2 questions (1. actions 2. familiars)

[Frosty]

1. When do actions refresh? At the beginning or at the end of my turn? If I use a swift action in my turn, I can't use an immediate action until the beginning of my next turn? Or can I use an immediate action during someone else's turn since it refreshed at the end of mine? If actions do refresh at the beginning of a turn, then I can't wait until right before the beginning of my turn, cast an immediate action, and still have one for this turn since it refreshed?

2. How can I get my familiar to learn a feat? I wish for my familiar to gain Flyby Attack so it can deliver touch attacks and then get out before the enemy relaliats the next turn.

[Nebo_]

1. I cbf thinking about this, I'm tired.

2. It can't get a permanent feat, but Heroics from SpC works.

[Reel On, Love]

1. When do actions refresh? At the beginning or at the end of my turn? If I use a swift action in my turn, I can't use an immediate action until the beginning of my next turn? Or can I use an immediate action during someone else's turn since it refreshed at the end of mine? If actions do refresh at the beginning of a turn, then I can't wait until right before the beginning of my turn, cast an immediate action, and still have one for this turn since it refreshed?
Beginning. If you use a swift action in your turn, you can use an immediate action whenever--it uses up your *next* turn's swift action.


How can I get my familiar to learn a feat? I wish for my familiar to gain Flyby Attack so it can deliver touch attacks and then get out before the enemy relaliats the next turn.
Taking Improved Familiar for an air elemental will work--it already has Flyby Attack.
Keep in mind Flyby Attacking creatures still provoke AoOs.

[Frosty]

Beginning. If you use a swift action in your turn, you can use an immediate action whenever--it uses up your *next* turn's swift action.

That doesn't make sense. If it refreshes at beginning of my turn, if I use a Swift action during my turn, I gotta wait until next turn to use an immediate action right?

And what book is Improved Familiar in?

[Douglas]

For the purpose of immediate actions, they refresh at the end of your turn. If you use a swift action during your turn, you can still use an immediate action at any point after your turn ends. If you use an immediate action at any point in a round other than during your turn, you cannot use a swift action in your next turn. If you use an immediate action during your turn, it is actually considered a swift action in that case.

[NEO|Phyte]

If you use an immediate action when its not your turn, it uses NEXT turn's swift action.

[Lazy Zomb]

Familiars don't get feats? They're given a hit dice number, and isn't that what feats are based off of?

[Frosty]

Unfortunately, they don't gain HD. It's wierd.

[Lazy Zomb]

But, they count as having the same hd as their master, so they kinda do... Oh well.

Huh, so my ferret familiar isn't suppossed to be the bane of my enemy's existence? Wierd...

[Tsotha-lanti]

Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master’s character level or the familiar’s normal HD total, whichever is higher.

"Gaining feats" is not an effect. Familiars don't gain HD, and don't gain feats (or attack bonus, or their own hit points, or skill points, or anything else); they're just treated as having X HD for the purposes of spells and other effects that work differently depending on your HD (such as cloudkill).

Nothing weird about it, really.

[Frosty]

What happens if my familiar gets drained of one level?

[Tsotha-lanti]

What happens if my familiar gets drained of one level?

That's an excellent question.

Unless the FAQ answers it, I'd rule that negative levels count as an effect based on HD, and your familiar will not drop dead until it has negative levels equal to your HD. Of course, it will probably be fairly useless by then, what with the -1 penalty to just about everything for each negative level. Now, once the requisite time has passed and your familiar starts rolling Fort saves to get rid of the negative levels, I think strictly a single failure will cause it to die (assuming it's only got the single REAL hit dice). I guess you could instead reduce your effective level in regards to the familiar; i.e. it loses powers and so on dependent on the master's level, is considered of lower HD, uses your BAB for a lower level, and so on.

It's a huge hassle, but losing levels always is.

[namo]

No, a familiar needs to lose (master's HD) levels before dying : negative levels explictily reference HD, so the familiar uses the master's HD. I would just keep the -1 penalties if the negative level stayed - but it's true that this area is outside the rules.

[senrath]

Of course, loosing levels wouldn't impact a familiar's HP, really, since their health is specified as being half (rounded down) of their master's HP.

And although familiars can't take feats, I'm pretty sure there are a few feats that you take that directly affect your familiar (Familiar Spell is the only one I can think of right now, but that's epic).

[Tsotha-lanti]

No, a familiar needs to lose (master's HD) levels before dying : negative levels explictily reference HD, so the familiar uses the master's HD. I would just keep the -1 penalties if the negative level stayed - but it's true that this area is outside the rules.

That's a very workable solution, easier to implement, but harsher on the penalties.

I hate losing levels as a concept; I don't think I've ever put a single PC through it, as a DM. It's too much of a hassle, and too much of a penalty (even though lower-level PCs catch up faster).