Familiars

[stewstew5]

For feats like Augment Summoning, would familiars and/or animal companions be considered summoned creatures?

[DeTess]

Animal companions are not summoned, so they don't benefit from that feat. I'm not sure about familiars though, I'd have to check the wording of the class feature.

[Tiri]

Each creature you conjure with any summon spell gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and Constitution for the duration of the spell that summoned it.

As seen above, Augment Summoning only works with summon spells. Familiars are not summoned using spells, so they are unaffected by the feat.

[DrMotives]

No, none of the class feature pets in core are summoned. If that were the case, you could dispel a wizard's familiar or a paladin's mount. Although the paladin's mount at least fluff-wise is summoned from the Celestial realms, this isn't a summoning effect, per game mechanics.

[stewstew5]

Further questions, would claws be considered a finesse (dexterity) or brute (strength) weapon?

[stewstew5]

No, none of the class feature pets in core are summoned. If that were the case, you could dispel a wizard's familiar or a paladin's mount. Although the paladin's mount at least fluff-wise is summoned from the Celestial realms, this isn't a summoning effect, per game mechanics.


Counter argument, you could dispell it while it was being summoned but not thereafter

[Tiri]

Further questions, would claws be considered a finesse (dexterity) or brute (strength) weapon?

All natural weapons are light weapons, so you can take Weapon Finesse to apply your Dexterity modifier to attack rolls with them. Otherwise, you use your Strength modifier, as is the default.


Counter argument, you could dispell it while it was being summoned but not thereafterNo. You can only use Dispel Magic to counterspell spells. Neither the summoning of a familiar nor the calling of a paladin's mount involves spells.

[Buufreak]

Further questions, would claws be considered a finesse (dexterity) or brute (strength) weapon?

Assuming "claws" to be a natural attack of the familiar, and all natural weapons are considered light for the purposes of things like offhand and weapon finesse, I am guessing the first.

Although I have never heard the terms of finesse or brute weapons before, so YMMV.


Counter argument, you could dispell it while it was being summoned but not thereafter

Yea, but they aren't summoned, so you can't.

[Tiri]

Yea, but they aren't summoned, so you can't.

Well, technically, a familiar is summoned, but not in the traditional sense of 'with a spell'.

[Âmesang]

Doesn't help player confusion that the ability is called, "summon familiar." :smalltongue:

(I'm not sure if it's flavor, mechanics, or both, but I recall that the act was more akin to capturing a regular beast and then performing a ritual that bound it to you.)

[Tiri]

Doesn't help player confusion that the ability is called, "summon familiar." :smalltongue:

(I'm not sure if it's flavor, mechanics, or both, but I recall that the act was more akin to capturing a regular beast and then performing a ritual that bound it to you.)

It's just someone's custom flavor. In the actual ability, where the familiar comes from is never stated.

[Psyren]

Counter argument, you could dispell it while it was being summoned but not thereafter

No - that would require a counterspell, but you can't counterspell SLAs.

(I don't think it's even a SLA at any rate, but if it is one, it's Instantaneous.)

[Tiri]

No - that would require a counterspell, but you can't counterspell SLAs.

(I don't think it's even a SLA at any rate, but if it is one, it's Instantaneous.)

A paladin's ability to summon his mount is an SLA. A wizard's ability to summon a familiar is not.