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The Pet Store: A Familiar Keeper's Handbook (by Krika)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nibelung" data-source="post: 6709614" data-attributes="member: 74499"><p><strong>Originally posted by Krika:</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 26px">Final Training: Tactics and Closing Thoughts</span></p><p></p><p><u>Familiars - Why you get them</u></p><p></p><p>Lets get serious here. You don't get a familiar in order to gain a powerful creature that you can use to break the game. If someone can show me a way that they can break the game, please let me know. Adding it to the Build Index would please me. </p><p>The reason you get a familiar, is so you can supplement your character by improving an existing capability, or adding a new one. Mostly that is what a familiar does already, although you can line up the supplement to greater effect if you do things right. Following is a list of the arcane classes, and what familiars can offer them. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Artificer</span>: One of the two classes who get the most out of a familiar. They have feats that are artificer only, and one of the paragon paths is artificer only. Four familiars are specifically designed to work with the features from the artificer. These all make the artificer the excellent familiar keeper. </p><p><span style="color: #800080">Bard</span>: Almost nothing special here. There is nothing out there that is specifically built for the bard. They can be fine with one, but nothing calls out to be used by one. A familiar does improve their ability to be a skill monkey, and can do some of the skills at a range. </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Sorcerer</span>: Well, thank (diety) that there are many familiars that improve your Soul resistance, and therefore your piercing. You can get resistance to pretty much any damage type. The powers have some real gems to, so you can do some pretty neat things with some with your familiar with the better things. </p><p>Swordmage: Not much here. Some familiars offer you some tricks that can come in handy for a melee person. These tricks are helpful, but nothing special. </p><p><span style="color: #800080">Warlock</span>: Pretty much like the bard. Nothing here that improves the warlocks stick, and nothing gives you handy tricks to overly improve what specific tricks you have. </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Wizard</span>: The other of the two classes that get the most out of a familiar. This comes in the form of the powers you get that can be improved by your familiar. Most of them aren't great, but they do let you get cool tricks with your familiar. </p><p></p><p>Familars generally have one of several purposes. The common ones are listed below. </p><p>*Scouting: Give you intel into things ahead. Range and stealth capabilites are key here. </p><p>*Combat Utility: Plenty of familiars give you additional abilities that let you do things, or dare things in combat that give you tricks to add utility. </p><p>*Character Concept: Well, not much I can advise here. If a familiar fits your concept, by all means, get it. This is a roleplaying game, after all. </p><p></p><p><u>Expanded Purposes</u></p><p></p><p>*Scouting: Cat and Scouting Homunculus stand out here. The range for both is more than you will every need. Cat is a base standard here, but I prefer the Homunculus, as it gives more consistently high stealth checks, and brings flying into the equation. Either way, any familiar with good stealth can do this effectively. </p><p>*Combat Utility: Many different things in here make it harder to define this properly. One highlight is the Floating Sword, with the tricks that result from adding Familiar Mount. </p><p>*Bombing Familiars: This is a more clearly defined subset of Combat Utility, in that they all have effects that lock up either 1 square, or have an effect in burst 1 around them. Ice Mephit is the premier example of this, although there are many others that have similar effects.</p><p>*Character Concept: Well, if you want your character to have something flying (or crawling, or walking) around with you, go right ahead and get one. It's called <em>Flavor Optimization</em>. <img src="http://community.wizards.com/sites/all/modules/custom/forest_site/smileys/wizards/razz.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nibelung, post: 6709614, member: 74499"] [b]Originally posted by Krika:[/b] [SIZE=10]Final Training: Tactics and Closing Thoughts[/SIZE] [u]Familiars - Why you get them[/u] Lets get serious here. You don't get a familiar in order to gain a powerful creature that you can use to break the game. If someone can show me a way that they can break the game, please let me know. Adding it to the Build Index would please me. The reason you get a familiar, is so you can supplement your character by improving an existing capability, or adding a new one. Mostly that is what a familiar does already, although you can line up the supplement to greater effect if you do things right. Following is a list of the arcane classes, and what familiars can offer them. [COLOR=#00ccff]Artificer[/COLOR]: One of the two classes who get the most out of a familiar. They have feats that are artificer only, and one of the paragon paths is artificer only. Four familiars are specifically designed to work with the features from the artificer. These all make the artificer the excellent familiar keeper. [COLOR=#800080]Bard[/COLOR]: Almost nothing special here. There is nothing out there that is specifically built for the bard. They can be fine with one, but nothing calls out to be used by one. A familiar does improve their ability to be a skill monkey, and can do some of the skills at a range. [COLOR=#0000ff]Sorcerer[/COLOR]: Well, thank (diety) that there are many familiars that improve your Soul resistance, and therefore your piercing. You can get resistance to pretty much any damage type. The powers have some real gems to, so you can do some pretty neat things with some with your familiar with the better things. Swordmage: Not much here. Some familiars offer you some tricks that can come in handy for a melee person. These tricks are helpful, but nothing special. [COLOR=#800080]Warlock[/COLOR]: Pretty much like the bard. Nothing here that improves the warlocks stick, and nothing gives you handy tricks to overly improve what specific tricks you have. [COLOR=#0000ff]Wizard[/COLOR]: The other of the two classes that get the most out of a familiar. This comes in the form of the powers you get that can be improved by your familiar. Most of them aren't great, but they do let you get cool tricks with your familiar. Familars generally have one of several purposes. The common ones are listed below. *Scouting: Give you intel into things ahead. Range and stealth capabilites are key here. *Combat Utility: Plenty of familiars give you additional abilities that let you do things, or dare things in combat that give you tricks to add utility. *Character Concept: Well, not much I can advise here. If a familiar fits your concept, by all means, get it. This is a roleplaying game, after all. [u]Expanded Purposes[/u] *Scouting: Cat and Scouting Homunculus stand out here. The range for both is more than you will every need. Cat is a base standard here, but I prefer the Homunculus, as it gives more consistently high stealth checks, and brings flying into the equation. Either way, any familiar with good stealth can do this effectively. *Combat Utility: Many different things in here make it harder to define this properly. One highlight is the Floating Sword, with the tricks that result from adding Familiar Mount. *Bombing Familiars: This is a more clearly defined subset of Combat Utility, in that they all have effects that lock up either 1 square, or have an effect in burst 1 around them. Ice Mephit is the premier example of this, although there are many others that have similar effects. *Character Concept: Well, if you want your character to have something flying (or crawling, or walking) around with you, go right ahead and get one. It's called [i]Flavor Optimization[/i]. [IMG]http://community.wizards.com/sites/all/modules/custom/forest_site/smileys/wizards/razz.gif[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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