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I have an idea for a Fighter Eldritch Guardian (F-EG) archetype and, for fluff, I want to have an Azata Lyrakien (a tiny outsider) as a familiar (by the improve familiar feat).

At level 2, the F-EG gains the ability to share combat feats with his familiar due to Share Training.

The feat Blades Above And Below (combat and teamwork feat) allows to flank an enemy as long as you are in melee and threaten it no matter their position. But tiny creatures can't flank. Now, as far as I know, if the tiny familiar is in the enemy's square, it threatens it. The rules does not say that the creature has to have the ability to flank the creature, just that it has to threaten it to flank it. Am I missing something or is this an opportunity for my familiar?

Share Training: ... it can use any combat feat possessed by the eldritch guardian...

Blades Above And Below: When you and your ally who also has this feat threaten the same enemy, you're both considered to be flanking that enemy, regardless of your actual positioning.

I'm only interested in PF Society legal related answers.

Wibbs
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Chepelink
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2 Answers2

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"Do the rules work in my favor?"

Maybe. As per Big and Little Creatures in Combat on Tiny, Diminutive, and Fine Creatures, a creature of such a size "can attack into [its] own square if [it] need[s] to." However, "[s]ince they [creatures of those size categories] have no natural reach, they do not threaten the squares around them." Nonetheless, Attacks of Opportunity on Threatened Squares says, "You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your turn." Taken together, a Tiny or littler creature should threaten the square it occupies (as per this (ahem) fine answer).

It's unclear when Big and Little Creatures in Combat on Tiny, Diminutive, and Fine Creatures says, "They also can't flank an enemy," whether this means either These creatures in conjunction with creatures of similar size categories can't flank an enemy or These creatures can't participate in any efforts that will enable any ally to flank an enemy. Fortunately, the feat Blades above and Below bypasses the issue: When creatures using the feat "threaten the same enemy, [they're] both considered to be flanking that enemy, regardless of [their] actual positioning," and, presumably, regardless of whether the flanking's actually occurring or not, the feat's specific text overriding the general rule.

Thus, in a typical campaign, this GM would totally allow a master that possesses the feat Blades above and Below and that shared the feat with its Tiny or littler familiar to pair up and be considered flanking that enemy—if properly positioned and if facing an enemy of the proper size. (According to the feat's benefit, for example, such a properly positioned yet otherwise typical Medium human and Tiny his cat familiar still can't be considered flanking a Large ogre, a Small feisty hotspur, or a Diminutive toad, but, at least the cat will be pleased that, using its slave's labor, it can finally be considered flanking a Tiny rat.)

However, I was unable to find Society-specific rulings on these points, making asking directly better than hoping the judge will agree with a random dude on the Internet.

"Is it a legal build?"

Yes. According to Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Additional Resources (Nov. 7, 2016), a fighter with the archetype eldritch guardian that meets the prerequisites for the feats Blades above and Below and Improved Familiar—picking an azana lyrakien—is legal for Pathfinder Society play (that fighter archetype even eventually meeting the Improved Familiar feat's prerequisites according to this FAQ entry). All the sources check out.

Community
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Hey I Can Chan
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^^^Bit of a flaw in your logic, though.

You need to threaten to flank; you can't flank if you don't threaten, such as when you are adjacent to a target & don't have the reach to be able to threaten them; if you're tiny or smaller, you don't threaten adjacent squares & thus cannot use those squares for flanking -- only the squares you threaten, which because you are tiny or smaller, is just your square. Meaning, you can only flank a target if you're in the same square as them.

TL;DR: Due to its lack of 5ft reach to threaten adjacent squares, tiny or smaller creatures need to occupy the same space to flank.

Larry Reachems
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  • Welcome to RPG Stack Exchange! We guide all new members to take the Tour; it's short, informative, and even gets you a badge! A couple things; we're not a forum and our answers are prone to changing order, so your upticks are not a benefit to this answer. Second, commentary on another Q/A should be placed in their comments; you'll need a small amount of rep to do so, so try to ask good questions or post good answers until then. Instead, this sounds like it's own answer, so you can just take out the part about the other having a flaw and answer (1/2) – Ifusaso Feb 06 '21 at 08:48
  • yourself. Lastly, make sure to read both the Question and Answer(s) before posting your own. In this case, the Question specifies that the would be having his familiar move into the enemies' spaces in order to threaten them, so not threatening adjacent is not a problem (although this answer could be retooled to point out that a Tiny Reach weapon would allow it; you would also have to address if that's PFS legal (I don't know if it is). (2/2) – Ifusaso Feb 06 '21 at 08:49