Familiars with Class Levels?

[ThatGuyOvaThere]

Every now and then I see someone on a thread post something about giving your familiar levels in a class. If this is possible while retaining the familiar as a familiar and not some sort of cohort, how does one go about it or where are the rules on it?

Thanks for any help you can give, Sam

[IAmTehDave]

Every now and then I see someone on a thread post something about giving your familiar levels in a class. If this is possible while retaining the familiar as a familiar and not some sort of cohort, how does one go about it or where are the rules on it?

Thanks for any help you can give, Sam

I was in a campaign where the DM let the sorcerer funnel some of his XP to his monkey familiar to let said familiar work towards levels of rogue.

But AFAIK it's houserule-only territory. There's nothing stating that a familiar gains exp. Since they gain bonus int, though, they become eligible for class levels.

[sambouchah]

Every now and then I see someone on a thread post something about giving your familiar levels in a class. If this is possible while retaining the familiar as a familiar and not some sort of cohort, how does one go about it or where are the rules on it?

Thanks for any help you can give, Sam

My brother never signed out on my computer, sorry about any confusion, all:smalltongue:

[Dawgmoah]

Every now and then I see someone on a thread post something about giving your familiar levels in a class. If this is possible while retaining the familiar as a familiar and not some sort of cohort, how does one go about it or where are the rules on it?

Thanks for any help you can give, Sam

Homebrew maybe; I think the Noble Wild splat book had some rules on it but I may be thinking of a Mongoose book instead.

You could let the familiar take the Apprentice feat and get some skillz...

But I know nothing in the rules letting you to advance a familiar up in levels.

[Urpriest]

RAW, familiars have to be typical of their kind. Otherwise you get all sorts of silly shenanigans.

You want a minion with class levels, that's what Leadership and kin are for.

[MonochromeTiger]

Every now and then I see someone on a thread post something about giving your familiar levels in a class. If this is possible while retaining the familiar as a familiar and not some sort of cohort, how does one go about it or where are the rules on it?

Thanks for any help you can give, Sam

somehow my only thought on this is having your familiar gain levels in a class that gives them a familiar..then that familiar gains levels in a class that has familiar.. then you wind up with an infinite army of familiars....wow my thought on this is useless.

[Chronos]

somehow my only thought on this is having your familiar gain levels in a class that gives them a familiar..then that familiar gains levels in a class that has familiar.. then you wind up with an infinite army of familiars....wow my thought on this is useless.
You can't do that with familiars... But there are a few tricks that let you pull it off with psicrystals.

[Clistenes]

There are a couple third party books with contents that allow you to give extra features to your familiar:

Encyclopaedia Arcane - Familiars of Mongoose Publising has a list of rituals that allow you to spend XP to give your familiars a few class features.

The Book of Familiars of Troll Lord Games has feats that give your familiar extra features.

And of course, you could build yourself a customized Homunculus, take the Improved Familiar feat, and take that as familiar.