Improved Familiar Question (3.5)

**Chilingsworth** · 2011-02-09, 04:44 PM (ISO 8601)

Thanks to all the help from you guys, I've finished my and my fiance's characters for the upcoming campagin! (Thank you all, SO MUCH!)

One final thing (yeah, final... untill I think of something else.):

About my Imp familiar, Kudzu. He's an improved familiar, of course.

Anyway, familiars are treated as having their master's HD, right? And poision save DC's are partly based on HD, right?

So, my question: Does the fact that he's my familiar (and so has effectively 9HD) affect his posion's save DC?

It's not a huge issue, but if I can make him even more useful, I'll gladly do so.

**senrath** · 2011-02-09, 04:46 PM (ISO 8601)

Familiars are treated as having their masters' hit dice for the purposes of effects. I'm pretty sure that poison save DC isn't an effect. So, sadly, no.

**Chilingsworth** · 2011-02-09, 04:56 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by senrath

Familiars are treated as having their masters' hit dice for the purposes of effects. I'm pretty sure that poison save DC isn't an effect. So, sadly, no.

Dang, oh well.

**Thurbane** · 2011-02-09, 05:08 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by senrath

Familiars are treated as having their masters' hit dice for the purposes of effects. I'm pretty sure that poison save DC isn't an effect. So, sadly, no.

Actually, I think there is a good case to say that the master's HD would count for the DC.

The sample characters for the Alienist (CAr) and Fiend Blooded (HoH) PrC both have familiars with templates (pseudonatural and fiendish, respectively). Both these templates have HD variable effects - and in both cases, these effects are based off the master's HD, rather than the familiar's own HD.

I believe it is a fair reading of the familiar description to assume that "effects" means anything beneficial for the familiar.

Originally Posted by SRD

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.

**Beelzebub1111** · 2011-02-09, 05:10 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by SRD

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.

By the looks of things, it does count.

EDIT: Damn, Shadow Hand'd

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