How do these familiar based powers balance out?

First, a spell, since I've always thought that the familiar should be more capable as a spy/scout than it already is.

Eyes of the Familiar
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S (possibly negligible F?)
Casting Time: 1 full round
Range: see text
Effect: your familiar
Duration: Concentration
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: None

While under the effect of this spell, the caster trades some of the use of his senses in order to borrow the senses of a companion creature gained via class ability*. (Most likely a familiar, but a paladin's warhorse or the like would fit the bill too. In the case of a character with more than one such companion, the caster choses which is affected at the time of casting, and can not change his decision short of re-casting this spell.) While the spell is in effect, the caster enters a trance and may experience what his companion experiences so long as they are both on the same plane, and the range of their Empathic Link is likewise extended. Sight, hearing, and all other applicable senses are experienced, even ones the caster does not have such as blindsight or scent. The caster does, however, use his own Listen, Spot, and Search checks as appropriate, though. If the companion is subject to a sonic attack that does not deal damage, or a gaze attack, you must make a saving throw as if you suffered the same attack or suffer the consequences as appropriate. If one of your companions senses is damaged or incapacated, you experience the same diminished sensory experience. If your companion dies, this spell ends and you suffer the normal consequences.

Since this spell only affects the link between you and your companion, anti-scrying spells such as Mind Blank have no effect, provided your companion can see them normally. Invisibility, an appropriate Hide/Move Silently check, or even just being in a location/position inaccessable to your companion all protect a given being from being scried upon by these means. Similarly, there is no magical sensor for anyone to locate, but your companion may be noticed and dealt with as normal. Due to the nature of the magical link required for this spell to be cast, the companion may not resist it even if they would want to (a rare case in and of itself). This spell does not, however, allow mind reading beyond the normal bounds of the Empahic Link ability.

While this spell is still active, the caster may take no actions, and suffers a -4 to spot and listen checks to notice his own surroundings.

(I based this one off of Clairaudience/clairvoyance, with a touch of Sense Link (psionic power) thrown in. It allows greater freedom and range than Clairaudience/clairvoyance, but with the significant risk/hinderance of putting your familiar on the line. Anything I overlooked here?)


And a feat, since it just seems so in-genre

Share Resistance
You may share the Spell Resistance of a magical companion.
Prerequisites: A familiar, warhorse, or other companion gained via class ability* with Spell Resistance.
Benefit: While in physical contact with your companion, you gain the Spell Resistance ability at the same strength it has.
Special: If both of you are required to make spell resistance checks for the same spell/effect (an area effect spell or a multiple target spell that targets both of you), the caster rolls spell resistance once for the both of you. If you have more than one such companion, you may chose which one this feat applies to each turn.

(I think wizards/sorcerers need more options for spell resistance, and the amount offered by a familiar/warhorse is comparitively minor given the levels it comes into play. And for sheer gravy, I like the image of a charging paladin or a dramatically posing wizard shaking off spells.)


And while I have your attention, something that has nothing whatsoever to do with familiars

School Prodigy
You have a talent for a given school of magic beyond that of your peers.
Prerequisites: Spell Focus in the school chosen.
Benefit: When casting spells of the chosen school, your caster level is treated as if it were one higher for the purposes of range, duration, damage, etc. In case it needs to be said, this does not allow you to cast more spells or higher level spells than you normally could.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, it applies to a new school of magic.


Anybody see any glaring balance problems with any of the above? Anything I should tighen up? And conversely, do these look like things you'd be interested in taking?

BTW, on the *'s above, a druid's or ranger's animal companions do not count, as they are gained due to a spell and not directly from a class ability. I might allow a character with an appropriate cohort access to these, though.

Ooh!

I love Share Resistance! Great feat. ^_^

Share Resistance is too good as written. It at least needs a prerequiste besides having such a creature.

The spell looks fine

Share Resistance: Fine as is

School Prodigy: I really like this one

because of the requirement that you must use your familiar as the spell's focus - I would go so far as to drop this down to 2nd level.

If your familiar isn't a bird - and is a toad... you are going to have some problems.

Share Resistance:
I don't see this as a problem - or usefel. Wizards can just use spell turning - and do a wee bit more than just stop the spell coming at them.

School Prodigy:
A wee bit unbalancing - and too powerful for a feat that might get taken at 1st or 3rd level; particularly wnen considering the school of evocation. You might consider this feat if it applied to certain "subtypes" of magic -

Charms
Comuplsions
Energy spells by subtype (fire, cold, acid ect...)

That would place it more into line with the "special powers" of some of the cleric domains. You could also stick a couple more pre-reqs on it, so the feat can't be had before 5th level.

Here's why I think Shared Resistance is too strong. A Paladin riding his mount would automatically have his level +5 SR. Paladins are known for riding their mount. And any SR is better then none, especially if it saves a spell being cast.

Same thing with a Mage/Sorcerer. They carry the familiar most of the time and the SR is the same. Again, it's not a great SR, but it's always there and now spell used. That's pretty darn good.

Magus_Jerel:

School Prodigy really isnt that imbalancing, one could do the same with a level in cleric and that has more perks.

Spell Thematics in the errata allows this in a limited fasion but has other perks.

It only allows one to hit the caps a level sooner an extra round of duration, d4 or even d6 of damage doesn't mean squat for long and lvl 1 and 2 PCs still die.

As stated before I like the feat, I would allow it in my campaign.

Also - I have to nitpick the spell here.

Sense of the Familiar
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 full round
Range: Touch
Effect:See Text
Duration: Concentration
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You may only cast this spell on your familiar, or a creature similarly attached to your person (such as that of a paladin's warhorse in the case of a dual classed character), as you are actually enchanting for a brief period the link between yourself and the animal. This spell allows you to enter a deep trance and use the familiar's senses as if they were your own while the link is maintained. You may use this link at any range, but you and your familiar must still be on the same plane for this spell to function.

Sight, hearing, and all other applicable senses are experienced, even ones the caster does not have such as blindsight or scent. Any spells or effects that enhance the familiars senses - such as darkvision, also enhance the senses of the caster. The caster uses his own Listen, Spot, and Search skill ranks, but uses the racial bonuses or penalties of his familiar when determining use of these skills via the link. If the familiar is subject to a gaze or sense blinding attack; the wizard must also save against the effect to avoid having it work via the link upon him.

As the spell works upon your familiar, anti-scrying spells, and enchantmens that are used to mislead ordinary divinations such as misdirection - do not foil this spell, provided that your familiar can see the subject normally.

While this spell is active, the caster can take no actions - and cannot percive the environment thru their normal senses. Thus, they are effectively blind and deaf with respect to their own person. Furthermore, while this spell grants the wizard the senses of his familiar, it does not grant him any "control" beyond the normal control he has over his familiars actions.

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If you balance the spell off of magic jar - it seems VERY balanced - even at second level. The fact that you cannot necessarily make your familiar do anything it decides it doesn't want to drops this spell at least one level, and in My opinion, the fact that it must be your familiar drops it another two levels.

It is somewhat inferior to clairaudience/clairvoyance - because you must use your familiar as the focal point of the spell. If your familiar doesn't have wings (ie isn't a bird) this spell is nowhere NEAR as useful as if your familiar did have such wings.

Thus - drop it to 2nd level overall - and make sure your familiar can fly

Jerel, I like your revision, and I was thinking about making it second level, but since it gives a few perks above and beyond C/C (mobile sensor, full sensory immersion, better duration, etc.), and I could see an invisible, bat or an invisible, silenced owl with darkvision being used as a scout. And in urban areas, you have the penultimate spy with almost anything, maybe even a toad. It's the scouting potential that made me bump it up, just to be on the safe side. I did make a point of keeping his senses semi-connected (so if there were something to grab his attention, he'd know, be it a knock on the door or a battle going on around him), and I don't know if having the familiar as a focus is wise. I thought the point of a focus was to have it on hand while you cast the spell, and I wanted this to be useful no matter the distance between you and your familiar.

The other two feats, well, in order to be a School Prodigy at first level, you'd have to be a very focused human. I put the feat together specifically for that reason, mind you; to make the first level conjurer not suck. But even in the hands of a blow-em-up evoker, your biggest benefit is the extra magic missile a level earlier. (I do not consider a bonus point of damage gamebreaking in any scenario.) So it might be a tad overpowered at first level, but that balances out since first level casters are already weak, and by the time they start catching up, the extra oomph drains out. I still don't see it causing too many problems, though.

And while Share Resistance may look overpowered, remember that you have to be at least an eleventh level wizard/sorcerer to use it, or at least a fifteenth level paladin. By that level, they're most likely to have some sort of item to grant spell resistance, or another means of countering spells. I find the "hidden" level prerequisite to be quite enough of a limitation.

And re: the spell, should I try to be all official, and call it "a creature you have the Empathic Bond ability with"?

I LOVE school prodigy! It fits with one of my ideas for... well, I'm sure you don't care

One more nitpick, though; you give the example in Eyes/Sense of the Familiar that a paladin could see through the eyes of his horse... but they can't get the spell! For some reason, I just don't see a paladin multiclassing into wizard or sorcerer for that spell...