[PF]Familiar Silliness - Can I actually do what I want here?

[mistformsquirrl]

So, I had a silly idea alongside my latest character. I want to cast Anthropomorphic Animal (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/anthropomorphic-animal) on my squirrel familiar with Permanency.

It'll be awhile before I can do that (I can only cast 3rd level spells at the moment, and the next level I gain doesn't have a caster level since it's my first of Eldritch Knight) - but once I can that's what I'd like to do.

This character also has Craft Magical Arms and Armor - you can probably see where this is going. I want to gear up my squirrel familiar as an ankle-hacking badass tree-rodent.

There's just a couple issues I'm unsure of how to overcome; pardon my ignorance if some of these are really obvious, but I'm new to working with spells to any significant degree.

1st) Familiars are Magical Beasts; and Anthropomorphic Animal specifies an Animal target. Am I right in assuming I'm stuck on this point without some kind of DM intervention or spell research on my part? (I'm told we can do spell research so it's hardly an insurmountable hurdle I think, but if I don't have to invent a spell for it, I won't.)

2nd) Squirrels are diminutive - which means I cut armor bonuses in half for their gear. Assuming I can make the squirrel anthropomorphic via some means to begin with - Mithral Breastplate or Mithral Full Plate? I'm kinda leaning Breastplate since the squirrel has +4 Dex and the AC would be the same either way; but maybe there's an advantage I haven't thought of. I'd like to give it a shield and a longsword (of the appropriate size of course) as well. Thus when I'm threatened he can jump out and chop someone's ankle off. Beware Sir Percival the Squirrely!

Come to think of it, how does a familiar's proficiency with arms and armor even work?* Does it just use mine like it does for so many other things?

I'm looking at the familiar section on the PFSRD and maybe I'm just blind, but I'm not seeing anything related to this. (Granted, I'm trying to do something very strange here I admit.) If it matters, I have all the proficiencies a Fighter has at 1st level; but as I said, I don't know.

3rd) Feats for the familiar - Again looking on the SRD... not quite sure what to make of this. There are feats familiars can take, but I'm not seeing any feat advancement for familiars; so how do those even work?

For that matter, are there any such feats worth taking? The few that I see don't look especially appealing, but maybe I'm just not getting the point since I'm not especially used to this kind of thing.

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Obviously not trying to make my squirrel an especially serious combatant, he's meant to be something more along the lines of comic relief that can handle himself better than a normal familiar would be able to.

Any other thoughts?

*I've not really worked with familiars much either now that I think of it.

[Spore]

1) You could cast anthropomorphic animal before you cast your familiar ritual.

2) I think that's right. Remember the immense cost for diminuitive gear.

3) Nope, no feats for him.

http://i.imgur.com/3qF8F.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf2cK0adfIM

You would be better off with the Leadership feat and an awakened squirrel cohort with class levels.

[mistformsquirrl]

*Snerk* That actually gave me an idea; but I doubt any sane DM would ever let me try it. Namely, an awakened squirrel druid with leadership and a horde of awakened squirrel followers. The highest rung of which would receive Anthropomorphic Animal before battle and be given bows.
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That said I think for this character I'll stick with the familiar, no feats is fine as long as he's proficient in the equipment I want to give him, that's enough. He's mostly just there for comedy value after all.

Good catch about casting anthropomorphic animal before I make him a familiar; as near as I can tell that's perfectly rules legal.

[Runeclaw]

Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar.

I don't think your enchanted squirrel would count as either normal nor unmodified. In fact, it seems like the designers are fairly specifically preventing what you are trying to do. Therefore, you'll probably be reliant on a sympathetic DM.

I think you're screwed on proficiencies as well, as familiar don't inherit yours. You might be able to trade out the Weapon Finesse, but that would seem to put you again on the wrong side of "normal, unmodified" - as well as really screwing over the little guy's attack bonus.

You might be better off taking the bonded object and then taking Leadership to get yourself a wacky familiar. Or hoping that the DM will see it as silly and not game-breaking and just allow it.

The thing about familiars, as opposed to Animal Companions or Cohorts, is that you don't really get to customize them much. They pretty much just are what they are.

ETA: Familiars never gain feats. The special familiar feats can only be taken by swapping out their normal feats. Which does lend credence to the idea that you could swap out your squirrel's Weapon Finesse for another feat that it qualified for. But you'd be better of sucking up the proficiency penalty then changing your attack attribute from 19 to 2.

[avr]

I don't think the squirrel gets your proficiency feats either. Maybe it would be easier to take Improved Familiar and refluff the result as an anthropomorphic squirrel?

[mistformsquirrl]

Hrm, you both make good points. By RAI and RAW both it looks like this can't happen; and I don't want to do Leadership* - so that option isn't going to work.

However, you've given me an interesting alternative: Researching spells to make it happen. I'm a wizard with max ranks in spellcraft - surely I can research an improved version of Anthropomorphic Animal in the interim right? Something that will work on a Familiar and grant some proficiencies while we're at it. Probably be a higher level spell - but that's OK because I have quite a few levels between now, and when I could cast Permanency in the first place. (I'm suspecting I'll be 13th level by the time I can do this... I'm 6th at present so I have a looooong time to figure out precisely how.)

So that's probably the best route for this to take. May even have to research two separate spells, depending on GM preference.

*I love Leadership, and this suggestion actually gave me an idea for another character**, but I'm not sure if the DM would allow it, and even if they did, I'm not sure what I'd do with all the followers, as the character in question isn't really the sort most people would want to follow.

**I'm sure we've all heard of the werebear that rides a bear and summons bears bears and has a bear animal companion? Same idea, but with anthropomorphic awakened squirrels. Instead of throwing nuts, they shoot arrows and javelins! Also a solution for bringing an entire army into a dungeon with you - it's an army of very small creatures! Likely the character in question would be an anthropomorphic awakened squirrel him/herself - probably a druid. "Nature's Wrath baby! Squirrel power!"