Item Familiars: Help me understand them!

[Endarire]

URL: https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm

Can a character have a normal familiar and item familiar simultaneously? I assume so since I noticed nothing to the contrary.

Can a master invest tanks into an item familiar retroactively? For example, if I take Item Familiar at level 9 instead of 3, do I get the same skill bonuses as if I had taken this feat at level 3?

Does an item familiar get its master’s skill ranks like a normal familiar?

Since it’s an intelligent item, can it use aid another?

Since I want to use this item familiar to model Dr. Stranger’s Cloak of Levitation, what are the best ways to handle that since I start at level 11? (I intend to play a Sor/Incantatrix.)

Thankee!

[Zaile]

URL: https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm

Can a character have a normal familiar and item familiar simultaneously? I assume so since I noticed nothing to the contrary.

Can a master invest tanks into an item familiar retroactively? For example, if I take Item Familiar at level 9 instead of 3, do I get the same skill bonuses as if I had taken this feat at level 3?

Does an item familiar get its master’s skill ranks like a normal familiar?

Since it’s an intelligent item, can it use aid another?

Since I want to use this item familiar to model Dr. Stranger’s Cloak of Levitation, what are the best ways to handle that since I start at level 11? (I intend to play a Sor/Incantatrix.)

Thankee!

Reading it over:

Yes, you can have both. Suggest the Obtain Familiar feat and trade away the class feature. The feat scales with caster level, not class.

No, "Whenever a character with an item familiar gains skill points" Gains means at level-up only or when you otherwise get more points.

Ranks: It does not look like it gets your skill ranks

Aid: I'd say it needs to be able to perform the physical task unaided for those skills and for mental skills it needs both ranks and the ability to communicate.

The cloak itself: I don't think there is a cloak of levitation, but work with your DM to create one using item creation rules. You can add things like protection (+1-5), displacement and upgrade the levitation to flight

[sleepyphoenixx]

Can a character have a normal familiar and item familiar simultaneously? I assume so since I noticed nothing to the contrary.
I don't see why not. It's not actually a familiar, despite the name. They're completely different things.


Can a master invest tanks into an item familiar retroactively? For example, if I take Item Familiar at level 9 instead of 3, do I get the same skill bonuses as if I had taken this feat at level 3?
Maybe according to the normal rules for retraining i'd say (definitely a matter of interpretation, but i'd allow it), otherwise no.


Does an item familiar get its master’s skill ranks like a normal familiar?
It's not actually a familiar, so no.


Since it’s an intelligent item, can it use aid another?
It can act, so yes.
But only on skills it can actually perform (knowledges, spot, listen, basically anything that doesn't require the ability to move).


Since I want to use this item familiar to model Dr. Stranger’s Cloak of Levitation, what are the best ways to handle that since I start at level 11? (I intend to play a Sor/Incantatrix.)
Ask your DM to let you refluff Boots of Levitation into a cloak. Make it your item familiar. I'm not really sure what you're asking for here tbh.:smallconfused:

Keep in mind though that cloaks do not benefit from the hp/hardness increase magical weapons and armor get.
And that cloth has hardness 0 and only 2hp. Afaik there is no RAW way to replace a destroyed item familiar.
So you'll probably at least want to cast Hardening and Augment Object on it, if not make it out of something tougher - i'd suggest dragonhide or something similar.

[shaikujin]

URL: https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm

Can a character have a normal familiar and item familiar simultaneously? I assume so since I noticed nothing to the contrary.


Yes. It doesn't say anything about replacing the class ability to gain normal familiars. Even non spell casters (who do not have familiars) can get an Item Familiar.





Can a master invest tanks into an item familiar retroactively? For example, if I take Item Familiar at level 9 instead of 3, do I get the same skill bonuses as if I had taken this feat at level 3?


You can't reassign skill ranks you have already assigned to your skills (ie from level 3 to level 8) into the item familiar.
However, if for example you next gain 10 skill points after you take this feat, you can invest all 10 skill points into the item familiar. It can be at your next level up when you gain both a feat slot to take this feat and also gain skill points.

Note that it says "Whenever a character with an item familiar gains skill points".
There are ways to get feats outside of levelling up though. And there are feats that grant skill points.





Does an item familiar get its master’s skill ranks like a normal familiar?


Nope, it is different from a normal familiar and there's nothing in the entry that suggests this. It does gain sapience when the owner reaches level 7, which means it has an intelligence. This means it can technically get skills. Plus, several of the Intelligent Item powers grant it 10 ranks in specific skills.





Since it’s an intelligent item, can it use aid another?


Yes. For example if it has 10 ranks in Spot, it can make a skill roll to aid another, to grant someone a bonus to their Spot check. Intelligent Items has Empathy at minimum, so communication is possible. For skills that require movement such as aiding in combat, it's hard to justify since it can't move by default. But getting it the Fly special ability would solve this issue.





Since I want to use this item familiar to model Dr. Stranger’s Cloak of Levitation, what are the best ways to handle that since I start at level 11? (I intend to play a Sor/Incantatrix.)

Thankee!

Maybe start by having the base item be a Gnome Battle Cloak (Races of Stone). (or a Duelling Cloak, from Dragon 335). Get it the "Fly" Weapon Special Ability.

To be more specific, Gnome Battle Cloak is considered a shield. Even though it cannot be used to do a shield bash, it can be used to make a disarm attack.

As long as it's considered a shield, we have this line from https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm

"A shield could be built that also acted as a magic weapon, but the cost of the enhancement bonus on attack rolls would need to be added into the cost of the shield and its enhancement bonus to AC."

Hence, you can give it both Weapon and Armor/Shield special abilities.