Improved Familiar. Wands? Alchemical weapons? How best to use it?


Advice


I've decided that I'm going to play a kind of battlefield control/support wizard. Focusing about buffing, debuffing and creating havoc for the enemy.

If it's at all relevant or helpful I'm a Tiefling Wizard, Conjuration Specialist. And I've taken Improved Familiar to get an Imp.

But I don't really know how best to use it. I've heard people suggest wands or thrown alchemical weapons, but I've never touched the things before. I have no idea what's worth buying for my fiendish companion to be spending his turns on.


The best wands are ones that are not caster-level dependent, or that save you doing the same thing. Sometimes expensive wands that add to your action economy are worth it - if your Familiar casts Haste from a wand then you have effectively saved your Wizard a standard action to do something more awesome with!


Assuming you have enough UMD to make it reliable, a wand of mud ball is pretty awesome, even to higher levels. Wait until after the big bad's turn, hit him with mudball to blind him and he doesn't get a chance to save to removed the effect until his next turn.


One idea is to build the familiar to intimidate the opposition. -2 to saves is nothing to scoff at, it will make your debufs stick easier.

You will have to give him UMD to use wands anyway, so get him some wands of spells you can't cast yourself. Like druid or paladin spells. Outdoors, wand of plant growth could be hilarious, there is no save, no SR and it lasts practically forever. 3rd level though, so a little expensive. Basically anything that is no save is good. Different buffs that you can't be bothered with yourself etc. Basically, a familiar with wands gives you quickened spells for money.

Imp has invisibility at will so you could use him to deliver touch spells with relative safety. Still, better to use him to touch enemy casters.

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