Phylactery Familiar [3.5 feat, PEACH]

[Fortuna]

Familiar Phylactery [General]
You extend the arcane bond linking your familiar to you, housing your very essence in your familiar.
Prerequisites: Ability to summon a familiar, must be a lich
Benefits: Your phylactery is merged into your familiar. For all intents and purposes, your familiar is now your phylactery. Whenever an effect would affect a normal familiar and a normal phylactery differently, treat your familiar-phylactery as your familiar. In addition, whenever you die, you immediately dominate your phylactery-familiar, even if it is immune to mind-affecting effects, and may cast spells through it as though you had half as many spellcasting levels as you actually do.

[Sereg]

This reminds me of what Voldemort did to Nagini. Is that where you got your inspiration? Anyeway, as discussed in aforementioned series, having a living thing as a phylactery is a little dangerous due to them being killable. As such, by itself I don't see any reason to take the feat except for really fluffy ones. Maybe if there were other advantages?

[Warpwolf16]

Hmm..I like it, and it gives me a way to have my BBEG Iron Lich to come back some how...him and his necrotech mechanika familiar :smallbiggrin:

[Hyooz]

So now my phylactery is even more vulnerable, and when I lose it, I not only die, but also take a major XP hit? (I'm not sure which is worse.)

I can't think of a reason to take this.

[Ossian]

Not sure if it is better this way. What would be the added value of having your soul embedded to something killable? Reminds me of the Crow. The guy got really hosed when they figured the linkage between his superpowers and the bird.

Out there be snipers...

[DracoDei]

Actually, the ability for your phylactery to run away or otherwise take defensive precautions against those trying to destroy it might balance out a lot of the vulnerabilities it adds. In the case of an undead familiar this might be an even better deal...

[paddyfool]

It seems purely for fluff, but that's OK... I'd be tempted to have it give some extra advantage, though. Such as the lich being able to possess the body of the familiar from the moment of death until his own body regenerates, a way to make the familiar harder to kill (although it would be hard to come up with something decent that isn't covered by existing potential permanent buffs from shared spells), or some improvement to the link between the lich and the familiar.

[Sereg]

Actually, the ability for your phylactery to run away or otherwise take defensive precautions against those trying to destroy it might balance out a lot of the vulnerabilities it adds. In the case of an undead familiar this might be an even better deal...

I did consider that, but it's simpler just for your familiar to wear or carry your phylactery (getting someone to carry your phylactery worked out decently for Xykon, at least for a while). I agree with Paddyfool that it would be nice if this also toughened up your familiar or something.

[MoleMage]

It seems purely for fluff, but that's OK... I'd be tempted to have it give some extra advantage, though. Such as the lich being able to possess the body of the familiar from the moment of death until his own body regenerates, a way to make the familiar harder to kill (although it would be hard to come up with something decent that isn't covered by existing potential permanent buffs from shared spells), or some improvement to the link between the lich and the familiar.

Might be overpowered, but what if the familiar-phylactery could also regenerate from the Lich if it died? If the Lich died before it fully recovered, just dead, if not, you still take the XP hit as normal from losing your familiar.

[Mulletmanalive]

As it stands, this is worse than simply making your Phylacetry portable and having your familiar wear it. Or swallow it.

The regenerate thing might be worthwhile, but as mentioned above, i could just sew it under the skin of my familiar anyway. Only real advantage here is for a Dread Necromancer, as his Imp or Quasit familiar would reform on their respective plane when killed, making him literally unkillable unless you can destroy the familiar on its home plane.

[Fortuna]

OK, so people are saying that it's weak. I can understand that 100%. But nevertheless, I'm a bit worried about this next idea.

When you die, you start completely controlling your familiar. And, if you have appropriate feats (Still+Silent, or nothing if it's an unusual familiar), can cast spells as if you had half as many casting levels as you actually do.

[DracoDei]

I am not even sure that halving caster level is required. People always complain that familiars are way too squishy for comfort...

Then again, liches are nasty enough... having a surprise "Round Two.... FIGHT!" for a single feat might be a bit much for most PC groups...

So... half caster-level could be quite reasonable.

[megabyter5]

I like it! But there's one thing left to do before this becomes usable... Figure out all the powergamey things you can do with it!

Let's see... There was that PrC that let you combine your Familiar with your Animal Companion. This could make that actually useful for once! Hmm, what else is there..?

[Zeta Kai]

Thanks, but I prefer my phylactery to be floating in the empty depths of random interstellar space. Plus, it has an objects hardness, IE damage reduction.