Is it worth it?

[Azoth]

I am working on a Çuoromancer Wizard build as a backup character. The archetype trades away the Wizard's Arcane Bond. I know that by biting the bullet, and spending three feats, I can get an improved familiar. The question I am debating is if it is worth it considering the Cuoromancer also trades away all of the Wizard's normal bonus feats?

I know it isn't necessary for a Wizard to have a familiar or bonded object to be in tip top shape, but I am very accustomed to having the extra action economy. I can breath a bit easier when I have a second round worth of actions to keep me safe.

[avr]

Depends. If you really like undead minions then the action economy of having more of them is nice. I wouldn't go for it, but I can see why some might.

[Florian]

The economy of actions is really not a problem with an undead-controlling build.
The hard thing rather is pushing the CL of Create Undead hard enough to be able to simply create some more level-appropriate minions at the time you actually need them.

[Azoth]

I am not too worried about pushing the CL for spells like Create Undead as the Dhampir FCB is +1/4CL for Necromancy spells. I should be able to have a respectable pool for when I need it.

The build is more Necrocaster than minion master in all honesty. Mainly debuffs and bfc.

The thought on the familiar was because it was not uncommon back in 3.5 to trade your familiar away for an ACF (looking at you Abrupt Jaunt), and then spend two feats to get it back and improve it into a UMD monkey. In Pathfinder this costs 1 more feat, but you do gain more feats in pathfinder than 3.5, so I was curious if the trade off was still worth it.

[Honest Tiefling]

I would ask your DM. I think this question relies a lot on the optimization of the group. If it is lower, you might be doing him a favor by not getting the familiar and adding more actions to keep track of, and allow others to shine as well.

[Azoth]

It wouldn't be the first time I have had a UMD familiar with this group. They joked when I had a faerie dragon on my shoulder it was a personal Predator cannon.

I understand how they can overshadow people, so I tend to give mine wands/items that cover gaps in the groups existing abilities.

(eg. No cleric? Wands of CLW, Remove disease, and lesser restoration. No real buffer? Good Hope, enlarge person, haste.)

Currently it would be wands of Summon Cacodaemon, Enervation, scrolls of Create Undead and a supply of soul gems.

[Barstro]

in 3.5 to trade your familiar away... and then spend two feats to get it back... In Pathfinder this costs 1 more feat, but you do gain more feats in pathfinder than 3.5, so I was curious if the trade off was still worth it.

It's still a net of two extra feats; either way you need to use the Improved Familiar Feat.

I personally don't see the reason to have so many pets, but I am not you.

OR, if your personal charisma is high enough and your DM isn't paying attention, you can try the following;

Pseudodragons will serve as familiars if they approve of a spellcaster's personality (and if the spellcaster takes the Improved Familiar feat), but often also bond with those whose company they enjoy or who have proven themselves true friends. A pseudodragon might follow another character in this manner for days, weeks, years, or even a lifetime if the creature is treated well, provided with food, and generally well-loved.
Hell, you don't even need to be a spellcaster.

EDIT; I've never tried this route, so I do not know if it would help in the UMD department.

[Azoth]

It won't help to befriend a creature. It has to be a familiar in this instance. The only reason it works as a UMD user is because it shares the character's ranks in UMD.

Generally, this trick works by grabbing an Improved Familiar that has the appropriate physical characteristics to use spell completion/spell trigger items, and a decent Charisma. Then it uses your ranks in UMD+ its charisma mod to reliably make the needed UMD check to activate the item.

So having a friendly Faerie Dragon doesn't cut it. For this build I would end up using an Imp anyway, but the principle is the same.

[CockroachTeaParty]

First response to this thread that popped into my head, without context:

"Let me work it."