Bind Familiar

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bind Familiar
Level: 1
Category: Binding
Time: 1 hour
Duration: See below
Component Cost: See below
Market Price: 50 gp
Key Skill: Arcana, Nature or Religion

This ritual binds a familiar to your service. This familiar is permanent until destroyed. You can only bind one familiar at a time. Binding a familiar costs an amount equal to the sale price of a magical item equivalent to the familiar’s level. To increase a familiar’s level, an amount must be spent equal to the difference between the familiar’s old level and its new level. A familiar’s level cannot exceed its master’s level.

A familiar can be any creature that its master wishes, but all familiars have the same basic statistics:
Abilities: Str 6, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
Size: Tiny. As Tiny creatures, familiars have a reach of 0 squares.
Speed: 4 squares.
Hit Points: 1. A missed attack never deals damage to a familiar.
AC: 12 + level + ability modifier.
Other Defenses: 10 + (4/5 level, round up) + ability modifier.

Basic Attack
At-Will
Standard Action Melee
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity + (4/5 level, round up) vs. AC
Hit: 1d4 + Dexterity modifier damage. Increase damage to 2d4 + Dexterity modifier damage at 21st level.

In addition, each familiar has two of the following qualities, chosen by its master:
Flight: The familiar has a fly speed of 8 squares.
Swim: The familiar has a swim speed of 4 squares.
Skill Training: The familiar is trained in any two skills. This ability can be taken twice.
Others: The familiar has any other ability which the DMs approves.

Comments welcome,
TS

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Wow, I must be a good designer if nobody can criticize my work!

 

[DreamChaser]

Wow, I must be a good designer if nobody can criticize my work!

Honestly, I don't see the point. What is this getting for you? A minion that may have a skill. There is no real benefit to the caster unless I'm missing something. Traditionally, familiars were spies or magical assistants. Without one or the other, this seems like a waste of a ritual to me.

DC

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

You're totally right. Familiars are 90% useless fashion accessories and 10% out-of-combat errand-runners. I wrote up this ritual for the benefit of a player who I thought would want a familiar, and posted it here to find out if anyone could find an obvious way to abuse it that I might be missing.

TS

 

[scarik]

Tiny creature with an attack and 1 hp?

So it goes down in 1 shot and provokes an OA to attempt to do low damage.

I doubt this will break anything.

Its fairly weaker than a Figurine of Wondrous Power though so it should prolly be at least that good.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Too bad I don't have the Adventurers' Vault.

TS

 

[chronoplasm]

Too bad I don't have the Adventurers' Vault.

TS

Do you have Martial Power?
I would handle wizard familiars in much the same way that the rangers beat companion works.

*edit*
Perhaps the wizard's familiar replaces implement mastery?

*edit*
Yeah, I'd say let the wizard give up implement mastery to take one of the following types of familiars:
Cat
Lizard
Serpent
Raptor
(consult martial power for the stats of the previous four)
Rat
Toad
Bat
Imp

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Do you have Martial Power?
I would handle wizard familiars in much the same way that the rangers beat companion works.

Unfortunately I am limited to core at present. As I have heard, beast companions use their master's actions which keeps the action economy in balance. That mechanic is barely buyable assuming the companion has only animal intelligence, but it's beyond absurd if the companion is of human intellect. Even with 4e's level of abstraction and 'just go with it for the sake of balance' attitude, I just can't buy into an intelligent companion who has to be told exactly what to do every round.

Perhaps the wizard's familiar replaces implement mastery?

This idea has merit, though the familiar would have to be balanced in an entirely new way. I'd also want to provide the familiar option to all other classes, because while I am calling it a "familiar" I want the mechanics to be flexible enough that it can be any kind of minor companion.

TS

 

[Liminosse]

Bind Familiar
Binding a familiar costs an amount equal to the sale price of a magical item equivalent to the familiar’s level. To increase a familiar’s level, an amount must be spent equal to the difference between the familiar’s old level and its new level. A familiar’s level cannot exceed its master’s level.

For something that is going to die from every area effect i get hit with, this price seems a little steep, perhaps you should make it 1/5th the cost of a magic item of the creatures level. As for usefulness perhaps you could add a couple of powers to each familiar that still puts it in danger of dieing but makes it worth paying for.

Because they have 0 reach a basic attack is too dangerous, but perhaps they can do something else to assist their master, such as deliver Close blast or burst spells. This would allow for the wizard to stay back and use his power through the familiar and it also causes the farmillar to draw all the attention until it is hit one time then, poof.

Another useful power would be for a familiar to intercept an attack directed at its master. Instead of the wizard taking damage, for one attack, the familiar can sacrifices itself as an immediate interrupt.

I don't know, just a coupld ideas.


Liminosse Starstone

 

[FunkBGR]

Hey -

You could do what I did with Familiars. I made a ritual of it, and it summons a small critter that is fairly useless, but gives a +2 to a skill check, a la 3.0/3.5.

BUT

I made a feat called IMPROVED FAMILIAR, which lets you take advantage of the Familiar keyword. What's the familiar keyword? Well, look in the MM under the MOUNT keyword, and just change most everything to Familiars to make them more flavorful.

Instead of giving bonuses like, "+2 to Defenses while mounted", you can be ilke, "+2 to damage on all fire spells" or something like that.