*This guide is for the 1.0 version of Pathfinder, and was updated on April 19th, 2026.

To the Wizards Guide by SunderedShadow. (<--The wizard guide is in progress)

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If you wish to find my other projects here is a link to my Master List of Guides.

• What this guide will be
  This guide will be a detailed look at familiars.  We shall begin simply by giving a refresher over what Familiars are and how they can be acquired by almost anyone.  From there we will look over the Archetypes that exist, the roles a familiar can fill in the party, and then lightly touch on each of the available options, in turn, going over all the pros and cons of everything and studying what may make some options “better” than others.

This guide is designed to allow the most access to the most people and as such all material presented is official material. If any 3pp material is brought up it will be clearly noted as such but it will be a notation more than anything else.  This has been done not because 3pp is bad, but instead because far too many of the DM’s I know do not allow it on their tables. If I have come across a completely amazing 3pp option I will leave a note of it with the source but it will not be a major part of the guide.

All links should go to either the d20pfsrd, the archives of nethys, or my other works.  If any links do not function let me know, I will fix it as soon as possible.

Sources Used: Sources used are including but not limited to the following:

• Core Rulebook, All “Advanced Guides”, Bestiary 1-6,  Animal Archive, Familiar Folio, Haunted Hero’s Handbook (HHH), Seeker of Secrets (SoS), All Tactics Toolboxes, All Ultimate “whatever including Wilderness”

Disclaimers:

        I have marked familiaries that are banned in PFS play, they may be allowed in some games so check with your DM.  I personally follow those bans.  If there is information that I have missed and contradicts what I’ve written let me know ASAP so I can fix it.  This includes and is not limited to questions answered by developers, in the FAQ, or through discussion on the Paizo Forums.  I try to be fair and unbiased in my guides but even I can make judgments without realizing that I am being biased, if it bleeds through forgive me, bring it to my attention and we will see what can be done about it.

Thanks to NasiusT for helping put together the majority of how other classes can gain familiars.  Shades_Corvid for providing me with the Wilderness Guide so I could add from there.  UnArcaneElection, Mathmuse, John Mechalas, and the others from the forums for discussions, suggestions, and improvements they have all submitted to the guide.

Partial Changelog: (more or less just the most recent ones)
05/25/2026        Added in a section for rules specific to my campaign, also fixed the the initiative bonus on one familiar down to +2

04/19/2026        More Edit fixes.
06/22/2024        Removed bad edits, fixed a few links and spacing.

6/20/2020        Removed Giant Flea (witch only), and made fixes based on more recent releases (Rhampy upgrades), Added a new Familiar Archetype.
6/10/19                Turned off commenting, the spam in my e-mail from accidental and careless edits was too much, if you see something needing a fix contact me.
2/21/19                Familiar Satchel Link now fixed, several bad edits removed.

Table of Contents.

Section                                Last Updated (this data is removed after 1 year.)

Ratings through the Guide                

Familiar Ratings Explained                

What is a Familiar?                        

How do I get a Familiar?                

Base Abilities of a Familiar.                

Familiar Archetypes                        (Updated 6/20/2020) Added Arcane Amplifier.

School Familiar

Bloodline Familiars                        

Familiar Feats                                

So what does all this Mean?                

Familiars, Basic: Flying                (Updated 6/20/2020) - Fixed stats to match new material.

Familiars, Basic: “Drifters”                

Familiars, Basic: Aquatic Type        

Familiars, Basic: Ground                (Updated 6/20/2020) - Removed Giant Flea (witch only)

Familiars: Leshy                        

Familiars: Crafted                        (Planned)

Familiars: Improved

Level 3 Imp. Familiar options        

Level 5 Imp. Familiar options        

Level 7 Imp. Familiar options        (In Progress, last updated 6/20/2020) - +familiars.

Level 8+ Imp. Familiar options        

Equipping your familiar                (Planned)

May end up adding a section on the Magical Child archetype.

Ratings through the Guide

This is about the most common rating system used through many guides so I will stick with it.
Purple Top Picks (I know Lt blue is standard but it is hard for me to see.)
Blue         Great choice
Green         Good choice

Black         Neutral Choice
Orange Overall Poor, but situationally Good.
Red        Avoid this option.

Black        Rating Undecided.

Familiar Ratings Explained.

Rating the familiars is a difficult task, as everyone has their own personal rating system.  I have put together what I look at for the ratings you will see below.

The primary qualitiesI looked at for All familiars are as follows.

1. Movement: To prevent fliers from dominating this category they were only judged in this vs other fliers and were set with a 40’ speed with (average) maneuverability as their baseline.
   Special movement modes were given extra credit if commonly useful (ex. Earth glide)
2. High Perception and additional sensory options such as Darkvision (DV), Blindsense (BS) or Tremorsense (TS) were favored, especially with a High Stealth for scout classifications.

Once the above things were factored in, we then looked at the lesser qualities below.

3. AC improved ratings at the High Category, had no change at Base, but gets looked down on if poor.  The Familiar can be targeted unless it’s inside a familiar satchel at all times and never comes out.
4. Strength was given a minor weighting in the case of fliers because it affects how much can be carried and still fly.
5. Physical damage is mostly ignored because it's so low and even with some of the abilities available such as Poison, the DC is often so low it's nearly useless.

Improved Familiars (but not base familiars) were also judged on

6. Do they have Hands & Can they Speak (thus make use of UMD)
7. What spells and spell-like abilities they bring to the table and how often they can be used.

Base familiars (but not improved ones) were also judged on what bonuses they provided to their master.
        1st Tier: Bonus to Initiative, Fort & Will save boosters see the highest preference here.
        2nd Tier: Bonus to Reflex Saves & Perception checks make the second tier.
        3rd Tier: Bonus to any skill except Perception, or highly situational modifiers.
        If something is situational or of limited access, it gets knocked down 1 tier.

• A rough guideline of what I was targeting on values is presented here.

What is a Familiar?

A familiar is different for each person.  To some, they are nothing more than an extra ability or attack option.  For others, they can be as fully fleshed out as any well designed NPC.  Some DM’s target them heavily in combat because they dislike or are annoyed by them (which encourages those going for the passive benefits).  Other DMs can even twist a small tale around the familiar making it the star of the show for a night.  There is no right or wrong way to view a familiar because every situation, every party is different.

I personally cherish a well thought out story between the master and familiar and love seeing a familiar get played on my table.  My personal table uses the rule of if it has an intelligence score of 3 or higher, another player at the table gets to run it.  This usually ensures the familiar gets a bit more polish and shine and helps ensure that one player doesn’t hog the spotlight.  I believe that if you really want your familiar to shine, it’s not just the mechanics that will make it so, it’s the story that lives through it.  

(sample RP stories regarding familiars will be added here)

How do I get a Familiar?

There are many ways to acquire a familiar beyond just your core class, here is a list of classes, archetypes, class abilities & feats that can grant you a familiar.  Some archetypes are included just to highlight the variant familiar provided to a class that normally gets one anyway.

Feats available to “Anyone”Feat:        Eldritch Heritage        Arcane bloodline
Feat:        Familiar Bond                This grants you a familiar, just lacking most abilities. This requires either the House of Green Mothers Pupil (magic trait), or the Iron Will Feat. (I recommend going with Iron Will).

Feat:        Imp. Familiar Bond:        The upgrade to Familiar bond, gives you all the goodies.
Feat        Hands Detachment        A bit feat heavy, but it can work for an unusual familiar.
Feat        Improved “EH”        Serpentine Bloodline
Feat:        Wasp Familiar                Must worship Calistria (or a deity of Trickery, Lust, and Revenge)

Feats (advanced) available: These take a bit more work than those above.
Feat:   Poppet Familiar:        CL 3 you can select a poppet as a familiar. This familiar gains a wisdom score equal to its intelligence, gets 2 poppet augmentations or changes size to small at CL 5 and every 2 caster levels above 5 gains another augmentation, and at CL 7 gains a cone attack (3x/day) that deals 1d6 piercing damage and deals an additional 1d6 for every 2 caster levels above CL 7.

Feat:        Improved Familiar:        Replace your base familiar with an often stronger option.
Feat        Companion Figurine        Turn your figurine of wondrous power (Serpentine Owl, or Silver Raven) into something more like an animal companion or a familiar.  Other figurines seem to just be animal companion based.

Feat:        Vampiric Companion:        For a Vampire or Dhampir with 10 levels in a class granting a familiar (or animal companion).  Your familiar becomes undead, gains all vampiric (or dhampir) weaknesses, gains fast healing 5, and more depending on what type of vampire you are.  This will greatly extend the lifespan of a Protector familiar.  If you are a witch with Greater Gift of Consumption you can pass on lots of debilitating problems to your familiar instead of yourself.

Class Features that can grant Familiars

A variety of class features can grant familiars, Bloodlines, Domains, and Rogue Talents are all gateways into gaining a familiar as described below.

Bloodlines: Arcanist (Blood Arcanist), Bloodragers & Sorcerers both can choose one (or more) bloodline.  The Arcane (immediately) and Serpentine (at 3rd level) bloodlines give familiars directly.  The Aberrant Bloodlines gives access through the Aberrant Tumor Feat, and multiple bloodlines can qualify for a Bloodline Familiar.  Bloodline familiars are covered in slightly more detail elsewhere in the guide.

Domain Choice:  The following classes (and archetypes) have the potential to choose one (or more) of the listed domains in order to gain a familiar. Cleric (core), Druid (core), Hunter, Inquisitor, Occultist Reliquarian, Paladin: (Sacred Servant) (at 4th level), gains a cleric domain, (Temple Champion)*, (Horned Warden) (at 5th level)

*Temple Champion requires the familiar to be the 1st level domain power.

Domains (Cleric and/or Druid) that Grant Familiars:

Rogue Talents:  The following classes, archetypes & prestige classes can choose rogue talents, Ninja (eventually using Master Trick), Rogue, Rogue (Unchained), Swashbuckler: Dashing Thief, Slayer, and the Guild Devil, Shadowdancer.
If you have an Intelligence of 11+ you can take Minor Magic, Major Magic, and the Advanced Talent Familiar to gain access to one.  Please confer if your DM uses these versions, or the ones linked below with the Rogue (unchained) so you take what is acceptable.

Classes that can get Familiars:
Class                Archetype                 Notes^[a]

Adept                N/A                        2nd level, can call Wizard-style. NPC class, so undetailed.

Alchemist,        Core                        Use discovery: Tumor Familiar.

Horticulturist:         4th level they gain a plant-based familiar in exchange for a discovery.

Homunculist:                Gain a Homunculus familiar instead of mutagen

Tinkerer:                Gain a Construct Spy familiar instead of mutagen

Arcanist,        Core:                        Arcanist Familiar Exploit grants a familiar.

Unlettered Arcanist:        Gain a witch-style familiar.

Bard,                Archaeologist & Negotiator, via Rogue Talents (see rogue)

Duettist                Starts with a familiar at the cost of Bardic Knowledge.

                Sea Singer                2nd level gain familiar instead of Versatile Performance.
Cleric,                Core:                        Depends on Domain Choice (see above)

                Asmodean Advocate        Starts with Viper Familiar that turns into an Imp later.
                Fiendish Vessel        Familiar gained at 3rd level.

Druid,                Core:                        Depends on Domain Choice (see above)

Blight Druid:                Familiar or Extra domain spell instead of Animal Companion.

Leshy Warden:        gain a Leaf Leshy Familiar

Swarm Monger:        Gain a cat, house centipede, rat, raven, or scarlet spider familiar.

Fighter,        Eldritch Guardian,        This has a unique way to allow your familiar Combat Feats.

Investigator,        Bonded Investigator        2nd level gain familiar in exchange for several abilities.

Kineticist,        Core                        Utility Wild Talent: Elemental Whispers (very limiting), then Greater Elemental Whispers gets you a Wysp or small elemental Familiar without the previous limitations.

Magus,                Core                        Magus Arcana can give a familiar.
                Beastblade                Gains Magus Arcana at 3rd level for a familiar.

Medium        Kami Medium                3rd level Paper Origami familiar.
                Outer Channeler        3rd level gets the familiar & it improves at 7th level.

Mesmerist,        Eyebiter                Turn your eye into a familiar similar to the Alchemist Tumor Familiar.

Paladin,        Chosen One                Loses divine bond & delayed start to some abilities for familiar.

Rogue,         Core:                        See Rogue Talents Above.
                Carnivalist                1st level Familiar that at 2nd level gains a version of sneak attack.

Rogue (UC),        Core:                        Minor Magic, Major Magic, Familiar. - talents function differently

Sorcerer^[b],        Core                        Familiar access depends on bloodline chosen.^[c]

Tattooed Sorcerer        Gains a Familiar like a Wizard

Vigilante,        Cabalist                Via a Cabalist Talent

Magical Child                starts with a familiar that evolves very nicely.

Warlock                May start with a familiar.

Witch:                Core:                        This is an interesting variation on a familiar that is not currently covered in this guide, they are potentially the strongest familiar, but if killed will cost their mistress all their spells.  I will dig into this in more depth when I get to writing up a Witches guide.

Classes that can get Familiars (Continued)

Wizard,        Core:                        Gets either a Familiar or bonded item at 1st level
                Familiar Adept        Gets a witch-like familiar with a modified School Familiar archetype.
                Infernal Binder,        7th level get Improved Familiar (must be an Imp)
                Pact Wizard (FF),        Gain an Improved Familiar with an Outsider subtype.
                Spirit Whisperer,        Gets a Witch-like shaman type familiar.

Class                Archetype                 Notes

Prestige        Dragon Disciple        via Bloodline Familiar.
Prestige        Daivrat                6th level gain a Zhyen familiar
Prestige        Diabolist                Imp Familiar

Prestige        Souleater                Cacodaemon Familiar but makes you VERY hard to raise if dead.

Prestige        Tattooed Mystic        the familiar is exactly the same as the Tattooed Sorcerer gets.

Prestige        Stargazer                Gains a base familiar at 1st level.

Prestige        Bloatmage                At best for 1 hour a day at level 10. (Only listed for completion)

Base Abilities of a Familiar.

*Or Now that I have a familiar, what does it do?*

So to begin let’s go over a refresher of the common familiar abilities and what they bring to the table.
*A familiar is treated as a normal creature of its own type, and use their own ability score modifiers for everything.  They do not share additional modifiers the master may have (such as temporary HP, a resistance bonus to saving throws, etc.)

1) Hit Dice: For the purposes of all effects related to HD, use the master’s character level or the familiar’s normal HD total whichever is higher.

2) Hit Points: The familiar has ½ of its masters maximum total HP (not including temp HP), rounded down.  This is regardless of its normal HD.

3) Attacks: Familiars use the master’s base attack bonus as calculated from all his classes (instead of their own), but they use their strength or dex mod (whichever is greater) to calculate their melee attack bonus with natural weapons.  The damage they inflict is as a normal creature of their kind.

4) Saving Throws: For all saves, use either the Familiar’s base (Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0) or the master’s (as calculated from all his classes) whichever is better.

5) Intelligence: A familiar’s intelligence is increased to a base of 5, +1 every odd wizard level the master has (6th at 1st level increasing to 15 by 19th level) This likely makes him smarter than most other members of your party.

6) Skills: For each skill in which either the master or familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill points for an animal of that type or the master’s skill ranks whichever is better. Regardless of a familiar’s total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar's ability to use. Familiars treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills.

7) Natural Armor: Every odd wizard level the familiar’s natural armor improves by 1 point.

8) You may change the Feat the familiar normally gained at 1st level from the default for something else it qualifies for.  There is a list of feats below that were specifically designed for familiars.

9) Improved Evasion: If the familiar makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals ½ damage on a successful save they instead take no damage, on a failed saving throw they take only ½ damage instead of full.  If they are helpless or wearing medium or heavier armor they do not gain the benefits of this ability.  Mithril since it is treated as light for all cases except proficiency would be a good material for barding (or armor) for your familiar to help keep it safe.

10) Share Spells: This lets you hit your familiar with a wide variety of great defensive spells that you normally could only target yourself with, enabling it to survive many more combat situations.  It also opens up options that would normally not affect creatures of the familiars type (usually magical beast).

11) Empathic Link:        This does not allow you to speak or communicate.  You “feel” an emotional state, you can tell when the other is scared, hungry, interested, aroused, frightened, etc. Simple basic emotional states and this might give you that moment's heads up that something is wrong, or tell you it found something it considers noteworthy.  One must be glad they are not limited to normal animal intelligence, so you will get less false positives as to something a base animal would be interested in or afraid of.

12) Alertness:        This bonus, while nice, is only available when your familiar is within arms reach, so good out of combat but not something to rely on at all times unless you just passively keep your familiar in a pouch and never do much else with it.

At 3rd: Deliver Touch Spells: This is where most people start tossing their familiar in combat.  You first must be in contact with your familiar and cast the spell, then it can be sent off to deliver it to the enemy.  Several things must be considered regarding this ability. 1) Using this requires your familiar to be in contact with you as you cast the spell.  2) Many familiars are tiny and thus must enter the enemy’s square (possibly provoking an AoO) to discharge the spell.  This makes selecting your target and timing crucial to minimize risk to your familiar.  If your familiar is small sized though this is much easier.

At 5th: Speak with Master: You and your familiar can now speak to each other as if you shared a common tongue.  Others still mostly rely on magical means to speak to a basic familiar unless it is a Raven or Thrush at which point it can speak a single language you already know that they might share.

At 7th: Speak with Animals of Kind: While this sounds great, your mileage will vary depending on your familiar choice and the DMs style & whims.  I find Birds are everywhere, Rats, Reptiles, and Cats are fairly common, amphibians, bats, weasels though are all fairly limited.

At 11th: Spell Resistance: Any chance to resist enemy spells is a good thing, and the wording of this ability is “that another spellcaster”, which means it doesn’t apply against spells you cast.

At 13th: Scry on Familiar 1x/day: When sending your familiar out as a spy this might be useful if through its empathic link it can signal you as to the best time to use it.  Otherwise, though, it doesn’t seem to get much use.

Familiar Archetypes

Rules & Limitations

All archetypes swap out abilities that are common to base familiars and swap them out for new abilities tailored to a particular theme.  Some nonstandard familiars also alter or replace these features; such familiars can’t take familiar archetypes that alter or replace the same feature, just like two archetypes cannot be combined if they both alter or replace the same thing.  Where levels are referenced refer to the master’s level in the class that grants the familiar as a class feature.  Some familiars’ cannot take specific archetypes as listed below.

Archetypes: Figment & Soulbound: Elemental Whisper, Shaman Spirit Animals, Witch Familiars, and Familiars that grant spells can’t take these archetypes because the archetype is attached to patrons or spirits.  Also, the figment was written before the shaman class and according to the Designer should not work with the Shaman’s Spirit Guide. (source)

Archetype: Protector: A tumor familiar is already considered part of the master's body and thus cannot take this archetype. (sorry Alchemists.)

Familiars: Improved: They can not take any archetype that alters or replaces the variable bonus a familiar grants its master or speak with animals of its kind.  (A leshy warden’s leshy familiar does not have either of those abilities so doesn’t have abilities that stack with those familiar archetypes).

Familiars: Shapechanging: The Magical Child’s animal guide, the Imp, Quasit, and others must have the same archetype for each form and it must be legal for all those forms. (meaning if any form is an improved familiar, it can’t take archetypes that don’t stack with improved familiars.)

Rules for my campaigns:

I tend to follow any PFS familiar bans in my campaign as well with a few exceptions.

‘Dinosaur Familiars’ are found near the Chult Region only, the further away the much rarer chances of ever getting your hands on them.

Any familiar that is from a specific module is banned unless you are in the region said module would take place.  As an example: The Nosoi which were introduced in AP #47 are only legal if playing in said adventure path.  Exceptions may be made, but will never be the rule.  Sorry I have not listed them all for their AP’s due to that happening after I started the guide.

Familiar Archetypes Explained:

In this guide, some of the archetypes that can be combined will have their own entry explaining how to utilize the combination to its full extent.

        Ambassador:

        Green for a High Int but low Cha build as if you can spare the ranks it can be the party face, provided the people you are speaking to are fine with speaking with an animal.

Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate become class skills, and it gains the Persuasive feat instead of Alertness making it quite the social familiar.

Unlike a normal familiar the ambassador do not see a large boost to Intelligence, instead, its Charisma is increased to 6 and improves at the rate most familiars intelligence does.  Its intelligence is increased 6 when it becomes a familiar and remains there (or it retains its base Int if that was higher).  This can help if you use your familiar to intimidate regularly.

Special Req: The familiar able to speak at least 1 language either as being a Raven or Thrush, or an improved familiar.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Intelligence Boost.

        Animal Exemplar.

This is the leader of the pack able to use Handle Animal as a class skill enabling it to lead via pushing other animals to do what needs to be done.  As you advance in levels it will gain a bevy of new abilities, unfortunately, limited to only working on animals of its own kind, such as Speak with Animals at 3rd level (instead of 7th), Influence Animals (at 7th) which works as per Druids Animal Empathy.  At 11th it can cast Charm Animal 3x/day and at 13th Dominate Animal 1x/day.

Special Req:        Can not be applied to Plant, Vermin, Improved, or any non-animal themed familiar.

Abilities Lost: Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Animals of Kind, Spell Resistance, Scry on Familiar.

Arcane Amplifier

The secret of the arcane amplifier familiar was first discovered where winter witches used white-furred foxes or hares to strengthen their spells.

        Echo: 1x/day when delivering a touch spell an arcane amplifier can apply the Extend Spell Metamagic Feat to the spell.  They can use this ability an additional 1x/day at 8th and 13th levels.

        Reverberate: at 7th level, 1x/day when delivering a touch spell the amplifier can apply either the Empower Spell metamagic OR use Heighten Spell metamagic feat to increase its spell level by 2.  This can be used 2x/day starting 11th level.

        Resonate (su): At 13th level 1x/day when delivering a touch spell, an arcane amplifier can apply the Maximize spell metamagic feat to the spell.
        NOTE: An arcane amplifier can apply only one metamagic effect to a single casting of a spell using its echo, reverberate, or resonate abilities.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Speak with animals of kind, Spell Resistance, Scry on Familiar

Familiar Archetypes Continued:

        Decoy:         This might work for someone who needs a distraction on a regular basis.

Your familiar is bait.  At first, it gains the Deceitful feat so it can bluff being wounded to draw someone (or something) to it.  At 5th level, it can start sounding just like you so may draw enemies away to check that out.  Once you hit 11th level though it can take on your form for several minutes at a time to really sell the “Look at me” bit.  This means your party needs to work with that tactic for it to be effective.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Speak with Animals, SR

Associated Feat: Decoy’s Misdirection. - Reviewed down with other feats.

Egotist:        While the RP amuses me, overall I just don’t see it being that great.
        This archetype gains Intimidate as a class skill which it will often use to attempt and bully its “master” into doing what it thinks is best especially once it hits 3rd level and can speak with the “master” directly.  Once it reaches 5th level it can demand a touch spell be cast upon it, and by doing such its “master” can cast it on the familiar as if the spell had a range of Close as if using the Reach Spell Metamagic.  Once it hits 11th level it can scry on its “master” 1x/day.  In addition to all this it does not provide its “master” with the Alertness Feat or the Variable bonus provided to the master (such as a +4 bonus to Initiative of the Rabbit) instead it keeps those bonuses for itself.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Masters Familiar Bonuses, Speak with master, Deliver Touch Spells, Scry on Familiar.

Emissary
        Blue for the Kineticist with Greater Elemental Whispers.

Green for frontline classes like the Magus, or possibly a ray-based caster.
        Red for a rear-line class with a high Will save.

Your familiar gains Heal, Knowledge (religion) and Sense Motive as class skills. It can cast Guidance at will and this is a nice passive competence bonus to almost any check you make until you get magical items boosting the skill.  If you focus on 1 big attack instead of multiple strikes each round the usefulness goes up even more as long as you delay until your familiar can cast this on you.  If one of you fails a save to resist a mind-affecting effect the other can make a saving throw, if that save succeeds treat the original save as a success.  Once you succeed though you cannot use this trick again for 24 hours.  While limited in use it’s valuable to anyone with a Low Will save.  At 3rd level, it gains one of a limited selection of domain powers that it can use 1x/day.  I do not plan at this time to review and list every possible domain, but suggestions on good options are welcome.
        Domain Options (incomplete list):

Luck: Standard action to grant you a re-roll on any d20 made in the next round.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Share Spells & Deliver Touch Spells.

        Figment: - This review is for the Figment by itself, see below for the Figment/Sage build.

I have a Love/Hate relationship with this archetype.  At the start when you first awaken this familiar you gain the benefit of it reappearing every day when you first memorize your spells so it can never truly die.  The downside is that it’s much more fragile than most familiars possessing only ¼ of your max HP. While it can’t use any divination spells or spell-like abilities it may possess, that is no real loss since most divination spells are used as part of scouting, and base familiars normally do not have any spell-like abilities.  If it is ever a) more than 100’ from you, or b) you are unconscious for any length of time, or C) You are exposed to an antimagic field, It vanishes until you first memorize spells the next day.
        Once you reach your 3rd level it gains the ability that actually makes it decent, 1 point worth of Evolutions.  At this point, they become somewhat useful in a few different ways.

Familiar Archetypes: Figment Continued

Flanking Buddy: With the Reach Evolution, the familiar may be able to strike at those further away, gaining options in this role.  This tends to be most useful if you are a Magus, or setting up flanks for the party rogue.

Extra Eyes: With the Skilled: Perception Evolution granting a +8 racial bonus to its perception checks, as long as you remain trained in perception yourself you will miss almost nothing.  If it has senses like Blindsight it becomes even more useful.

Party Brains: While the Skilled: Knowledge Evolution grants a +8 bonus to a single knowledge your party lacks, stacking this archetype with the Sage lets it fill this role exceptionally well.

For a Wizard: Lacking its touch spells, its inability to scout for you, and its inability to keep watch this one is not going to do that much for you beyond give you a 2nd chance to succeed on any skill check you need to make of a skill you possess ranks in and any familiar can do that.

Abilities Lost: Imp. Evasion, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Animals & Scry on Familiar.
        Archetype Combo: Sage (described below).

        Infiltrator:        Best suited for a Scouting Role (for a Diminutive familiar)

        If the master is putting ranks into Bluff, Disguise, Sense Motive and Perception this might work, but at that point why are you not out there doing it yourself.  If the answer is I don’t want to risk dying, I don’t blame you.  Just have a plan for what happens if your familiar goes down.

Your familiar gains Bluff and Disguise as class skills, and uses the alertness feat itself instead of sharing with you.  It also gains Uncanny Dodge & Improved Uncanny dodge which will help it if it attempts to weave through combat, but the lack of Evasion is going to also mean spellcasters will have an easier time killing it.  The big benefits for the Infiltrator don’t really kick in until it hits 7th when you can scry on it more readily to see what it sees (likely the familiar using its empathic link for some sort of excitement or ready signal).  Then at 9th level when you can speak and should be accessing teleport you can slip your familiar in, scry on it, and safely teleport right where you want to be^[d].  At 11th when the Permanent improved telepathic bond kicks in between you both though this boy can scout far and wide and you will always know what’s going on.

        Giving up the speaking with animals of its own kind is no real loss, but the lack of being able to share defensive buffs again makes it vulnerable to being slain in combat.

Abilities Lost: Alertness (for master), Imp Evasion, Speak with Animals of Kind, Spell Resistance.^[e]

        Mascot:        ~This might be a Blue with the Ioun Wyrd Familiar.

This familiar can be useful for delivering desperate healing through a battlefield others may not be able to cross and its luck bonus when Aiding another makes possessing the trait Fates Favored an even better boon but both uses may be putting the familiar at risk in combat.

This archetype turns you and your familiar into a “team”, and every 3 levels you can add 1 additional member to the team.  Each teammate shares an empathic link with the familiar, and if the familiar uses Aid Another to boost a teammates AC or attack roll, that teammate gains a +1 luck bonus to AC for 1 round possibly enabling it to pass off as Protector light.  At 3rd level all team members can share spells with the familiar and they are treated as -2 off the masters caster level.  At 5th level this opens up to it being able to deliver the touch spells of any of its team members at the same caster level modifier.  At 7th level the Familiar can speak with all members of its team akin to the Speak with master ability.  By the time you reach 13th level 1x/day the familiar can designate any member of the team as its master potentially gaining higher HP, but also changing its BaB, saves and skill ranks accordingly.

Familiar Archetypes Continued

        Mascot (continued)
        If you are playing a Magus with the Beastblade archetype once you hit 11th level you can get an AoO on whoever your familiar hits with a touch attack.  The Mascot can carry forth a few touch spells from other offensive casters (like your cleric or witch) trigger them on your target and you then enjoy the AoO it provides.

Abilities Lost: Lose Alertness, Imp. Evasion, Speak w/Master & Animals, SR & Scry Familiar.

Mauler:
        This archetype can dish out the most physical damage of all.  While its intelligence caps out at 6, starting at 3rd level and every odd level beyond that it gains a +1 bonus to its strength as well as gaining access to “Battle Form”.  This form is a polymorph effect usable as a standard action 3x/day.  When in battle form the familiar is medium sized and gains the modifiers listed on the table below for its size change.  Once you reach 5th level you gain Bond Forged in Blood: Giving you and your familiar a +1 morale bonus to hit & damage for 1 round after you drop a creature in combat.  At 11th level the familiar gains DR 5/magic to make it slightly harder to kill.

As a flanking buddy, several additional feats and spells can make this a more viable (although still risky) technique.  To overcome its usually low HP Mauler’s Endurance will give it +2 HP per your HD, and if you add Toughness and the favored class bonus of HP each level that will net a grand total of +3 hp per HD for your familiar before any dice are rolled.  To improve its damage, Magic Fang & Improved Magic Fang are good choices but I would avoid making them permanent in case the familiar dies.  Last but not least keeping it alive longer, beyond the basic defensive spells such as Mage Armor, Shield, or Mirror Image, barding is an option although I would keep it at light classifications.  For a few last options Evolved Familiar will give you access to the Reach evolution keeping your familiar a bit further away and still enabling it to threaten others.

Another use I have seen for this archetype is as a Mount for a small rider to get around easier, as well as for using it to help carry needed supplies with its increased strength (works best for Quadrupeds though).  In either case, using Ant Haul will let your familiar carry more (as in a heavier rider or more gear), and stacking it up with Muleback Cords let you carry about anything, even a medium rider if they have the Undersized Mount feat.  I will say though that this usually works better for most homebrew campaigns vs PFS play though.

Abilities Lost: Speak with Animals, Deliver Touch spells, SR & Less Intelligent.

NOTE: Battle Form has no listed duration, some say as a Polymorph Effect it would have a duration of 1 minute/level as per the Polymorph spell, but in no case is this explicitly stated so check with the GM to see how this is going to work.  If the duration is capped it makes it less flexible.

Familiar Archetypes Continued

Pilferer:        
        For Martial (or others with a 3/4 or better BaB)
        For Rogue types (those investing in Sleight of Hand, Escape Artist & Disable Device)
        For a Wizard.

This is the Thief of the archetypes, gaining Sleight of Hand, Escape Artist and Disable Device as its class skills.  If it has hands such as a monkey it could easily be given a toolkit and sent to open locks without being seen.  The Stealth bonus it gets starting at 3rd level makes your familiar even harder to detect which will open up a few more possibilities for scouting.

Improved Steal and Greater Steal though are wasted on a wizard due to the low BaB provided, in the hands of a more martial class it may be a better feature.  One should remember that Steal (as does most combat maneuvers) works best against humanoid opponents.  Removing the enemy’s holy symbol or spell component pouch can work wonders for neutralizing casters, ripping off an amulet may also reduce some of their abilities.

An extra bit of fun with this familiar might be found if one grabs the Evolved Familiar Feat to grab Skilled: Stealth or Skilled: Sleight of hand grabbing a +8 bonus to make it better at either of those tasks.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Animals

Prankster:        Again nice fluff, bad mechanics.

        This archetype treats Bluff, Disguise, Perform (comedy), and Sleight of Hand as class skills, it gains Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, and prestidigitation at will as spell-like abilities.  It is capable of hiding its emotions from its master with its bluff skill (opposed by the masters Sense Motive).  Instead of granting Alertness it instead gains Dirty Trick which improves to Improved Dirty Trick at 11th level.

At 3rd level it gains Glib Comedy gaining a competence bonus equal to ½ the masters level on their bluff, disguise and Perform (comedy) checks.  At 11th it becomes an Unreliable Narrator and when you scry on it, it can use false vision to fool that ability. ~The uselessness of this is so irritating.

        Abilities Lost: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Spell Resistance, Scry on Familiar.

Protector: Works best on Familiars with a +3 Dex mod and grants either +1 Natural Armor or shores up a weak Fort or Will save.

Blue if GM heavily targets familiar to the point you can’t risk its existence doing anything else.

This familiar gains Loyal Bodyguard (Ex): which grants it Combat Reflexes & Bodyguard as bonus feats.  It also enables it to use these feats while sharing the same space as its master thus providing a reliable +2 bonus to the masters AC against multiple attacks each round.  At 5th level it gains Shield Master enabling it to take ½ the damage its master suffers as long as they are touching granting an effective boost in HP.  At 11th level the familiar gains the feat In Harm’s Way, and its HP increases to its masters total HP (not including temporary sources).^[f][g][h][i]  While the feat In Harms’ way is a great way even with the extra HP to get your familiar killed.  It is better to have it die than yourself.

If you wish to enhance the benefits gained by this archetype, give your familiar some Benevolent Armor/Barding and that can increase the bonus to AC granted by its Aid Another by up to +5 points.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Animals & SR.
        

Familiar Archetypes Continued

Sage:        This review is for the Sage on its own, for the Figment/Sage combo see below.

Orange: for Wizards

Important: To use this archetype from 1st level on you will need a Thrush, Raven, or Monkey familiar.  The first two can speak right away, the monkey well he can write (so have supplies handy).  Once you hit 5th level though and can speak with your familiar this entire situation is moot.
        This familiar treats all knowledge skills as class skills and gets 2 skill points per level.  Starting at 7th level and every odd level from there it gains 1 additional skill point per level (which are retroactive).  This means it will often be smarter and have more skill points per level than most other classes.  Combine this with the bonus it gains to all knowledge skills (equal to ½ the masters level) and you have your pocket encyclopedia right there covering all the knowledge skills that the characters themselves don’t have.  With the addition of the Sage’s Guidance familiar Feat, it can potentially grant everyone a +2 insight bonus to hit and skill checks against an opponent or hazard.
        The reason I rate it so low for wizards is that the wizard's intelligence should provide more skill points than this archetype provides on its own (given the Sage has an Int of 20 at level 15 when most PFS campaigns seem to end).
        Abilities Lost: Alertness & Share Master’s Skills.  Natural Armor & Int Mods are changed.

Archetype Combos^[j]: Figment.

Soulbound:        So. give it skill focus a 1x/day spell, and make it expensive to replace. Pass.
        You implant a part of a creature's soul (possibly your own) into a familiar, this gives it Skill Focus as a bonus feat in a skill important to the creature the soul originally came from, it also grants a partially neutral alignment rather than the same as its master (unless the master donated his own soul).  As long as this focus remains intact it can be removed and bound to any other familiar (with the same cost and time of replacing a familiar).  Doing this will enable the new familiar to have all the memories and personality of the old one.  The focus itself has a hardness of 8 with 12 hp and a break DC of 20, although it cannot be attacked unless surgically removed from the familiar.  Creating a new soul focus if the old one is destroyed costs just as much as replacing a familiar (in addition to having to pay to replace the familiar anyway).  At 8th level the familiar gains one of the following spell-like abilities based on its alignment.  CN: Rage.  LN: Suggestion, Neutral: Deep Slumber, NE: Inflict Serious Wounds, NG: Heroism, no matter which ability is chosen it is cast 1x/day at a caster level 3 lower than the masters.  At 13th level the reduction of the caster level is removed.

Special: Because it is born of another creature's soul this archetype cannot be applied to witches familiars, a shaman’s spirit animal, or any other spell-granting familiar.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Speak with Animals of Kind, Scry on Familiar.

Valet:                The Valet treats Craft, Perform and Profession as class skills.  It shares all teamwork Feats that the master possesses, and can use Open/Close & Prestidigitation at will.  When delivering a harmless touch spell it can move both before and after delivering the spell as long as its total movement does not exceed its speed.  Last but not Least it gains Able Assistant (see below).  In addition to all this as you progress at 7th level it can also move before and after using the aid another action just like it does with touch spells.  At 13th level it can use aid another as a full-round action to aid up to 3 adjacent creatures bonuses from the action, each bonus may be for the same action or check or for different actions or checks.  For all this, you lose Alertness and scry on familiar and it cannot speak with animals of its own kind.  This is a very powerful option, but not one available for Improved Familiars.

Now concerning its Able Assistant ability.  I have seen this get misused often and it is often a reason DMs learn to hate familiars.  To quote “A valet’s master treats the valet as if it possessed the Cooperative Crafting feat and shared all Craft skills and item creation feats he possesses.”  This means the familiar must be aiding its master in the item creation for the benefit to take effect.  This does not enable the familiar to be left in a bag of holding on his own, or aid the rest of the party, it only counts with its master being the primary builder.

Familiar Archetypes: Continued

        Figment/Sage Combo Archetype:        -- yeah it gets its own spot.

Important: To use this archetype from 1st level on you will need a Thrush, Raven, or Monkey familiar.  The first two can speak right away, the monkey can write (so have supplies handy).  Once you hit 5th level though and can speak with your familiar this entire situation is moot.
        Stacking the Figments Evolution of: Skilled (+8 racial bonus to 1 skill), with the Sage’s benefits (½ the masters level to all knowledge checks, decent skill points on its own & able to make knowledge checks untrained as the campaign goes on means that your familiar will be a font of knowledge that can exceed any non-super focused masters attempts.
        At 7th & 13th levels more evolutions are gained, A few solid options available would be either more Skilled Evolutions (into Perception or Knowledge), or at 13th grab the Ability Increase (Int) Evolution for a +2 bonus to its int granting yet more skill points and a higher bonus to all the knowledge checks.

Abilities Lost: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Master’s Skills, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Animal of Kind, Scry on Familiar.  Natural Armor & Int Mods are both changed.

School Familiars

All of these require the feat School Familiar to be taken, the School must match your chosen school of magic, and the familiar cannot have any other archetype.
        All School familiars are limited to delivering touch spells only of their matching school of magic, but they also gain one cantrip from that school as an at-will ability.  Once you develop powers from your school that work a limited number of rounds per day, your familiar can also activate them but at twice the cost in duration used.  This familiar type also can be improved at 10th level by taking the Greater School Familiar Feat which will open up an additional power for your familiar.

School: Abjuration:        This is a fairly solid choice for a school familiar.
                Lesser: Familiar is immune to magic missile, and gains Energy Resistance equal to ½ your wizard level (min 1), that it may share with any 1 ally within 5’.  You can change this energy type as a standard action.
                Greater: When the familiar strikes a creature with a natural attack the victim is also hit with a Dispel magic effect at the master's caster level.  If you can keep your familiar alive in combat this is an amazing way to get an edge through the fight even with the limit of 1x/24 hours per target.

School: Conjuration:

Lesser: 3+ Familiar’s Int Mod (min 1) times/day it can dimension door to your side.

Greater: When you cast a summon monster spell, if your familiar is in range it can inhabit the body of one creature summoned, keeping the familiar’s mental states but gaining the physical of the summoned creature.  The familiar is safely ejected when the spell ends or the summoned creature dies.
~This is a fairly strong power here for using summoned creatures intelligently.

School: Divination:        He who goes first, may end up being the last one standing.

Lesser: Familiar gains the benefits of the Forewarned school power, and the Master & Familiar can trade initiative results.

Greater: Master can Scry on Familiar as greater scrying at will.

School Familiars (continued)

School: Enchantment:        To high risk for too little rewards.

Lesser: If your familiar is in the same square as something you’re trying to hit with an enhancement spell the DC goes up by 2. But this is a high-risk maneuver for something you could have done at a 30’ range via Intimidate (although you could stack the two if you tried)
        Greater: 1x/day familiar can make a touch attack to hit something with Charm Monster… the problem is the Low DC (10+½ familiar HD which is often 2 + its Cha Mod)^[k], it requires the familiar to remain conscious and within 5’, once it ends the creature is permanently immune to the power.

School: Evocation:        

Lesser: Choose a single Energy type and the familiar becomes resistant to it, as well as any evocation spell of that energy type that an ally casts within 5’ of the familiar deals bonus energy damage equal to its spell level.

Greater: Familiar becomes immune to the energy type previously chosen, and the familiar can now absorb a spell the master casts that targets it or includes it within its area, and for the next minute it will have a single use of the spell as a spell like ability at ½ its original caster level, provided that at ½ caster level the spell could even be cast at all, if not then this ability won’t function.

School: Illusion:

Lesser: As a Move action you can transfer control of any illusion that requires concentration over to your familiar, and the DC to overcome that illusion increases by 1 for as long as the familiar maintains concentration on it.
        Greater: The Familiar can summon a swarm of duplicates that move along with it.  The familiar gains a swarm attack that deals 1d6 dmg with a distraction DC of 10+ the familiar’s Con Mod.  Opponents who fail to disbelieve the effect (Will save DC 10+½ the masters level+Familiar’s Cha mod) treat the familiar as if it had the swarm subtype.

School: Necromancy:         This option is Blue if encountering lots of undead.

Lesser: When the familiar uses Aid Another to aid an attack, the attack does full damage to incorporeal creatures.  The familiar can also act on the surprise round when encountering a haunt, and make touch attacks against a haunt that deal 1d6 dmg per 2 levels its master possesses.
        Greater: The familiar is now healed by negative energy as if it was undead, is immune to energy drain, and constantly affected by hide from undead.  If the familiar breaks the effect by attacking as a standard action it can re-activate the effect.  Whenever the familiar hits a living creature with a natural attack the target suffers 1 negative level.  A creature can only receive a negative level from the familiar once per day.

School: Transmutation:        
        Lesser: You expend a single spell or open spell slot to imbue the familiar with a bit of magic. As long as your familiar is within 10’ of you, and one of our transmutations would be dispelled, as long as the spell or spell slot used to imbue the familiar is equal to or greater than the level of the spell about to be dispelled the imbued magic is dispelled instead.
        Greater: 1x/day your familiar can transform into any other non-improved familiar, it loses all of its abilities and becomes a typical familiar of the new type including granting a different familiar bonus to the master.

Bloodline Familiars

At 1st level, anyone with access to a bloodline can choose to gain a bloodline familiar (of their bloodline).  They treat their class level as their wizard level for the purposes of this ability and the familiar gains an additional ability based on the master’s bloodline.

This will replace the 1st level bloodline power normally granted, and in addition, they will gain bonus spells from their bloodline one level later than normal.  Thus a sorcerer with the aberrant bloodline would not gain the acidic ray bloodline power, and they would gain their first bonus spell at 4th level, second at 6th level and so on.  Given the nature of this guide, I will assume that the bloodline familiar abilities will be used as written.

I feel the Familiar is more flexible to have (Especially once you get Improved Familiar by level 7) compared to any of the 1st level bloodline powers.

Familiar Feats

Familiar feats can be taken by characters who have familiars that meet the listed prerequisites. Wizards can take a familiar feat as a bonus feat, and witches can select a familiar feat in place of a hex. If you lose your familiar and gain a new familiar that doesn’t meet the listed prerequisites for a familiar feat you possess, your new familiar doesn’t gain the benefits of that feat. A new familiar that meets the prerequisites automatically gains the benefits of that feat.

When you gain a new level, if your current familiar does not meet the prerequisite of a familiar feat you possess, you can learn a new familiar feat in place of the one it qualifies for. In effect, you lose the old familiar feat in exchange for the new one. The feat lost can’t be a prerequisite for another feat you possess, and your familiar must meet the new feat’s prerequisites. You can exchange only one feat in this way each time you gain a level.

Familiar Feat                Thoughts
Decoy’s Misdirection:                Very situational on how often someone scrys on you
Emissary’s Emboldening:        Poor for Wizards, Good for those with low Will saves.
Figments Fluidity:                1x day+, lets you change your 1 point evolution, can help with versatility.
Guardian’s Return:                Effect is far too limited in scope (after a melee attack hits you)

Mascot’s Affection:                +2 to bond limit, nice at low levels, not so much as you advance.
Mauler’s Endurance:                +2 HP per masters level to the familiar, this is worth a feat slot.

Polygot Familiar:                Familiar can speak to all animals of any 1 type.
Sage’s Guidance:                Again for a feat, too situationally limiting to be effective.

Other Useful Feats for Familiars
~ Yes your familiar can still take these feats in place of their normal feat gained at 1st level, it just doesn’t get the easy swapping bonus of the ones listed above.

Critical Conduct:         Double threat range for spells you deliver.

Extra Item Slot:        While I love my familiar, I am not sure if the item slot is worth it on them.

Familiar Focus:        Spell Sponge is an overall more powerful option.

Master of your Kind:        Speak to animals of your kind & magically influence them.

Narrow Frame:        Given your usual size this is almost a non-issue, might be good on maulers.

Small but Deadly:        Ignore Str penalty for natural attacks.
Spell Sponge:         Spells you cast on your familiar are treated as if Extended.

Feats You can take to improve your familiar.
Feat                        Thoughts
Boon Companion:        If you have multi-classed this can give your familiar +2 Int & AC.
Evolved Familiar:        Give your familiar a 1 point eidolon evolution.  Skilled for a +8 racial bonus or
                        Reach that may let a tiny familiar hit something 5’ away.

Far Roaming Familiar: Your bond works at any range (unless lead is involved)

Telepathic Link:        You can speak to your familiar telepathically up to 1 mile away.

Undersize Mount:        With a mauler, this is a way to get a flying “mount” quickly.

So what does all this Mean?

Effectively it means your familiar can do more than just stay in your pocket and hide in place.  With the right familiar and archetype combo, you can pull quite a few new tricks from your sleeves that many DMs will not expect.  One must remember though that just like with a PC, a familiar needs forethought and a bit of work to excel at what they do, and everyone has a weakness.

        The: “Pocket Familiar”: is the most common type of familiar that exists in all honesty.  You need a Tiny (or smaller) familiar and a Familiar Satchel to keep it.  This familiar is used primarily for the master’s bonus (often Initiative or a Saving throw boost), and can be made more useful by giving it a good archetype, either Protector for the shared HP & AC boost it provides, the Sage for the alternate take on knowledge checks, or the Valet for coming out in town to help craft items, and last but not least the Figment/Sage combo.

        To be marked as a Protector the familiar needed a +3 dex mod or higher & not be a “red” consideration.

The “Scout”: is the 2nd most common familiar type I have seen.  These familiars are often high in stealth and reasonably high in perception on their own, their masters ranks make them even better.  With Archetypes Pilferer or possibly Infiltrator it can scout ahead of the party and warn them of danger.  The empathic link you possess will  help you realize something is wrong without even a direct report returning to you.  Fliers have the advantage of mobility and the raven or thrush particularly have the advantage of speech at 1st level, but one must note that several ground-based familiars are far stealthier.
        To be marked as a Scout they need a +20 combined Stealth & Perception and have a movement speed of at least 30’.

        The “Combat” Familiar: There are several types of combat familiar each putting your familiar at a differing degree of risk, those are usually either the “Flanking Buddy” or “Bomber” roles. Fortunately sharing spells such as Mirror Image or Shield can provide the needed boost to keep your familiar alive.
        A “Flanking Buddy” is where your familiar gets into combat serving as a flanking aid for a much more dangerous ally, most frequently those that gain sneak attack due to the flank. By use of delayed and readied actions, the rogue can optimize his attack to when the familiar is in position, and if all goes well kill the opponent before it can do anything about it.  A familiar with Flyby attack or one with a master possessing lots of Acrobatics serves in this role quite well.  If the familiar is also a mauler or has been imbued with a touch spell they can dish out a bit of extra damage.  Stealthy familiars should not negate this option either since if done right the enemy won’t realize they are there until it’s too late.
        “Bombers” see the most use at lower levels when more enemies will fail the checks to avoid the effects of Alchemist Fire, Tanglefoot Bags, or Caltrops dropped from above by the familiar.  Flying familiars do best, but some other ground-based familiars (the ones with arms) can throw these devices into the fray as well. Another option on this vein is “Light the Way” having your familiar snap then immediately drop Sunrods, or pull a stone with light out of a sack and drop it. Thus illuminating areas up ahead with leaving your familiar as minimally exposed due to the light as possible.

“Extra Eyes”: If your familiar is highly perceptive, but not so stealthy keep it nearby, it can be an extra set of eyes to see things sneaking up on the party.  This role is great for those with blindsense, or tremorsense since they can detect things most people can’t.

If you want your familiar to fill this role, make sure it has a minimum +11 Perception.

So what does all this Mean (Continued)
        “Mover’s”  Flying and Climbing familiars see the most use here, but a swimming one can also help on rare occasions.  This usually involves taking a grappling hook (or even lighter grappling arrow) with silk rope attached either up or across some obstacle and leaving it where it can be helpful so the party can bypass the challenge with greater ease.

The “Packmule” tends to be used by Quadrupeds since they can carry the most by default.  With the addition of the Ant Haul Spell to triple their carrying capacity it can make up for the loss by size it tends to suffer, then slipping on a pair of Muleback Cords (1k) can enable it to carry as much or more than you.  This role rarely sees any use unless the party lacks other ways to carry lots of gear with them.

The “Mount” has a few angles of approach, all of which are rarely used.

The Constant Mount: Requires a small sized master with Undersized Mount Feat, and a Small sized familiar so they can ride his familiar at any and all times.  Adding Ant Haul and Muleback Cords let the familiar carry you with ease as you get around.  This will happen most likely with a   familiar go get one that can move faster than you can and you would be ok.  Warning enemies tend to shoot at mounts, and it’s easier to lose and replace a riding dog (or equivalent) than a familiar.

The Temporary Mount: This requires a Mauler Familiar, and the master being no more than medium-sized with the undersized mount feat or capable of riding medium sized mounts.  Often this is best served with a flying mount who can take a larger form and get you up where you need to go before its battle form runs out.

In Either case using your familiar as a mount may turn it into a target which is one reason it’s hardly used, but I have seen it used (even if not the most effectively) in PFS play so I feel it is worth including here.

Combat: Hawk & Owl.  They could serve with the mauler archetype as a cheap flying mount.
Scouts: While the Snark has the best Stealth mod, its poor flight and bioluminescence hinder so for this role I tend to lean on either the Hawk, Owl, Thrush, or bat.  Really helps if the master has ranks in Stealth or Perception to make it work well on them too.
Master’s Boost: After Ultimate Wilderness The Rhamphorhynchus got a nice boost of a +4 initiative bonus instead of +2 which makes this much stronger in my thoughts.  If you’re the party face you might look at the Thrush instead.

Familiars, Basic: Flying

Familiars, Basic: “Drifters”

*Drifters can “fly” to move but can’t hover and must end movement on a solid surface.  Overall these compare poorly compared to either fliers or ground-based.

Familiars, Basic: Aquatic Type

*These are rated on the assumption you are dealing with a water heavy campaign.  Not all of these breathe underwater though so do consider that.

Overall Thoughts:

For a Scout the Blue-Ringed Octopus is the sneakiest thing in the sea, and may make a fair Mauler in combat. Its biggest drawback it has is the slower (30’) swim speed.  For speed the Seal makes a better scout than the Popoto.
Master’s power award goes with the Fort Saves, or if a Protector archetype the natural armor.

Familiars, Basic: Ground

Familiars, Basic: Ground (continued)

Thoughts: I think the best options are either the Greensting Scorpion for its high AC, stealth & Dex, or the Compsognathus with better Movement Str & Poison DC.  Arguments can be made either way, for a protector archetype go with a Greensting Scorpion, if a Mauler id go with a Compy.  I also feel that the Giant Flea is a horrifying and versatile familiar, a small size master can turn it into a mount for some laughs.  The Skunk is less optimal a protector (less Dex than I look for), but the thoughts of a Fiendish Skunk using its musk attack defending you has me horrifically intrigued.

Familiars: Leshy (plant)

Leshy familiars can only be taken by Druids with the Leshy Warden Archetype, thus I have separated them from the normal groupings for ease of reference.  All modifiers are listed as of a druid of minimum level.

Familiars: Crafted

This section will be dedicated to all familiars that are Made, such as Clockworks, Homunculi, Poppets and any others I come across of that nature.

Useful Item: Chameleon Ointment (20 gp): Grant your Homunculus a +4 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks for 24 hours provided it is not wearing clothing or armor to obstruct its skin.

Familiars: Improved

There are several ways to get “Improved” familiars, the most common of course is through the improved familiar feat.  Another option available Poppet Familiar (CL 3 required), or Craft Construct (another way to make a Poppet)

Improved familiar usually requires you to be within 1 step of their alignment on each part of the axis.  Thus an Imp (LE) will work for anyone who is LE, NE, LN, or True Neutral.

Improved familiars no longer give a bonus to their master like the base familiars do, on the other hand they have other unique abilities or attributes that make them popular.  The biggest draw is usually one that possesses both Hands, and the ability to speak, thus they can through sharing your skill ranks of Use Magic Device make use of items such as Wands or Scrolls.

Level 3 Improved Familiar options

At 3rd level if you take the Improved Familiar feat, you have the option of either 1) Summoning a new Base Familiar (listed above) with a Template.  Or instead summoning an improved familiar (listed below).

There are 5 templates you can choose between to add to a base familiar with the following abilities.

All templates listed below gain SR equal to its base CR +5 (so 5 for most familiars).
All except Fey Touched also gain Darkvision 60’ and a 1x/day Smite Attack that enables them to add their Cha mod as a bonus (if any) to hit, and their HD (equivalent to masters) to damage for the attack.

As you reach 5th & 11th level their resistances will improve by 5 points each (to 10 & 15 points respectively) and they gain DR as well.  The bonuses for the fey template is listed with its entry.

Celestial X:        Gain the default abilities as well as Resistance 5 to Cold, Acid & Electricity, and Smite Evil.

                At 5th level gain DR 5/Evil and increase it to 10/Evil at 11th.

Entropic X:        Gain the default abilities as well as Resistance 5 to Fire & Acid, and Smite Law.

At 5th level gain DR 5/Lawful and increase it to 10/Lawful at 11th.

Fiendish X:        Gain the default abilities as well as Resistance 5 to Fire & Cold, and Smite Good

                At 5th level gain DR 5/Good and increase it to 10/Good at 11th.

Resolute X:        Gain the default abilities as well as Resistance 5 to Fire, Cold & Acid, and Smite Chaos.

                I find Smite Chaos gets a touch more use than Smite law in most cases.

                At 5th level gain DR 5/Chaotic and increase it to 10/Chaotic at 11th.

Fey Touched:        Gain Low-Light Vision, +2 bonus to Will saves, Woodland Stride as the druid ability & Change shape into a single fixed small or medium humanoid form (as per alter self).

                At 5th level gain DR 5/cold iron, and increase it to 10/cold iron at 11th.

Source: Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of the First World

Level 5 Improved Familiar options

*All calculations are based on the default 5th level wizard. Flying maneuverability is average unless stated.

Level 5 Improved Familiar options (continued)

Level 7 Improved Familiar options 

This is the point the Improved Familiar feat really pays off with the majority of familiars unlocking here. Many of these familiars come with both hands and the ability to speak, letting them use magical devices via UMD checks, in addition to the multitude that have their own spell-like abilities.  Additionally equipping your familiar will improve its effectiveness and survivability even more.^[q][r]