Familiar Feats - if possible

[Iso]

I know the engine assumes every single Wizard and Sorcerer already has the Familiar Conduit feat, it's even given to them free of charge.

Would it be possible, advisable, or even acceptable to consider taking it further and adding additional feats such as Big Familiar or even get zany and add in Cadaverous Familiar?

I know it's possible to add and remove familiars via 2DA lists, but the extent of what can be added or subtracted to individual familiar types is not something I've personally explored.

But it would potentially allow someone who took, say the Big Familiar feat, to easily gain a Wolf or Boar familiar - let them stack the feat a few more times up into Dire Familiars. Feeling really wicked? Combine Big Familiar with Cadaverous Familiar to gain a Zombie or Skeleton as your Necromancer's Familiar.

That would provide for some interesting situations, if instead of Metamagic Feats, a mage invested into their other half. The character enrichment potential doesn't need much elaboration.

[Urithrand]

I wouldn't mind seeing something like this implemented myself if it's possible, mage familiars are possibly one of the most useless things in the game as it stands. A familiar that might stand up a little more solidly in a fight would be greatly advantageous.

[Iso]

I wouldn't consider them useless at all. The Familiar Conduit feat is perhaps the most powerful feat the Mage classes have, the problem just happens to be Familiars die if you look at them sideways, even once fully buffed.

Something that could increase the Familiar's power at the cost of the Mage's personal power would allow the Mage to make better use of their valuable Class feature without creating an overpowering situation. Buying a feat for your Familiar instead of yourself, particularly when you have the chance to buy a Metamagic feat, is like giving up a Domain for a Cleric.

**Edit/Update**
Quick trot through the hen_familiar.2da file tells me there's 10 padding slots for new familiars in the file and there's easy support for feat requirement. Also, the by-default-disabled Homunculus is a 5 second edit in notepad to enable for player use.
There's also 3 pads free on the hen_companion.2da file if anyone wants to beat the dead horse cohort/steed topic some more in a separate thread and risk broken fingers.

[Kaeldorn]

Arcane spellcasters are already overpowered in this low magic world. Giving them dire animals as 'tanks' would completely seal the deal and a wizard would rarely - if ever - need to team up anymore. Rare exception being some kind of priest (also OP) to heal and buff even more.

So while it may be possible to add in those, it's not going to happen. I'm in favor of keeping familiars an RP thing rather than a combat thing. So if you have ideas to add RP flavor to familiars, be my guest.

[Fezzik]

Arcane spellcasters are already overpowered in this low magic world. Giving them dire animals as 'tanks' would completely seal the deal and a wizard would rarely - if ever - need to team up anymore.
.

* cough * NIghtmare * cough *

[DM_Equinox]

I want a gnat swarm familiar.

[Iso]

Straight off the top of my head I can name the Speak With Animals feat at level 7 Familiars are supposed to gain automatically, which would help with DM events and plots and doesn't need any scripting or coding for the players to work out with DMs. I'll have a look to see if I can bring up any other useful RP enriching stuff.

[DurinRustbeard]

An undead familiar would be neat I just finished a book "Unclean by Richard Lee Byers" and it had a younger red wizard with a skull tattoo masking his face that held his Ghoul Familiar until needed. A ghoul would be awesome, but like the red wizard you'd need some kind of way of concealing them if you were to have one. I'd love any kind of undead familiar.. unless it was a zombie and could never keep up with you :P

[Kaeldorn]

Behold:

The Skeletal Leprechaun familiar

[Urithrand]

That has to be the funniest thing I've seen all day...

[black hand]

While not exactly on the topic about Familiar feats, I noticed that familiars would not attack if given the verbal command for attack, or defend master, while summons or animal companions can. I know the Behaviour list has been modified for understandable reasons, but perhaps there could be a feat that would give the casters familiar a little more balls and run in to help when asked.

They can attack if you control the familiar and right click on the enemy and select attack, but I find the AI for your main character will usually cast or do something stupid during those few seconds of familiar control, resulting in a panicked frenzy of clicking to get back in control of your character before something baaaad happens.

[Phantom Lamb]

Bad things happen when your familiar dies--one of the reasons why they are so laughable in 3.5. I think most folks wouldn't want them to attack accidentally.

[Iso]

Bad things happen when your familiar dies--one of the reasons why they are so laughable in 3.5. I think most folks wouldn't want them to attack accidentally.

I wouldn't mind them less than accidentally sneezing a Cone of Cold. Assuming I'm not standing in front of it when it does.

I still think sinking a few feats that could otherwise be spent on crafting or Metamagic more than makes up for a familiar not finding itself dead within a few moments of combat starting - when discussing passing up a feat like Empower, you're looking at a caster potentially losing half of their damage capabilities. Trade half my damage potential for a familiar with 7d8 instead of 7d4?

You'd have to be really hellbent on making your familiar an integral part of your character to do that and in doing so I believe you'd see familiars become more used in RP overall, since they'd be developing personalities even during "combat-centered" dungeon romps. I don't ever drop my character just because it makes dungeon crawling easier, not to ridicule anyone who does, but it is in my opinion you're RPing 24/7 unless in the AFK room.

I've seen people, and have myself, roleplay their Animal Companions to the moon and back. I hope that I can respectfully state I don't see why a Familiar that is able to be present all of the time would be any different, besides costing a lot of feats.

If power level is the only issue, a potential equalizer could be forcing someone to spend a feat on Familiar Conduit before they could even purchase the next size (or two) upgrade to something like a.. Cow. One feat spent on Familiar Conduit, on Big Familiar, and now my Sorc is now down two or three feats just to have a Cow for a Familiar. Double the Hitpoint pool as a Rat, still just as bad if it dies, but now it also has worse AC because of the size increase and so it's going to be hit more often. I've just traded two or three feats for a giant mooing target. I'd be an idiot not to RP with it after that. :P

For non-tanky, but still gaining utility, a feat for a Familiar like a Stirge still splatters just as easily as a Beetle while possibly getting it's special Blood Drain attack.

Not to be arguing - it's to show my line of reasoning for why it's not an balance destroying idea. If anything, I believe by spending Feats that will likely otherwise be spent on DPS onto something like an improved Familiar, you're showing a greater dedication to role-played character development than maximizing your DPS.

Still, on the topic of Familiars strictly for social purposes, something like a Raven would be nice because they receive the ability to speak one Language of their master, so you could have a Raven that can speak Common and legitimately communicate with people.

**Quick Edit**
And another thing... :P
Tell me that's not a great plot hook. "For the love of all that is holy!! Call the city watch!! A Necromancer's goat is in our farms setting the crops alight!"

[Product of Void]

but its fun to wander as a familiar with the wizard following you. I once Rped a charactor being stone while the familair spoke and interacted with people. Lots of fun.

Familairs in nwn2 are pretty much useless...A pig? come on... least give it wings and a scorpion tail or something.

Pretty sure its something to do with the feat/fraction/engine that makes familiars not attack.

red wizard idea is pretty neat was how I was planning to Rp a Palemaster. Skeletal guard would be a belt that unfolded, his backpack would unfold to a zombie, and a necklace would hold the floating undead if one given.

Even if we get RP pets perhaps something cool like a Eyeball beholder or soemthing

[Urithrand]

The raven isn't the only familiar that can speak, the homunculous can also speak, which was a great deal of fun as Biddle. And I still think that feats to improve your familiar's general RP potential are a good idea.

Talking familiar - the most obvious and the most interesting from an RP point of view.
Familiar telepathy - The caster can communicate with the familiar over long distances. Good for spying missions and such.
Shapeshifter - the familiar can switch between all the shapes of basic familiars, no combat bonuses, but plenty of RP fun.
Attuned with master - Familiar levels with the master's character level rather than class level eg a Wiz 5 / Cleric 4, the familiar would be level 9 as his master rather than level 5 which it would normally be.

Just a few ideas off the top of my head which would be interesting RP-wise and make familiars less useless.