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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kuritaki" data-source="post: 5446643" data-attributes="member: 6668446">For my home brew campaign I have thrown familiars and animal companions together and changed a lot of rules.All magic users at some level can obtain a familiar. FamiliarsFamiliars are the magically enhanced, animal companions of many magic users. A familiar's abilities are determined by its level and its animal racial traits. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, BAB, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but is now a magical beast for the purpose of effects that depend on its type. A familiar grants special abilities to its master, as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other. Losing a familiarThe loss of a familiar is so traumatizing to its master that he permanently loses 0.1 of a level for every level the familiar had. This effect is negated when the familiar is raised. Performing the ritual to find a new familiar when a magic user still has a familiar, has the effect of retiring the old familiar and replacing it with a new familiar of 1st level. The master loses the benefits from the old familiar and they lose all magical connections.The old familiar loses non of its own abilities but it moves off to lead a life of its own.Familiars from the first list cost 30 gp of magical ingredients. From the second list they cost 300 gp of magical ingredients and from the third list they cost 3000 gp of magical ingredients. The GM may include or exclude animals at her discretion.First ListFamiliar    Special AbilityBadger     Master gains a +2 bonus on Will savesBat    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for ListeningBird**    Master gains a +6 bonus on Knowledge(choose one) checksCat    Master can cast metamagic spells without having it increase in levelFox    Master gains a +6 bonus on Sense Motive checksHawk    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for Spotting in bright lightLapdog    Master gains a +6 bonus on Perform (Act) checksLizard    Master gains a +6 bonus on Climb checksMonkey    Master gains a +6 bonus on Acrobatics checksOtter    Master gains a +6 bonus on Swim checksOwl    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for Spotting in shadows or darknessParrot*    Master gains a +6 bonus on Linguistics checksRat    Master gains a +6 bonus on Escape Artist checksRaven*    Master gains a +6 bonus on Appraise checksSnake    Master gains a +2 bonus on Fort savesToad    Master can store 1 spell-level/level of the toad per day in the toad#Turtle     Master gains a +2 bonus on Natural Armor Weasel    Master gains a +2 bonus on Ref saves*A parrot or raven familiar can speak one language of its master's choice as a supernatural ability.**Dove, Kingfisher, Seagull, Nightingale, Hummingbird, Paradisebird…whatever you like!)#Learned spell or spontaneous cast spell-slot cast with toad-spell-levels isn’t used up.  Second ListFamiliar    Special AbilityApe    Master gains a +6 bonus on Acrobatics checksBat, Dire    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for ListeningBoar    Master gains a +2 bonus on Fort savesDog/Hyena/Wolf    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for ScentCheetah    Master gains a +10 enhancement on MovementCrocodile    Master gains a +2 bonus on Ref savesFox, Dire    Master gains a +6 bonus on Sense Motive checksLeopard/Puma    Master gains a +2 bonus on Ref savesOtter, Dire    Master gains a +6 bonus on Swim checksRat, Dire    Master gains a +6 bonus on Escape Artist checksSnapping Turtle    Master gains a +2 bonus on Natural ArmorWolverine    Master gains a +2 bonus on Will savesMonitor Lizard    Master gains a +6 bonus on Climb checksThird ListFamiliar    Special AbilityAlligator    Master gains a +2 bonus on Ref savesElk/Moose    Master gains a +2 bonus on Will savesHyenadon    Master gains a +8 bonus on Perception checks for ScentAurochs/Bison    Master gains a +2 bonus on Fort savesBear     Master gains a +2 bonus on Fort savesCamel    Master gains a +2 bonus on Fort saves Lion/ Tiger    Master can cast metamagic spells without having it increase in levelFrog, Giant    Master gains a +6 bonus on Swim checksHorse/Pony    Master gains a +10 enhancement on Movement Elephant/Rhinoceros    Master gains a +2 bonus on Natural Armor Toad, Giant    Master can store 1 spell-level/level of the toad per day in the toad##Learned spell or spontaneous cast spell-slot cast with toad-spell-levels isn’t used up.  Familiar BasicsUse the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar's kind, but with the following changes.Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's HD total, whichever is higher.Saving Throws: For each saving throw, use either the familiar's base save bonus or the master's (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn't share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.Familiar Ability DescriptionsAll familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on their level.Familiars advance in level like Trained Animals, either War-trained or Performance-trained.Level    NA Adj.    Int    Special1st     +1    +1    Improved Evasion  2nd     +2    +2    Empathic Link3rd     +3    +3    Share Spells4th     +4    +4    Devotion5th     +5    +5    Deliver touch spells6th    +5    +6    Spell Resistance +17th     +6    +7    Speak with master8th    +6    +8    Spell Resistance +29th     +6    +8    Telepathic Link with master10th    +7    +9    Spell Resistance +311th     +7    +9    Speak with animals of its kind12th     +7    +10    Spell Resistance +413th     +8    +10    Greater Devotion14th     +8    +11    Spell Resistance +515th     +8    +11    Detect Magic16th     +9    +12    Spell Resistance +617th    +9    +12    Recall Familiar18th     +9    +13    Spell Resistance +719th     +10    +13    Shield20th     +10    +14    Spell Resistance +8NA Adj.: The number noted here is in addition to the familiar's existing natural armor bonus.Int: The number noted here is in addition to the familiar's existing intelligence score. Special: Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Ref saving throw for halfdamage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.Empathic Link (Su): The familiar has an empathic link with its master to a distance of  ½  a mile for every 2 level it possesses. Because of the link's limited nature, only general emotions can be shared. The familiar and its master share the same connection to an item or place.Share Spells: The wizard may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on himself. A wizard may cast spells on his familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).Devotion (Ex): A familiar gains a +4 bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects. Deliver Touch Spells (Su): A familiar can deliver touch spells. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the “toucher.” The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master would. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.Speak with Master (Ex): A familiar and its master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.Spell Resistance (Ex): A familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master's level +1. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spell caster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar's spell resistance. This Spell Resistance increases with +1 for every 2 levels gained after 6th level.Telepathic Link with Master (Su): The familiar has a telepathic link with its master to a distance of  ½ a mile for every 2 level it possesses. They can communicate emphatically with each other and use through each others senses. Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex): A familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, monkeys with other simians, rats with rodents, toads with amphibians, and weasels with ermines and minks. Such communication is limited by the Intelligence of the conversing creatures.Greater Devotion (Ex): The Will save bonus against enchantment spells and effects increases to +8.Detect Magic (Su): The familiar can at will Detect Magic as if with the spell.  Recall Familiar (Su): With a single word, the master can Recall the familiar, teleporting it instantly to his side. It must be within sensing distance to do so. Shield (Su): A familiar is permanently Shielded as if with the spell.I hope you like it!</blockquote>

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