Imps

[Shadowscale]

After noticing in core rulebook one that they are not one of the monsters in the summon monster table, I was curious about these little buggers.

Is it possible to receive an imp as a familiar or follower? I swear I remember finding a feat or class feature somewhere, but it may of been third party.

[John Longarrow]

Improved Familiar gets you one, assuming you are close enough in alignment.

[ShurikVch]

Also:
Diabolist PrC (BoVD) at 2nd level
Nar Demonbinder PrC (UE) at 1st level
Corrupter - NE paladin variant (Dr #312) at 5th level
Thaumaturgist PrC can have Imp as Planar Cohort

[The Viscount]

Dread Necromancers also have access to Imps.

[Urpriest]

Plus, you can use Lesser Planar Binding on them to get them the same way you'd get any other long-ish term outsider minion.

Edit:


Thaumaturgist PrC can have Imp as Planar Cohort

No they can't Imps have LA --.

[ShurikVch]

Edit:
No they can't Imps have LA --. According to racial class in Savage Species, Imp's LA is +4

[Deadline]

According to racial class in Savage Species, Imp's LA is +4

They used to in 3.0 (Savage Species is a 3.0 book). The 3.5 Monster Manual lists them as LA -, and therefore unsuitable for use as a character (or cohort).

[Captnq]

Rough draft of my familiar handbook (http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1396111785). It's 75% done. But got everything you need about imps.
IMP, CHOLERIC
IMP, MELANCHOLIC
IMP, PHLEGMATIC
IMP, SANGUINE
IMP, STANDARD
Have fun.

[ShurikVch]

No they can't Imps have LA --.
Who said anything about LA?
Planar cohort (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/thaumaturgist.htm#planarCohort) CF:

Planar Cohort

A 5th-level thaumaturgist can use any of the planar ally (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/planarAlly.htm) spells to call a creature to act as his cohort. The called creature serves loyally and well as long as the thaumaturgist continues to advance a cause important to the creature.

To call a planar cohort, the thaumaturgist must cast the relevant spell, paying the XP costs normally. It takes an offering of 1,000 gp × the HD of the creature to convince it to serve as a planar cohort, and the improved ally class feature can’t be used to reduce or eliminate this cost. The planar cohort can’t have more Hit Dice than the thaumaturgist has, and must have an ECL no higher than the thaumaturgist’s character level -2.

A thaumaturgist can have only one planar cohort at a time, but he can continue to make agreements with other called creatures normally. A planar cohort replaces a thaumaturgist’s existing cohort, if he has one by virtue of the Leadership feat. As I see, LA not mentioned.

[Deadline]

Who said anything about LA?
Planar cohort (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/thaumaturgist.htm#planarCohort) CF:
As I see, LA not mentioned.

It's stealthy, but it's there:


The planar cohort can’t have more Hit Dice than the thaumaturgist has, and must have an ECL no higher than the thaumaturgist’s character level -2.

You determine ECL by adding a creatures levels, hit dice, and LA together. LA - is not a number. You can't add it in, you can't treat it as a 0, and you can't ignore it. So you can't determine ECL without it.

[ShurikVch]

You determine ECL by adding a creatures levels, hit dice, and LA together. LA - is not a number. You can't add it in, you can't treat it as a 0, and you can't ignore it. So you can't determine ECL without it. In this case, LA "-" count as LA +0
Come on, most elementals and outsiders have it
In one book, thaumaturgist have a marilith cohort. What's her ECL? :smallconfused:
Mention of ECL there is just to prevent attempts to get [all good templates] Imp of Doom

[Deadline]

In this case, LA "-" count as LA +0

No, it really doesn't. You can feel free to houserule as you please, of course, but treating LA "-" as LA +0 is incorrect by the rules.

Example characters are wrong all the time (what book has a character listed with a Marilith as a Cohort?). Also, there is nothing stopping someone from planar binding and getting services out of an LA "-" creature, you just can't have one as a cohort.

[ShurikVch]

They used to in 3.0 (Savage Species is a 3.0 book). 3.0 hadn't LA, it's a 3.5 thing. And Savage Species itself is more like 3.25


(what book has a character listed with a Marilith as a Cohort?) Elder Evils

Still, even if you can't take standard Imp as cohort for LA issues, it's still possible to take Bog Imp from HoH - 4 HD, LA +5
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/hoh_gallery/91991.jpg
or Vapor Imp from Bestiary of Krynn - 2 HD, LA +3 (cohort)
Unfortunately, both of them haven't fly speed

[Shadowscale]

I am liking the use of the improved familiar feat, I'd assume the imp either kills your current familiar or you can only take the feat when you are without a current one.

That Corrupter class does seem very fun to play however, how is it in terms of balance, and how would one be optimized?

[Urpriest]

3.0 hadn't LA, it's a 3.5 thing. And Savage Species itself is more like 3.25

Elder Evils

3.0 had LA because Savage Species had LA and Savage Species was 3.0. While it was on the borderline, most monsters were changed in the changeover, which is why the 3.5 MM has new LA listings.

If it's a character from Elder Evils then it's an NPC, which means it shouldn't have a cohort anyway since giving an NPC a cohort has no mechanical effect. So regardless there's a mistake there.


I am liking the use of the improved familiar feat, I'd assume the imp either kills your current familiar or you can only take the feat when you are without a current one.


Yeah, this is the one sticking point. Technically, using the Improved Familiar feat requires dismissing your old familiar, which means you can't get your new familiar for a year and a day. However, most DMs see this as a dysfunction and allow you to skip the waiting time and XP loss to switch familiars.

[Deadline]

3.0 hadn't LA, it's a 3.5 thing. And Savage Species itself is more like 3.25

I can't seem to find my 3.0 copy of the MM, but it's a moot point. Savage Species is an older source than the 3.5 MM, and the MM updates the Imp to LA "-".

If you wanted to extrapolate the LA, you could, easily, but that would be a house rule.

But you can, by the rules, get an Imp as a familiar. You could also Lesser Planar Bind one on the cheap to serve you for a long time. So it's not as thought you can't get one on your side, you just need to be creative. :smalltongue:

[ShurikVch]

That Corrupter class does seem very fun to play however, how is it in terms of balance, and how would one be optimized? You can check this class there (http://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/alternate/corrupter.shtml).

[Shadowscale]

You can check this class there (http://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/alternate/corrupter.shtml).

Thank you, this class looks very interesting. Seems like it'd be a really fun class to play. Do you know where the fallen soul spell the class grants can be found? I'm not aware of the specific book.

[ShurikVch]

Thank you, this class looks very interesting. Seems like it'd be a really fun class to play. Do you know where the fallen soul spell the class grants can be found? I'm not aware of the specific book. It's from the very same Dragon #312
You can try to google "Complete Dragon Magazine 3.5 Spells"