Questions about item familiars

[skunk3]

I am toying around with the idea of taking the Item Familiar feat for my new character in a new campaign I'm starting soon. I'll be a Wizard and I plan on having a ring as a familiar. What I want to clarify is:

1. Are item familiars still bound by the rule of having to be less than 200k GP in value?

2. You don't need the appropriate crafting skill to enhance the item, correct?

3. Is there any reason why I should NOT invest all of my skill ranks into the item due to the bonuses?

4. Do item familiars need line of sight for certain supernatural abilities, such as darkvision? (Say I am wearing gloves... would my item familiar's darkvision not work?)

5. Is it true that although item familiars can become intelligent, you don't really have to worry about their ego score challenging you on things?

6. Would it be better to make the item familiar something else, like a staff or a rod?

7. Is there any reason to not invest spell slots, life energy, and anything else mentioned into the ring? (Aside from being separated from it, of course.)

[Bronk]

I am toying around with the idea of taking the Item Familiar feat for my new character in a new campaign I'm starting soon. I'll be a Wizard and I plan on having a ring as a familiar. What I want to clarify is:

1. Are item familiars still bound by the rule of having to be less than 200k GP in value?

They are still bound... the only similar thing that doesn't have it's pre-epic price of magical enhancments capped at 200kgp is an ancestral relic. If you want, you can take the ancestral relic feat as well, and have it and the item familiar be the same object.



2. You don't need the appropriate crafting skill to enhance the item, correct?

Correct. You just need to either pay the market price of the enhancement in gold, which is what you want, or you have the option to spend the time, gold, and xp it would take to enchant it yourself the hard way, if you can.

If it were also an ancestral relic, you could also do this by trading in other magic items (at full price rather than half price).



3. Is there any reason why I should NOT invest all of my skill ranks into the item due to the bonuses?

It could be stolen, and if you go over the time limit, getting the skill ranks back is problematic.



4. Do item familiars need line of sight for certain supernatural abilities, such as darkvision? (Say I am wearing gloves... would my item familiar's darkvision not work?)

Yes, the rule says that it's senses work as if it were a creature. Other lesser or greater item powers would need line of sight and line of effect.



5. Is it true that although item familiars can become intelligent, you don't really have to worry about their ego score challenging you on things?

Yes, it bonds with you with no issues, and there won't be a problem unless you change alignment. The Ego checks are for if that alignment change ever happens, or if you're bonding with someone else's item familiar.



6. Would it be better to make the item familiar something else, like a staff or a rod?

As you noted, as a ring, it might be covered up by a glove, and it sounded as if you wanted it to be able to use it's full senses. If, however, you wanted to keep it a secret, keeping it under a glove would be a good way to keep it both secret and safe from being sundered or targeted by spells.

One set of special abilities that can be chosen are weapon/armor properties, which wouldn't be available for most rings.

Also, if you were to choose a magic weapon as your item familiar, it could also be your ancestral relic.

All that said, you don't have to wear a ring under a glove, and there is in fact a ring that doubles as a weapon: The 'Poison Ring' from Dragon Compendium. If you were to make your item familiar a +1 version of the ring, you could wear it, gain the benefits of weapon enchants such as eager and warning, etc., while still having both of your regular ring item spots open and leaving both your hands free.



7. Is there any reason to not invest spell slots, life energy, and anything else mentioned into the ring? (Aside from being separated from it, of course.)

Aside from losing it, there is a trade-off for the spell slots, because you gain lower level slots at the expense of your highest level slots.

Otherwise, it depends on if your fellow players get jealous of you gaining all more XP and all sorts of bonuses when they don't.

As for losing it or being separated from it for a certain amount of time, it's a bit weird. As written, you lose all the benefits, but if you get it back, you only get your XP back, not skill ranks or spell slots. However, if you get someone else's item familiar, you can make it yours, and then you gain all of benefits! So, if you lose it and find it again, you have two options: You can either talk to your DM about regaining all your abilities back, because their omission is probably an oversight, or you can temporarily trade with someone, then swap back.