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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aboyd" data-source="post: 4494849" data-attributes="member: 44797">I think many people would suggest that pretty much any alternative beats having a familiar.  Familiars die, you lose XP.  Familiars have minuscule combat abilities.  You lose a familiar, you can't get a new one for a year (considering that most games are so tightly packed that you go from 1 to 20 in a year's time, the rule basically means no familiar at all once it's gone).So yeah, the Cursed Glance alternative in PHB2 is OK.  Unfortunately, it only lasts until the start of your next turn.  So consider this combat between you & a bad guy:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Bad guy: Magic missile on you -- immediately he's at -2 for being foolish enough to target you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">You: Seeking Ray on bad guy -- but he doesn't have the -2 to AC anymore, because it goes away before your turn starts.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Bad guy: Fireball, but not on you because he's not stupid anymore -- he targets the square next to you, you are merely caught in the blast.  No penalty applied.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">You: Well, I don't miss his AC penalty, since I couldn't take advantage of it anyway.</li> </ol>The penalty really only helps with a party who is willing to gang up on the enemy that struck you.  Very limited window of opportunity.There is another ability -- Abrupt Jaunt -- which gives you free teleport.  That might seem minor, but it's an immediate ability, which means that you can do it in response to an attack -- teleporting out of harm's way before the damage is done.  Archers target you with 20 arrows?  The DM is rolling to-hits?  Interrupt him, tell him you teleport away.  All arrows miss.  A huge monster is attempting to grapple you, and will certainly be able to do it?  Teleport away before the instant before the grapple would have succeeded.</blockquote>

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