Xuldarinar
2016-11-18, 02:14 PM
Really, as the title. Lets discuss these things.
Shaman Familiars and Improved Familiar: Here we have a old debate, whether the feat is viable for them. Lets look at the relevant text.
By communing with the incredible powers of her spirit, the shaman forges a cherished bond with one specific servant of that spirit—known as a spirit animal. A spirit animal is a creature chosen by a shaman to serve as a conduit, allowing her to more fully access the magic of her spirit on a daily basis. The shaman's spirit animal also grants her special powers. This ability uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except as noted below.
A shaman uses her level as her effective wizard level when determining the abilities of her spirit animal. A shaman can select any familiar available to wizards to serve as her spirit animal, although her spirit animal is augmented by the power of her chosen spirit. Once selected, the spirit animal cannot be changed. Although a shaman's spirit animal uses the statistics of a specific animal, it is treated as an outsider with the native subtype for the purposes of spells and abilities that affect it.
Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack with shaman levels for the purpose of determining any spirit animal abilities that depend on the shaman's level. If a shaman possesses such levels in other classes, her spirit animal always uses the shaman rules for spirit animals, not those used by familiars of other classes (such as witches, wizards, or sorcerers with the arcane bloodline). If the shaman has witch levels, her spirit animal also serves as the conduit to her patron and stores her witch spells. The shaman's spirit animal is treated as a familiar for the purposes of all spells, effects, and abilities that affect familiars.
If a spirit animal is lost or dies, it can be replaced after 24 hours through a special ritual that consumes material components worth 500 gp per shaman level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete. The new spirit animal must be of the same sort of creature as the previous one.
Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below).
Benefit: When choosing a familiar, the creatures listed here are also available to you. You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil).
Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).
Now that we have that, lets look.
This ability uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except as noted below.: Ok. So far so good. Often though, level requirements are brought up and the requirements are listed as arcane spellcaster level-
A shaman uses her level as her effective wizard level when determining the abilities of her spirit animal.; It might be a stretch, but I think this passage works to that end. If not, kills the entire discussion.
Once selected, the spirit animal cannot be changed.; This is where the problem enters. How do you get an improved familiar without changing what your spirit animal is?
I have for you a list.
Beheaded/Isitoq: It is a stretch, but if your base familiar is large enough, you could argue that upon their death you took their head/eye and made that your familiar.
Cacodaemon: Your familiar was a daemon all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such a daemon could transform into, such as a lizard.
Cassisian: Your familiar was an angel all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such an angel could transform into, such as a dove.
Celestial/Entropic/Fiendish/Resolute Familiar: Your familiar has taken on such a template, touched by such energies. If paladins can do it with their horses..
Clockwork Familiar/Homunculus: A stretch, but hear me out; You've lost your familiar and instead of calling another the more traditional route, you decide to construct one in their likeness.
Cythnigot: You montser! Actually, this one works the best out of any. You had a familiar and you infused it with cythnigot spores.
Espil: Your familiar was a sahkil all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar such a sahkil could transform into, such as a cat.
Imp: Your familiar was a devil all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a devil could transform into, such as a raven.
Impundulu: Your familiar was an impundulu all along, only now having sort of revealed its true nature. Only works with familiar forms an imp or quasit can take on.
Nosoi: Your familiar was a psychopomp all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such a psychopomp could transform into, such as a raven.
Quasit: Your familiar was a demon all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a demon could transform into, such as a bat.
Void Worm: Your familiar was a protean all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a protean could transform into, which thankfully is just about any.
Familiar Archetypes: Another subject matter to address. In short there are only two incompatible familiar archetypes; Figment and school familiar.
With all that out of the way, what do you think? Am I wrong in any place on this?
What sort of combination would you use for yourself on a shaman?
Shaman Familiars and Improved Familiar: Here we have a old debate, whether the feat is viable for them. Lets look at the relevant text.
By communing with the incredible powers of her spirit, the shaman forges a cherished bond with one specific servant of that spirit—known as a spirit animal. A spirit animal is a creature chosen by a shaman to serve as a conduit, allowing her to more fully access the magic of her spirit on a daily basis. The shaman's spirit animal also grants her special powers. This ability uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except as noted below.
A shaman uses her level as her effective wizard level when determining the abilities of her spirit animal. A shaman can select any familiar available to wizards to serve as her spirit animal, although her spirit animal is augmented by the power of her chosen spirit. Once selected, the spirit animal cannot be changed. Although a shaman's spirit animal uses the statistics of a specific animal, it is treated as an outsider with the native subtype for the purposes of spells and abilities that affect it.
Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack with shaman levels for the purpose of determining any spirit animal abilities that depend on the shaman's level. If a shaman possesses such levels in other classes, her spirit animal always uses the shaman rules for spirit animals, not those used by familiars of other classes (such as witches, wizards, or sorcerers with the arcane bloodline). If the shaman has witch levels, her spirit animal also serves as the conduit to her patron and stores her witch spells. The shaman's spirit animal is treated as a familiar for the purposes of all spells, effects, and abilities that affect familiars.
If a spirit animal is lost or dies, it can be replaced after 24 hours through a special ritual that consumes material components worth 500 gp per shaman level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete. The new spirit animal must be of the same sort of creature as the previous one.
Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below).
Benefit: When choosing a familiar, the creatures listed here are also available to you. You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil).
Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).
Now that we have that, lets look.
This ability uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except as noted below.: Ok. So far so good. Often though, level requirements are brought up and the requirements are listed as arcane spellcaster level-
A shaman uses her level as her effective wizard level when determining the abilities of her spirit animal.; It might be a stretch, but I think this passage works to that end. If not, kills the entire discussion.
Once selected, the spirit animal cannot be changed.; This is where the problem enters. How do you get an improved familiar without changing what your spirit animal is?
I have for you a list.
Beheaded/Isitoq: It is a stretch, but if your base familiar is large enough, you could argue that upon their death you took their head/eye and made that your familiar.
Cacodaemon: Your familiar was a daemon all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such a daemon could transform into, such as a lizard.
Cassisian: Your familiar was an angel all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such an angel could transform into, such as a dove.
Celestial/Entropic/Fiendish/Resolute Familiar: Your familiar has taken on such a template, touched by such energies. If paladins can do it with their horses..
Clockwork Familiar/Homunculus: A stretch, but hear me out; You've lost your familiar and instead of calling another the more traditional route, you decide to construct one in their likeness.
Cythnigot: You montser! Actually, this one works the best out of any. You had a familiar and you infused it with cythnigot spores.
Espil: Your familiar was a sahkil all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar such a sahkil could transform into, such as a cat.
Imp: Your familiar was a devil all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a devil could transform into, such as a raven.
Impundulu: Your familiar was an impundulu all along, only now having sort of revealed its true nature. Only works with familiar forms an imp or quasit can take on.
Nosoi: Your familiar was a psychopomp all along, only now having revealed its true nature. Only works with a familiar that such a psychopomp could transform into, such as a raven.
Quasit: Your familiar was a demon all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a demon could transform into, such as a bat.
Void Worm: Your familiar was a protean all along, only now having revealed its nature. Only works with a familiar that such a protean could transform into, which thankfully is just about any.
Familiar Archetypes: Another subject matter to address. In short there are only two incompatible familiar archetypes; Figment and school familiar.
With all that out of the way, what do you think? Am I wrong in any place on this?
What sort of combination would you use for yourself on a shaman?