Bigger familiar

[ivanbin]

Anyone know of a way to get a medium size familiar? I think imp familiar feat might give them, but are there any other sources? Like dragon mag?

[Rebel7284]

There are a bunch of Improved Familiars that are medium. Winter Wolf is available in Complete Warrior, I think, and is Large!
Requires: Improved Familiar feat.

There is also a suggestion in the DMG to allow large characters to have bigger familiars. The suggested partial list includes a bunch of medium creatures.
Requires: DM permission.

edit: Complete Warrior, page 100.

[Flickerdart]

If you're not attached to a familiar per se, there is an Unearthed Arcana alternate class feature that lets you trade your familiar away for a druid's animal companion (progressed at 1/2 your class level). A lot of options for Medium or even Large critters there.

[ivanbin]

I am specifically looking into polymorphyng my familiar into stuff.

[Troacctid]

Hippogriffs, howlers, and winter wolves are large size and accessible through Improved Familiar if you have +7 BAB and a minimum caster level of 7, per Complete Warrior. There are also a plethora of medium-size options--I think the lowest level one is a medium viper, available at CL 3 per Complete Scoundrel.

[Rebel7284]

I am specifically looking into polymorphyng my familiar into stuff.

Note that at HALF your hit points and a serious penalty if the familiar dies, having the familiar always on the front line isn't typically the best of ideas. Of course a high level wizard dedicating a bunch of spell slots to (shared) buffs can pull it off, but be careful. :)

[Coidzor]

Dragon Magazine opens up Badgers, Eagles, and Dogs which are Small sized as alternate familiars that one can have without any kind of feat cost or ACF tradeoff. Those are the largest familiars I'm aware of that one can have without being a Large-sized spellcaster or taking an Improved Familiar feat or making an Animal Companion/Special (Paladin) Mount into a Familiar with a Substitution Level or PrC.

I believe spellcasters who are naturally Large can have boars or something as standard familiars. The cheapest way to be Large I'm aware of is Half-Ogre or Half-Minotaur for +1 LA and the +0 LA Primordial Giant to have less abysmal mental ability scores. Provided you can actually get Primordial Giant applied.

[ivanbin]

Dragon Magazine opens up Badgers, Eagles, and Dogs which are Small sized
Ohh nice! Do you know which magazine my any chance?

Edit: Found em. Dragon 277

For the purpose of transforming his HD would be equal to my HD right? (Since it limits the forms he can take)

[Coidzor]

Ohh nice! Do you know which magazine my any chance?

Edit: Found em. Dragon 277

Ah, sorry, should've mentioned that from the get-go.


For the purpose of transforming his HD would be equal to my HD right? (Since it limits the forms he can take)

Should be. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#familiars)


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.

I believe Polymorph would count as an effect and its HD-dependency would relate to number of HD.

[Ruethgar]

Serpent Kindoms a dung snake is a powerful medium size familiar.

[Blackhawk748]

Note that at HALF your hit points and a serious penalty if the familiar dies, having the familiar always on the front line isn't typically the best of ideas. Of course a high level wizard dedicating a bunch of spell slots to (shared) buffs can pull it off, but be careful. :)

Half your HP can be an awful lot if you happen to be a gish and an elf with Faerie Mysteries initiate. Or a Walker in the Waste entering with Sorc. Granted you wont have all the cool Familiar stuff but it should have evasion at least.

[Coidzor]

Serpent Kindoms a dung snake is a powerful medium size familiar.

Does it require a certain race to access or is it one of the Improved Familiar options for that book?

[ivanbin]

Wow... looked it up and:

Dung snakes are among the creatures that a spellcaster can
take as a normal (not improved) familiar. A dung snake familiar
grants its master a +2 bonus on saving throws against disease.

https://images.encyclopediadramatica.se/thumb/2/28/Transparent_Trollface2.png/120px-Transparent_Trollface2.png
You mad DM?

[Inevitability]

Serpent Kindoms a dung snake is a powerful medium size familiar.

Somehow, I am not surprised.

[Coidzor]

Somehow, I am not surprised.

It is the book of brokenness, aye.

The beastie has Fast Healing 1 too, it seems

[Coidzor]

I was just looking here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=ecgmn87h8gm4i0u1a8tsa03uc0&topic=9001) and it seems that Stormwrack has Eel familiars that are Medium sized as well.