Arcane Hierophant / Companion Familiar

[tomBitonti]

Hi,

Questions about the Companion Familiar feature of the Arcane Hierophant class:

Q1: Do you get both armor adjustments for animal companion and familiar?

A1: (Tentatively) No.

From page 108, races of the wild:

"You add your arcane hierophant level to your druid or ranger level for purposes of determine your animal companion's bonus Hit Dice, natural armor adjustment ..."

A paragraph on:

"In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the abilities that a familiar
would normally posess. You add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane
spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly ..."

Importantly, Natural Armor is not listed, so I presume that you only gain the natural
armor bonus from the Animal Companion chart.

Q2: Can you cast Augment Familar or Enhance Familiar on an animal companion?

A2: (Tentatively) No.

From p 108: "In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the
abilities that a familiar would normally posess."

That implies that, for targetting purposes, your companion familiar is treated as an
animal companion, not a familar.

As a rebuttal, the companion is consistently called a "familiar companion", which
leaves the question open.

Q3: (Not a rules question, but a request for advice), if you were to take the feat
Practiced Spellcaster, would you apply it to Wizard or to Druid, assuming that you
were a Druid 4/Wizard 3/Arcane Hierophant 2? It's a choice between three more
levels for druid spell effects, or four more levels for wizard spell effects.

A3: ???

 

[Hypersmurf]

A1: (Tentatively) No.

Right.

A2: (Tentatively) No.

Right.

A3: ???

[pout] My DM decided to ban Practiced Spellcaster, which hurt my Arcane Hierophant a bit...

-Hyp.

 

[Scharlata]

Hi!

A player of mine has build a similar new character, so the questions have attracted my attention.

A1: Right.

Why do you think that should be the case? The PHB states that the Natural Armor Adjustment "is an improvement to the familiar's existing armor bonus". Does your argumantation rise from the standpoint that the companion familiar is not a familiar? That would explain your "right" to Q2:.

As an additional question (edited): Wouldn't you allow the feat Natural Bond (Complete Adventurer) in that particular case neither?

Kind regards

 

[Hypersmurf]

As an additional question (edited): Wouldn't you allow the feat Natural Bond (Complete Adventurer) in that particular case neither?

The familiar companion (or companion familiar) is an Animal Companion, that has some of the abilities of a familiar.

Natural Bond certainly applies, since the feat increases your effective druid level for purpose of determining the power of an animal companion, and the companion familiar (or familiar companion) gains its power based on that effective druid level. Any spell that affects an animal companion should affect a familiar companion (or companion familiar), since it is an animal companion, with some extra abilities.

It isn't a familiar; you explicitly dismiss your familiar. It's a companion with some familiar abilities. Natural armor is not one of the familiar abilities it receives. Since it isn't a familiar, spells like Augment Familiar won't work.

-Hyp.

 

[Gez]

OK, a few silly questions.

1. If you take the Extra Familiar feat from Dragon #280, and then become an Arcane Hierophant, do you have to dismiss both familiars?
2. If you don't summon a familiar, then take said feat, |i]then[/i] summon a familiar, intending it as your Extra Familiar familiar, do you have to dismiss it upon become an arcane hierophant? (The RAW seems to say yes, even if it isn't that logical.)
3. Repeat those questions with the Obtain Familiar feat from Complete Arcane. (BTW, I find it strange that they haven't said anything in Obtain Familiar's text about characters with the summon familiar class ability taking this feat.)
4. Even crazier! Can you get a get a familiar after you become an Arcane Hierophant? (The RAW seems to say yes, at least it doesn't say anything against it, even if it isn't that logical.)
5. Final question: Why not considering "valid target for familiar-enhancing spells" as one of the abilities a familiar companion get? Once again, it doesn't seem logical. Not that they would stack with animal companion-enhancing spells anyway...

 

[tomBitonti]

Probs with familiar targetting spells

Hi,

I would rule against allowing the familiar targetting spells; look at Enhance
Familiar and Augment Familiar (see below). They are both terribly powerful
if allowed to apply to an animal companion.

I was hoping to do just that ... I am setting up a Druid 4 / Wiz 3 / ArcHier 2 ...
and the two spells would work very nicely for my Ape companion:

Enhance Familiar
Universal
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Familiar Touched
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You infuse your familiar with vigor, granting it a +2 competence bonus on saves, attack rolls, and melee damage rolls, as well as a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class.

Source: Complete Arcane

Augment Familiar
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 2, Hexblade 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: Your familiar
Duration: Concentration + 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

This spell grants your familiar a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, damge reduction 5/magic, and a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws.

Source: Complete Warrior

 

[Hypersmurf]

Final question: Why not considering "valid target for familiar-enhancing spells" as one of the abilities a familiar companion get? Once again, it doesn't seem logical. Not that they would stack with animal companion-enhancing spells anyway...

Why not?

"In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the abilities that a familiar would normally possess. You add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly."

It's not a familiar. It's an animal companion, with the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of a familiar.

When the spell says "This spell grants your familiar a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength...", it can only work if you have a familiar... and you don't.

-Hyp.

 

[Hatorri]

I am a few years late in asking this question relating to the companion familiar. Would it get the bonus tricks listed in the animal companion section in the Player's Handbook. The reason I ask is the section in the Races of the Wild entry for companion familiar indicates it gets this. Or is it because it is considered a magical beast with more intellect (due to the familiar side of things), you can tell it commands without needing to resort to animal handling tricks?