Post/Author/DateTime	Post
KieKeN 08-04-05, 04:40 PM	Hi everybody Recently my character died (combination of red dragon, master ring, slave ring and chaotic good alignment) so now i have to roll up a new one. My new character is a wizard, not my first one, but the first one with a familiar. Bur i've stubled upon a little problem regarding the HP, saves, feats and skillpoints of my rat. All the problems boil down to this question: Does the familliar gain extra skillpoints, feats and HP because of it's increased Hit Die? This is wat the SRD (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/wizard.html) says: 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. I've got the sneaky suspision that HP and such don't fall under "effects related to number of Hit Dice", but I would like to be sure. I also have a little question about the Stiched Flesh Feat from Libris Mortis (page 30). The descriptive text states that "to a practiced eye, is clearly an undead creature" and later in the text it says "(since it is an undead creature)". But the text doesn't clearly state that the Stiched Flesh familiar gains the undead subtype and all it's traits (exept for d12 hit die). So does the flesh stiched familiar gain the undead subtype and all of it's traits? Those were my questions, i would be verry happy if someone could answer. Thanks in advance. :tiphat: KieKeN
Wookie1120 08-04-05, 06:33 PM	HP for a familiar are ALWAYS(or at least there is no exception that I can think of) half the hitpoints of the PC. skill points and feats are handled by hitdice(which equals wizards character level) I'm not terribly familiar with the Libris Mortis(not my bag<shrug>) but unless it specifically states that that it gains the undead subtype, I'd that it does not gain it.
gninja 08-04-05, 08:18 PM	Actually, familiars don't gain skill points and feats based off hit dice. They have base feats for the creature. Skills are base for the creature, or the master's skills, whichever are greater. For saves use the base creature or the master's. Usually this means at low level they have stat modifer +2 for all saves, since animals tend to be good at reflex and fort, and bad at will. But the master is good at will. For resisting, say, sleep, use the base creature's hit dice (usually 2) or the master's. Whichever is greater. Familiars are basically just an extension of the Wizard/sorcerer, and don't get anything the master doesn't have (except for things that are listed in the little chart in the sorcerer section) If you want a more interesting familiar, take the Improved Familiar feat, or take levels of Druid, then take Arcane Heirophant.
Marcus Majarra 08-04-05, 10:00 PM	All the problems boil down to this question: Does the familliar gain extra skillpoints, feats and HP because of it's increased Hit Die? I've got the sneaky suspision that HP and such don't fall under "effects related to number of Hit Dice", but I would like to be sure. I also have a little question about the Stiched Flesh Feat from Libris Mortis (page 30). The descriptive text states that "to a practiced eye, is clearly an undead creature" and later in the text it says "(since it is an undead creature)". But the text doesn't clearly state that the Stiched Flesh familiar gains the undead subtype and all it's traits (exept for d12 hit die). So does the flesh stiched familiar gain the undead subtype and all of it's traits? A familiar has the skills, feats, saves, and hit dice of a typical animal of its kind. However, it can use its master's base saves instead of its own (if the master's are higher), and it has half the master's maximum HP (again, if it is higher than his own). Furthermore, the familiar can use its own skill ranks or its master's, whichever is higher. For the purposes of effects that are dependent on the creature's hit dice (such as a rat's disease or the viper's poison save DCs), you can use the familiar's normal HD, or 1/2 the master's HD, whichever is higher. Furthermore, a stiched flesh creature (familiar or not) gains the undead type and all its traits.
KieKeN 08-06-05, 04:11 AM	So familliars don't gain feats, skills etc, and the Hit Dice thing is only meant for the spells that are limited by the number of hitdice a creature has. And the stiched flesh familiar has the undead subtype. Wookie1120, gninja, Marcus Majarra I thank you for your assistance. You three have cleared things up greatly. Bye KieKeN