Familiar Replacement

[Hedgemage]

I have nothing against familiars, but I'm currently playing a sorcerer and for role-playing reasons having a familiar is not really an option.

The sorcerer I'm playing is focusing on the Draconic Heritage feats from Races of the Dragon and Dragon magic. I looked at the Spell Shield familiar replacement ability in Dungeonscape, but since my character has the White Dragon Lineage feat from Dragon Magic, it seemed a little redundant.

What are some of your favourite replacements for familiars? In my own mind, simply taking a feat instead is a little weak.

 

[Aegir]

Draconomicon has a feat that lets you take a Wyrmling dragon as a familiar... would that not work?

 

[Machiavelli]

I'd say a feat for a familiar is QUITE fair, since the classes with familiars tend to be feat-starved, and familiars are often the focus for additional feats to improve them, so you are almost granting 2 feats.

I would also add the addendum that the bonus feat much stick to a certain list, as appropriate. My choice would be the wizard's bonus feat list.

 

[smootrk]

There was a fairly recent (within last 12 months) dragon magazine article that had a Staff oriented replacement for familiars, complete with additional feats to further enhance the rule-mechanic. I thought it worked quite well (as I read the article) although I did not get a chance to put it into play.

 

[rgard]

There was a fairly recent (within last 12 months) dragon magazine article that had a Staff oriented replacement for familiars, complete with additional feats to further enhance the rule-mechanic. I thought it worked quite well (as I read the article) although I did not get a chance to put it into play.

There is another Dragon issue that had two feats to replace familiars. One where you could reabsorb spells that failed to get through SR and another that focused on different schools of magic (Evocation, Divination, Etc). Both are cool.

There is also a Dragon issue that lists "loner" as a fault for sorcerers, you take the fault and never get a familiar, but you do get a bonus feat in exchange.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Nifft]

I give 'em a feat. It's a bit of a power-up, but IMHO is within acceptable limits.

Cheers, -- N

 

[phaed]

PHB2 gives the Metamagic Specialist option, which replaces the familiar with the ability to apply metamagic feats to spells without increasing the casting time. This would allow you to actually use quickened spells.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

The Magister's Staff (Magister 1st level class feature from Arcana Evolved):

The magister crafts a staff specifically attuned to him. Regardless of its construction or composition, it has a hardness of 12, 50 hit points, and a break DC of 30. The staff ’s hit points increase at a rate of 2 per magister level, and the hardness and break Difficulty Class increase at a rate of 1 point per three magister levels.

If a magister’s staff breaks, he is stunned for 1d4 rounds. It takes a month and 1,000 gp in materials to create a new one. A magister can have only one staff attuned to him at a time. If the character finds a new staff he would rather become attuned to, switching staves requires no money. However, it does take a week of meditation.

Should the magister die or take on a new staff, the old staff becomes normal (unless it had been given other magical properties, in which case they remain). A slain magister who comes back from the dead can immediately and automatically re-attune to his old staff as a free action.

 

[Hedgemage]

There was a fairly recent (within last 12 months) dragon magazine article that had a Staff oriented replacement for familiars, complete with additional feats to further enhance the rule-mechanic. I thought it worked quite well (as I read the article) although I did not get a chance to put it into play.

Anyone remember an issue #? Or is there an online resource that could help me find this article?

 

[rgard]

Anyone remember an issue #? Or is there an online resource that could help me find this article?

I'll find the issues and post the numbers hopefully tonight.