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3 years ago ::
Dec 22, 2009 - 9:51PM
#31
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Date Joined:
May 26, 2009
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The ritual Familiar Mount does make it so that your familiar can take a hit, not much true but better than one hit point. Now does the wording mean your familiar has that many hit points or that a single hit that does that much damage. If it is the later then it is possible that your familiar could last a long time in combat if it stayed away from heavy hitters. At any rate the familiar could still likely take one hit maybe two which is still a lot better than before. Plus if it is the later, I can use Impenetrable Barding and have myself a battle cat to ride into combat!
Wording "If the familiar takes damage equal to 5 + one-half your level or more, it returns to its normal size..."
However, pending change to the ritual, it doesn't override the fact that your familiar only has one hit point anyway. Thus, your familiar returns to passive mode upon taking any damage at all. The ritual needs to be updated to account for that.
As far as how it works, I hope it is the second case (that it reverts if it takes that much damage at once). Otherwise the ritual is a waste as familiars can easily take 5-20 damage in one or two hits.
That seems like a very slavishly RAW interpretation. I dislike RAW just because it leads to absurd results such as this. The article clearly intends familiar mounts to have either 5+half level HP total or "damage resist." Either one is a fairly reasonable interpretation that won't break the game (unless maybe you are using your familiar as a wall with stacked DR). Choose one for your group and go with God.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 22, 2009 - 10:12PM
#32
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Date Joined:
Oct 17, 2009
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Nitpick: the phrase "gravy on the cake" is used describing the cat.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 22, 2009 - 10:23PM
#33
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Date Joined:
May 26, 2009
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Nitpick: the phrase "gravy on the cake" is used describing the cat.
Yeah, I noticed that as well.
Cake = Yum
Gravy = Yum
Cake + gravy = eww
Cake + gravy + cat = win?
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3 years ago ::
Dec 22, 2009 - 10:43PM
#34
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Date Joined:
Sep 17, 2004
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Hmm. For a melee-based familiar owner, I'd put the Floating Weapon as Blue, at least. Combine it with the Spellseer Familiar and Shardbound Familiar (Khyber) feats, and here comes the pain train. Get a +1 bonus to attack rolls that'll stack with the Weapon Expertise feat, do a decent amount of ongoing damage whenever you Bloody someone, shift whenever you hit someone, and get a 6-square Fly speed.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 22, 2009 - 10:49PM
#35
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Date Joined:
Apr 28, 2007
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That seems like a very slavishly RAW interpretation. I dislike RAW just because it leads to absurd results such as this. The article clearly intends familiar mounts to have either 5+half level HP total or "damage resist." Either one is a fairly reasonable interpretation that won't break the game (unless maybe you are using your familiar as a wall with stacked DR). Choose one for your group and go with God.
Yes, it's awfully absurd to say what was intended but point out the flaw in what was typed and suggest it be changed... how silly of me (to demand the article be sensible). -_- Meanwhile, I had actually already posted the problem in the Errata forum. Additionally, while in the interim it may make sense to choose one or the other and run with it, it seems more sensible in the long run (and for LFR) to provoke a correction to the article.
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee Tee-hee
I am your quiet voice of reason.
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee
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3 years ago ::
Dec 23, 2009 - 8:44AM
#36
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Date Joined:
Apr 11, 2008
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Hmm. For a melee-based familiar owner, I'd put the Floating Weapon as Blue, at least. Combine it with the Spellseer Familiar and Shardbound Familiar (Khyber) feats, and here comes the pain train. Get a +1 bonus to attack rolls that'll stack with the Weapon Expertise feat, do a decent amount of ongoing damage whenever you Bloody someone, shift whenever you hit someone, and get a 6-square Fly speed.
That fly speed is only for the weapon unless you're also using Familiar Mount. The big concern I'd have is that if your familiar is knocked out (which isn't hard to do, even with the sword's defense bonuses), you've spent 3 feats which are now useless.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 23, 2009 - 9:50AM
#37
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However, for the general ratings, I try not to consider specific builds like that. Those are the kinds of things that will show up in the Tactics and Build sections. There happens to be a thread that I found that gives a build that does that. I'm trying to find it to link to it.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 23, 2009 - 10:02AM
#38
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Date Joined:
May 26, 2009
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That seems like a very slavishly RAW interpretation. I dislike RAW just because it leads to absurd results such as this. The article clearly intends familiar mounts to have either 5+half level HP total or "damage resist." Either one is a fairly reasonable interpretation that won't break the game (unless maybe you are using your familiar as a wall with stacked DR). Choose one for your group and go with God.
Yes, it's awfully absurd to say what was intended but point out the flaw in what was typed and suggest it be changed... how silly of me (to demand the article be sensible). -_- Meanwhile, I had actually already posted the problem in the Errata forum. Additionally, while in the interim it may make sense to choose one or the other and run with it, it seems more sensible in the long run (and for LFR) to provoke a correction to the article.
Nox, this wasn't personal. I wasn't calling you absurd or otherwise mocking you. This isn't the first time I've seen you turn criticism for a concept you've posted about into a personal attack against you. Take it easy man, it's just BSing about a game.
As to the content of your post: Good work! It should be fixed and someone has to point it out. However, I disagree that it is more sensible to use an absurd rule at a private table in hopes that it will provoke change. It isn't as if your group is being carefully monitored for adherence to the rules (even in LFR). I would simply point it out (or not, depending how much I cared or really needed clarification) and play it how it makes sense for my group.
I have actively avoided playing LFR just because of issues like this. One bad egg player who wants to argue their way into an unbalanced game mechanic can ruin many man-hours of fun. The LFR rules seem to create a vehicle which would make this more likely.
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3 years ago ::
Dec 23, 2009 - 1:03PM
#39
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Date Joined:
Apr 28, 2007
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However, I disagree that it is more sensible to use an absurd rule at a private table in hopes that it will provoke change.
I actually said to, in the interim, play it with one of the two (sensible) interpretations.
Also, to expand on how I think the second interpretation would have to function: if your familiar reverts when it takes the damage limit in a single attack, then it must have a decent amount of hit points. I would be tempted to think, in that case, that it would have hit points similar to a summoned creature. Of course, even though this may make some sense, the fact that it is a lot to leave out of the ritual leads me to believe this was not what was intended and that the first interpretation will actually be what ends up in the compilation (that your familiar essentially has "5+1/2level" hit points). This could be wrong - and I hope it is! - but I have to give the writer's some credit and assume they didn't forget to write more of the power than they did write.
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee Tee-hee
I am your quiet voice of reason.
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee Tee-hee
Tee-hee
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3 years ago ::
Dec 23, 2009 - 3:05PM
#40
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Date Joined:
May 26, 2009
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However, I disagree that it is more sensible to use an absurd rule at a private table in hopes that it will provoke change.
I actually said to, in the interim, play it with one of the two (sensible) interpretations.
Also, to expand on how I think the second interpretation would have to function: if your familiar reverts when it takes the damage limit in a single attack, then it must have a decent amount of hit points. I would be tempted to think, in that case, that it would have hit points similar to a summoned creature. Of course, even though this may make some sense, the fact that it is a lot to leave out of the ritual leads me to believe this was not what was intended and that the first interpretation will actually be what ends up in the compilation (that your familiar essentially has "5+1/2level" hit points). This could be wrong - and I hope it is! - but I have to give the writer's some credit and assume they didn't forget to write more of the power than they did write.
My guess is that is exactly how it is supposed to be (5+half lvl HP total). It makes the familiar mount very risky, which it probably should be considering how early and inexpensively you could have a flying mount that never really dies. An arrow or two could find you falling from the sky to certain death (or you could use a sub-par utility like feather fall). This seems like a reasonable trade to me... with great flexibility comes great personal risk.
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