Shadow_in_the_Mist
2017-03-08, 05:16 PM
Find Familiar. We all remember this spell, or class feature, from previous editions. In theory, it was an awesome bit of flavor text for a wizard character, allowing you to have something iconically fantastical like a miniature dragon or a little sprite clinging to your shoulder, or tapping into real-world beliefs by having an animal that possessed supernatural powers bound to you. In practice... well, there were issues, but nonetheless, D&D keeps trying.
Familiars have been around in every edition. But, their powers have fluctuated. This led to 3rd edition coming up with the Feat of "Improved Familiar", which allowed for more powerful creatures to be taken depending on the character's level and alignment. This list kept expanding, and so long as the creature was within CR 2 (and there was at least one CR 3 Improved Familiar), there was quite a bit of variety. Complete Martial even introduced the idea of steed-familiars; familiars large enough that you could ride them, like Worgs and Hippogriffs. As for Pathfinder... well, I believe the link speaks for itself: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/improved-familiar/
Whilst 5th edition has brought back the Find Familiar feat, it's not yet brought anything really like Improved Familiar, bar the slightly tougher familiar granted for free to Warlocks who take the Pact of the Chain. And, I think that's a shame. So, I'd like to discuss with folks ideas on how to convert Improved Familiar into a feat fit for 5th edition.
The goal for this project is a feat which allows a caster to use Find Familiar to add tougher forms of Familiar to their options, as well as to allow them to use those familiars in combat.
The major complication with this project is that it treads on the toes of the Pact of the Chain. What I want, optimally, is for this feat to also grant Chain-Warlocks some further beef, so they can maintain their strength, but that is a distinctly secondary objective. Far as I'm concerned, it's okay if the first draft of the feat basically lets Wizards get the Chain-Lock class feature, because they're still spending one of the rare and DM-excluded feat slots on something the Warlock gets for free.
Tertiary objectives for this project would be to adapt/convert other Improved Familiar monsters that don't yet have 5e mechanics. Mostly, I'm thinking of Pathfinder critters like the Pipefox, Pooka, Al'miraj, etc; I may prefer 5e mechanically, but PF has many more interesting monsters.
As an addendum, I don't know if there's a great deal of other "familiar type-modding" feats out there, like the Stitched Flesh Familiar (turn your ordinary familiar into a Flesh Golem version of itself), but if there are, I'd also like to cover and convert them as part of this project.
Familiars have been around in every edition. But, their powers have fluctuated. This led to 3rd edition coming up with the Feat of "Improved Familiar", which allowed for more powerful creatures to be taken depending on the character's level and alignment. This list kept expanding, and so long as the creature was within CR 2 (and there was at least one CR 3 Improved Familiar), there was quite a bit of variety. Complete Martial even introduced the idea of steed-familiars; familiars large enough that you could ride them, like Worgs and Hippogriffs. As for Pathfinder... well, I believe the link speaks for itself: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/improved-familiar/
Whilst 5th edition has brought back the Find Familiar feat, it's not yet brought anything really like Improved Familiar, bar the slightly tougher familiar granted for free to Warlocks who take the Pact of the Chain. And, I think that's a shame. So, I'd like to discuss with folks ideas on how to convert Improved Familiar into a feat fit for 5th edition.
The goal for this project is a feat which allows a caster to use Find Familiar to add tougher forms of Familiar to their options, as well as to allow them to use those familiars in combat.
The major complication with this project is that it treads on the toes of the Pact of the Chain. What I want, optimally, is for this feat to also grant Chain-Warlocks some further beef, so they can maintain their strength, but that is a distinctly secondary objective. Far as I'm concerned, it's okay if the first draft of the feat basically lets Wizards get the Chain-Lock class feature, because they're still spending one of the rare and DM-excluded feat slots on something the Warlock gets for free.
Tertiary objectives for this project would be to adapt/convert other Improved Familiar monsters that don't yet have 5e mechanics. Mostly, I'm thinking of Pathfinder critters like the Pipefox, Pooka, Al'miraj, etc; I may prefer 5e mechanically, but PF has many more interesting monsters.
As an addendum, I don't know if there's a great deal of other "familiar type-modding" feats out there, like the Stitched Flesh Familiar (turn your ordinary familiar into a Flesh Golem version of itself), but if there are, I'd also like to cover and convert them as part of this project.