What familiar should I choose, and why?

[Y.O.Morales]

In a short Ravenloft campaign I once played, my PC had an animated voodoo (sp?) doll as her familiar. It offered damage reduction of 2 / --, and it was so cool that I liked him more than the actual PC.

Anyways, get to do your own familiar with the DM's approval in case you dont like nothing else.

 

[Saeviomagy]

The raven has a minor advantage, up until you reach 7th level. It's ability to speak a language means it can activate command-word items. It's ability to carry messages can be of use as well, although often there are spells more suited. The other advantage it has is that it has a charisma of 6 (other animal familiars have 5 or lower), meaning that it has the best use magic device roll if your character owns the skill...

At 7th level, every familiar can speak one language (the one shared with it's master), and therefore can activate magical items.

Monkeys are good for rogue/wizards. They have hands, and therefore can use disable device, sleight of hand and all the rest of those.

Pseudodragons have telepathy 100 feet, and can therefore act as a kind of group radio coordinator. They also get blindsight (like radar!). All in all, they're a dead-set fully-equipped centre of operations.

Oh, and quasits get a once-per-week commune which can be a real godsend (not really literally) in a mystery game. Assuming the DM doesn't just have your familiar stuff you up for fun...

Those are the really memorable ones.

 

[knitnerd]

Strange familiar.

What are the special advantages of different familiars? I'm not asking about their bonuses and abilities. (I can look that up myself). What I am asking about is why some of those abilities would be especially advantageous.

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).

As a newbie, I didn't know about lists of possible familiars, so when I created my antisocial gnome wizard to harass the party,I gave him a skunk as a familiar. I did some research on real skunks and my DM ruled that he gave me the ability to cast stinking cloud three times per day and the ability to tunnel through soft earth at slow walking speed.

 

[Klaus]

That's quite a bit strong. I'd use the badger stats for a skunk (with the [Ex] ability to use a splash weapon that causes nausea and removing the rage) and granting its master a +3 on Fortitude saves.

 

[candidus_cogitens]

At 7th level, every familiar can speak one language (the one shared with it's master), and therefore can activate magical items.

In my opinion, the speak with master ability would not be sufficient to activate a magic item since it does not involve actual words. It is usually just a string of animal-like sounds, as it says in the PHB if I'm not mistaken.

The fact that a familiar CAN activate some magic items is a considerable advantage that I had not considered. I doubt that a raven could hold a wand properly though. Still, there must be some nifty wondrous items that are command-word activitated, though I could not name any at the moment.

 

[candidus_cogitens]

In a short Ravenloft campaign I once played, my PC had an animated voodoo (sp?) doll as her familiar. It offered damage reduction of 2 / --, and it was so cool that I liked him more than the actual PC.

Anyways, get to do your own familiar with the DM's approval in case you dont like nothing else.

I love the animated object idea. I wonder if anyone has developed the idea of a sentient staff as an alternative to a familiar.

Edit:
I searched around for it myself. There are staff familiars out there!
http://www.raflar.com/fantasyrpg/Wizard Staff Familiar.pdf
http://www.heim1.tu-clausthal.de/~purzel/staff_v2.pdf
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65135

 

[candidus_cogitens]

By the way, does anyone know where I can get a good raven miniature? I have the familiar pack from Reaper miniatures, which has a good hawk miniature, but I don't think it would pass as a raven.