Need help with understanding Item Familiar feat

[ghostfreak24]

Alright, could someone please help me better understand the feat item familiar and I have a few questions about it I would like to ask. Lets say for example I have a +5 dancing greatsword that came from a solar (which I do in my dm's god game) and I took the feat item familiar. Can I make that very same sword my familiar if I so choose? An if so, as it improves along side me, can it gain additional pluses to itself on top of the +5 it already has or how does that work exactly?


Thank you in advance for helping me with my question.

[Vaz]

Firstly, item Familiars are a variant rule. They're also pretty broken for the sake of a simple feat investment.

The rules can be found here; http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm

Now, assuming you're higher level, it's not so bad, but when you get it in early levels, or retrain those skills into the item familiar, it gets a bit ridiculous;

- Before 6th, you get Bonus Free Experience; 10% extra, simply for having the item
- You get to allocate any number of skill points that you gain at level up to your item familiar; these take effect as normal, but for every 3 ranks, you get +1 untyped bonus to a skill of your choice
- Invest a spell slot; gain a free spell slot 2 levels lower than the max you can already cast
- Your item is now an intelligent creature. While there are roleplaying circumstances with this, it rarely comes into effect, but it gives you free Alertness
- Free Item Special Abilities that don't count as the item magic item increase cost and/or can cast spells that don't take up the users action economy
- Increased Sapience for your item allows you to gain new Languages and tell you what people are saying
- Gain any Intelligent Item powers, such as free

If it's not something you're working with your DM with to get, it can get very broken. If you're DM is okay with having to work out the balance differences, it shouldn't even be a feat, it should be something that each and every character has access to in the party, rather than just 1.