Spell Resistance and a Companion Familiar

[Gan The Grey]

Okay, here's what I've got.

Wizard 1/Human Paragon 3/Druid 3/Arcane Hierophant 3.

Wizard - Focused Specialist Trans, Banned Illusion, Necro, and Evo

Premise - Small human (reduce person permanent) mounted on a riding dog (who is my companion familiar via Arcane Hierophant) The dog does most of the fighting, with me on his back buffing the crap out of him. Next level I get Polymorph...Its about to get REAL!

Problem: Took the Exalted Animal Companion feat in BoED to make him Celestial. This grants him a spell resistance equal to his HD + 5. And just about every buff spell I can cast is affected by spell resistance.

The Spell Resistance entry and the descriptive text of a spell description tell you whether spell resistance protects creatures from the spell. In many cases, spell resistance applies only when a resistant creature is targeted by the spell, not when a resistant creature encounters a spell that is already in place.

As I see it, when I share a spell with him, I am not targeting him, so it should still affect him as normal.

OR

As my Companion Familiar functions as both animal companion and familiar, according to the spell resistance description gained from being a familiar,

If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar’s spell resistance.

This gives me the impression that only other spellcasters are affected by my familiar's spell resistance.

If neither of these work, how the heck am I going to bypass my companion familiar's spell resistance to buff him?

[2xMachina]

You can lower your SR it you want to. Just tell your companion/familiar to just take the buff spell without SR.

EDIT:

A creature can voluntarily lower its spell resistance. Doing so is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Once a creature lowers its resistance, it remains down until the creature’s next turn. At the beginning of the creature’s next turn, the creature’s spell resistance automatically returns unless the creature intentionally keeps it down (also a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity).

[Gan The Grey]

Yeah...not very practical. If I want to buff the crap out of it, that's multiple rounds that he can't attack.

[FishAreWet]

if you share the spells you don't have to deal with SR

because you're not casting it on him

[2xMachina]

A little problematic for animal only buffs though.

[Person_Man]

Also, the SR options you propose are pretty lousy. If you're fighting a caster with a CL equal to your ECL, then it only stops spells 20% of the time. And there are plenty of spells that bypass Spell Resistance. You're better off just casting Spell Resistance on yourself, and using your Share Spell ability to extend it to your Familiar.

[2xMachina]

^ He means the SR that comes from the template for his animal.

But yeah, the SR kinda sucks. Maybe don't take it?

Actually, I see no reason that your animal companion must be Celestial. Thought that means the feat is wasted (unless you take the Blink dog, eagle, unicorn...)

[Gan The Grey]

The reason for the template is just to power him up a bit more. Any other feat suggestions that would change him in a more powerful way?

[ericgrau]

Yeah...not very practical. If I want to buff the crap out of it, that's multiple rounds that he can't attack.

Buffing during combat is generally a poor use of actions anyway. There are exceptions involving multi-target spells like haste and utility stuff like invisibility, but that's probably not what you're after. Better to buff before combat or not at all. Otherwise that's multiple rounds where you aren't casting reality-shattering spells just so a creature with half your level in CR and a poor BAB can become mildly stronger... toward the end of the fight.

[Brock Samson]

Natural Bond ups your Companion by basically 3 Druid levels, very nice if you plan on using it. Plus if you're worried about its Spell Resistance so much have it keep the resistance down normally, the Exalted Companion feat may seem slightly less worth it now because you lose that most of the time, but it still means they're slightly more powerful.

Alternatively: cast Assay Spell Resistance when you can, a swift action to cast and gives you a +10 to overcome one creature's resistance, perfect!

Side note: Anyone else pissed off that the Spell Resistance spell linked earlier is only castable by Clerics? Shouldn't it at LEAST also be castable by Wiz/Sorc? Especially when they can cast other spells that can give some form of spell resistance (Resistance Field), but nothing quite as spectacular as the simple spell Spell Resistance. /Rant.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Buffing during combat is generally a poor use of actions anyway. There are exceptions involving multi-target spells like haste and utility stuff like invisibility, but that's probably not what you're after. Better to buff before combat or not at all. Otherwise that's multiple rounds where you aren't casting reality-shattering spells just so a creature with half your level in CR and a poor BAB can become mildly stronger... toward the end of the fight.

A Druid 9/Beastmaster 1 with Natural Bond has a pet with 12 HD, a full attack routine with four attacks at +16/+14/+14/+14 just from BAB/Dex, each adding poison. This thing has Pounce, Rake, and a free trip attempt that leaves the target grappled and pinned. That's before getting Exalted Companion for a pet with Vow of Poverty and Touch of Golden Ice. Buffing that may not be the most optimal thing you can do, but it is certainly not weak.

[deuxhero]

Go Strongheart Halfing. You keep the free feat, and you won't break your companions back if you get dispelled. You can't go Human Paragon, but you can Precocious Apprentice and enter at level 5 (better yet, go sorc and take Fey Blood too if you can get away with it, SAD FTW!).

[ericgrau]

A Druid 9/Beastmaster 1...

It's a polymorphed wizard familiar. And as I said even if it weren't so weak buffing tends to be suboptimal.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

It's a polymorphed wizard familiar. And as I said even if it weren't so weak buffing tends to be suboptimal.

It's an Arcane Heirophant, which loses 3 levels of druid progression for all the familiar abilities, plus polymorph. That's actually a build that has more options for power than the one I posted, but it's also more complex. I wanted simple numbers.