Hands up if you use a familiar!

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

What does your ranks in UMD have to do with your Familiar? AFAIK your familiar does not benefit from your skills.

Familiars may use your ranks in a skill or their own, whichever is better, though they always use their own modifiers.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

If you're going to take a familiar, just make sure you've looked at the familiar buff spells (there were several in Tome & Blood).

 

[Gez]

*raises hand*
Sorcerer with Ispnosp, a tiny viper familiar (yeah, I am not the most serious of gamers) in Living Greyhawk.

Seeing "Ispnosp" I thought, "hey, this guy must be reading Sluggy Freelance" then I looked at the avatar and didn't need confirmation.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Personally I think that for all except the raven familiar, the most important ability is the ability to "speak with master".

Why? Because this gives your familiar a language (admittedly one that is only shared by you and your familiar, but that's irrelevant).

And once your familiar has a language, he can activate magic items that require command words.

 

[Demoquin]

Is there a way to gain a familar without taking a level in a spellcasting class? Or a PrC that does have 'some' arcane spells.

 

[Thanee]

Well, Mystic Wanderer allows a divine caster to obtain a familiar.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Warehouse23]

My chief magic character, Damothoneil the Silver (Wiz 5 / Ftr 1 / soon to add EK 1) has a little lizard (gecko) familiar named Marcellus. Marcellus has never come out in combat yet, although he does do a good job entertaining Damon when he's forced into his room at the inn, transcribing spells into his spellbook. Marcellus was once sent out to scout for fair damsels during a festival, but quickly returned, shaking, to Damon, empathically explaining, "So many feet!"

 

[Kurotowa]

Is there a way to gain a familar without taking a level in a spellcasting class? Or a PrC that does have 'some' arcane spells.

Complete Arcane has the Obtain Familiar feat, which requires Knowledge (Arcana) 4 and Arcane Caster Level 3rd. So you have have PrC arcane spells or spell-like abilities, that's the feat for you.

 

[F5]

Personally, an improved familiar air mephit appeals to me.. give it mithril chain, maybe a buckler, a bow and cast flame dagger (FR spell.. similar to flame blade) on it. It can blur itself, feel free to buff it with false life, mirror image etc tho. But be careful with it, if it dies you can't raise it; its an outsider.

Because I'm a full loremaster I've got UMD maxed out, so my familiar uses all kinds of wands/staffs/scroll.

I'll second, third and fourth this observation. Improved Familiar can be a killer. The wizard I'm running now has the Air Mephit Diirk mentioned, and he's awesome. A familiar that can use equipment is a huge asset...a familair that can use MAGICAL equipment is a fiend. My DM felt the need to nerf the UMD skill, only giving my familar half my ranks, otherwise the familiar was in danger of outshining some of the actual PCs.

Generally I don't use familiars in combat, except under very special, desperate conditions. Out of combat, though, the familiar is one of the most useful abilities a wizard or sorcerer has, especially at lower levels.

 

[Demoquin]

Would an Assassin count as an arcane class?