A familiar is a magical pet. They may be outsider or fey spirits that find their way to their owners, or magical beasts summoned through magical means. Your familiar is bound to your life force and obeys your commands. You are able to issue telepathic commands to your familiar up to 100 feet away, or verbal commands in hearing distance. If your familiar dies, you can usually find another by casting find familiar. The new animal may take a different form, but usually the familiar's spirit is the same.
Familiars have the appearance, stats, and abilities of a normal animal, though familiars gain a natural armor bonus and spell resistance as you progress. Familiars always uses your saving throws. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar.
All familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master's combined level in classes that grant familiars, as shown on the table below.
| Master Class Level | Natural Armor Adj. | Spell Resistance |
| 1st-2nd | 1 | -- |
| 3rd-4th | 2 | -- |
| 5th-6th | 3 | -- |
| 7th-8th | 4 | -- |
| 9th-10th | 5 | -- |
| 11th-12th | 6 | 18 |
| 13th-14th | 7 | 20 |
| 15th-16th | 8 | 22 |
| 17th-18th | 9 | 24 |
| 19th-20th | 10 | 26 |
Your familiar uses your Combat Proficiency Bonus added to its ability bonuses to determine it's attack scores.
The number noted here is an improvement to the familiar's existing natural armor bonus.
When your familiar is within 5 feet of you, you gain the danger sense ability.
When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Dex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
At the master's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).
While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as a standard action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
At level 3, your familiar can deliver touch spells for you. If you and the familiar are in contact at the time you cast a touch spell, you can designate your familiar as the "toucher." The familiar can then deliver the touch spell instead of you. As usual, if you cast another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.