Creating a familiar

[montoya]

We are having a spirited debate with my group about familiars. Since our wizard never made one at PC creation we are allowing him now (at level 19) to create one. He does not have improved familiar, but he wants to take a dire badger as his familiar. Is this allowed? Also what about an animal that is not on the short list for familiar like a regular badger? How does one determine the bonus the familiar grants?

[Troacctid]

You can summon a familiar at any level, but you do have to summon it from the list of allowed familiars. You can't just make up your own, unless you have special DM permission.

[frogglesmash]

A wizard can obtain a familiar. Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp.
Nowhere does this say it must be done at first level.
Edit: Is it just me or is that 100gp cost ignored/forgotten in most campaigns?

[montoya]

Nowhere does this say it must be done at first level.
Edit: Is it just me or is that 100gp cost ignored/forgotten in most campaigns?

Thats fine, The issue is what kind of familiar. He swears he's allowed a dire badger. We agreed to let him have a normal badger even though its not on the list. We decided to use the weasel's bonus for the badger. But he swears he's allowed a dire animal, or he's thinking of a Mink.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Thats fine, The issue is what kind of familiar. He swears he's allowed a dire badger. We agreed to let him have a normal badger even though its not on the list. We decided to use the weasel's bonus for the badger. But he swears he's allowed a dire animal, or he's thinking of a Mink.

He's allowed what's on the list. There are additions to the list in the various books, but there's still a list - generally tiny animals.
You can't just choose whatever you want, and dire animals aren't on any familiar list.

There's a fairly complete list of allowed familiars in this Familiar Handbook (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=ed77eddvj8okigdftte7l3m140&topic=9955).

[frogglesmash]

Thats fine, The issue is what kind of familiar. He swears he's allowed a dire badger. We agreed to let him have a normal badger even though its not on the list. We decided to use the weasel's bonus for the badger. But he swears he's allowed a dire animal, or he's thinking of a Mink.

I mean, it doesn't matter how hard he swears it, if the rules say he can't have a dire badger he can't have a dire badger ( by RAW). He might be confusing familiars with animal companions.

[Troacctid]

Badgers are a legal familiar choice, but they require Improved Familiar and a caster level of 3rd, per Complete Scoundrel. Dire badgers are not available as familiars; however, a Wizard or Sorcerer of 8th level or higher could take one as an animal companion, if she were using that alternate class feature.

[montoya]

I mean, it doesn't matter how hard he swears it, if the rules say he can't have a dire badger he can't have a dire badger ( by RAW). He might be confusing familiars with animal companions.

Yes that could be it.

[Deadline]

He might be confusing familiars with animal companions.

This is probably the case. There is one Dire animal I know of on a "regular" familiar list. The Dire Rat is on the list of familiars for Huge or Bigger Masters on page 203 of the DMG.

[montoya]

OK I pointed him to this thread, showed him an index of all familiars from the various books. I think this argument is finally over after 3 weeks.

[Thurbane]

You can summon a familiar at any level, but you do have to summon it from the list of allowed familiars. You can't just make up your own, unless you have special DM permission.

This. If the player wanted to blow a feat on Improved Familiar, I couldn't really see an issue with a Dire Badger being OP. It's less powerful than the alternate Improved Familiars listed in Complete Warrior.

The DMG also has some optional rules for allowing different (Improved) Familiars by creature type - so something like a Large Giant caster may be allowed to have a Dire Badger without needing Improved Familiar (going from memory).

Basically, RAW answer? No. But definitely within DM fiat/optional rule territory.

[Bohandas]

Is he more insistent on the dire part or the badger part? If it's the dire part give him a regular rat familiar and call it a "dire mouse"

[Bronk]

Is he more insistent on the dire part or the badger part? If it's the dire part give him a regular rat familiar and call it a "dire mouse"

Related to this, there's an item in Dragon 291 called the 'warfox harness' that turns a regular fox into a dire fox. Maybe your wizard can create or find something similar for badgers.

[Gallowglass]

Aren't you all 19th level? Who cares! Let him have a dire badger. If you all find a single meaningful game difference between a 19th level wizard having a badger or a dire badger as a familiar at 19th level I would be astounded. At that point, any familiar is just fluff text. "Well the Balor army chewed though the seven planar bound exemplars that I brought, but thank god my dire badger is here to keep me safe." Lol.

*warning: this post is just the poster's opinion, not an attempt to state an immutable fact. Any reply to this post arguing how wrong poster is from a RAW perspective is a waste of time and effort and reflects poorly on your life's choices.*