I've been considering the idea of a Arcane Trickster with proficiency in a poisoner's kit then at level 3 for my one spell that is outside neither illusion nor enchantment take "Find Familiar".
With Find Familiar get a tiny poisonous snake. Now I can milk my familiar to envenom my arrows to add 2d4 on a failed DC:10 Con save.
As the rules for the poisoner's kit isn't well defined: DC:20 Intelligence (Nature) or poisoner's kit to extract a dose of venom. Although I'd image a familiar would be a little better behaved then wild snake!
Would adding this small amount of damage per arrow be something that someone would worry as a balance issue?
I can't say what the DC will be to milk the venom from the familiar, but it will obey and assist you in that endeavor so I imagine 20 is on the high end. Don't worry about the added damage being "balanced" being creative should always be rewarding (within reason). What I would keep in mind is your familiar probably won't have a lot of venom and your DM will probably limit the amount of arrows you can fire per day based off the snakes production.
I would also imagine it will lose it's ability to apply the venom on hit due to being drained as that seems pretty logical to me.
But at the end of the day this is really just for your DM and you to work out together.
That's about how I would handle it with my players, theGentry. Using the familiar as the sole source of poison puts an easy constraint on the number of poison arrows that can be made and limits the familiar itself in combat. I see that as a good way for a player to have a creative option that they might not want to use all the time - maybe just when they're in a bind.
What if he got the venom, killed the familiar and resummoned it? It would need to make a new body which in theory should have more venom for milking. I've heard of rangers doing this with their companions before resurecting them if they die and at first I thought cold blooded but I do see the practicality if you can remake their body at a whim...
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For my attack I will throw my spear...two handed...for 1d8...
Kerrigan, gold dragonborn pact of the chain fiend warlock (8)/favored soul sorcerer (3): Survived Strahd Roland Crowe, stout halfling pirate (7): off working other angles while the party fights giants Alekhine Dorvanellyn, eladrin bladesinger (7): Fighting giants
the poison could even evaporate when the familiar is dismissed to the pocket dimension. I could think of several out of combat uses for this. great idea!
Almost every dm I've played with said Familiars, Find steeds, Druid wild shapes, creatures with actual weapon poison(sprites, Drow, ect ) And some daemons (the ones that dissolve into a puddle when killed)are not eligible for poison harvesting. the reasoning is that the Magic that created the Creatures/or weapon can't Maintain itself when separation from the creature appears. My understanding is this is a very common interpretation in the community.
Most dms get scared when I ask about phb beastmaster harvesting. (poison harvesting is the pretty much the only possible damage boost for the PHB beastmaster ranger subclass). so good if you can get your dm to agree but expect rules to limit it in most games. Common limits i've are once per day or con saves after so many attempts.
Hi,
I've been considering the idea of a Arcane Trickster with proficiency in a poisoner's kit then at level 3 for my one spell that is outside neither illusion nor enchantment take "Find Familiar".
With Find Familiar get a tiny poisonous snake. Now I can milk my familiar to envenom my arrows to add 2d4 on a failed DC:10 Con save.
As the rules for the poisoner's kit isn't well defined: DC:20 Intelligence (Nature) or poisoner's kit to extract a dose of venom. Although I'd image a familiar would be a little better behaved then wild snake!
Would adding this small amount of damage per arrow be something that someone would worry as a balance issue?
I can't say what the DC will be to milk the venom from the familiar, but it will obey and assist you in that endeavor so I imagine 20 is on the high end. Don't worry about the added damage being "balanced" being creative should always be rewarding (within reason). What I would keep in mind is your familiar probably won't have a lot of venom and your DM will probably limit the amount of arrows you can fire per day based off the snakes production.
I would also imagine it will lose it's ability to apply the venom on hit due to being drained as that seems pretty logical to me.
But at the end of the day this is really just for your DM and you to work out together.
That's about how I would handle it with my players, theGentry. Using the familiar as the sole source of poison puts an easy constraint on the number of poison arrows that can be made and limits the familiar itself in combat. I see that as a good way for a player to have a creative option that they might not want to use all the time - maybe just when they're in a bind.
Cool idea
What if he got the venom, killed the familiar and resummoned it? It would need to make a new body which in theory should have more venom for milking. I've heard of rangers doing this with their companions before resurecting them if they die and at first I thought cold blooded but I do see the practicality if you can remake their body at a whim...
For my attack I will throw my spear...two handed...for 1d8...
The easy solution to that is to have the familiar's poison evaporate when the familiar dies. It's a magical entity after all.
Kerrigan, gold dragonborn pact of the chain fiend warlock (8)/favored soul sorcerer (3): Survived Strahd
Roland Crowe, stout halfling pirate (7): off working other angles while the party fights giants
Alekhine Dorvanellyn, eladrin bladesinger (7): Fighting giants
the poison could even evaporate when the familiar is dismissed to the pocket dimension. I could think of several out of combat uses for this. great idea!
Almost every dm I've played with said Familiars, Find steeds, Druid wild shapes, creatures with actual weapon poison(sprites, Drow, ect ) And some daemons (the ones that dissolve into a puddle when killed)are not eligible for poison harvesting. the reasoning is that the Magic that created the Creatures/or weapon can't Maintain itself when separation from the creature appears. My understanding is this is a very common interpretation in the community.
Most dms get scared when I ask about phb beastmaster harvesting. (poison harvesting is the pretty much the only possible damage boost for the PHB beastmaster ranger subclass). so good if you can get your dm to agree but expect rules to limit it in most games. Common limits i've are once per day or con saves after so many attempts.