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View Full Version : Pathfinder What's the most useful animal companion / familiar for this?


SangoProduction
2020-02-23, 03:29 AM
Important part of Companion Merger feat from SoP.

You may instead merge the animal companion or familiar with yourself, gaining the companion or familiar’s natural attacks (limited by the presence of suitable limbs), supernatural and extraordinary abilities, and movement speeds.

My first thought, without really checking anything would be the Pseudodragon, gaining its Bite and String (with poison), assuming you can justify a limb for the Sting, and 60ft good flight speed. Telepathy is also a universal supernatural trait which you could gain.
Which is pretty good for a feat. Of course, it's also contingent on having a Pseudodragon familiar to merge with, which implies you are probably not in the best build to use the natural attack. But even so, flight and telepathy are great. As well as protecting your familiar by merging it with you. I also have no idea if Pseudodragons can still be familiars in pathfinder.

After briefly looking at the list of animal companions, I found the Velociraptor, who can possess a wicked 5 attacks: 2 talons (1d8), bite (1d6), 2 claws (1d4). Bringing that in to a near-full-BAB build might be rather ridiculous.
Crocadile may be of some sort of use for a grapple build.
But the most interesting of the ones I checked out would have to be the dolphin, to gain 120ft blindsight, while being able to operate out of the sea. And of course, the odd swim speed, just for that one in a million case of there actually being water.
Gruftzwerg
2020-02-23, 04:16 AM
How about a Devil, Imp Consular (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/devil/imp) with improved familiar at 8th arcane caster lvl?

fast healing 2, DR 5/good or silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, telepathy 50ft, beast shape II
sounds fair to me^^
SangoProduction
2020-02-23, 04:19 AM
How about a Devil, Imp Consular (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/devil/imp) with improved familiar at 8th arcane caster lvl?

fast healing 2, DR 5/good or silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, telepathy 50ft, beast shape II
sounds fair to me^^

(Honest question) Do the defenses count as Ex abilities? If so, it'd be quite potent to transplant immunities over to characters.
The perfect flight at 50 ft/rnd is quite nice for a caster too.
Gruftzwerg
2020-02-23, 04:32 AM
(Honest question) Do the defenses count as Ex abilities? If so, it'd be quite potent to transplant immunities over to characters.
The perfect flight at 50 ft/rnd is quite nice for a caster too.

A special ability is either extraordinary (Ex), spell-like (Sp), or supernatural (Su).

Well I can't say if they are Ex or Su (since the page doesn't specify it in all chases. e.g. fast healing is called out as EX if you follow its link), but they are definitively not SLA (since nothing is related to spells and caster lvl which would indicate that).
EX and SU is covered by the ability you quoted. So that should solve that question to some degree at least.

edit: on a side note..
Magical (non SP/SLA) abilities are SU and mundane are EX. On some creatures like a devil it's hard to tell wether the defenses come from magical attribute or physical.
Kaiwen
2020-02-23, 12:45 PM
A special ability is either extraordinary (Ex), spell-like (Sp), or supernatural (Su).

Well I can't say if they are Ex or Su (since the page doesn't specify it in all chases. e.g. fast healing is called out as EX if you follow its link), but they are definitively not SLA (since nothing is related to spells and caster lvl which would indicate that).
EX and SU is covered by the ability you quoted. So that should solve that question to some degree at least.

edit: on a side note..
Magical (non SP/SLA) abilities are SU and mundane are EX. On some creatures like a devil it's hard to tell wether the defenses come from magical attribute or physical.

Abilities (but not special abilities) not explicitly marked as extraordinary, spell like, or supernatural are considered natural abilities, like an owl's flight and darkvision. As far as I can tell, very few things interact with them explicitly. If something doesn't appear under special abilities and it's unlabeled, you don't get it (from that clause)
Gruftzwerg
2020-02-23, 01:40 PM
Abilities (but not special abilities) not explicitly marked as extraordinary, spell like, or supernatural are considered natural abilities, like an owl's flight and darkvision. As far as I can tell, very few things interact with them explicitly. If something doesn't appear under special abilities and it's unlabeled, you don't get it (from that clause)

It would be nice if 3.5 and 3.PF would be always so clear with their info. But often these things are hidden...

3.5 Monster Manual Errata says that:

Damage Reduction is either extraordinary (Ex) or supernatural (Su). Use the following guidelines if it is not specified. ...

and PFSRD Special Abilities (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities/)
has it all..: DR, blind sight/sense,elemental resistances, immunities, darkvision, scent, invisibility, spellresistance... almost anything you can think of is a Special Ability in PF.
so it seems if you can confirm that it's not an SLA, you get it.
SangoProduction
2020-02-23, 04:53 PM
It would be nice if 3.5 and 3.PF would be always so clear with their info. But often these things are hidden...

3.5 Monster Manual Errata says that:


and PFSRD Special Abilities (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities/)
has it all..: DR, blind sight/sense,elemental resistances, immunities, darkvision, scent, invisibility, spellresistance... almost anything you can think of is a Special Ability in PF.
so it seems if you can confirm that it's not an SLA, you get it.

ah thats interesting