon

1)Pseudodragon starts out at 2 HD.
2) HD will never change. Only some effects are changed, but actual HD remain.
3) Pseudodragon has UMD of 0 (no ranks, not a class skill, no CHA bonus)
4) A familiar gets it's own skill ranks, or the master's ranks, whichever is higher.

Conclusion;
1) Faerie Dragon's UMD will be; 7 (master's ranks), +0 (not a class skill), +0 (Charisma), for a total of 7
2) Headband of Vast Intelligence (with UMD) does not add to ranks, since the Pseudodragon would only gain +2 for HD, and that is lower than master's
3) Since a familiar does not actually gain HD, the Pseudodragon cannot get more ranks on its own.
4) There is no way to make UMD a class skill for the Pseudodragon

The only way to increase the familiar's UMD at this point would be the familiar getting a Headband of Alluring Charisma.

[Saidoro]

Almost entirely correct. Note, however, that the retraining rules could potentially be used to give you more ways of boosting UMD than just the headband of charisma by swapping feats around.

[stack]

Most importantly the fairy dragon casts as a level 3 sorcerer, so it activates items as a level 3 sorcerer and therefore doesn't need UMD check for wands of sorcerer spells.

[Spore]

Spoilered because of nonsense.


Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points: The familiar has half the master's total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.

They do not gain hitpoints from additional HD but they increase in HD. I don't know where you have the idea from. It has been pasted out of 3.5 rules, and even the feat description regarding improved familiar doesn't state anything radically different:


Improved Familiar

This feat allows you to acquire a powerful familiar, but only when you could normally acquire a new familiar.

Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below).

Benefit: When choosing a familiar, the creatures listed here are also available to you. You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil).

Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).

I checked d20pfsrd.com and paizo.com and my CRB. All agree.

[Barstro]

They do not gain hitpoints from additional HD but they increase in HD. I don't know where you have the idea from.

I get it straight from the SRD.

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,


Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points: The familiar has half the master's total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.

At no point does anything say that Familiars gain Hit Points Dice. There isn't even a way listed for them to gain Hit Dice or Levels; they are dependent upon the Master.

As was mentioned by Saidoro, Faerie Dragons cast at L3 Sorcerer. That does not change. Only SLAs change, because "effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher".

I would love for you to show me language on how I can actually increase the HD of a Familiar, it would make some of my plans easier.

[Spore]

I interpreted "effects related to number of Hit Dice" as "gives you extra skill ranks". But I am deeply wrong on that. :)

[Spuddles]

If you have your faerie dragon join a magic guild from inner sea magic, it can gain up to 3 more sorcerer casting levels.

It also gains feats as if it were gaining HD. A quality feat is extra talent or whatever, to gain talents. Pick up wayang spell hunter and magical lineage for something like Snowball or Magic Missile. You can now layer a bunch of metamagic on it and have a decent source of no-save blasting.

[Keneth]

Only SLAs change

SLA caster level, and breath weapon DC, actually.

And, as stack already mentioned, faerie dragons are far better than pseudodragons because they can use most magic items without UMD.

They're only available to NG, CG, and CN casters though, whereas pseudodragons can be taken by LG, LN, and N casters as well.

There's no way to actually increase a familiar's HD afaik.

[StreamOfTheSky]

If you have your faerie dragon join a magic guild from inner sea magic, it can gain up to 3 more sorcerer casting levels.

It also gains feats as if it were gaining HD. A quality feat is extra talent or whatever, to gain talents. Pick up wayang spell hunter and magical lineage for something like Snowball or Magic Missile. You can now layer a bunch of metamagic on it and have a decent source of no-save blasting.

The feat is Additional Traits, and I would use it to get Magical Knack, for another +2 CL, up to (effective) HD.

I will say, having had a faerie dragon familiar, the most useful thing about it was actually the telepathy. But it is a very solid familiar. Can use sorc items w/o a check, is good at UMD for the things that aren't on the sorc list, good flight, the breath weapon (assuming effective HD is used for its save DC calculation) is very potent and somehow not mind-affecting (though it's basically just a panic button for when a foe is in melee with you due to being just a 5 ft cone), it has the spellcasting...useful if you can pick what it knows..., greater invisibility on itself as an SLA... Just a very good choice.

[Keneth]

On the other hand, it's a very gay dragon. :smallbiggrin:

[Hazuki]

On the other hand, it's a very gay dragon. :smallbiggrin:I can only see that as a good thing. It will give exquisite fashion tips.

[Keneth]

I can only see that as a good thing. It will give exquisite fashion tips.

Funnily enough, that's exactly what my magus used his Lyrakien familiar for.

That and for translating every known language in the multiverse. :smallbiggrin:

[Barstro]

On the other hand, it's a very gay dragon. :smallbiggrin:

Well, my Witch is female, so that isn't a problem. She'd rather be a badass with a pseudodragon, but she's concerned about becoming a target and will just become the old lady in the corner with a pretty little familiar that people ignore.