Small air elemental Familiar and wands

[kpumphre]

Can they use wands? Air elemental you get with improved familiar

[Yuki Akuma]

Only if you have ranks in Use Magic Device.

[kpumphre]

Wizard level 5. I just wanted to make sure the familiar can use it. I'm trying to decide between an air elemental and a blink dog

[Yuki Akuma]

It doesn't matter what your Wizard level is, your familiar can't use a wand unless you have Use Magic Device ranks for it to share.

Your familiar is not a Wizard, and can't use wands unless it makes a UMD check.

[kpumphre]

Oh, so it needs the skill, it doesn't go off of mine even though we can share spells?

[tyckspoon]

Shared spells is still *you* casting the spell. Your familiar has no spellcasting ability of its own whatsoever, which is what it would need to trigger a wand without using Use Magic Device.

[ryu]

You should still totally grip up some ranks in UMD. A second, miniature wizard at your command at mid level for double the action economy? Nothing to be scoffed at.

[Chronos]

Wizards can use wands without needing UMD. Familiars are not wizards, and so need UMD if they're to use wands. Familiars get the skill ranks of the base creature, or yours, whichever is higher. Most familiar base creatures don't have ranks in UMD, so usually the only way for a familiar to have ranks in UMD is if you do, too. So even though you don't need UMD yourself, and it isn't a class skill for wizards, it can sometimes be worthwhile to get yourself some cross-class ranks in it anyway.

[kpumphre]

Oh ok, I was getting confused there. (First time with familiar newb to wizard class/true magic user) So if I have ranks in UMD then it could use my ranks along with it's score, but then I would have to roll correct?

Sorry just trying to decide between it and a blink dog, where I give me spell to it, have it charge and attack, then dimension door back to me. (Would that actually work?)

Shivering touch is a touch attack so cast spell and dog then charges and attacks bad guy. +2 charging to hit. After he attacks he teleports back to my side.

[Yuki Akuma]

Oh ok, I was getting confused there. (First time with familiar newb to wizard class/true magic user) So if I have ranks in UMD then it could use my ranks along with it's score, but then I would have to roll correct?

Sorry just trying to decide between it and a blink dog, where I give me spell to it, have it charge and attack, then dimension door back to me. (Would that actually work?)

Shivering touch is a touch attack so cast spell and dog then charges and attacks bad guy. +2 charging to hit. After he attacks he teleports back to my side.

This totally works, yes. Blink dogs are pretty awesome.

Note that blink dogs don't have hands, though, so if you'd want it to use wands too you'll need to fit it with something to let it hold a wand somehow. Maybe a tail blade with a wand chamber.

And yes, when your familiar rolls to use a wand, it uses your ranks in UMD and its own Charisma score. And as familiars tend to have abysmal Charisma scores...

At your level, you can have, at most, 2 ranks of UMD. Both the air elemental and the blink dog have a Charisma score of 11. This gives them a +2 bonus, meaning they have only a 15% chance to actually activate a wand (which has a DC of 20).

This isn't something you should rely on at early levels. Maybe consider a cross-class level in Rogue or Factotum so your ranks will actually be worth something (5 ranks would make it a 30% chance), although the lost CL can be painful.