Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Meat_Shield 07-19-07, 07:16 PM	Are there any alternative class features or any thing I can use to NOT have a familar as a wizard and get some other "bonus" instead? Playing a mystical theurge and I got enough **** to deal /w already, don't want to have to worry about the familiar (though of the options suck Ill keep it).
Fatalis_902 07-19-07, 07:22 PM	Well, in the PHB2, there is an alt. class feature for specialist wizards. It replaces the familiar, and instead you gain a nifty spell-like ability based on your chosen specialization.
Magnus029 07-19-07, 07:57 PM	There are also options in Unearthed Arcana that you might want to look at. They are also Specialist based.
danielinthewolvesden 07-19-07, 08:18 PM	And in CM, and I think Dungeonscape. In fact, replacing a familiar is a very common option. However, I love familiars and would never opt out of one.
Tempest Stormwind 07-19-07, 08:23 PM	I'm in the opposite boat from Daniel, and rapidly take any opportunity to replace one. (I see familiars very differently than the rules support.) Unearthed Arcana has some of the best options, and they're also available at d20SRD.org for free. The PHB2 is a close second. The others are shaky, some being worth it and others not. (Yes, Dungeonscape has one. No, it's not the best option, but it's not a bad one either. The real substitution level winner in Dungeonscape is the Dungeon Crasher fighter.)
Lotusblossom 07-20-07, 04:29 AM	There are tons (remember, you can only pick one). Seriously, even Races of Iberia has them. IMO, they're all less flavorful than a familia. Oh wait, are we talking about familiaR replacements? Nevermind.
Kradlo 07-20-07, 01:33 PM	If your GM allows Flaws, there's one from Dragon 327: Loner [Flaw] Prerequisite: Ability to summon a familiar or animal companion. Effect: You lose the ability to summon a familiar or gain an animal companion. You never gain the ability to gain a special companion, whether through animal companion, summon familiar, or some other class ability or feat. Possessing multiple classes that would grant you an animal companion or familiar does not negate the effects of this flaw. (Dragon 327)
stuporhero93 07-20-07, 01:34 PM	Lotus I really dont like how you post. You really should read more before making any type of comment at all. Oh and BTW, I agree with anything Tempest has said or will say...EVER
Zemyla 07-20-07, 03:37 PM	Why would you ever want to replace your familiar? Familiars are on the contrary, the primary reason most people play wizards. A wizard can in fact be thought of the custodian to a familiar, a terrifying beast that charges its foes, slashing them to shreds while delivering their master's touch spells and bestowing upon their masters incredible bonuses to their hp or skill checks. A wizard is nearly powerless without one.
Kamin_Majere 07-20-07, 03:49 PM	Why would you ever want to replace your familiar? because that quote was bullocks, and in reality (unlike psi crystals and animal companions and summoned mounts and all other forms of the ability) familiars are simply a level loss waiting to happen. The one and only time i've had a familiar was when i chose an item familiar, because at least that did something for me. A normal familiar is just a usless waste of a class feature.
danielinthewolvesden 07-20-07, 08:34 PM	Oh geez no. At the least it's a free Feat (Great Fort is very nice for a Wizard), and you can keep that feret hidden inside your robes. Too many folks have died because they failed a save by only 1 or 2. If you DM has encounters while you sleep they are a perfect guard. Even better with the new feat from PHII (it allows you to take a "hit" for your familiar or your familar to take a hit for you!) it can save your life. And with that feat it is very unlikely for a familair to die. And then there's the RPing factor- my fellow players still talk about the time some 5 years ago when I got a ferret hand puppet form my familiar. Great fun. True, sending your familar out to fight is just asking for it, and solo scouting by "the little guy" is also a good way to lose some eps. Just use your little buddy right, and he will reward you. That being said, some of the subsitutions are tempting, so I can not blame someone for taking one. But just doing without is a shame.
Salla 07-20-07, 08:39 PM	That being said, some of the subsitutions are tempting, so I can not blame someone for taking one. But just doing without is a shame. I'm pretty much in Tempest's boat on this one. Besides being fragile, I have enough to do keeping *my* character sheet straight without controlling a sidekick, and I don't like the flavor of a stray piece of my consciousness getting put into an animal that eventually winds up smarter than the party barbarian. So, on mechanics *and* flavor, familiars fail me ... same thing with Animal Companions. If I can substitute one away, I will ... if I can't, I'll do without every time.
archerpwr 07-20-07, 09:30 PM	So, on mechanics *and* flavor, familiars fail me ... same thing with Animal Companions. If I can substitute one away, I will ... if I can't, I'll do without every time. Just so you know, animal companions are incredibly useful. They basically amount to a fighter (fully equipped) of your druid level with very minimal buffing. Plus no penalty if it dies.
Salla 07-20-07, 09:46 PM	Just so you know, animal companions are incredibly useful. They basically amount to a fighter (fully equipped) of your druid level with very minimal buffing. Plus no penalty if it dies. Yes, but I just don't LIKE them. :) They're one of the reasons I have never played a druid.
archerpwr 07-20-07, 10:12 PM	Yes, but I just don't LIKE them. :) They're one of the reasons I have never played a druid. Gotcha. Not liking the flavor is a fine reason to not use something.
High Octane 07-20-07, 10:20 PM	Familiars are a free feat equielant, plus alertness, and a spy that is small and inconspicuous. Who would suspect the stray cat? The rat? A random raven? An owl at night? If the DM starts pelting your spying familiar with arrows, he is metagaming out the ass. If someone wants to link the relevent OOTS, they may. I'm aware of it. Just remember that when you are so willing to ditch your familiar.
Salla 07-20-07, 10:20 PM	Gotcha. Not liking the flavor is a fine reason to not use something. Well, that and it also has the failure in mechanics that familiars do, which is juggling more than one character sheet. :)
High Octane 07-20-07, 10:23 PM	Well, that and it also has the failure in mechanics that familiars do, which is juggling more than one character sheet. :) I use a more extensive character sheet that has a separate optional page for familiars and animal companions. If I find out where it originally came from Ill link it for you.
Krusk 07-20-07, 10:24 PM	I like grabbing a toad familiar if i am low on con, and starting at first or second level. Other than that I usually sub it out for anything I can.
archerpwr 07-20-07, 10:43 PM	Well, that and it also has the failure in mechanics that familiars do, which is juggling more than one character sheet. :) Mechanics != tidyness. Familiars have a huge drawback and are basically xp bullseyes. Companions are nothing but bonus. Check out the expanded character sheet on the main site cleans things up though.
jamesnero 07-21-07, 10:32 AM	Dragon 357 has some of the best familiar subs out there, Id pick that up ASAP. Im not sure what kind of detail I can go into because of copyright or what have you but its worth picking up if you dont want a familiar. Thats dragon magazine 357. ;)
stuporhero93 07-21-07, 11:01 AM	Ys if your DM has peolpe attacking your familiar when it is not out of the ordinary, well thats a little messed up and he is not a very good dm.
Rustmonster 07-21-07, 03:35 PM	What I personally don't like about a familiar is that if it dies, you take XP penalties. Animal companions don't do that. Paladin mounts don't do that. It makes them a liability. And, personally, I like the necromancer varient familiar replacment from UA. Skeloton body guard that increases in strength as you level! :D
Jagyr Ebonwood 07-21-07, 05:04 PM	If the DM starts pelting your spying familiar with arrows, he is metagaming out the ass. I have to disagree. If the opposing NPC is at ALL alert for enemy spellcasters, they'll be taking potshots at every small critter they see. In the D&D world, you probably know that a high percentage of people who can throw fireballs at you also carry small inconsequential animals with them. Saying "He wouldn't suspect it's a familiar! It's just a hawk!" is like saying "He wouldn't suspect it's a wand! It's just a stick!"
High Octane 07-22-07, 01:36 AM	I have to disagree. If the opposing NPC is at ALL alert for enemy spellcasters, they'll be taking potshots at every small critter they see. In the D&D world, you probably know that a high percentage of people who can throw fireballs at you also carry small inconsequential animals with them. Saying "He wouldn't suspect it's a familiar! It's just a hawk!" is like saying "He wouldn't suspect it's a wand! It's just a stick!" Wow. Paranoia. If the wand looks like a stick, smells like a stick, feels like a stick, weighs the same as a stick, and by all that I mean is gnarled and has bark and made of wood, yes the guard should not suspect its a wand unless it's being carried. How many sticks do you pass by in the woods? On that note do you even notice the birds and animals that wander around? And you honestly think the local uneducated guard knows about familiars?
danielinthewolvesden 07-22-07, 01:41 AM	I have to disagree. If the opposing NPC is at ALL alert for enemy spellcasters, they'll be taking potshots at every small critter they see. In the D&D world, you probably know that a high percentage of people who can throw fireballs at you also carry small inconsequential animals with them. So the streets are littered with dead cats, rats, birds and such like?:uh-huh: "Look it's a rat!:eek: It could be a familiar! Kill it!" Five minutes into the dungeon and the spellcasters would be out of offensive spells and the warriors out of arrows. Do you have any idea of just how many "small inconsequential animals" are around in a medieval society? Now, if you see a ferret flying along with a small cape AND doing the macarena- then yeah, either that IS a familiar or you have eaten the wrong mushrooms again.
Tempest Stormwind 07-22-07, 02:41 AM	Now, if you see a ferret flying along with a small cape AND doing the macarena- then yeah, either that IS a familiar or you have eaten the wrong mushrooms again. Historically the two were pretty much equivalent. ;)
danielinthewolvesden 07-22-07, 03:55 PM	Historically the two were pretty much equivalent. ;) Good one! :rofl: :rimshot:
Krusk 07-22-07, 10:38 PM	Think about this, If you are in a combat situation, an enemy is casting spells at you, and you see a small animal running around then it is a perfectly reasonable assumption that it is a familiar. If you are sitting keeping gaurd in a room, and a rat crawls under the door you don't think familiar. You may think "hey a rat, those things spread disease get it out of here" but you dont think "hey there might be a caster near by and this might be his. Im gonna kill it" It really does depend on the situation. Easiest solution though, is to just grab a familiar pocket and hide the little guy every combat.
Lanky Ogre Baggy Pants 07-22-07, 11:44 PM	One of the reasons I try to ditch a familiar if possible is that I usually plan on PrCing ASAP, and a familiar doesn't improve after that. Just about any wiz/sor character would have the equiv of a 5th level familiar with extra hp, and I'd never think to use it. Instead I pick up one of the many substitutions, many of which scale with level, or are static in such a way that it doesn't matter.
Salla 07-23-07, 01:14 PM	And you honestly think the local uneducated guard knows about familiars? In a world where magic and wizards exist, it would be about as feasible as a modern day policeman not knowing what a gun is.