Familiar

A familiar is an animal, or some other exotic creature, chosen to aid an arcane spellcaster's study of magic.

Wizard or arcanist familiars
A wizard's or an arcanist's familiar grants special abilities to its master, but only when the familiar and its master are within one mile of each other. If a familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced one week later through a specialized ritual that takes eight hours to complete.

Common wizard or arcanist familiars
The following familiars are commonly found to be used by wizards, arcanists, adepts, and some sorcerers and witches on Golarion.

School familiars
Some specialist wizards may adopt a familiar specific to their chosen school of magic. These school familiars, although looking like a normal familiar, gain powers associated with the master's specialist school.

Witch familiars
A witch's familiar is slightly different from a wizard's. By forging strange bonds with unnameable beings, witches gain the service of a mystical adviser, a familiar to both serve her and reveal to her secrets unknown to most mortals. Familiars grant witches bonuses to skills, additional spells, and help with some types of magic. A witch must commune with her familiar each day to prepare her spells. Familiars store all of the spells that a witch knows, and a witch cannot prepare a spell that is not stored by her familiar. A witch can also add additional spells to her familiar through a special ritual. If a witch's familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced one day later through a special ritual that takes eight hours to complete.

Common witch familiars
Witches of Irrisen are known to favor ravens as familiars.

The following familiars are most associated with witches, but are also often used by wizards and sorcerers.

Patron familiars
Patron familiars are witch familiars that are tied to the same patron as their mistress or master and reinforce the connections to the source of the witch's power. almost identical to a normal witch's familiar, patron familiars have certain special abilities that are associated with their patron power.

Sorcerer familiars
As well as the choice of a familiar similar to a wizard's, sorcerers may choose to take on a familiar that is more sorcerer related.

Bloodline familiars
Bloodline familiars are restricted to those spellcasters having an inherent magical capability such as sorcerers, but also bloodragers, whose magic is associated with the same bloodline as the familiar. These familiars tend to manifest abilities that resonate with the particular bloodline they share with their master or mistress.

Sorcerer tattoo familiars
Some sorcerers adopt a tattoo as a familiar. The familiar creature can be carried as a tattoo on the sorcerer's skin or released as a normal familiar.

Druids
A blight druid may call a familiar in a similar fashion to a wizard, as they cannot call an animal companion.

Some druids associated with a domain may gain a familiar associated with their animal domain instead of attracting an animal companion.

Other druids attune themselves to bodiless nature spirits and can bring these spirits into being as creatures called leshies, that act like familiars.

Clerics and rangers
Clerics or rangers of Besmara may choose a familiar instead of a domain or an animal companion, respectively.

Other classes
Very rarely members of other classes and prestige classes may qualify for a familiar such as paladins, bards, fighters, and stargazers.

Vampiric familiars
Some vampires and dhampirs may call a vampiric familiar.

Uncommon familiars
The following familiars are either less commonly chosen, or are common only for specific races or in certain locations: It is quite possible that many other animals, similar to those mentioned here, could also be adopted as a familiar.



Nautical and Piratical Familiars
The following more exotic familiars are mostly associated with pirates and nautical spellcasters, but are not exclusive to them.

In addition to the normal array of familiars, Besmara allows birds, blue-ringed octopus, king crabs or monkeys.

Cold-climate familiars
The following familiars are more appropriate for residents of the colder parts of Golarion:

Improved familiars
Some powerful spellcasters may call a greater familiar, more powerful than those listed above, including:

Other familiars
Some spellcasters choose their own hand as a familiar after making a mutually acceptable bargain with some form of spirit, ghost or outsider to possess their hand. This form of familiar may aid its "master" in a number of ways, for instance, with extra powers of sight through the hand, with aid to fight with a weapon more effectively, or with ability to act on its own to manipulate objects on behalf of the caster. Perhaps somewhat more horrifically, such a familiar can rip from its master's body and act utterly independently before being reattached to the master's arm.

Some constructs can be used as familiars, such as small hand-crafted poppets.

Named familiars
The following are known to be familiars of spellcasters on Golarion:

Magic Items
There exists a magic item called a periapt of temporary familiar that allows its wearer to summon a familiar for a few minutes and thus gaining all the advantages of having one. This item may not be used, however, by those who already have a proper familiar.