Taking Out the Familiar

[Samothdm]

For various campaign flavor reasons, I want to take away the familiar that 1st Level Sorcerers and Wizards get as a class ability.

I know I need to replace that with something else - does anyone have any suggestions that would be balanced? Have any of you done this in your games? I'm thinking a free "Scribe Scroll" feat in place of the familiar might work, but I'm not sure if that's balanced.

 

[Crothian]

I don't really think it needs to be replaced with anything. But scribe scoll wouldn't be out of line.

 

[Khorod]

I've decided to make it a feat.
Unfortunately, over the course of 20 levels, a familiar is worth a lot more than that. Like, 2 or 3 feats.

The best solution is to add something for flavor reasons that will grow as the spellcaster levels, like his arcane focus- a Staff which just grows in power as time goes on.

 

[Samothdm]

like his arcane focus- a Staff which just grows in power as time goes on.

Could you explain a little more about this idea?

 

[Crothian]

Could you explain a little more about this idea?

This idea has been written up in both Quint Wizard and Path of Magic.

 

[SamuraiY]

Scribe scroll wouldn't work as wizards already get that for free.

 

[Hollywood]

I've decided to make it a feat.
Unfortunately, over the course of 20 levels, a familiar is worth a lot more than that. Like, 2 or 3 feats.

Basically we decided it was worth 1 feat, and then an additional feat at 11th.

 

[Khorod]

Could you explain a little more about this idea?

Oh, say the wizard needs a staff as a special arcane focus for his spells. Maybe it provides bonuses, like a +1 to spell DC's and spell Penetration, which increases by 1 every 5 levels?

There are many ways to do such a thing. The idea is that the wizard has some sort of scalable, tangible bonus that can be removed from him. That way you match the familiar, but can change the flavor to suite the setting.

If you don't want such an item at all, just go with bonus feats.

 

[Samothdm]

Gotcha - thanks for the explanation. That would work a little more with my setting. And, on further reflection, I like it better than "Scribe Scroll" as a free feat for a sorcerer anyway, because that's a little bit more "book learning", and I want my sorcerers to have more of a free and wild kind of feel to them.

 

[haiiro]

Basically we decided it was worth 1 feat, and then an additional feat at 11th.

That sounds about right to me, since it takes into account the scaling benefits of the familiar.

I haven't read Quint Wizard or Path of Magic, but the scaling staff idea also sounds interesting.