D&D 4E Familars in 4e - are there?

[kobold]

Are there rules for Familars in 4e? If so where might I find them? Hopefully not somewhere obvious - there by making look foolish.
Thanks,
Andy

 

[Kordeth]

Not yet. Martial Power will be presenting a "beastmaster ranger" build for rangers with animal companions, so I'd expect to see familiars show up in Arcane Power, or maybe PHB II.

 

[Siran Dunmorgan]

Logan Bonner, one of the designers for Wizards of the Coast, has stated elsewhere on these boards (in a smug, "I-know-a-secret-that-you-don't" sort of way, as I recall) that there are rules for familiars, and that they are known to a select few.

I concur with Kordeth that they will probably become official with the publication of Arcane Power.

I would, further, speculate that the basic mechanics will be similar to what we've seen for the bag of tricks, gray from Adventurer's Vault, in that there will be an abstract "familiar", with specific characteristics applied to it by type, e.g. snakes having a poison bite attack, et c.

Continuing to speculate, I believe that there will be a class of spells bearing the "familiar" keyword, that affect one's familiar in various ways. For wizards, this will probably include the ability to perceive through the familiar's senses for a short period of time, and the ability to use the position of the familiar, rather than that of the wizard, as the origin point of one's spells.

It is also quite possible that there will be familiar-focused paragon paths for both the Wizard and Warlock classes.

—Siran Dunmorgan

 

[DanmarLOK]

There have been a couple of systems for familiars proposed by community members:

Key Our Cars » Blog Archive » Sounds Familiar?
Key Our Cars » Blog Archive » Familiars

 

[Vayden]

My wizard has a weasel named Bigby that she carries around in her pocket. When she casts Bigby spells, she pretends that he cast them.

 

[yesnomu]

I'm going to ask my DM for a familiar at some point. She'll just be a snarky animal who lives in my pocket and acts as a counterpoint to my own personality. (Think daemons from His Dark Materials.) I'll be able to spend a minor action to make her bring me something within 5 squares.

What else do you need from a familiar?

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'm going to ask my DM for a familiar at some point. She'll just be a snarky animal who lives in my pocket and acts as a counterpoint to my own personality. (Think daemons from His Dark Materials.) I'll be able to spend a minor action to make her bring me something within 5 squares.

What else do you need from a familiar?

Pretty much: you could also describe any effects of any of your cantrips as your familiar. That means your familiar can make noises, move stuff around etc.

Later on, extend that to rituals and the like.

Full blown rules are simply unnecessary.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Or if you want a more powerful familiar, say... A phoenix or elemental, or whatever. You can explain your magical attacks as coming from them, a fireball for instance can be the Phoenix attacking the enemies in that blast area.

 

[Raunalyn]

In fantasy literature, familiars are often seen assisting Wizards with their rituals. I would make since that 4e familiars would give bonuses to any ritual casting that a wizard might do.

 

[cdrcjsn]

My 4e wizard has a familiar.

It is composed of pure magic though and only exists as long as she has spare actions (mage hand, light, prestidigitation).