Familiar based character?

[stolide]

How would you go about optimizing a character to primarily use their familiar in a combat heavy game? It is 10th level gestalt, level adjustments and the sort are only paid on one side of the gestalt.

I am thinking that the changeling substitution for wizard (lets you change the familiars form as a full round action) with improved familiar, and some buffs, could be useful.

[Sobolev]

How would you go about optimizing a character to primarily use their familiar in a combat heavy game? It is 10th level gestalt, level adjustments and the sort are only paid on one side of the gestalt.

I am thinking that the changeling substitution for wizard (lets you change the familiars form as a full round action) with improved familiar, and some buffs, could be useful.

There's some feats in PHB2 for Familiars too.  One of them lets your familiar hide in your square in order to surprise opponents when it attacks.  Another lets your familiar enter people's squares to attack without provoking AoO's or something.  I'm AFB so I don't really remember much else about them, but it's something to check out probably.

[Hallack]

If allowed Enspell Familiar feat from the Dragon Compendium is great.  Allows you to share spells up to a mile out.

Also, Gestalt... Play a class with high HD for more Familiar HP.

[kremti]

Take it you've seen this?

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7508.0

-K

[dna1]

druid!

[Lycanthromancer]

If psicrystals count, The Big Guy Is With Me does this really well (though it works best with a psion at level 7 or higher).

Wizards etc don't generally do as well with actual familiars, since those aren't as durable or as flexible (and they don't get the psicrystal's HD-based feats or higher level abilities of any kind), but you can do something fairly similar with a familiar. And you can even take Obtain Familiar for two of them.

[Sir Giacomo]

If psicrystals count, The Big Guy Is With Me does this really well (though it works best with a psion at level 7 or higher).

THAT is a pretty cool character concept - in particular fluffwise.
Anyhow, classes with familiar and big hp like a hexblade come to mind.
Also I vaguely remember an idea in the early core rules maxing days of a halfling wizard with touch spells who hid in an extradimensional spaces air-carrier style and let a familiar fly out of that space invisibly to deliver touch spells (an owl would be quite good at this). But I do not know any more how that worked in detail. Maybe I find it somewhere.

- Giacomo

[Shiki]

Extra Familiar, Dragon #280.

If it's gestalt, get some useful moderate (or high) hp class on the side that works well with wizard, like, I dunno... Factotum?

[kremti]

If it's gestalt, get some useful moderate (or high) hp class on the side that works well with wizard, like, I dunno... Factotum?

Or Totemist (and share soulmeld to boost it up...)

-K

[stolide]

Yeah, I read the handbook.

I really like the idea of touch spell optimization, and I have nothing against psicrystials instead. Being gestalt, I could do both if there were some particular advantage to having hordes of familiars and psicristals.

For the touch power idea, would something like psion10//Binder10 be decent (I love the class, but if it doesn't make sense say so)? Is there a way to share vestiges with a crystal/familiar?

Looking at the incarnum feats implies that psion10//Incarnate10 might be better, especially since I know the dm will let me use share soulmeld with a psicrystal.

Also, am I correct in thinking there is no xp loss for the destruction of a psicrystal? If so, that makes the psion significantly more enticing than a wizard.

[JohnnyMayHymn]

Can a kalashtar take the psicrystal feat by itself?
If your psicrystal is getting its own feats, just go
kalashtar
Wizard//druid.     Whatever Prc's you want, I think kalashtar can get thrallherd by itself at some point too! 
If you can get a level of Arcane Hierophant(you might have to give up part of it's dual progression b/c of gestalt) it will combine ur familiar and animal companion into a Familiar Companion!
(Or something like that, though it would take a few feats to pull all of this off)

EDIT: can a psicrystal get it's own antifeats?

[JaronK]

Hexblade with Improved Familiar, Arcane Heirophant, and Dread Necromancer all come to mind as basic ideas.

JaronK

[Maat_Mons]

From the Cityscape Web Enhancement:

Urban Companion
The fearsome animal companions who accompany some casters in the wild are indeed a boon in combat, but a hulking wolf or creeping tiger is out of place in an urban environment. Some characters believe that small and subtle is of greater value than massive and mighty.
Class: Druid or ranger.
Level: 1st (druid) or 4th (ranger).
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain an animal companion.
Benefit: The character gains the companionship of a smaller but far more intelligent creature than she otherwise would have. This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below. Her functional level for determining the abilities of the companion is equal to her druid level or one-half her ranger level.

• She does not lose experience points if her urban companion is slain, and she requires only 24 hours to replace one who is lost.
• Her urban companion has total hit points equal to 3/4 her own hit points, rather than half as per a familiar.
• The urban companion gains the ability to speak with other animals of its kind when she has an effective master level of 1st, rather than 7th.

When she reaches an effective master level of 7th, she can speak with animals of her companion's kind, as per speak with animals. This is a supernatural ability that functions constantly, and it requires only a free action to reactivate if somehow dispelled.

[stolide]

Kalashtar have no manifester level, so they cannot take psicrystal affinity. They get to use mindlink once a day as a wilder of half their level, but they do not seem to be granted a ML. I also see nothing about them getting automatic thrallherd's. Would that be in something other than the Ebberon Campaign Setting book?

Urban companian looks cool, but I don't really like the flavor of druids most of the time.

With opprotunity power, can I make melee attacks of opprotunity with melee touch powers, through my crystal? If so, then there may be an interesting battlefield control method using many psicrystals.

[KellKheraptis]

By definition if you have a psi-like, you have an ML.  Also, nice avatar, that's the same base pic I use on my D2 forums (werewolf druids FTW!).  Check the mount handbooks, and maybe any kind of ACF compilation, as I seem to remember a build that let your familiar as a changeling basically turn into a reconfigurable cohort at will.  Pick up a couple more through Obtain and Extra, and you have a fully mutable party

[Sobolev]

Kalashtar have no manifester level, so they cannot take psicrystal affinity. They get to use mindlink once a day as a wilder of half their level, but they do not seem to be granted a ML. I also see nothing about them getting automatic thrallherd's. Would that be in something other than the Ebberon Campaign Setting book?

As Kel mentioned, they do have an ML, from their Mindlink.  Ability to manifest powers at a certain level = Manifester level

[X-Codes]

If you're doing a familiar style of character, go Ranger/Wizard.  If you want to PrC either side, make sure you maintain all good saves and full BAB.  Familiars benefit from your skill ranks, base saves, BAB, and total HP, so while a nice HD is useful, it's absolutely the lowest priority on the list.

If you happen to be Chaotic Good, then Exalted Familiar gets you a Coure Eladrin, which has Dancing Lights at-will that can be turned into Silent Image at-will (so, so abusable).  Also obviously an Outsider, so lots of Polymorph options and free Martial Weapon Proficiency.

Imps and Quasits are both also good for their Commune ability and Outsider typing.  They also have 3 HD, so they get two feats instead of one.

Mephits come in behind the fiends, but there aren't any moral or ethical complications in having a mephit follow you around.  Wyrmling Dragons are about on par with the Mephits because they're completely customizable and can easily bring 3-4 feats.

That said, if you can get it admitted, you WILL use a Silvanshee familiar (Pathfinder SRD).  Even if it's Lay on Hands ability is converted back to 3.5e Lay on Hands, especially if it's ability to cast Stabilize is converted to Cure Minor Wounds, you WILL use it, because it could quite possibly be the best familiar EVER.

[PhaedrusXY]

From the Cityscape Web Enhancement:

Urban Companion
The fearsome animal companions who accompany some casters in the wild are indeed a boon in combat, but a hulking wolf or creeping tiger is out of place in an urban environment. Some characters believe that small and subtle is of greater value than massive and mighty.
Class: Druid or ranger.
Level: 1st (druid) or 4th (ranger).
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain an animal companion.
Benefit: The character gains the companionship of a smaller but far more intelligent creature than she otherwise would have. This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below. Her functional level for determining the abilities of the companion is equal to her druid level or one-half her ranger level.

• She does not lose experience points if her urban companion is slain, and she requires only 24 hours to replace one who is lost.
• Her urban companion has total hit points equal to 3/4 her own hit points, rather than half as per a familiar.
• The urban companion gains the ability to speak with other animals of its kind when she has an effective master level of 1st, rather than 7th.

When she reaches an effective master level of 7th, she can speak with animals of her companion's kind, as per speak with animals. This is a supernatural ability that functions constantly, and it requires only a free action to reactivate if somehow dispelled.

Holy crap... All this is missing is gaining feats! If you could get Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance) and Craven on this, you could make Ninja Kitty!

[Cannotthink]

The Enhance Familiar feats out of Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide and Villian Design Handbook are worth a look. Large, Fly, Sneak attack, and Poison could be some interesting options.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

From the Cityscape Web Enhancement:

Urban Companion
The fearsome animal companions who accompany some casters in the wild are indeed a boon in combat, but a hulking wolf or creeping tiger is out of place in an urban environment. Some characters believe that small and subtle is of greater value than massive and mighty.
Class: Druid or ranger.
Level: 1st (druid) or 4th (ranger).
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain an animal companion.
Benefit: The character gains the companionship of a smaller but far more intelligent creature than she otherwise would have. This is identical to the sorcerer's ability to summon a familiar (PH 52), including all benefits granted and gained by the familiar, except as noted below. Her functional level for determining the abilities of the companion is equal to her druid level or one-half her ranger level.

• She does not lose experience points if her urban companion is slain, and she requires only 24 hours to replace one who is lost.
• Her urban companion has total hit points equal to 3/4 her own hit points, rather than half as per a familiar.
• The urban companion gains the ability to speak with other animals of its kind when she has an effective master level of 1st, rather than 7th.

When she reaches an effective master level of 7th, she can speak with animals of her companion's kind, as per speak with animals. This is a supernatural ability that functions constantly, and it requires only a free action to reactivate if somehow dispelled.

Holy crap... All this is missing is gaining feats! If you could get Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance) and Craven on this, you could make Ninja Kitty!

It has Stealthy and Weapon Finesse as feats.  Dark chaos feat shuffle is a go.