Patron Familiars Expanded

The Paizo list gives options for some of the popular patron choices, and yet, many are unaddressed; while Paizo does encourage GMs to use their options as the basis to develop more of their own, that I know of no one has come up with a concise list to address the rest until a player brings it up and asks.

So below is a list that builds on the original patron familiar options, expanding it to cover more 1p and 3pp bloodlines as an easy reference. Feel free to modify as you care to fit the balance of your campaign.

The 1pp familiars are also listed here and denoted with a †, and may (do) contain house alterations. The PRD patron familiars list is here.

†Agility—Supernatural Speed (Su): The familiar is incredibly fast for its type. It gains an enhancement bonus of +10 feet to each of its movement speeds. This bonus increases to +20 feet at 8th level, and to +30 feet at 16th level

Ancestors—Ancestral Speaker (Sp): The familiar is a to the ancestral patron that empowers you. Once per day, you can contact these ancestral powers for insight through your familiar; is the equivalent of an augury spell. At 11th level, once per week the familiar can use the equivalent of a commune spell.

†Animals—Animal Speaker (Su): The familiar gains the ability to speak with animals of its kind at 1st level. If it would normally gain this ability at 7th level, the familiar gains the ability to speak with all animals (as though constantly under the effects of speak with animals) at 7th level. Further the familiar gains a bonus on Diplomacy checks against the animals with which it can speak equal to half your witch level, and Diplomacy becomes a class skill for the familiar.

Aurora—Dazzling Beacon (Su): As a standard action, the familiar can glimmer with the radiance and brightness of a rainbow to dazzle creatures in a 30 foot radius centered on the familiar, unless they make a Will save equal to (10 + half your witch level + your Intelligence modifier); maintaining the effect for those who fail the save is a free action. The familiar can use this a number of rounds per day equal to your witch level + your Intelligence modifier; these do not have to be used consecutively, but they must be used in 1-round increments.

Autumn—Defoliating Aura (Su): For a number of rounds equal to your witch level as a swift action, the familiar can exude an aura of energy in a 5-foot radius that causes plant growth to shrink and wither. This has no effect on living creatures, but it does on both normal and magically manipulated plant life. Against normal plant life, the effect is permanent; against magically manipulated growth, like that of an entangle spell, it supresses the manipulated growth within the area of effect of the aura. If the duration of the manipulation effect persists after the aura is lowered, or passes from that space, the growth resumes one round thereafter. These rounds do not have to be used consecutively, but they do have to be used in one-round increments.

Boundaries—Hedge Corruption (Su): The familiar can sense the presence of evil, as if continually effected by detect evil. At 7th level, the familiar can radiate an aura of protection from evil in a 10-foot radius, centered on the familiar, as a standard action for 1 minute per witch level; these minutes don’t have to be used consecutively but they have to be spent in one-minute increments.

Conspiracies—Neuralizing Touch (Su): With a touch attack, the familiar can cause a creature to forget what happened in the last number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. If the creature makes a Will save against a DC of (10 + half your witch level + your Intelligence bonus) it resists the effect. The familiar can use this ability once per day at 1st level, and an additional time per day at 8th and 16th level. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Death—Corrupting Touch (Su): The familiar’s can deal 1d6 negative energy damage with a successful touch attack. At 8th level this increases to 2d6, and at 16th it increases to 3d6. It can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier. It can deliver a touch spell in the same action as this touch ability, resolving the effects of the spell after those of this ability.

Decadence—Euphoric Touch (Su): Your familiar’s touch can cause any creature that fails a Fortitude save to be overwhelmed with euphoric sensations. This results in the targets becoming fascinated and dazzled for 1d6 rounds. The familiar may use this ability a number of times equal to 3 + the your Intelligence modifier, and the save DC is equal to (10 + half your witch level + your Intelligence modifier). The familiar can use this touch in the same action as delivering a touch spell, resolving the effects of this touch after delivering the spell.

†Deception—Distracting (Su and Sp): The familiar gains Bluff and Sense Motive as class skills, and a bonus to these skills equal to half the witch’s level. At 10th level, the familiar can throw its voice at will, as if using ventriloquism.

Devotion—Self Sacrifice (Ex): Once per day, when you would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by an attack, the familiar can throw itself in the way of the attack as an immediate action if it is touching or adjacent to you. If it makes a Reflex save against a DC equal to the damage dealt by the attack, it takes all the damage dealt. If it fails the save, it takes half the damage while you suffer the other half. At 7th level, as part of this immediate action, it can move up to its move speed as part of the attempt to intercept the attack. At 13th level, this movement will not draw attacks of opportunity.

†Elements—Elemental Touch (Su): Choose an energy type: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. The familiar gains resistance 5 to the selected energy type. Whenever the familiar delivers a touch spell that deals energy damage, it can change the type of energy damage dealt to the selected energy type.

Enchantment—Charm Amplifier (Su): When delivering a touch spell of the Enchantment school, the effective caster level of the spell is 1 higher.

†Endurance—Endure Afflictions (Su): The familiar is unnaturally talented at resisting bodily corruption. The familiar and any ally touching it gains a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws against nonmagical poisons and diseases. At 8th level, this bonus also applies against magical diseases and poisons. At 16th level, this bonus also applies against curses.

Entropy—Void Gaze (Su): Your familiar gains a gaze attack in a 15 foot cone. Those who see the gaze and fail a Will save against a DC of (10 + half your witch level + the familiar’s Charisma modifier) are confused, as the spell, for 1 round. Once a creature has been affected or saved against this effect, it is immune to the effect for 24 hours.

Ethereal—Ghost Form (Su): Your familiar may partially phase into an ethereal state as a standard action, a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier. This state is the equivalent of a Blur effect and grants a 20% miss chance when the familiar is targeted and it lasts as many rounds your Intelligence modifier.

Fate—Fated Touch (Su): The familiar gains a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls to deliver touch spells, and the DC of touch spells delivered by the familiar increases by 1. These benefits increase by 1 at 8th level and again at 16th level.

Healing—Healing Channel (Su): A number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier, your familiar can grant fast healing 1 to a creature it’s touching. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) or until the familiar stops touching the creature, whichever comes first. At 10th level, the familiar grants fast healing 2 instead. At 20th level, the familiar grants fast healing 3 instead.

Insanity—Babbler (Su): The familiar can incoherently babble and gyre in order to fascinate creatures as the bardic performance, treating your witch level as its bard level, with a save DC equal to (10 + half your witch level + your Intelligence modifier).

Jynx—Hexer (Su): Once per day, the familiar can deliver a curse with its touch, causing the target to take a -1 penalty on attack rolls and a -1 penalty on saving throws against fear effects for a number of rounds equal to its master’s level. The save DC is equal to (10 + 1/2 your witch level + your Intelligence modifier). The familiar can resolve this touch attack before delivering your touch spell in the same action. The familiar can use this ability an additional time per day at 8th and 16th levels.

Light—Illuminating Beacon (Su): The familiar glows with a perpetual light equivalent to that of a torch, which it can raise and lower at will. At 7th level it can glow with the brilliance of a daylight spell once per day for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier, and supress any darkness effects of 3rd or lower level in the radius of its glow. It gains additional uses per day of daylight at 11th and every 4 levels thereafter. At 11th level, the familiar can dispel darkness effects of a level equal to half its hit dice or less, a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Mercy—Merciful Touch (Su): The familiar can deliver touch spells of the Conjuration (healing) subschool at 1st level; at 3rd level, when it can deliver all touch spells, spells of the Conjuration (healing) subschool are treated as if your caster level were 1 higher.

Mind—Telepathic Conduit (Su): Your familiar can act as a telepathic channel between you and another creature of 3 Intelligence or greater, by coming in contact with the other creature. So long as the other creature and the familiar are in contact with each other, you may trade messages with the other creature in phrases of 20 words or less, similar to the Sending spell. This is a language-dependent effect.

Moon—Glimmering Familiar (Sp): The familiar is always an animal, and always a creature with affinity for the night (bats, cats, mice, owls, etc). Once per day, the familiar can cast Faerie Fire as a druid equal to your witch level, and an additional time per day at 8th and 16 levels.

Mountain—Rocky Navigator (Ex): So long as the familiar is adjacent or touching you, you and the familiar can move through difficult rocky terrain (rocks, dirt, loose gravel and stones, et al) without penalty, unless it is magically manipulated. At 8th level, you can also move through magically manipulated rocky terrain freely, though you still suffer any harmful effects of this manipulated terrain, such as a spike stones spell. At 16th level, you ignore all effects of magically manipulated rocky terrain.

Nightmares—Fear Touch (Su): The familiar can touch a creature to give it the shaken condition for 1d6 rounds. At 8th level, the creature is also frightened for one round. If the creature makes a Will save against a DC of (10 + half your witch level + your Intelligence modifier), it negates these effects. The familiar can use this ability in the same action as delivering a touch spell, resolving the effects of the spell before the effects of this ability. It can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, but once a particular creature has been effected or saves against the ability it is immune for 24 hours.

Occult—Ghostsight (Su): The familiar can peer into the ethereal for a number of rounds per day equal to your witch level as a free action. This allows it to see invisible or ethereal creatures, and to negate its miss chance against incorporeal creatures or those affected by effects that mimic the blink spell. At 7th level, the familiar can confer this ability to its master so long as they are touching.

Peace—Peacebonding (Sp): Once per day, the familiar can grant the effects of sanctuary to itself and a creature it touches, treating your witch level as its caster level for determining its effects. Should the familiar lose contact with another warded creature before the duration of the Sanctuary expires, the effect ends for that creature immediately. It can use this ability an additional time per day at 8th and 16th levels.

†Plague—Diseased Touch (Ex): Once per day, the familiar can inflict filth fever with its natural attacks for 1 round. At 10th level, the familiar can inflict red ache instead. At 20th level, it can inflict demon fever instead. The familiar may be able to inflict other injury diseases instead at the GM’s discretion. Alternately, f the witch is presently carrying a disease, the familiar may instead use this ability to transfer this disease as a touch attack in the same action as delivering a touch spell, resolving the effects of the spell before resolving the effects of the transmitted disease as normal.

Plant—Verdant Familiar (Ex): Your familiar gains visible plant-like traits, and gains a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning. This bonus increases by +1 every 4 levels to a maximum of +4 at 16th level.

Portents—Danger Sense (Ex): The familiar has a keen sense of impending danger, gaining a bonus of +1 to Perception checks to avoid being surprised; this bonus increases by +1 for every 3 witch levels to a maximum of +6 at 18th level. At 7th level, the familiar can always act in a surprize round. So long as the familiar is touching you, you also gain the benefits of this ability.

Protection—Warding Shield (Su): As an immediate action, the familiar can project a shield-like ward that grants a shield bonus of +1. This bonus increases by +1 for every  four levels after 1st for a total of +5 at 17th level. If the familiar is touching you when he projects this shield, he also grants you this shield bonus. The familiar can use this ability for a number of rounds equal to the your Intelligence modifier; these rounds do not need to be used consecutively but must be used in one-round increments.

Recovery—Refreshing Touch (Su): The familiar can remove the effects of fatigue with a touch. At 7th level, it can also remove the effects of exhaustion. At 13th level, it can also remove the effects of hunger and thirst. At 19th level, the touch can also remove 1d4 points of energy damage from one single ability score. The familiar can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, but this touch can only affect the same creature once in a 24-hour period.

Revenge—Vengeful Bond (Ex): Whenever you are attacked by a creature the familar is adjacent to, it can make an attack of opportunity against the creature as an immediate action. If the familiar is holding the charge for your touch spell, it can use this free melee attack to deliver the touch spell. At 7th level, this becomes a reciprocal ability and you can make an attack of opportunity against an adjacent creature that attacks your familiar.

Rot—Corroding Touch (Su): A number of times equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, the familiar can touch an item as a standard action and deal 1d4 points of damage that bypasses hardness of any mundane (including masterwork) objects of animal or vegetable material or metal, except special metals such as mithral or adamantine. If the item is attended the familiar must make a melee touch attack against the holder, and if the familiar hits, the holder makes a Reflex save against a DC of (10 + the familiar’s HD + its Dexterity modifier) to avoid damage to the object.

†Shadow—Fearsome Shadows (Sp): Once per day, the familiar can use cause fear as a spell-like ability as long as it is in an area of normal or dim light, affecting a single living creature with a number of Hit Dice up to the familiar’s Intelligence score. Thus, creatures normally immune to cause fear because they have 6 or more Hit Dice may not be immune to the familiar’s cause fear spell-like ability.

Space—Portal Jumper (Su): With a move action, the familiar can transport itself to you, as if using the dimension door spell, so long as can see you. It can use this ability for any number of jumps, up to a total distance per day of 30 feet, increasing by an additional 10 feet per day at 3rd level and every two witch levels thereafter.

Spirits—Shared Spirit (Su): Your familiar is, at least in part, made of spirit essence, and tied to yours and manifests from it. As a move action, the familiar can merge with your physical form as it joins its spirit with yours. While so melded, the familiar does not count as a creature separate from you. It continues to grant its special familiar bonus while melded, but otherwise has no abilities and can take no actions except to separate from you as another move action. If the familiar has a skill with more ranks than you, while melded you can use the familiar’s ranks in that skill once per day; you gain another use of this ability every 4 levels after 1st.

Spring—Vibrant Growth (Sp): The familiar can cast entangle as a spell-like ability once per day. At 8th level, it can alternately cast plant growth and it gets an additional use per day of this ability. It gains a third use of this ability at 18th level.

Stars—Natigator (Su or Sp): The familiar gains ranks in Survival equal to half your witch level, and this is always a class skill for the familiar. It can always tell true north and the direction of travel, as if continually under the effect of know direction. At 11th level, it can use find the path once per day as a spell-like ability.

Storms—Stormspun (Su): Once per day, the familiar can use gust of wind as a spell-like ability. It gains another use per day at 8th and 16th levels. At 9th level, it can alternately use this ability for the effects of blast of wind.

†Strength—Strength of Mind (Su): A number of times per day equal to its master’s Intelligence modifier (minimum once per day), the familiar can swap its Strength and Intelligence scores as a standard action. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to half the master’s caster level.

Summer—Heatstroke (Su): As a standard action, a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, the familiar’s touch can bring on the fatigue of a midsummer sun. If a creature touched fails a Fort save against a DC equal to (10 + half your level + your Intelligence modifier), it becomes fatigued; this has no affect on a creature that is already fatigued. At 7th level, a second touch on a fatigued creature can make the creature exhausted if it fails a Fort save against the same DC. Once a creature has saved against this touch, it is immune for a 24-hour period. Creatures that are resistant to extreme climate, such as being affected by endure elements, are also immune to this ability. The familiar can deliver a touch spell in the same action as this ability, deilvering the spell after resolving the effects of this ability.

Thorns—Thorny Armor (Su): As an immediate action, the familiar can surround itself in an armor of sharp thorns. This gives the familiar an armor bonus of +1, which increases by +1 for every five witch levels to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. In addition, anyone striking the familiar in melee with a natural attack or a manufactured weapon without reach suffers 1d4 of piercing damage. This ability is usable for a number of rounds per day equal to your Intelligence bonus; these do not have to be used consecutively but must be used in one-round increments.

Time—Timey-Wimey (Sp): Once per day, the familiar can deliver the effects of haste or slow upon a single touched creature as a spell-like ability, treating your witch level as the caster level for this effect. It can use this ability an additional time per day at 8th and 16th level.

†Transformation—Shapechanging Familiar (Su): The familiar is able to transform itself as a standard action. For a number of minutes per day equal to your witch level, the familiar can alter its form to that of different creature of its type and size. The duration doubles at 8th level, and triples at 16th level. This duration need not be consecutive, but it must be used in 1 minute increments. For instance, a cat familiar could change into any Tiny animal. This effect is equivalent to the beast shape I spell with the additional limitations above.

†Trickery—Familiar’s Illusions (Sp): The familiar has a mischievous predilection toward simple illusions. Once per day, the familiar can use a 0-level illusion spell on its master’s spell list as a spell-like ability. At 8th level, it can also use a 1st-level illusion spell on its master’s spell list once per day. At 16th level, it can also use a 2nd-level illusion spell on its master’s spell list once per day.

Vengeance— (See Revenge)

†Water—Amphibious Familiar (Su): The familiar can breathe water for a number of hours per day equal to half its master’s witch level. These minutes need not be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-hour intervals. If the familiar can already breathe water, it can breathe air for the same duration. At 10th level, the familiar gains a swim speed of 30 feet (or a land speed of 30 feet if it already has a swim speed) while using this ability. At 20th level, the familiar can move through water as though under the effects of freedom of movement while using this ability.

Winter—Chilling Touch (Sp): Your familiar has the ability to cast Chill Touch once per day at a sorcerer level equal to yours; it can use this an additional time per day at 8th and 16th levels. While the familiar is holding charges of this spell, he can not deliver other touch spells for you; delivering one of your touch spells effectively ends this one.

†Wisdom—Preternatural Wisdom (Su): The familiar gains a Wisdom score of 6. This score increases by 1 point at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter (at the same rate as its Intelligence score). This may cause a familiar whose Wisdom score is typically higher than 6 to start with a lower Wisdom score than normal. It further gains Sense Motive as a class skill.

Woodlands—Verdant Navigator (Ex): So long as the familiar is adjacent or touching you, you and the familiar gain the woodland stride ability of the druid. At 8th level, you can also move through magically manipulated natural terrain freely, though you still suffer any harmful effects of this manipulated terrain, such as a thorny entanglement spell. At 16th level, you ignore all effects of magically manipulated natural terrain.