Familiars: Isn't there a better way?

[Deaths_Fist]

The problem is, I hate familiars. Every wizard or sorceror I ever make never takes a familiar. At higher levels they're just a liability, and at any level I find myself forgetting I even have one, not to mention most creatures available as familiars are, well, LAME.

With the advent of replacement levels in recent books, I was wondering what others here on the forums thought would be appropriate abilities to replace familiars for those arcane spellcasters who have no use for such things. Examples from official sources are still too few for me to easily assess a correct power level for such things on my own.

So what do you folks say would work?

 

[Pbartender]

I've considered making familiars simply Awakened Animals. Let them take levels in base class or NPC class as the master gains levels, and essentially treat them as the equivalent of a Cohort.

 

[apsuman]

The problem is, I hate familiars. Every wizard or sorceror I ever make never takes a familiar. At higher levels they're just a liability, and at any level I find myself forgetting I even have one, not to mention most creatures available as familiars are, well, LAME.

With the advent of replacement levels in recent books, I was wondering what others here on the forums thought would be appropriate abilities to replace familiars for those arcane spellcasters who have no use for such things. Examples from official sources are still too few for me to easily assess a correct power level for such things on my own.

So what do you folks say would work?

I would say give them nothing.

If you want a neighborhood to start from however, a familiar gives it's master two feats for free, Alertness and skill focus, or one of those save improving feats. The ability to scry at level 13 is pretty good too.

 

[Gez]

Personally, I've improved the familiar feature a bit so that you contine to gain new stuff every two levels. At level 13, you can scry 1/day on your familiar; at level 15, 2/day; 17, 3/day; 19, 5/day (hey, you gain no new spell level so it justifies a boost in familiar progression).

 

[Crothian]

The problem is, I hate familiars. Every wizard or sorceror I ever make never takes a familiar. At higher levels they're just a liability, and at any level I find myself forgetting I even have one, not to mention most creatures available as familiars are, well, LAME.

With the proper spells and feats they can actually be quite useful. Also, I wouldn't hate the familar becasue you forget to use them. That's like the fighter twho complains about his low AC becasue he keeps forgetting he can wear armor.

At most a familiar is worth a feat.

 

[Deaths_Fist]

With the proper spells and feats they can actually be quite useful. Also, I wouldn't hate the familar becasue you forget to use them. That's like the fighter twho complains about his low AC becasue he keeps forgetting he can wear armor.

At most a familiar is worth a feat.

It's not so much I hate them because I forget. I hate them because I don't like the flavor of it. Just doesn't seem to fit the kind of characters I make. And they have a habit of getting blown up later on; trust me on this one. I've seen it happen to too many players. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to make familiars useful, but I'm looking for a real alternative. Something like the Arcane Earthbond power for the Dwarf Sorceror 1st-level replacement out of Races of Stone. An ability that perhaps doesn't get as powerful as a familiar, but also can't be lost after one bad saving throw.

I'm just trying to brainstorm for something different I guess. I just need enough ideas to build a framework for such things.

 

[Crothian]

well, that's the balancing factor of the familar. Sure they can be very useful, but there's a big negative if they die. So, it really balances itself out, so getting nothing for not taking the familar is not out of line.

 

[Ibram]

At most a familiar is worth a feat.

Thats the way it works IMC, at 1st level the wizard gets a bonus feat, which can be a familiar (the feat is available to clerics as well).

 

[Deaths_Fist]

Fair enough, but requiring casters to take a familiar or nothing when creating the characters seems unimaginative. It just doesn't fit the style of some characters. I'm looking for options, not limitations.

Nothing earth-breaking, I'm not looking to break the game here, but a theme-appropriate ritual to enable some minor abilities would be nice.

Let's take the Arcane Earthbond as an example. For 24 hours of time and 100 gp, the character gets alertness and DR 1/adamantine when in contact with the ground.

Smaller limitation, but smaller benefit than the familiar. Fits the character's theme well.

I'm thinking as a result that such a ritual for other themes would grant some sort of feat, plus a minor ability, but what other abilities would be equal in power to DR 1/adamantine? Or what would be equal if we didn't grant a bonus feat at all but granted a slightly more powerful ability?

 

[smetzger]

UA has a feat called Item Familiar which looks pretty neat.