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<blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 552454" data-attributes="member: 807">Question about the Feat, Improved Familiar (found in both T&amp;B and FRCS, I believe)...The rules regarding anything <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> were written with the idea that the familiar was an animal as the original/base creature.&nbsp; That said, a few things seem to create oddities when you make the original/base creature for a familiar be something other than an animal.&nbsp;-- In some instances, the assumption is clear.&nbsp; I am just still asking in case there are alternative opinions or if there is a clarification somewhere I didn't notice --To make this question easier, I'm just picking an example of having a small water elemental as the improved familiar.If you have this improved familiar, (per normal rules in the PHB's &quot;familiar&quot; side bar, p51) what happens with the &quot;Speak with Animal of its Type&quot; ?&nbsp; It's written and setup completely for speaking to animals (and animals alone as it is referenced multiple times in the text not to mention the title of the ability itself).&nbsp; I can make one of two assumptions: 1) no ability gained since the familiar is not an animal type (just one of those things you loose from all that you gain by getting an elemental as a familiar!) 2) it gets altered to be speak with elementals of its type for the purpose of a water elemental, for exampleThe elemental savant prestige class (T&amp;B).&nbsp; The &quot;Special&quot; prerequisite.&nbsp; Having an elemental familiar, is that considered &quot;prior peaceful contact&quot; -- seems like it to me... but somehow that seems like a cheap circumvention of the intention to meet another outsider.&nbsp; (The same could be said for summoning an elemental via spell, but perhaps not)Intelligence for a familiar (per standard familiar sidebar in PHB).&nbsp; Using an Ice Mephit for this example -- I would guess since the Ice Mephit's normal Intelligence is much higher than the Intelligence than that given by the chart to use the Ice Mephits original Int score instead. ... If the chart used a &quot;bonus&quot; listing, I would have less question, implying that it simply added +2 to the base animal's intelligence but since it gives a static number (i.e. a familiar will have this intelligence at this master level) it leaves room for a shred of questioning....&nbsp;&nbsp; (of my three questions, this seems the most obvious answer, to me, and will rule it as using the Ice Mephit's Int unless someone manages to convience me otherwise <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />)Thoughts? Comments? Opinions?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="fba827, post: 552454, member: 807"] Question about the Feat, Improved Familiar (found in both T&B and FRCS, I believe)... The rules regarding anything ;) were written with the idea that the familiar was an animal as the original/base creature. That said, a few things seem to create oddities when you make the original/base creature for a familiar be something other than an animal. -- In some instances, the assumption is clear. I am just still asking in case there are alternative opinions or if there is a clarification somewhere I didn't notice -- To make this question easier, I'm just picking an example of having a small water elemental as the improved familiar. If you have this improved familiar, (per normal rules in the PHB's "familiar" side bar, p51) what happens with the "Speak with Animal of its Type" ? It's written and setup completely for speaking to animals (and animals alone as it is referenced multiple times in the text not to mention the title of the ability itself). I can make one of two assumptions: 1) no ability gained since the familiar is not an animal type (just one of those things you loose from all that you gain by getting an elemental as a familiar!) 2) it gets altered to be speak with elementals of its type for the purpose of a water elemental, for example The elemental savant prestige class (T&B). The "Special" prerequisite. Having an elemental familiar, is that considered "prior peaceful contact" -- seems like it to me... but somehow that seems like a cheap circumvention of the intention to meet another outsider. (The same could be said for summoning an elemental via spell, but perhaps not) Intelligence for a familiar (per standard familiar sidebar in PHB). Using an Ice Mephit for this example -- I would guess since the Ice Mephit's normal Intelligence is much higher than the Intelligence than that given by the chart to use the Ice Mephits original Int score instead. ... If the chart used a "bonus" listing, I would have less question, implying that it simply added +2 to the base animal's intelligence but since it gives a static number (i.e. a familiar will have this intelligence at this master level) it leaves room for a shred of questioning.... (of my three questions, this seems the most obvious answer, to me, and will rule it as using the Ice Mephit's Int unless someone manages to convience me otherwise ;)) Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? [/QUOTE]

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