Post/Author/DateTime	Post
HobbitGuy1420 03-26-07, 04:56 PM	I haven't seen this as a possibility (other than the Item Familiar rules, which don't do what I'm looking for)... I had the idea of a character with a very... erm... temperamental relationship with his spellbook. It hides from him, he has to wrestle with the pages in order to memorize spells in the morning... Basically, think of how magic books can act in Terry Pratchett's books. I was thinking of a feat, Spellbook Familiar, that allows the wizard in question to awaken his own spellbook as a familiar. This grants the spellbook rudimentary intelligence (I would imagine that, at first, it has lower, more animal-like scores in Int, Wis, and Cha that build up toward sapience as the character levels), minor mobility (can open, close, and flip through its own pages at will, ability to hold itself closed if necessary, possibly minor telekinetic motion while near its master), and possibly some other wackiness (the spells tend to move around in the book, making the wizard have to search through the whole thing for any particular spell unless the book is feeling helpful, possibly an increased DC for spellcraft for other wizards to copy out of it)... I'm not very familiar with game design and balance... could some folks who *are* more familiar help me out with this? I'd prefer the feat be available to a first-level wizard, if possible. Thanks!
Garble Willowwits 03-26-07, 05:11 PM	My suggestion would be to compare the stats for a tiny animated object such as a book, to other available familiars. If they're relatively equal in power, I'd say go for it.
Shadowmind64 03-26-07, 05:11 PM	How about instead of a feat you just make it an alternate class ability, instead of a normal familiar? You can just use the basics for advancing a familiar, and tweak them to your liking.
HobbitGuy1420 03-26-07, 05:16 PM	I'd be fine with the alternate class ability thing... I'm just thinking of a feat just in case a DM wants a bit more sacrifice. hrm... looking up animated object now...
Dragonteuthis 03-26-07, 05:33 PM	Quick and dirty comparison. Animated book familiar...assuming Tiny animated object... No base natural armor. Speed 40 ft, fly 20ft (clumsy). Attack: +1 melee (1d3-1) Construct traits. No base skills nor feats. Compare: Raven... No base natural armor, Speed 10 ft, fly 40ft (average) Attack: +4 melee (1d2-5) Superior base saves and skills. No construct traits immunity though. My opinion: The book has significantly better defenses (mostly due to construct traits). But, I'd be willing to let a player have such a familiar, so long as accepted the fact that he wouldn't be getting a bonus to his own skills/saves. However, I would stop short of letting the familiar also serve as a spellbook. That's my opinion. I like the idea, I may use it someday.
HobbitGuy1420 03-26-07, 06:13 PM	The fact that the thing *is* the character's spellbook is sorta the whole point of the thing... I'd say OK for construct traits, but give the thing an INT score (as a big part of the idea is that the spellbook has a mind of its own)... Frankly, I'd be fine with dropping or reducing the book's Fly speed (let the thing hop around on the ground or give it a more sedate pace). What about the other abilities (+ to Spellcraft DCs, resisting opening, etc.)?
Fireclave 03-26-07, 06:37 PM	I like this idea alot. My suggestion is to make it an additional choice when taking the Improved Familiar feat, and make the required caster level 5th.
o_b_livion 03-26-07, 06:57 PM	In the Races of Eberron, those humanoids that are constructs (the name eludes me but im being helpful here nevertheless) who choose the artificier class can have an object as their familiar. In actuality, at 5th level they choose a weapon (bludgening, piercing or slashing) as their familiar. If you can get a hand on that book Races of Eberron and look it up, it will help you with a spellbook familiar. Why not mix it up like a psicrystal with the personality and bonuses you get. The Sage personality with +2 to knowledge. The coward personality for +2 to Hide and so on and so on. Or simply use the psicrystal build for your spellbook familiar.
SolenVlos 03-26-07, 08:01 PM	but if it's worse to study on this book, and you gain no bonus, it can't be a feat. a feat must be good for you.
HobbitGuy1420 03-26-07, 08:08 PM	O b livion, I hadn't even *thought* of the psicrystal... that is an excellent idea! In fact, I'm working up a writeup based on the Psicrystal (with some additions of my own) now - I'll post shortly.
HobbitGuy1420 03-26-07, 08:46 PM	Here we go - a writeup for the Spellbook Familiar. It feels more like an alternate ability (replacing the standard Familiar) than it does a Feat at the moment. Is everything balanced? Can you think of a good ability to replace Channel Spell (which won't really be too helpful for a mostly-immobile spellbook)? Spellbook Familiars A Spellbook Familiar is a Wizard’s spellbook which has been granted a semblance of life and sentience (via the Obtain Spellbook Familiar feat). A Spellbook Familiar retains the same size and shape it had before gaining sentience. The act of creating a Spellbook Familiar creates an intense bond between the character and his Spellbook Familiar. In many ways, a Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar are the same being. That’s why, for example, a Wizard can cast a spell with a range of “personal” on his Spellbook Familiar, even though normally he can cast such a spell only on himself. A Spellbook Familiar is treated as a construct for the purposes of all effects that depend on its type. A Spellbook Familiar grants special abilities to its owner, as shown on the Spellbook Familiar Special Abilities table below. In addition, a Spellbook Familiar has a personality which gives its owner a bonus on certain types of checks or saving throws, as given on the Spellbook Familiar Personalities table below. These special abilities and bonuses apply only when the owner and the Spellbook Familiar are within 1 mile of each other. Spellbook Familiar abilities are based on the owner’s levels in arcane spellcasting classes. Levels from other classes do not count toward the owner’s level for purposes of Spellbook Familiar abilities. A Spellbook Familiar cannot speak, but can form printed sentences upon its cover in order to communicate. A Spellbook Familiar can understand all other languages known by its owner, but cannot speak them. This is a supernatural ability. Spellbook Familiar Basics Size/Type Tiny Construct Hit Dice ˝ Master’s HD Initiative +2 Speed 10 ft/Fly 10 ft (poor) Armor Class 16 (+4 size, +2 Dex) Touch 14/Flat-footed 12 Attack Slam Closed 1d2 Space/Reach 1 ft/0 ft Special Qualities Construct traits, hardness 8, Spellbook Familiar granted abilities (improved evasion, personality, share spells, sighted, telepathic link) Skills Listen +6, Spot +6, Move Silently +6 Ability Scores Str 1*, Dex 15*, Con Ř, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10 Saving Throws A Spellbook Familiar uses its owner’s base saving throw bonuses and ability modifiers on saves, though it doesn’t enjoy any other bonuses its owner might have (from magic items or feats, for example). Skills A Spellbook Familiar has the same skill ranks as its owner, except that it has a minimum of 4 ranks each in Spot, Listen, Move Silently, and Search. (Even if its owner has no ranks in these skills, a Spellbook Familiar has 4 ranks in each.) A Spellbook Familiar uses its own ability modifiers on skill checks. Psicrystal Special Abilities Owner Level Natural Armor Int Special 1st-2nd +0 6 Alertness, empathic link, hard to decipher, improved evasion, personality, share spells, sighted, slam closed 3rd-4th +1 7 Boobytrap Spell 5th-6th +2 8 Papyrophage 7th-8th +3 9 — 9th-10th +4 10 Improved Flight 11th-12th +5 11 Spell resistance 13th-14th +6 12 Scry on Familiar 15th-16th +7 13 Channel Spell 17th-18th +8 14 — 19th-20th +9 15 — Spellbook Familiar Ability Descriptions All Spellbook Familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their owners) depending on the level of the owner, as shown on the table above. The abilities on the table are cumulative. Natural Armor Adj. (Ex) This number noted here is an improvement to the Spellbook Familiar’s natural armor bonus (normally 0). It represents a Spellbook Familiar’s preternatural durability. Intelligence (Ex) Spellbook Familiars are as smart as people (though not necessarily as smart as smart people). A Spellbook Familiar has an Intelligence score equal to that of a Psicrystal of the same level. Alertness (Ex) As the Familiar ability Empathic Link (Su) As the Familiar ability Hard to Decipher (Ex) The spells in a Spellbook Familiar constantly move and shift around the page, increasing the DC of a Spellcraft check for another Wizard to copy the spell to his own spellbook by 3. The owner can command the spells to stop moving in order to prepare his own spells, and to allow others to copy from his Spellbook Familiar. Improved Evasion (Ex) As the familiar ability Personality (Ex) Every Spellbook Familiar has a personality. See Spellbook Familiar Personality, below. Share Spells (Su) As the familiar ability, with the limitation that the spell to be shared must apply to constructs Sighted (Ex) as the Psicrystal ability Slam Closed (Ex) Whenever opened, a Spellbook Familiar may Slam Closed to protect its secrets. Any person holding or touching the Spellbook Familiar must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or receive 1d2 points of bludgeoning damage as the book closes upon his hand. After slamming closed, the Spellbook Familiar is very difficult to open – any person who attempts to open it must succeed at a DC 20 Strength check to pry open the covers and wrestle the pages into the proper position. Boobytrap Spell (Su) If the owner is 3rd level or higher, he can cast a spell into his Spellbook. All costs (including material components, gold pieces, or XP) for the spell must be payed at the time the Boobytrap Spell is set. The spell will then lay dormant until someone other than the owner attempts to open the Spellbook, in which case the spell will go off. If the spell is targeted, it will target the person opening the Spellbook Familiar. If it is area-of-effect, it is centered on the Spellbook Familiar. Papyrophage (Ex) If the owner is 5th level or higher, the Spellbook Familiar can consume other magical writings in order to gain more space for spells. Every two scrolls or pages of a spellbook consumed in this way add one page of usable space in the Spellbook Familiar, which the owner may then use to scribe his own spells. Improved Flight (Su) If the owner is 9th level or higher, he can once per day, as a standard action, will his Spellbook Familiar to fly at a speed of 50 feet (Poor). This increase in speed lasts for a number of rounds equal to the owner’s class level. Spell Resistance (Ex) As the Familiar ability Scry on Familiar (Sp) As the Familiar ability Channel Spell (Sp) as per the psichrystal Channel Power ability Spellbook Familiar Personality (Ex) as per Psicrystal personalities (see SRD)
HobbitGuy1420 04-02-07, 02:02 AM	making some changes: I've decided to let the DC adjustment scale: rather than a set DC increase of 3, it'll increase by (2+1/2 class level), in order to scale at higher levels - does this seem balanced? Also, I've decided to rename the "Booby Trap Spell" ability as simple "Trap Spell," just 'cuz it's less unwieldy. Oh, as it stands this strikes me as more of a class ability than a feat, so I've crossposted it in the "classes" forum, but I'd still appreciate input (say, how to scale it up to make it appropriate for a feat's power level).
TheDarkLord 04-02-07, 02:10 AM	This reminds me of a PC in my current campaign that is a DnD/D20 Modern mix. He uses a PDA for his spellbook, the catch is that it's also an AI unit that is as smart, and in some cases Smarter than him. It has access to the Web and whatnot and I like to flaunt that ability during gameplay since I can control what kind of knowledge that thing knows :D. Beware though when it quotes from a Wiki type site ;).