Urban Companion and improved familiar feat

[liquidformat]

am I correct in my belief that having a Ranger with Urban Companion, Sword of the Arcane Order feat, and lets say wizard 1 (just to remove the conversation away from abuse with SotAO issues) would allow you to take the Improved familiar feat correct? Also if the ranger also uses the Shooting Star ACFs he could get early familiar access due to his bloated arcane spell caster level?

[sleepyphoenixx]

Urban Companion is not technically a familiar (even if it works almost exactly like one), so by RAW it doesn't qualify you for Improved Familiar.
There are rules for Virtual Feats - class features or special abilities qualifying as a prerequisite feat - but they're 3.0 (MotW p.20 has the rule) and require the feature in question to be exactly like the feat or ability it replaces, so Urban Companion wouldn't qualify anyway. I'm not aware of anything similar in 3.5.

As for the "bloated" caster level, it's either the sum of your ranger and wizard class levels (SotAO) or half your ranger level +2 + your wizard level (Shooting Star), so at best you'd be getting a familiar at the same level a single-classed wizard would, not early access.

[Doctor Despair]

am I correct in my belief that having a Ranger with Urban Companion, Sword of the Arcane Order feat, and lets say wizard 1 (just to remove the conversation away from abuse with SotAO issues) would allow you to take the Improved familiar feat correct? Also if the ranger also uses the Shooting Star ACFs he could get early familiar access due to his bloated arcane spell caster level?

Masters of the Wild, p. 20, tells us:


If a character has a class feature or special ability that exactly duplicates the effects of a feat, then he or she can use that “virtual feat” as a prerequisite for other feats, as well as prestige classes, and so forth. [...] If the character ever loses the virtual prerequisite, he or she also loses access to any feats or other benefits acquired through its existence. For example, a ranger who wears armor heavier than light loses access to the virtual feats noted above, and thereby to Greater Two-Weapon Fighting as well. Acquiring a virtual feat does not give a character access to its prerequisites.

Does Urban Companion exactly duplicate the effects of Summon Familiar? Not exactly -- it does that and more. Does that mean we can't use it to fulfill the prerequisite for Improved Familiar? Maybe; that's up to DM fiat. As you included a level of wizard, however, you can summon a familiar through that class feature, too.

SotAO allows you to stack your ranger levels with your wizard levels to determine your wizard (arcane) caster level, so that requirement is fine.

I don't think Shooting Star works the way you want it to, though. It grants this ability:


Improved Spellcasting (Ex): When casting ranger spells, a Shooting Star can treat her caster level as equal to one-half her ranger level +2. If she also has arcane spellcasting ability from another class, she can add her caster level from that class to this value to determine her caster level.

Emphasis mine. It only applies to your caster level for ranger spells, and only when casting ranger spells. It shouldn't help us summon a higher-caster-level familiar.

[liquidformat]

Urban Companion is not technically a familiar (even if it works almost exactly like one), so by RAW it doesn't qualify you for Improved Familiar.
There are rules for Virtual Feats - class features or special abilities qualifying as a prerequisite feat - but they're 3.0 (MotW p.20 has the rule) and require the feature in question to be exactly like the feat or ability it replaces, so Urban Companion wouldn't qualify anyway. I'm not aware of anything similar in 3.5.

As for the "bloated" caster level, it's either the sum of your ranger and wizard class levels (SotAO) or half your ranger level +2 + your wizard level (Shooting Star), so at best you'd be getting a familiar at the same level a single-classed wizard would, not early access.

But the ACF says 'This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below." the only thing you are missing for the Improved Familiar feat is an Arcane Caster Level which is covered by SotAO. You are correct about SotAO plus Shooting star, they do not stack for that purpose I must have been thinking of something else.

edit: So what I was thinking of is the fact that you have ranger caster level bloat with SotAO plus Shooting star. Your arcane caster level is your wizard level plus your ranger level and your ranger caster level is 1/2 ranger caster level + your arcane caster level +2. So you Ranger caster level is your Ranger level +1/2 Ranger level + 2 + any wizard/other arcane caster levels you have. But yes that doesn't help you with boosting your arcane caster level above your ranger level.

[Gorthawar]

I was under the impression that the feat is actually looking at levels in a class that casts arcane spells. Otherwise improved familiar would be quite poor on a hexblade for example at least without an additional feat tax for practiced spellcaster.

[liquidformat]

I was under the impression that the feat is actually looking at levels in a class that casts arcane spells. Otherwise improved familiar would be quite poor on a hexblade for example at least without an additional feat tax for practiced spellcaster.

It is based on Caster level and that does cause issues with Hexblade as its caster level is 1/2 its level...

[sleepyphoenixx]

But the ACF says 'This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below." the only thing you are missing for the Improved Familiar feat is an Arcane Caster Level which is covered by SotAO. You are correct about SotAO plus Shooting star, they do not stack for that purpose I must have been thinking of something else.
Up to your DM really, but just because it's identical doesn't mean it's the same thing. The feature is named Urban Companion, not Familiar.


edit: So what I was thinking of is the fact that you have ranger caster level bloat with SotAO plus Shooting star. Your arcane caster level is your wizard level plus your ranger level and your ranger caster level is 1/2 ranger caster level + your arcane caster level +2. So you Ranger caster level is your Ranger level +1/2 Ranger level + 2 + any wizard/other arcane caster levels you have. But yes that doesn't help you with boosting your arcane caster level above your ranger level.
It's also only when casting ranger spells, so it doesn't boost your Urban Companion either.


It is based on Caster level and that does cause issues with Hexblade as its caster level is 1/2 its level...

I think the only version of the feat based on Caster Level is from Complete Scoundrel.
For all the others (there's 8 or 9 i think) depending on your source it's either "Arcane Spellcaster Level" or simply "Level". The version in Complete Warrior also uses BAB iirc.