UnFamiliar - Part two

I can tell by your comment-silence on the last post that either you're all disinterested in this subject, or I've got you completely stumped. I suppose there's also the possibility that you're generating a gigantic response, and it's taking some time. I choose to believe one of the last two. :)

The idea of the familiar, as I said, is one that I don't necessarily dislike, but I find that it's a little constrictive. I don't think that it fits every magic wielding character. Of course, it can be ignored, there's nothing that says a wizard has to have a familiar, but having one offers some benefits, and it'd be a shame to not allow said wizard an alternative way of getting them.

My biggest problem is that the wizard and sorcerer don't really have all that much to do with nature or animals at all, except for the familiar. It just feels like an unnecessary blur of boundaries to me. It's like a blacksmith who makes horseshoes out of wood. Leave the animals to the druids, in my opinion.

Now, I know there are all kinds of other sources for alternative familiars. (I believe there are some in the Unearthed Arcana and probably in the Complete Arcane as well, although I haven't looked recently.) But I'm trying to come up with some ideas other than just a broader range of basic animals to choose from.

Coming up with alternatives to the wizard's familiar is a tricky business, because it would be very easy to over do it, throwing the whole campaign out of balance. Let's first take a look at the benefits of having a familiar.

This information can be found on page 52 of the 3.5 Player's Handbook,:

• Must first be a normal, unmodified animal (Sort of the antithesis of my whole point here... Please disregard this one when considering an alternative!)
• Becomes a magical creature upon summon into service
• Gains power as the caster increases in level
• Empathic link to master
• Can be used to deliver touch attacks (at 3rd level)
• Can be the target of "personal range" spell
• Grants the caster special abilities (nothing incredible, a small bonus to a skill or attribute)... and it obviously doesn't actually have to make sense either, like a toad gives an extra three hit points... 
• The master can eventually communicate with animals of it's kind

Another observation I've had is it almost doesn't matter what the familiar is, aside from the bonuses it grants. That is to say, if it's something that wouldn't normally be found in the area where the player character finds himself, it's simply not there.

For example, a wizard who has an Owl familiar isn't required to walk around with it perched on his shoulder 24/7. When the wizard wants to hit the bar, the Owl is almost always just somewhere else, usually perched in a nearby tree. A rat will typically be sitting in a pocket or a back pack, and so on. In situations where it would be inconvenient to have a familiar hanging around, they're always conveniently somewhere else, or stuffed somewhere out of sight. I've yet to see a familiar complain that it's master is ashamed of it, or that it's not getting enough attention from strangers.

These are the big things, there are a few others, but you get the basic idea. 

As the GM, you have the right to change any of this of course, but you need to be careful when doing so, or you can screw things up for yourself pretty well. Sit down with the player and go over the list of familiars that is found in the PHB, and model something after those. Find out what the player wants first, of course. If something on the list is fine with him, then so be it, but give them the opportunity to have something different. 

Get an idea of the things that the player is looking for. As what sort of creature would suit the character. Should it fly? Should it burrow? Should it swim? Is it furry? Is it cute and cuddly? Does it stink? Can it see? Can it hear? Does it have ears? Obviously you're going to have to make a judgement call on it. Here are the preliminary things to consider when making your ruling:

• Can the creature be inconspicuous enough? i.e. can it be stuffed into a bag, or a pocket? Can it wait outside without drawing attention by hiding in shadows or up a tree? 
• What benefits would it grant to the caster?
• What powers would it gain as the caster gained levels?
• What languages would it speak once the caster is high enough in level to communicate with it?
• What does it eat, and is the food source available?

You can (I'm sure) come up with other questions to satisfy, but based on my experience these are the big ones. Please be kind when pointing out the multitude of prerequisites that I forgot, as I'm sure there are many, since these are just off the cuff. 

Please share any and all thoughts, and tune in again soon for some actual examples of familiar alternatives!

Picture of Wizard and Ravens found here: http://alchessmist-images.blogspot.com/2009/12/wizard-and-ravens.html

UnFamiliar

As a player, I've always liked the idea of playing a magic wielding character. Something about the idea of bending reality appeals to me for some reason. As a person, I'm much more comfortable in the woods by myself than I am in crowded cities. I also enjoy reading and learning. I'd have to say that if I were to step through some kind of inter-dimensional portal and end up starting a life on Greyhawk or some such place, I'd probably end up as a Wizard or Druid.

Something about the Wizard has always bothered me though, and it's not just the common clichés I've talked about before (i.e. pointy hat, robes, long beard). I will admit that the idea of a wizard having a familiar is at least interesting, but I almost always have trouble getting it to fit the persona I have in mind. Granted, a wizard isn't required to have a familiar at all, but it's one of the things that contributes to the class, and presents advantages that are lost otherwise.

Perhaps it's the familiar's table that turns me off, I guess. Bat, Cat, Hawk, Lizard, Owl, Rat, Raven, Snake, Toad, Weasel. The guy shoots bolts of magic, shouldn't he have access to something better than a first grader's class mascot? And why the hell does a toad give you three extra hit points? Depending on the wizard, that could be half again his own hit points out of a six ounce critter! Lizards give you bonuses to climb checks. Don't cat's climb too?? Oh, but wait, cat's give you bonuses to move silently. Since when has Move Silently been a wizard's class skill?? Ravens give you bonuses to appraisal checks, cause, I dunno, they know a lot about fine art?? Owls give bonuses to spot checks in shadows. They also give you an unexplained urge to eat rats, which by the way grant bonuses to fortitude.

Picture a powerful wizard. He's tall and slender. His face stern with the confidence of someone who knows the arcane secrets that bind existence together. His eyes peer through the pettiness of the common folk, squabbling over the scraps left on the noble's tables. With a mere thought, he could blink into another plane, or ignite whole villages with a volley of fireballs. His tower is lit with candles set on the skulls of creatures from other dimensions. His walls are lined with ancient tomes and. The air smells of ancient leather bound volumes of forgotten lore and... feces? Ugh, time to change the cat box... Meow!

Unlimited cosmic powers, and he's dangling a string at a playful tabby, or collecting bugs to feed his toad. Better yet, why not a gold fish?? Bonus points to swimming, but you forget everything every six seconds.

Meh. My sarcasm is getting away with me.

Anyway, my usual first conception of a wizard has nothing to do with household pets, vermin or other such pests. I sort of feel like the whole animal buddy thing is more the druid's schtick anyway. Rangers too maybe. I'll rant about rangers in another post though.

My distaste of the whole familiar ideas only gets worse the more I think about it. What if some celestial being from some other plane decides to summon himself a familiar, and suddenly the player character ends up finding himself granting silly skill bonuses and delivering touch attacks??

I was psyched to find that there was a "Bonus Insert" that WotC put out on Familiars, but I was again disappointed.

I have some thoughts on alternatives to familiars, but I thought I'd see what you guys had for it first. I'll be posting a followup with some of the things that I and my group have come up with to use in it's place. Please comment with any ideas you have, I'd love to hear them!