Familiars

[FlyingSquirrel]

How do they work?

[flammos200]

Familiars as described by the RPG books' latest edition:

"A mage can obtain a familiar. A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by a mage. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice(Health), base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar.

A familiar also grants special abilities to its master, as indicated below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each-other.

Bat gives a bonus on Listen checks, increasing the hearing sense of the mage.

Cat gives a bonus on Stealth checks, increasing the mage's stealth detection abilities.

Hawk gives a bonus on Spot checks in bright light, thereby increasing the mage's eyesight in well-lit areas.

Lizard gives a bonus on Climb checks, thereby helping the mage scale objects and buildings.

Owl gives a bonus on Spot checks in shadows, thereby granting the caster practical night-vision.

Rat gives a bonus on Fortitude saves, thereby increasing the mage's physical resistances.

Raven* gives a bonus on Appraise checks, thereby increasing the mage's mercantile skill.

Snake** gives a bonus on Bluff checks, thereby making the mage more persuasive and cunning.

Toad gives a bonus to hit points, thereby making the mage more resilient.

Weasel gives a bonus on Reflex saves, thereby improving the mage's chances to dodge incoming attacks.

* A raven familiar can speak one language of its master’s choice as a
supernatural ability.
** Tiny viper."

That's what they say on Familiars. But I personally think Familiars can learn other abilities than just those passive bonuses, though. Like tiny non-combat magical pets, like an oversized firefly to light the way in dark places, or a cat that can blink around, and such.

[mimloopen]

But isnt the RPG book considered non canon?

[flammos200]

But isnt the RPG book considered non canon?

'Tis, though Familiars, specifically those used by the Kirin Tor appear even in-game, therefore it makes sense that such do exist.

...And didn't Medivh have a raven, or am I just going nuts?

[Reigen]

I think he turned into a raven. Considering we don't have checks and stuff like that in-game, I wonder how it would transfer over, or would it just have a few set skills it could do?

[flammos200]

I think he turned into a raven. Considering we don't have checks and stuff like that in-game, I wonder how it would transfer over, or would it just have a few set skills it could do?

He did. And, since we don't have checks, it would likely work like Paladin auras in the case of passive buffs that the Familiar awards the Mage, or as activated skills.

The thing is, Familiars will never be combat pets. Ever. They're extremely fragile and are utility and company-only, so while in non-combat situations, having your pet raven fly off to warn your friends about how Timmy fell down a well, even a fire-breathing fox will be knocked out by a sharp blow with a stick to the side of the head. The most they can do is distract people and be a hazard to your house..

Basically, a gimmick, an aid in sprucing up arpee, or a plot-point to a storyline and not really any meaningful advantage.

...I foresee an ice-cat from you.

[Reigen]

People know me all to well.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thanks.

[Xigo]

I'm not entirely sure if familiars exist in that sense in WoW.

We have arcane familiars, yes. But I don't know about beasts becoming familiars.

That seems like yet another thing they simply took from 3rd edition DnD.

[Uthaniel]

A "beast familiar" isn't an enchanted animal. To put it simply, it's an arcane construct. You can shape it whichever way you want; If you want it to be a three-headed puppy that moves around by sliding through a rainbow, it's your choice.

...It'd also be relatively stupid, though, as the objective of these things is usually acting as messengers, so being as subtle as possible is relatively essential (A small bird, a rat, or a cat? Nobody will think they're arcane constructs with a degree of sentience. Now, a flaming cat that flies? Yeah.)

[flammos200]

In my head:

moves around by sliding through a rainbow

+

flaming cat that flies

=
Nyan cat.

But generally, yeah, I think they benefit greatly from subtlety, especially if they act as messengers. That is, if you're actually using the familiar for anything useful and not petting it because you like the way your flaming cat purrs.

[Xigo]

*Arm fold*

And if I said yes to that, I'm certain there will be at least five incredibly silly constructs running about.

I'm against it. Though I would like another GM's opinion.

[Krilari]

I think if we kept it restricted to just animals without ridiculous things such as flaming cat that moves through rainbows, then it should be fine in my eyes.

[aroes]

...What about diamonds?

[Xigo]

No.

(Subtle.)