Toad Got Nerfed!

[bret]

As a DM I would make my players keep there toad famaliers, but since EVERY spellcaster that has ever been in my game, I have only had to deal with only 1 famalier.

The halfling Sorcerer had a weasel famalier. I had drow brake into there Inn and shot them all with sleep darts including the weasel and then tied them up. They had info I wanted, the sorcerer wouldn't talk, Mr Weasel got thrown into the fire. The look on the players face. They still didn't talk but nobody ever took a famalier after that.

I'm not surprised that no one ever took a familiar after that. Tell me, are all the players orphans -- no family or friends? What you did is in some ways worse than killing off an NPC family member.

 

[Numion]

All my players ever took for familiars were Toads. Then they kept it safe tucked inside their jackets. .

I'm happy with the change.

 

[evileeyore]

Our first foray into 3e oh so many years ago had a Dwarven Fighter (on the way to Dwarven Defender) eventually take 1 level of Wizard just to get a Toad and True Strike (and wand use...).

His Toad had more hit points than my Elven Rogue/Ranger/Wizard (the Dwarf and I had equal levels...).


Abusive ? Nah...

 

[MadScientist]

Our first foray into 3e oh so many years ago had a Dwarven Fighter (on the way to Dwarven Defender) eventually take 1 level of Wizard just to get a Toad and True Strike (and wand use...).

His Toad had more hit points than my Elven Rogue/Ranger/Wizard (the Dwarf and I had equal levels...).


Abusive ? Nah...

Well I'm pretty confident the vast majority of that toads HP's weren't from the +1 HP/level gained by its familiar CON bonus. It sounds like any familiar that character took would have had lots of HP's, it just others could have actually been useful in other ways as well.

My group has never seen a toad familiar. We've had a raven, an owl, and a cat... but never a toad. With only the +3 HP's I doubt we will ever see one. (Not for powergaminhg purposes anyway.)

 

[Sejs]

both are technically amphibians, of course, but toads tend to live on land.

Uh... so do frogs, really. Not often that you hear about Deep Sea Frogs living out in the middle of the ocean.

^_^



Btw, has it been confirmed yea or nay if Toughness gives +3hp flat, or +1hp/level? If it's the latter, bring on the toads, I say!

 

[Arani Korden]

With only the +3 HP's I doubt we will ever see one. (Not for powergaminhg purposes anyway.)

'Course, for a first level character, this makes a Toad familiar better. +3 hp instead of +1. It's only at fourth level that it becomes less useful.

 

[MadScientist]

Even at first level the +2 Con gives you the bonus to Concentration and Fort saves that toughness does not. Whether +3 HP's or +1 HP, Fort, and Concentration is better probably depends on the specific character.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

I've been wondering whether they changed the rules on dismissing a familiar. It seems like a Toad would be a very useful familiar for a 1st or 2nd level pure Wizard or Sorcerer. If they made it a little less punitive to ditch a familiar that you've "outgrown," then it might fill a valuable, if limited, slot in the hierarchy of familiars.

 

[Felix]

Devilkiller:

Can't you cast spells on your familiar with the target of "You"? Might Polymorph Self have a longer duration?