Familiars and weapons

[Cheiromancer]

If you polymorph your familiar into a humanoid shape, can it use weapons or armor?

1. The generic humanoid is a 1st level warrior, so I would think so.

2. Though I could also see the polymorphed familiar knowing how to use weapons and armor if its master could.

3. But I'm afraid that as a magical beast, it has no default proficiencies at all.

Opinions?

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I don't know if it is relevant, but familiars use their master's base attack bonus, and can use the master's skills if they are better than its own. Is it reasonable to rule that option #2 holds?)
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I think #3 is correct- #1 and #2 are wishful thinking. Oh, well.
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[Arcturus_Rugend]

I'm only venturing a guess here, but I'd say that they wouldn't have proficiency with armor or weapons, even if their master does. This seems likely because the master doesn't share the benefits of all its feats with the familiar, only skills and BAB.

The exception to this would probably be if their original form had a feat relating to it's natural weapons that is somehow duplicated in the new form (i.e. the new form has the same type of natural weapons at the familiar so the familiar could still use its Weapon Finesse: Claw if it originally possesed the feat).

The natural weapon situation probably won't occur if you're polymorphing the familiar in humanoid form, though, so I'm not sure how useful that would ultimately be.

Just an educated guess.

 

[dcollins]

1. The generic humanoid is a 1st level warrior, so I would think so.

That's not a correct statement. It's true that most 1HD humanoids in the MM are presented with stat blocks for 1st level warriors of that race. But it's not true that either "generic" humanoids are warriors, or that most humanoids are warriors, or anything else.

I don't see any reason for the familiar to have any weapon proficiencies.