Imps, could they be the best "improved" familiars?

[Arcanus]

What exactly do familiars give the master in way of bonuses?
For instance the Imp and Psuedodragon?
Do you gain it's special abilities?
What happens if your Familiar is a construct?
Can you Polymorph Other your familiar?
If so does it have to be transformed into the same type?
Does the familiar keep its special abilities?

 

[Tom Cashel]

Do regular animal familiars & other "Improved familiars" have Higher master's, or hidden agenda's?

To me, a Familiar that is "one being" with the Wizard is just boring. I mean, for the most part they are the same, but unless the familiar has some personality of its own, it just ends up being a nonentity; it becomes mere Stats instead of a character.

Example: the dwarf wizard in my group had a Toad familiar. Of course, it is loyal to him...but it also calls him an "oaf" sometimes, and gets really angry when he forgets to feed it crickets. So to the extent that it wants to be fed and treated with respect, yes, the toad has its own agenda.

As for the Imp having it's own agenda...it's a devil. And I'm a Rat Bastard DM, so if one of my PCs took one as a familiar there would be an inevitable slide toward total corruption. That's just how I view the nature of "evil" in D&D. And, IMHO, why the PH states outright that the evil alignments are reserved for villains and monsters.

What's so "mature" about playing evil characters? I mean, if played correctly, they're total bastards. Seems to me it's a catharsis at best...at worst, mental masturbation.

EDIT: Okay, so that's stupid comment...all D&D, to some extent, is mental masturbation (I'd do it every day if I could! )...but here's what I was trying to get at: I'll venture that most D&D gamers play good or neutral characters, and this is what the PH is geared toward. They play noble heroes in their imaginations. I have to wonder about gamers who play ignoble villains (to put it nicely) in their imaginations.

EDIT 2: Wow, I'm really not explaining myself very well. Rub, you say you agree with Caliban in seeing the game as an opportunity to change/protect yourself from things that cannot be changed in real life. Fine. But if you're playing an evil character, then I have to wonder what form the catharsis takes. I mean, you can't kidnap people and murder them in real life so you role-play it instead? Steal, lie, backstab? I just don't get it. Please explain.

 

[Tom Cashel]

On-topic!

And on the topic...

I think it's a toss-up, statwise, btwn. the IMp and the Pseudodragon. The Pseudodragon's high SR is great, but the Improved Evasion that all familiars get kind of makes that redundant. So, statwise, I'd agree--Imps are kick-ass familiars.

 

[Magic Rub]

I don't mean to be a Poop, but if any one else is going debate the good & evil thing would you please travel to the Good & Evil debate & do it there...

http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11912

Thanks,
Luv, hugs, & Jello
Magic Rub

 

[Tom Cashel]

Already there...

 

[Crothian]

But the good evil thing is relivant. If not, then the familiar should automatically have the same alingment as the wizard. Haowever, since it doesn't one must realize that the familiar will act out it's alignment.

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Re: Re: Re: Pseudodragons are kewler

Very few people have the maturity to play evil characters without it devolving into.....S&M fantasy's.

Say..........what?