Pixie Familiars

[fading]

Pixies are by far the most popular choice for a wizard/sorcerer/hexblade's familiar, the reason for this is entirely related to its mechanical usefulness, a "pocket rogue" as it's often described. Just how useful a pixie familiar is can't be understated, they quite literally make specialized rogues that you might be travelling with utterly irrelevant when dealing with locked doors or trapped chests.

Picking another familiar means sacrificing an immensely useful asset, that overall makes taking on dungeons more fun. There is virtually no incentive for choosing a different familiar, which leads to a pretty disappointing lack of diversity in familiars and their associated RP.

Familiars are an excellent tool for creating RP. Exploring the relationship between caster and familiar, defining the player's character to those not familiar with them through banter with their familiar, or even making them a crucial part of the character's story.

A wider array of familiars to consider, allows for more diversity in RP and different types of interactions, that are currently only available if you wish to ignore an incredibly useful tool.

The easiest way to go about it would be removing disarm trap as one of the pixie's skills. Still making it a useful familiar, with the ability to unlock doors and chests. If there are better alternatives, by all means, feel free to express them, but seeing as the problem is with the disarm trap skill in particular, I imagine tackling the root of the issue to be the better choice.

[Maladus]

I don't think taking the power or usefulness away from one familiar, class, weapon (whatever it may be) is the best way to go about it. I think the other familiars should be given useful tools to entice people to use them instead.

[Morgy]

I don't see why an imp, for example, couldn't be given skills in lock-picking or disarming traps the same as the pixie.

[fading]

I don't think taking the power or usefulness away from one familiar, class, weapon (whatever it may be) is the best way to go about it. I think the other familiars should be given useful tools to entice people to use them instead.

That's definitely a possibility too, the last part was just the way I'd solve the issue. All familiars with the exception of the pixie are primarily there for RP reasons, so making the pixie less useful, to really emphasize the less mechanical aspects of familiars sounded like a good idea to me. That way the decision as to which familiar one should pick would be solely based on the RP it can provide, and how it'd work in relation with the character.

[Biolab00]

I don't see why an imp, for example, couldn't be given skills in lock-picking or disarming traps the same as the pixie.

I actually fully agree with this statement.
I've always been seeing PaleMasters with a bunch of mummy lords and suddenly, summoned a Pixie. Yea, you can RP around it, but it still gives a weird feeling. If it's an Imp, it will make much more sense, after all, it's a bonafide evil familiar

[Aradin]

I've been finding genuine mechanical usefulness out of my beholder familiar actually. It's the only familiar with ranged capability, so having my summon tanking in the front and drawing fire allows me and my beholder to fire off magic. I'm caster level 20 and the beholder is doing an average of 15 damage a shot. Hasted, that's 30 damage a round (it hits nearly every time because it's a ranged touch attack). It's not going to turn the tide of any fights, but it makes soloing quicker and more fun. Slow bolt and mage armour add to the fun; I'm looking forward to seeing the other abilities as I level up.

The only thing I'd change about it is making its eye ammunition infinite, or simply scale with more logic. Just look at this borked leveling table for the eye rays:
https://nwn.fandom.com/wiki/Eyeball_(familiar)

[xanrael]

Everyone laughs at the eyeball familiar until they get put on the ground for 3 rounds with no save or SR.

[Might-N-Magic]

Long ago, in the murkiness of the Jj regime, he did one thing in the name of balance... He removed those skills from pixie.

Why they were re-instated, I have no idea. It's bizarre to think mages need to be rogues (for free to boot).

Familiars are supposed to be trash for RP purposes. Even with the improved familiar feat, they just become trash for RP purposes who take two hits to die instead of one. But because NWN is a vidya gaem intended for single-player and cooperative play (not competitive), they became... this.

[-XXX-]

We've been through this countless times. One player suggesting that the rest of the playerbase ought to adjust their gameplay experience in order to alleviate their own is wrong. Concealing the argument into "make other familiars relevant too" has been tried before as well.

Things to consider:
the contents of the loot chests are essential for crafting and the natural gear progression of any character. They need to be made as available as possible regardless of class/build.

Most builds can splash the Rogue class for skilldumping purposes. This includes wizards. Since the disable trap spell doesn't work, nerfing the pixie would only represent a massive nerf to the sorcerer class which is already quite skill starved. Ultimately this would only result in making 3 rogue levels mandatory to include in any build for it to be considered optimal.

[Zaphiel]

Their skills should be capped. A pixie can easily open all chests this includes runic chest as well. Pixie definitely shouldn't able to open runic chests. They can even disarm traps too. And mage even doesn't need to do any investment.

[Aelryn Bloodmoon]

Long ago, in the murkiness of the Jj regime, he did one thing in the name of balance... He removed those skills from pixie.

Why they were re-instated, I have no idea. It's bizarre to think mages need to be rogues (for free to boot).

Familiars are supposed to be trash for RP purposes. Even with the improved familiar feat, they just become trash for RP purposes who take two hits to die instead of one. But because NWN is a vidya gaem intended for single-player and cooperative play (not competitive), they became... this.

This is so very untrue, and I wonder what your source for this determination is. To begin with, if you mean in PnP by "supposed to be," you can share every personal ward and spells whose normal target is only "you" with your familiar in PnP, meaning even though they only have half your HP total normally, you can polymorph them, buff them out the wazoo, and then use them as a high-ac front-liner to hold and deliver touch spells while you're busy casting other spells (or counter-spelling enemy casters).

<Edit: A personal favorite of mine- Shapechange them into a giant squid, cast mastery of air on them (can breathe air and fly), cast spell flower on them, and then load all of their individual arms up with touch spells. Because a flying giant squid wasn't scary enough by itself. Tenser's Transformation can also affect your familiar...after you've Shapechanged it.>

Having a familiar literally doubles your action economy, and while only a fool risks them needlessly due to the penalties of losing one, a mage who doesn't use their familiar in combat ever is probably better off playing a cleric.

That Arelith allows them to be useful in dungeons even though I can't get as creative as I could in tabletop is a perk for me, not a bad thing.

On topic with OP- personally I'd rather see the other familiars buffed a bit, but the truth is I don't think that would change the problem. The pixie isn't a combat beast, but it covers improved invisibility slots and some rogue skills; mages have summons for combat tanking unless they're a true flame or an evoker, so the familiar is always going to be a utility choice unless they're adjusted to be on par with equal-level summons.

But if pixies lose open lock then knock should unlock all doors and chests. Mages are, traditionally, able to deal with such things (and traps) through spell use; a dungeon delving mage might make frequent use of mage hand to spring traps he detects and then knock the chest lock to avoid damaging the loot contents.

Why people think rogues should be the only people able to get past a lock is beyond me- a hammer works as well as a lockpick if you swing it hard enough, and magic is magic. Seems like a very forced way to punish parties for not having a rogue available during a dungeon run.

[AstralUniverse]

Most characters can switch gear to disarm a trap. Sorcerers cant really switch gear in the middle of a dungeon without losing most of their spells. Its this one class that really cant get past traps without eating them in any other way. other classes are either very beefy, have high int, skill points, can just switch gear, etc etc. monks think Traps are a Hin dessert. clerics have spell resistance, NEP, freedom. Sorcs have protection from elements or energy buffer at best.

I really dont see the problem, since really anyone else can simply put 1 lock/disarm for epic loot and access epic loot, which is the whole point, I thought? So everyone have equal opportunity economically? Can debate whether or not that's a good idea but we've been through this before - it's a good idea.

[Drowboy]

Would love for familiars to have a look over. Either rip the pixie or give imp some trap/look skills too.

And like, can pseudodragon lose the ts? Mega boring to watch people half afk while possessing their familiars in public spaces.

[magistrasa]

I agree that loot should be more open to more people, I just don't think it's fair that every arcane caster should get access to it for free. Even the skill monkey rogue players find themselves sacrificing something or another to hit high lockpicking levels. The choice between taking a combat familiar or a pixie is hardly a choice at all - spellcasters are such a breeze of a leveling experience that the extra damage a familiar offers is simply a matter of convenience to shave a few minutes off of the time it takes to finish a dungeon. As opposed to picking up the pixie and getting access to what's likely the main reason you're doing that dungeon in the first place. Pixie is the default. Going with anything else is a Massive sacrifice.

[NPC Logger Number 2]

I don't see why an imp, for example, couldn't be given skills in lock-picking or disarming traps the same as the pixie.

I agree, it would be cool of imps had the same skills as a pixie.

Even the skill monkey rogue players find themselves sacrificing something or another to hit high lockpicking levels.

What? If you're lockpicking outside of battle you automatically take a 20 on the roll. Pretty sure the same goes for disarming traps. With a dex mod of 14 you only need 16 points invested to be able to pick DC 50 locks.

[Itikar]

In all seriousness familiars (and animal companions too) should be looked at and rebalanced between each other. It is clear that pixie and pseudodragon outclass the other choices on the mechanical level. An imp or a mephit have nothing that compares to a pocket rogue or permanent true seeing. With the exception of two wizards I met who chose the imp and the eyeball clearly for the lolz virtually every other wizard had either the pixie or the pseudodragon.

Furthermore it would really be welcome to have customized and setting appropriate options for animal companions and familiars.

What? If you're lockpicking outside of battle you automatically take a 20 on the roll. Pretty sure the same goes for disarming traps. With a dex mod of 14 you only need 16 points invested to be able to pick DC 50 locks.

Yes, it's the same for disarming traps, but there are some very hard locks and traps on the server. I found locks with DC 75 or 80, that even a character with maxed open lock has a hard time opening.

And even in relatively low level areas you can run into locks as high as 45 and up to 60.

[NPC Logger Number 2]

What? If you're lockpicking outside of battle you automatically take a 20 on the roll. Pretty sure the same goes for disarming traps. With a dex mod of 14 you only need 16 points invested to be able to pick DC 50 locks.

Yes, it's the same for disarming traps, but there are some very hard locks and traps on the server. I found locks with DC 75 or 80, that even a character with maxed open lock has a hard time opening.

And even in relatively low level areas you can run into locks as high as 45 and up to 60.

Thanks for the info!

[fading]

We've been through this countless times. One player suggesting that the rest of the playerbase ought to adjust their gameplay experience in order to alleviate their own is wrong. Concealing the argument into "make other familiars relevant too" has been tried before as well.

Things to consider:
the contents of the loot chests are essential for crafting and the natural gear progression of any character. They need to be made as available as possible regardless of class/build.

Most builds can splash the Rogue class for skilldumping purposes. This includes wizards. Since the disable trap spell doesn't work, nerfing the pixie would only represent a massive nerf to the sorcerer class which is already quite skill starved. Ultimately this would only result in making 3 rogue levels mandatory to include in any build for it to be considered optimal.

I'm not concealing any arguments. I don't really play rogue, the characters I play rarely have open lock and disable trap, because I just don't have the skill points for them. If you play a sorcerer, and you don't have enough skill points for open lock and disable trap, well, that's fine, every class and build has its pros and cons.

Making such a useful skill, that can only be learned by rogues and assassins, be available for free on classes that are already among the strongest is just not great design.

I understand it's useful, and I agree, of course it is, and of course everyone is going to pick it. Then we see shadow mages with pixies and kobold sorcerers with pixies, and like, sure, you can work around it, but it is an issue, and I don't like how we're just pushing it under the rug like this.

When you decide to play a non-rogue, you're accepting that you're not going to have the skills to work around traps and locks, unless you manage to get gear for it and sacrifice some precious skill points. I don't understand the issue with that. When you play a rogue you accept the fact you won't be able to cast time stop at level 16.

Like I said, I get it's very useful, but it's not a fair kind of useful. Clerics and favored souls are exactly in the same position as sorcerers, that you mentioned, but they don't get a pixie to solve all those issues, and that's just fine, I've never had any issue with the lack of those skills, to me it just seemed fair.

And when it comes to a few rogue levels, it's a huge sacrifice for wizards, I'm not sure what you're talking about.. You're losing on caster levels, and you're not even getting discipline out of it. That's not a good trade. It's why you don't do it on clerics either.

Though my main issue was, and is, the lack of any real, meaningful choice when it comes to familiars, having to sacrifice so much in order to pick a better suited familiar. Beneath that, sure, there's plenty of different reasons regarding why it's wrong, this is just my own opinion on the matter, I'd rather have every familiar get open lock and disable trap than just the pixie, for instance. It'd still be bad, but honestly it'd be better than this.

[Anomandaris]

We've been through this countless times. One player suggesting that the rest of the playerbase ought to adjust their gameplay experience in order to alleviate their own is wrong. Concealing the argument into "make other familiars relevant too" has been tried before as well.

Things to consider:
the contents of the loot chests are essential for crafting and the natural gear progression of any character. They need to be made as available as possible regardless of class/build.

Most builds can splash the Rogue class for skilldumping purposes. This includes wizards. Since the disable trap spell doesn't work, nerfing the pixie would only represent a massive nerf to the sorcerer class which is already quite skill starved. Ultimately this would only result in making 3 rogue levels mandatory to include in any build for it to be considered optimal.

I'm not concealing any arguments. I don't really play rogue, the characters I play rarely have open lock and disable trap, because I just don't have the skill points for them. If you play a sorcerer, and you don't have enough skill points for open lock and disable trap, well, that's fine, every class and build has its pros and cons.

Making such a useful skill, that can only be learned by rogues and assassins, be available for free on classes that are already among the strongest is just not great design.

I understand it's useful, and I agree, of course it is, and of course everyone is going to pick it. Then we see shadow mages with pixies and kobold sorcerers with pixies, and like, sure, you can work around it, but it is an issue, and I don't like how we're just pushing it under the rug like this.

When you decide to play a non-rogue, you're accepting that you're not going to have the skills to work around traps and locks, unless you manage to get gear for it and sacrifice some precious skill points. I don't understand the issue with that. When you play a rogue you accept the fact you won't be able to cast time stop at level 16.

Like I said, I get it's very useful, but it's not a fair kind of useful. Clerics and favored souls are exactly in the same position as sorcerers, that you mentioned, but they don't get a pixie to solve all those issues, and that's just fine, I've never had any issue with the lack of those skills, to me it just seemed fair.

And when it comes to a few rogue levels, it's a huge sacrifice for wizards, I'm not sure what you're talking about.. You're losing on caster levels, and you're not even getting discipline out of it. That's not a good trade. It's why you don't do it on clerics either.

Though my main issue was, and is, the lack of any real, meaningful choice when it comes to familiars, having to sacrifice so much in order to pick a better suited familiar. Beneath that, sure, there's plenty of different reasons regarding why it's wrong, this is just my own opinion on the matter, I'd rather have every familiar get open lock and disable trap than just the pixie, for instance. It'd still be bad, but honestly it'd be better than this.

Most people just take 1 pt in open lock and 1-2 pts in disable trap then get a set of simple enchanted items (+1 int +1 dex +2 open lock +2 disable trap) and daily use items to handle almost every lock/trap in the server. With zoo buffs and this gear, plus a out of combat 20 roll, it's pretty easy. There are a few exceptions and gear swapping is annnnoooying, but by no means does any PC really "need" to skill dump lock pick and disable trap (unless cracking PC quarters). So yah, a skill starved sorc can totally without a pixie open most locked stuff on the server, it's just annoying. My ROGUE doesn't even have more than 1 open lock and 2 disable trap...

I'm totally against balance by removal in this regard. I do however really like the idea of making it a harder decision by making the other familiars more useful so it's not a no-brainer choice to take the pixie.

[Might-N-Magic]

Etc, etc, etc.

Way to purposely miss the point just to deflect away from it, but let's not get into the ridiculous things the classes can do off-panel and focus on the fact that:

1. Familiars are designed and intended to be utter trash and were never intended to be tanks and:
2. Wizards don't need to also be rogues, for free.

It's garbage game design for both a competitive (and this is the important part) a co-operative game and wholly unnecessary, esp for wizards, who are swimming in skill points to begin with and have spells to do half the things that belong in other class idioms anyways.

If this server were balanced, most summons would be nerfed back to down "helper" status than to the steroid-level they've reached just because a majority of devs have a big hard stick for them.

Why people think rogues should be the only people able to get past a lock is beyond me- a hammer works as well as a lockpick if you swing it hard enough, and magic is magic. Seems like a very forced way to punish parties for not having a rogue available during a dungeon run.

It's about parity. Wizards get their cake and eat it too. Everyone else has to cross-class, which is blowing one of only three valuable resources to do something (classes). Mages not only aren't bothering to do that but are getting an entire epic tier 2nd character for nothing (as if it weren't already bad enough they can solo everything). You make it sound so horrible you have to party with someone in a social game.

Frankly, the day someone figures out how to code the game to prevent skill-dumping, nuke half the skills in the basin, and up the DCs of most traps and locks is the day I giggle with glee.

[-XXX-]

You could make a the same argument about parity regarding the mentioned clerics and favored souls who can achieve a full AB status with minimal building effort in order to be able to pick up a melee weapon to smash things once their spells run out with the same efficiency as any dedicated melee build would. Sorcerers and wizards (with the exception of that one custom wizard path) can't do that.

There's nothing inherently unfair about the pixie. It's a feature of the class that, to an extent, also makes up for the fact that certain spells and abilities belonging to that class don't work. The knock spell works only arbitrarily and in a miniscule fraction of cases, while the disable trap spell just straight up doesn't work ever (this can be especially aggravating as you can't get into a chest that's still trapped even if you managed to unlock it).
As you can see, there's evidence that a) yes arcane casters ARE supposed to be able to handle locks and traps by design and b) yes, they are supposed to be able to do that without any further skill investment.

So yeah, if we're talking about fair solutions, here are some:
nerf the pixie, but make sure that the knock and disable trap spells work
nerf the pixie, remove all traps from all loot containers
change all familiars so that they are mechanically the pixie

[Aardra]

Pseudodragons have true sight. :shrug:

[Biolab00]

Etc, etc, etc.

Way to purposely miss the point just to deflect away from it, but let's not get into the ridiculous things the classes can do off-panel and focus on the fact that:

1. Familiars are designed and intended to be utter trash and were never intended to be tanks and:
2. Wizards don't need to also be rogues, for free.

It's garbage game design for both a competitive (and this is the important part) a co-operative game and wholly unnecessary, esp for wizards, who are swimming in skill points to begin with and have spells to do half the things that belong in other class idioms anyways.

If this server were balanced, most summons would be nerfed back to down "helper" status than to the steroid-level they've reached just because a majority of devs have a big hard stick for them.

Why people think rogues should be the only people able to get past a lock is beyond me- a hammer works as well as a lockpick if you swing it hard enough, and magic is magic. Seems like a very forced way to punish parties for not having a rogue available during a dungeon run.

It's about parity. Wizards get their cake and eat it too. Everyone else has to cross-class, which is blowing one of only three valuable resources to do something (classes). Mages not only aren't bothering to do that but are getting an entire epic tier 2nd character for nothing (as if it weren't already bad enough they can solo everything). You make it sound so horrible you have to party with someone in a social game.

Frankly, the day someone figures out how to code the game to prevent skill-dumping, nuke half the skills in the basin, and up the DCs of most traps and locks is the day I giggle with glee.

If i am not wrong, there was never any changes done to the familiar since it simply follows the progression of the original NWN mechanic design.
Wizard has always been this way since years ago and i don't think this constitute as OP because this class is meant to be versatile. If anyone didn't already realise, the spell "Knock" and "Find Trap" are supposed to work together. Knock spell wasn't just meant to open chest but also door. Due to the OP part of opening door, it was only meant to target chest now. Regarding the disable trap part, I really don't see much issue here since there are actually less traps generated, if based on percentage, probably 70% are locked chest with only 30% being with traps.
Don't mention Runic Chest since our DMs are very kind about this thing, i don't want to spoil FOIG.

I simply think that the suggestion for IMP with the disable trap and open lock function seems to be ideal because these familiar are already at the domain of trickery ( sneaky and crafty ). Hence, i don't see the logic why they can't disable trap and open lock. Then again, what i mention here is considered a "Buff" so that evil alignment character have more option.

Frankly speaking, i always and firmly believe wizard/sorcerer don't need anymore Buffs but that doesn't mean, they need a nerf. They are good as it is, that's what i felt.
Since the Pixie is actually based on the original design of NWN mechanic, and has been so for years without any changes being made, shouldn't we just maintain the things as it is. So far, from what i can see, only minority feels that it is OP, i don't really feel much.
I am using a Monk and i also appreciate that i have a wizard companion that can summon familiar pixie to unlock / disable trap for my party when the needs call. And it's actually not that easy to use "PC Tool" to micro both the familiar and summons ( especially if you have more than 1 summon ). It's not that easy, really.

[Ninjimmy]

1. Familiars are designed and intended to be utter trash and were never intended to be tanks and:
2. Wizards don't need to also be rogues, for free.

Now I've not seen the 3e design documents, but I'd hazard a guess Familiar's weren't designed and intended to be utter trash, they were intended to be scouts and offer Wizards a suitably dicey way to increase the range of touch attacks. Also, kinda think there's more to being a rogue than being able to open locks and traps.

It's garbage game design for both a competitive (and this is the important part) a co-operative game and wholly unnecessary, esp for wizards, who are swimming in skill points to begin with and have spells to do half the things that belong in other class idioms anyways.

2+ Int Mod? I mean, it can get about as good as a Rogue's by lvl 20 but I think swimming is maybe an exaggeration

But since we're talking about Game Design, what do you think the point of the Wizard IS?

It's to bring the right kit for the job by preparing from a big old list of spells, it's kind of the same for Rogue's, though I suppose they can only open locks and disable traps but don't get any magic so I gu- Oh wait, they have UMD, so the Rogue just brings a Wand to drop some of the clutch spells, has significantly more hitpoints, a number of trained skills and reasonable melee damage.

They fill a similar role but the point of a Wizard is to be a magic-based facilitator, you bring the Wizard so he can buff your group, possibly throw a summon to chump-block or lighten the load and if you lack a rogue, open the chest at the end.

Ignoring that the Familiar is really a one and done trick unless you rest so gods help you if you find locked chests in different rooms because your Familiar isn't surviving a spawn.

If this server were balanced, most summons would be nerfed back to down "helper" status than to the steroid-level they've reached just because a majority of devs have a big hard stick for them.

I'm gonna assume this is to do with GSF conjuring rather than conjuring as it is.

Why people think rogues should be the only people able to get past a lock is beyond me- a hammer works as well as a lockpick if you swing it hard enough, and magic is magic. Seems like a very forced way to punish parties for not having a rogue available during a dungeon run.

It's about parity. Wizards get their cake and eat it too. Everyone else has to cross-class, which is blowing one of only three valuable resources to do something (classes). Mages not only aren't bothering to do that but are getting an entire epic tier 2nd character for nothing (as if it weren't already bad enough they can solo everything). You make it sound so horrible you have to party with someone in a social game.

This may just be me, but I've never seen a Familiar take down a boss so, Epic 2nd Character might be a reach.

Like I said before, Wizards role is to BE in a party, the Familiar is an extension of that. Familiar when you lack a Rogue, Summon when you lack a Front-line, Animate Dead when you lack a Cleric, they CAN potentially solo things because of that but so can damn near any class (Druid's can spawn a party of 6 Epics for the price of one spell slot ffs), literally the only difference here is that the Wizard gets a Class Feature that CAN pick locks if they select it, or they could pick a Panther and watch it get eaten by Dragons.

Frankly, the day someone figures out how to code the game to prevent skill-dumping, nuke half the skills in the basin, and up the DCs of most traps and locks is the day I giggle with glee.

And the day someone takes away UMD entirely and the Lore ability to use scrolls, my Wizard26/Rogue4 will suddenly be inundated with adventuring requests.

Cos yeah, My Wizard dipped Rogue for UMD and Open Lock because they're useful as hell and I'm not thrilled about having the Pixie since it kinda cheapens it. But it's not bad game design to have it around, what would be bad game design is a social game where you NEED a player in any given adventuring party who's selected the ONE class you need in order to access colossal amounts of content.

I mean, imagine if you needed a Cleric to sanctify the party before you headed outside town in order to spawn any magic items every. single. time? And then imagine complaining that the Paladin can do it too without spending skill points.

[Biolab00]

1. Familiars are designed and intended to be utter trash and were never intended to be tanks and:
2. Wizards don't need to also be rogues, for free.

Now I've not seen the 3e design documents, but I'd hazard a guess Familiar's weren't designed and intended to be utter trash, they were intended to be scouts and offer Wizards a suitably dicey way to increase the range of touch attacks. Also, kinda think there's more to being a rogue than being able to open locks and traps.

It's garbage game design for both a competitive (and this is the important part) a co-operative game and wholly unnecessary, esp for wizards, who are swimming in skill points to begin with and have spells to do half the things that belong in other class idioms anyways.

2+ Int Mod? I mean, it can get about as good as a Rogue's by lvl 20 but I think swimming is maybe an exaggeration

But since we're talking about Game Design, what do you think the point of the Wizard IS?

It's to bring the right kit for the job by preparing from a big old list of spells, it's kind of the same for Rogue's, though I suppose they can only open locks and disable traps but don't get any magic so I gu- Oh wait, they have UMD, so the Rogue just brings a Wand to drop some of the clutch spells, has significantly more hitpoints, a number of trained skills and reasonable melee damage.

They fill a similar role but the point of a Wizard is to be a magic-based facilitator, you bring the Wizard so he can buff your group, possibly throw a summon to chump-block or lighten the load and if you lack a rogue, open the chest at the end.

Ignoring that the Familiar is really a one and done trick unless you rest so gods help you if you find locked chests in different rooms because your Familiar isn't surviving a spawn.

If this server were balanced, most summons would be nerfed back to down "helper" status than to the steroid-level they've reached just because a majority of devs have a big hard stick for them.

I'm gonna assume this is to do with GSF conjuring rather than conjuring as it is.

Why people think rogues should be the only people able to get past a lock is beyond me- a hammer works as well as a lockpick if you swing it hard enough, and magic is magic. Seems like a very forced way to punish parties for not having a rogue available during a dungeon run.

It's about parity. Wizards get their cake and eat it too. Everyone else has to cross-class, which is blowing one of only three valuable resources to do something (classes). Mages not only aren't bothering to do that but are getting an entire epic tier 2nd character for nothing (as if it weren't already bad enough they can solo everything). You make it sound so horrible you have to party with someone in a social game.

This may just be me, but I've never seen a Familiar take down a boss so, Epic 2nd Character might be a reach.

Like I said before, Wizards role is to BE in a party, the Familiar is an extension of that. Familiar when you lack a Rogue, Summon when you lack a Front-line, Animate Dead when you lack a Cleric, they CAN potentially solo things because of that but so can damn near any class (Druid's can spawn a party of 6 Epics for the price of one spell slot ffs), literally the only difference here is that the Wizard gets a Class Feature that CAN pick locks if they select it, or they could pick a Panther and watch it get eaten by Dragons.

Frankly, the day someone figures out how to code the game to prevent skill-dumping, nuke half the skills in the basin, and up the DCs of most traps and locks is the day I giggle with glee.

And the day someone takes away UMD entirely and the Lore ability to use scrolls, my Wizard26/Rogue4 will suddenly be inundated with adventuring requests.

Cos yeah, My Wizard dipped Rogue for UMD and Open Lock because they're useful as hell and I'm not thrilled about having the Pixie since it kinda cheapens it. But it's not bad game design to have it around, what would be bad game design is a social game where you NEED a player in any given adventuring party who's selected the ONE class you need in order to access colossal amounts of content.

I mean, imagine if you needed a Cleric to sanctify the party before you headed outside town in order to spawn any magic items every. single. time? And then imagine complaining that the Paladin can do it too without spending skill points.

Holy****, i love your reply post.
Especially, Animate Dead when you lack a Cleric.
How are you so good?
Who says only Wizard / Palemasters are always associated with undead !