Familiar gaining levels.....

[Conaill]

It would be neat to play an awakened animal wizard with a human familiar.

How about an Awakened Warhorse Paladin - with a human Ftr as his "mount"? Oh, so much fun to be had!

For more details on how to actually implement awakend animals, please check the thread in my sig...

 

[Conaill]

As far as your original question goes... one way to implement character levels for familiars would be to retard their progression on the "abilities vs master class level" chart. I'd say one character level for the familiar should set it back two master class level on there. The familiar would still inherit the master's HD, 1/2HP, BAB, saving throws and skills as normal, but he would essentially trade in +1 natural AC, +1 Int and a special ability for the class benefits he gets. Every two master levels, the familiar would be able to take one class level.

 

[IcyCool]

Well, the DMG puts the benefits of being a paladin mount at +2 ECL, if you wanted to use leadership to have a beefier mount. The benefits that a familiar gets and gives are roughly equivalent, so I'd think that with the leadership feat, you could have a familiar as a cohort. I personally would probably limit this to familiars gained through the improved familiar feat.

I would think that you'd still use the master's HD for spell purposes and the like, but that you should probably change the bit about a familiar's hit points to read like this:

The familiar has one-half the master's normal hit point total (not counting temporary hit points) rounded down, or its own hit points, whichever is higher.

So, with that you could have an Ice Mephit with 1 class level, assuming an 11th level master with sufficient leadership score to aquire an ECL 9 cohort and an Ice Mephit via improved familiar. (Ice Mephit (3HD + 3 LA) + 2 (for being a familiar) + 1 (for class level) = 9).

I would be apprehensive about allowing any familiar without a listed level adjustment to gain class levels, as it could be quite tricky to adjudicate what it's appropriate LA would be.

 

[RisnDevil]

IcyCool....

Where exactly in the DMG is that? I think that is what I will implement, but also, would the familiar continue to gain any/all other benefits (besides the hps, which I had already planned the same change you proposed) as the master levels?

Thanks

 

[yennico]

To me the familiar should at least be two levels higher in it's master's spell casting class (acting as a mentor, study partner, and teaching spells). Arcane spell casters should have one familiar per arcane spell casting class.

The familiar as mentor of a spellcaster is a different approach to a familiar.
With your approach the wizard is more powerful than any other core class.
Your wizard level X with his familiar which is also at least wizard level X +2 count as two wizards level X plus one has a higher level.
So you double the amount of spells a wizard can cast plus the wizard has earlier access to higher level spells. To save his master, a wizard level 2 his familiar wizard at least level 4 casts a invisibility.

A familiar of a level 11 wizard has by RAW an int of 11, so it can cast at that point his first 1st level spell, if the familiar has taken the class: wizard .

I totally agree with bront.

 

[IcyCool]

IcyCool....

Where exactly in the DMG is that? I think that is what I will implement, but also, would the familiar continue to gain any/all other benefits (besides the hps, which I had already planned the same change you proposed) as the master levels?

Thanks

It's in the section on special mounts, or mount cohorts. Somewhere around page 198-205 (199 I think). It states that if you want your cohort mount to also be your paladin mount (and thus gain all the benefits of being a paladin mount as you level), the cohort should have an addition +2 to its ECL for determining when you can get it. So that means if you want a Griffon Cohort Paladin Mount, you need to have a sufficient Leadership score and be level 14 (Griffon Cohort is ECL 10 + 2 for Paladin Mount abilities).