Familiars Take 0.01

An attempt at adding familiars back to 4e.
Familiars in 4e
Basic design goal -- mimic, as much as possible, the 'flavor' of 3e familiars without impacting the 'action economy' of 4e.

Feat: Familiar
Prerequisite: Arcane power source, Cha 13+
When you take this feat, you gain the constant companionship of a magical construct which resembles a small animal of some sort. You have a mental bond with this creature, and it can communicate with you, whispering in a language only you and it understand. Since the familiar is a creature formed from Arcane energy, it is of great help in pursuing magical knowledge. It grants you a +2 bonus on Arcana checks and a +2 bonus to all non-Arcana skill checks for performing rituals, if you are Trained in the appropriate skill to begin with. (This fits the traditional role of familiar as mystic advisor) (Balance note -- this is less that Skill Focus, and useful only in a narrow circumstance.)

The familiar is closely bound to you. If cannot travel more than 15 feet from you or lose line of sight. If this occurs, it will dissolve into wisps of magical energy and reform at your command. As a minor action, the familiar can pick up a small objects of no more than 5 pounds in weight. As a move action, you can direct the familiar to travel within its limited range. (Balance note -- this is, by design, less effective than mage hand for the same action cost.) The familiar can drop what it is holding as a free action. The DM had the right to decide if a familiar of the type you have specified could hold/carry/move a target object, keeping in mind it is a magical construct guided by the mage's mind and not just a dumb animal.

A familiar's form reflects the caster's personality and goals. Warlocks, in particular, have exotic familiars which reflect their Pact. The shape of a familiar can have only a very minor impact on its functionality. If the DM thinks a familiar of a given form is particularly suited to a task in a rare circumstance, he can grant it a +2 bonus.

Once the familiar's form is chosen, it is fixed, unless the Familiar feat is retrained. This might be done for roleplaying purposes -- the formerly happy and cheerful mage who took a brightly colored parrot as a familiar may, after a tragedy, switch to a dour raven.

A familiar has defenses equal to the casters, and 1 hit point. If it is killed, it can be reformed after the caster has had an extended rest. The caster suffers no direct harm from the familiar being killed, though the familiar might be a bit cranky about it for a while.

Familiars have personalities, but are completely loyal to the caster and will obey all orders. They cannot be Charmed or Dominated.

Heroic Tier Feats
Extended Range
Prerequisite: Familiar
Your familiar can travel much further from you than before. It is now limited to your Charisma bonus*10 squares, and no longer requires line of sight. However, you do not have direct control of it at that range; you can give it orders, which it will obey to the best of its ability. These orders must be brief, no more than ten words or so. If the familiar finds it cannot obey your orders, it will seek to return to you. You can recall your familiar as a minor action; the familiar with dissolve and reappear in your square. If it was carrying objects when you do this, the familiar drops them.

Visions
Prerequisite: Familiar
You can see and hear what your familiar does. As a standard action, you may 'tune in' to what the familiar is perceiving. The familiar uses your own Perception checks to notice or hear anything out of the ordinary. This is a Daily power, similair to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on. It lasts five minutes or until the end of the current encounter.

Paragon Tier Feats
Spell Courier
Prerequisite: Familiar
You may place a spell onto your familiar. The spell does not affect the familiar directly. Rather, the familiar can 'deliver' the spell to any point it can reach, and then discharge it. The spell has the same origin square as the familiar. This is a Daily power, similair to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on. Placing the spell is a minor action; releasing it is an immediate interrupt.

Beast Speech
Prerequisite: Familiar
The familiar can speak with creatures of a similair kind to itself. This is a vague category, but should be interpreted broadly. Examples of 'kinds' include birds, cats, dogs, drakes, and so on. the DM has ultimate authority on if a creature is part of a 'kind'. This does not apply to intelligent creatures, but only beasts and magical beasts. This ability can grant a +2 bonus to Streetwise checks or be useful in Skill Challenges -- for example, the familiar can ask the local wildlife if there is a river nearby, granting a bonus to Nature checks to survive in the wilderness. This is a Daily power, similair to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on. It lasts five minutes or until the end of the current encounter. If used in a Skill Challenge, it can be used to grant a single success or appropriate bonus.

Comments/feedback welcome.

Neat, I like it a lot. I haven't analyzed it mechanically, but your take on it seems reasonable and I like the limitations you put on it.

This I like alot. It seems to strike a perfect balance between the 3e and 4e concepts.

Bel

Out of curiosity...why the Charisma prereq?

It is a rather interesting approach to familiars. Looks very nice.

Maybe the act of charging the familiar with a power should use the same "action cost" as the power it is charged with? I think releasing a powerful daily spell as an immediate interrupt could break a lot of situations and there is no trigger specified for the interrupt.

heh neat! I was thinking of the same thing for my 4e campaign but was thinking of going with a ritual instead of a feat, which is more in line with 2nd edition. I've yoink this and ask my players which one they like best.

Find Familiar
You bind a familiar, a manifestation of your soul. They exist external to you in the form of a animal representative of your personality.

Level: 3
Component Cost: 100 gp
Category: Binding
Market Price: Special
Time: 24 hours
Key Skill: No check
Duration: Permanent

This spell enables you to attempt to summon a familiar to act as your aide and companion. Familiars are typically small creatures but there are exceptions to the rule. A creature acting as a familiar can benefict you by conveying its sensory power and serving as a guard/scout/spy as well. You can have only one familiar at a time, and you have no control over what sort of creature answers the summoning.

DMs are recommended to select a familiar of equal level to the PC. Since the familiar is a summoned physical manifestation of your soul, you can dismiss and summon the familiar as a standard action. Familiars are always the same alignment as yours.

Familiar Benefits: Add this template to all familiars
Group Awareness: A familiar within 5 squares of you grants you and itself a +1 racial bonus to Perception checks. The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.
Familiar Pact: If the familiar dies, you suffer a death penalty: -1 to all attack rolls, skill checks, saving throws, and ability checks. This death penalty fades after you reach a new level. A familiar can be brought back to life with the Raise Dead ritual and negates the death penalty as your spiritual link is reconnected.

Example Familiar: Pseudodragon, 3rd level lurker. Advancement after 3rd level: hp/6 pts, defenses/1 pt, attack/1 pt. Increase bite and sting damage to 2d8+6 at 11th level, 3d8+8 at 21st level.

Moridin said:

Out of curiosity...why the Charisma prereq?

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My thought was that, to an extent, familiars in this system are an extension of the character's personality, a sort of shaping of arcane force by sheer intensity of identity -- and that's Charisma. Also, having a familiar is a lot like having a follower/compansion, so that's also charisma. Also also, charisma is underused for wizards, so it seemed like a nice way to give it more utility and not become the no-brainer dump stat. (This model leads to familiars being more common for warlocks than for wizards in 4e, though, and I'm not sure if that's a desired goal or not. But the Infernal Pact Warlock with an imp on his shoulder is a powerfully evocative image...)

This is version 0.01, of course. I expect it to evolve.

TimeOut said:

It is a rather interesting approach to familiars. Looks very nice.

Maybe the act of charging the familiar with a power should use the same "action cost" as the power it is charged with? I think releasing a powerful daily spell as an immediate interrupt could break a lot of situations and there is no trigger specified for the interrupt.

Click to expand...

Good point.

How does this revision look?

Spell Courier
Prerequisite: Familiar
You may place a spell onto your familiar. This is done as follows -- the caster must declare he is casting the spell with the intent of placing it on the familiar. The casting takes the normal time for the spell chosen. The caster's next action must be to use a minor action to place the spell on the familiar; if the caster does not, the spell is lost and has no effect. The spell does not affect the familiar directly. Rather, the familiar can 'deliver' the spell to any point it can reach, and then discharge it. The spell discharges when the familiar moves into the target square; if a further target (such as an adjacent creature) must be chosen, the caster chooses it at this point. For all purposes, such as interrupts or reactions, it is treated as if the caster was in the target square and had cast the spell. This is a Daily power, similair to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on.

(I know this is wordy and awkwardly phrased; I need to trim it down a bit, but I wanted to address all possible exploits/questions as clearly as possible.)

I like it!!

The lack of a familiar was one of the first things I noticed, and missed, upon looking over my 4e books. Of the 2 versions of familiar here I like Lizard's best. It's more evocative of the traditional role of a familiar. But I prefer Dawn Herald's idea of gaining one thru a ritual instead of a feat. It brings back that old school 1e/2e feel but without the randomness of the original spell.

So I vote for Lizard's version of the familiar gained via a ritual. Then make the various familiar improving feats rituals at the appropriate levels as well. Not sure how that would be balanced though.

It certainly is very wordy but your intent seems clear. A few comments:

Now it costs 2 actions to prepare the familiar if I understand correctly? A "cast action" (standard in most cases) and a minor action to move the spell onto the familiar. I think that might be too much... But this is just a feeling.

For all purposes, such as interrupts or reactions, it is treated as if the caster was in the target square and had cast the spell.

Click to expand...

I think this wording implies that the caster is hit by any OA that would hit the familiar.

Perhaps: The spell discharges as an immediate reaction when the familiar moves into the target square; if the spell has any open options or must choose targets, the caster declares them at this point. For all purposes, discharging a spell is treated as if the caster was casting the spell, only that it originates from the target square. Discharging a spell does not provoke opportunity attacks for the familiar.

Edit: And please don't see my comments as negative influence or something. I really like your idea.