Familiars

A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by an arcane spellcaster who takes the Obtain Familiar feat. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type.

Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar. A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (a sorcerer or wizard), as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other. Levels of different arcane spellcasting classes stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master’s level.

Familiar Basics

Use the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar’s kind, but make the following changes:

Hit Dice

A familiar has a number of Hit Dice equal to the master’s total level of arcane spellcasting classes or the familiar’s normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points

The familiar has one-half the master’s total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.

Attacks

Use the master’s base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar’s Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar’s melee attack bonus with natural weapons.

Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar’s kind.

Saving Throws

For each saving throw, use either the familiar’s base save bonus (Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +0) or the master’s (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.

Skills

For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master’s skill ranks, whichever are better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar’s total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar’s ability to use.

Familiar Ability Descriptions

All familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master’s combined level in classes that grant arcane spellcasting, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.

Natural Armor Adj.

The number noted here is an improvement to the familiar’s existing natural armor bonus.

Int

The familiar’s Intelligence score.

Alertness (Ex)

While a familiar is within arm’s reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.

Improved Evasion (Ex)

When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells

At the master’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.

If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself.

A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar’s type (magical beast).

Empathic Link (Su)

The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.

Deliver Touch Spells (Su)

If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the “toucher.” The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master could. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.

Speak with Master (Ex)

If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex)

If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, rats with rodents, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, toads with amphibians, weasels with similar creatures (weasels, minks, polecats, ermines, skunks, wolverines, and badgers). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.

Spell Resistance (Ex)

If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar’s spell resistance.

Scry on Familiar (Sp)

If the master is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.

Witch’s Familiar

The familiar gained by the witch class functions as a normal familiar with the following exceptions.

Levels of different arcane spellcasting classes stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the witch’s level. If a witch possesses such levels, her familiar always uses the witch rules for familiars, not those provided by other classes or feats.

Adding Spells to a Witch’s Familiar

A witch’s familiar only stores witch spells. All other spells are stored normally, as noted in their class features.

A witch’s familiar automatically learns two new witch spells at each witch level as described in the witch class features.

In addition, a familiar can learn spells from another witch’s familiar or from a spell scroll. This functions as in the same manner as copying a spell from a spellbook or scroll, except that there is no material cost for recording the spell.

A witch may research new spells in the same manner as a wizard, adding them to her familiar rather than a spellbook, and is not limited in the way that spontaneous spellcasters are.

Replacing a Witch’s Familiar

If a familiar is lost or dies, the witch does not suffer a loss of experience points. The familiar can be replaced 1 day later through a special ritual that costs 500 gp per witch level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete.

A new familiar begins knowing all of the 0-level spells plus two spells of every level the witch is able to cast. These are in addition to any bonus spells known by the familiar based on the witch’s level and her patron (see patron spells). Any spells added to the familiar through other means are simply lost.