Fammiliars

[Davis]

Drachion, that is off-topic. It really is.
Anyway, I like the D&D concept of familiars. You could use them as spies, you could use them as translators, they can give bonuses, in D&D you can deliver touch spells through your familiar. In conclusion, familiars are cool and Wizards of the Coast is really cool.

[I3lack Templar]

I read this one book were this on guy who was an assasin/Merc Had a Famillier named Loiosh, It was a Cool looking Reptile the size of a Large iguana, Had Bird like Scaled wings and a sort of beaked mouth. Gold couler and helped provide comedic reliefe since the Assasin/Merc and Loiosh shared a Telepathic link alowing them to talk to each other. I think that a Familier should be able to grab Items for you also. But what i was trying to say is, What happens if A player decides to get Mean and kills someones Famillier, What steps are there to Prevent that?

Edit: Comedic relief like this(I cant Remember the Assasin/Merc name right now so for all intents and purposes his name is X):
Loiosh: So we are going to the Army boss?

X: Yes i guess so, dont know how i got myself into this though.

Loiosh: Great! I can be a Seargent! LINE ATTENTION!

X: Shut up please

Loiosh: COMPANY! SOUND OFF!

X: Shut UP Loiosh!

Loiosh: COMPANY! MARCH!

X:Shut the f**k up Loiosh!

[Jessyn]

presumably, the familiar would be treated like a PC, when regardingrules of interaction.  If a monster or NPC kills the familiar, there should be heavy penalties, like perhaps not getting another one for a year(game time) or something.

Jessyn

[Sarios]

I believe that familiars should be able to just be like pets, AT FIRST!! But, with time they should grow to the point that they can help with many different ranged tasks! (Ex. spells in battle, lockpicking, sneak attacks, getting in crevases, etc.) Also I think that  they SHOULD give enhancements to its owner. So, If it can spot enemies from far away then you should be able to also.  Another is if a fammiliar is good at seeing at night then you should have no problem seeing then either! But, If we don\'t get the enhancements that the fammiliars have then maybe like if they see an enemy they can hiss, bark or make some sort of noise to let you know some one is coming or standing in the shadows! IS THIS UNDERSTANDABLE?

[I3lack Templar]

No, Its Confusing and Incoherent

[Wolfmane]

The idea is good, especially familiars that you have to earn the trust of and keep if you want them to stick around. Also the idea of permanent death for familiars is great and would certainly add drama. The idea of having to use your empathy fits in well with the overall concept of PS and that one needs to use charisma to have good relations with animals (ex. aninmal trainer) already in the PS concept. Sharing blood could be a good idea in \"summoning\" or acquiring a familiar. Personally I like the idea of befriending better than the idea of summoning familiars.

As there seems to be a lot of interest in this idea maybe we can get some Dev comment on this thread ......

[Harwen]

Originally posted by Xandria
Although familars can be useful for many more things besides combat.  A small familiar would likely not be good at combat, but would be adept at sneaking through small places, and perhaps opening locked doors from the other side.  They may also possess special skills, like lockpicking, or just be useful to have around in general, say, your familiar has particularly good eyesight and can spot enemies from farther away than you could.

That would be nice, reminds me of this weird sci-fi show beastmaster where some kevin sorbo looking guy would be able to see through the eyes of his falcon.

This would be useful for example like in the Char Creation, the Advantages and Disadvantages...they are so tempting you get carried away....The familiars should be able to give you abilities like night vision or infra vision through their eyes, luck, extra money after combat, enhancement of a certain magic Way, the ability to sense danger or being able to detect traps. Certain powerful ones could give you malus to attack, defense, luck, jinxed, a certain Way, or a malus to a stat....which would make you want to avoid the evil-powerful ones

[Goji]

Personally. I think that this should be limited to those who are animal trainers.  I mean, what good is being an animal trainer then?  Also, animal trainers by rights should have their familiars more powerful.  They can summon familiars for others.... for a price and a little blood  Or else they just may become vetrinarians...

[Xandria]

I\'ve always thought that familiars and pets should be kept separate.  A familiar is a creature that is bonded to you (provided you take care of it) and is as much a part of your being as your character.

Pets, however, should be animals that are either caught in the wild or bred from other animals.  It is the job of an animal trainer to charm, capture, domesticate, care for, train, and sell animals.  These pets can be used for various things, depending on what they\'re trained to do.  You could have a pet that would alarm you when dange was near, carry extra gear for you, or just be a deadly weapon.  But they are still just animals.

A familiar is more of a magical being; you use a bit of your blood and some magic to summon your familiar.  This required you to be magically inclined, and it is your creature; it cannot be sold or traded.  Although animals will most likely have skills, familiars will be more magically oriented, to the point that they can even cast their own spells (if you have a caster type familiar, that is).

Just my opinion, of course  

[lynx_lupo]

I agree, but there should also be some difference between animal companions and pets. The bond with the first is greater and the animal is more involved in everyday life.

[Ranegyn]

I think that only very damage deprived classes should get a summonable familair.   Other characters should have the options of buying pets that die permenantly.   So you don\'t get warriors who just constantly resummon a familiar so they don\'t have to take any damage while dealing out tonnes.

[Arthureloi]

Hey, guys! Although I liked the idea of \"trust familiars\", I go beyond. For insteance, if u have a mage, u could even create and design your own familiar, such as an \"ice demon\" or stuff...

[Davis]

Mages have a single, magical familiar telepathically bonded to them. If the familiar dies, it takes a bit of the mage with it. A mage cannot bond a very powerful creature, however. Familiars are usually various types of birds, cats, etc.
Animal trainers train animals to obey them and stuff. They have no magical bond with the animals, and the animals themselves are not magical or especlly intellegent. They are just animals. However, a skilled animal trainer can train multiple animals of any type. Also, trained animals can be sold.
You really can\'t compare a mage\'s familiar and a trained animal. The two are completely different. Saying that familiars would make animal training pointless is stupid. You may say that isn\'t what you were saying, but that doesn\'t mean I can\'t say what I\'m saying.

[lynx_lupo]

Why is everybody forgetting animal companions. They\'re similar to both other types, but still unique.

[druke]

animal cmop.is mearly an animal that followsa person around, not exactly a pet just, a friend