What familiar should I choose, and why?

[Sejs]

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiimp!

 

[ARandomGod]

I guess another thing to consider is the delivery of touch attacks. Hawks and Owls have pretty good attack bonuses, and the raven is not bad.

I guess a bat could come in handy when you're in the dark (especially magical darkness). It would allow you to at least know where the bad guy is, and locate an exit--wouldn't it? Or would that be too complex for a familiar to communicate?

It wouldn't be too hard at all. Familiars are more intelligent than average animals. They start off as INT 6 and get an extra point of intelligence every at every odd level after 1. By level 19 they've got a 15 intelligence!

But even an intelligence of six is good enough to comminicate to you where the exit would be. And can probably count higher than a gully dwarf, for that matter!

 

[VirgilCaine]

For example, a raven can talk, but is that ever very useful? A bat has nightvision, but does that help you out very much? Other animals have scent--how useful is that? Also, some animals are more conspicuous than others. Is it ever annoying to have a highly noticeable familiar like a pseudodragon as opposed to a cat?

(I am especially interested in bat vs. raven, but I'd like to see a general discussion).

Raven is good for sending messages when you can't spare anyone...

Bat, use it to get through fog or mist--even your own fog or mist (Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud) or see invisible creatures, maybe find hidden enemies in the underbrush?

Scent--tracking someone or something.

 

[Driddle]

It depends a lot on your personal (the PC's) ethics regarding the use of the familiar.

If the animal is just another combat element to you -- "Touch attacks! Touch attacks!" -- then you'll need something quick and small that can get in and out of range in a hurry. As has already been suggested, you can't go wrong with a bird.

However, if you're loathe to put your best friend -- an extension of your magical soul, so to speak -- in harm's way, then the choice comes down to a matter of your personality ("I like dogs") and the PC's campaign purpose (rogues need sneaky assistants). Forget the piddly game mechanic bonuses, which don't make much of a difference anyway, and pick a familiar based on how you imagine it will act an animal.

For example, I'd suggest rats and mice for their innocuous size and ability to get into tight spaces. Cats are just fun for their personalities alone, but their predator nature might also save your life in a pinch when you need help finding something to eat (roast rat or bird for an emergency meal?). Dogs are pack creatures, so they thrive on working within a group to accomplish a task; and they're pretty handy, too, for guard duty. Small land tortoises don't need a lot of room for upkeep and they'll stay out of the way when you're busy. ... The list goes on and on.

You might guess I'm an adherent of the second philosophy moreso than the first. But then I also can't remember a period in which I didn't have at least one dog and cat sharing my home with me. I love my pets and would never risk their lives.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Well, I am still thinking the "Living Spell" concept has familiar all over it, just have not seen any other thoughts on the subject.

 

[Ferret]

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiimp!

Pimp that imp!


Remember that the bats blindness isn't negated by the echo-location, you won't (possibley) be able to send it over plain landscape without it getting lost. A raven could see though, and would fare better.... maybe.

I would seriously check out that .PDF, it's stuffed with cool...stuff!

 

[candidus_cogitens]

Well, I am still thinking the "Living Spell" concept has familiar all over it, just have not seen any other thoughts on the subject.

What's that?

 

[Hand of Evil]

What's that?

Eberron introduced spells that had taken on life, such as Cloud Kill and MM3 had even more and I think a rules/template for making a spell 'living'. Once the spell is living it is self-sustaining, with stats, attacks, always neutral, can be multible spells and mostly just an amimal/monster.

While the rules do not state they can be a familiar just the thought that a wizard could have spell as a familiar is intriguing.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Eberron introduced spells that had taken on life, such as Cloud Kill and MM3 had even more and I think a rules/template for making a spell 'living'. Once the spell is living it is self-sustaining, with stats, attacks, always neutral, can be multible spells and mostly just an amimal/monster.

While the rules do not state they can be a familiar just the thought that a wizard could have spell as a familiar is intriguing.

Yes, but you can't PET a living spell. Well..you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. Kitties on the other hand...

 

[Klaus]

Pimp that imp!


Remember that the bats blindness isn't negated by the echo-location, you won't (possibley) be able to send it over plain landscape without it getting lost. A raven could see though, and would fare better.... maybe.

I would seriously check out that .PDF, it's stuffed with cool...stuff!

Just a sidenote: bats aren't blind. True, their eyesight is a bit worse than humans, and they can see no better in the darkness than a human, but they are far from blind.

Oh, I was forgetting: In an older Dragon's Breath article at www.fierydragon.com I put up stats for Tiny, Small and Medium dogs. Tiny dogs can be used as familiars. Small dogs (and Wild Cats from the aforementioned PDF) can be used as Improved Familiars at 3rd level (being Small, both have a 5' reach, so they draw no AoO when delivering touch attacks).