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Familiars in 4e
Basic design goal -- mimic, as much as possible, the 'flavor' of 3e familiars without impacting the 'action economy' of 4e.
Familiar Rules
Once you have taken a familiar (see below), the following rules apply to it:
A familiar is a magical construct of Tiny size. It commonly resembles a normal animal, such as a cat, owl, snake, or lizard, but it can appear as almost anything -- a tiny rainbow colored dragon, a cackling imp, or a pulsing ball of light. The familiar's appearance does not grant it any special or unique powers or abilities, although the DM might allow a +2 circumstance bonus in special situations -- for example, a tribe of orcs which worships an owl-god might respect a wizard who has a companion owl-spirit.
Once the familiar's form is chosen, it is fixed, though the familiar can be reshaped whenever its master gains a level. 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.
The familiar has a mental bond with its master. They can communicate, whispering in a language only they understand. By default, a familiar cannot communicate with others.
Familiars, being magical creatures, have an innate understanding of magic. A familiar grants its master a +2 bonus on Arcana checks and a +2 bonus to all Trained skill checks made when performing rituals.
Familiars are closely bound to their masters. They cannot travel more than fifteen feet from them or lose line of effect. If this happens, the familiar dissolves into wisps of magical energy, which can be reformed adjacent to its master as a Standard action.
Familiar Actions:
As a minor action, the familiar can pick up a small objects of no more than 5 pounds in weight.
As a move action, a master can direct the familiar to travel within its limited range.
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 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.
Familiar Abilities:
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.
If a familiar's attributes are required, the following is a reasonable template:
Str 4, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12
Acrobatics +7, Stealth +7
These numbers may be slightly modified to better fit the type of animal the familiar is.
Familiars can fly, if it is appropriate (ravens, winged imps, and so on). They obey all the same range limitations as 'grounded' familiars. As a balancing factor, flying familiars are not Trained in Stealth.
There should be very few circumstances where a stat block is needed. Familiars cannot make attacks. They do not count as allies for purposes of spells. They cannot flank. They cannot normally be used to distract or hinder enemies in any way. The DM may wish to use the rules on P. 42 of the DMG if a player has a particularly cunning use for a familiar, but these should be very limited. A familiar is a useful tool and mystical guide; it is not an allied combatant. Creative roleplaying is encouraged; seeking to get more benefit from a single Feat than is warranted is not.
Familiars have personalities, but are completely loyal to the caster. They cannot be Charmed or Dominated. Roleplaying a familiar can be a great deal of fun. They can be fun-loving and bouncy, mysterious and grim, sarcastic and condescending, or any other personality appropriate to both the form and the caster.
Familiar Mechanics
Feat: Familiar
Prerequisite: Arcane power source, Cha 13+
You gain a familiar, as described above. There may be a cost (in gold, ritual components, time, or all of the above) for this feat. The DM will work with you to establish just what is required; it may be as simple as "I take the feat", or it may be more complex, though it should not be prohibitively so. A total expenditure of no more than 100 gold pieces or one day of game time should be the maximum. At the DMs option, a skill challenge to 'bond' with the familiar may also be required. Useful skills for this challenge include Arcana, Nature, and Diplomacy.
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 effect. 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, similar 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. 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. When the spell is placed on the familiar, the caster can choose to be able to discharge it as a minor action during his turn, or set a trigger condition, causing the spell to discharge as an immediate interrupt. (This counts as the caster's Immediate action for the round; if he has already taken one, the spell goes off at the beginning of the next round.) The trigger condition is limited by the casters own senses; typical triggers are 'When any enemy is adjacent to the familiar', 'When the familiar reaches a given square', and so on.
If targets for the spell (such as an adjacent creature) must be chosen, the caster chooses them when the spell is discharged. 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.
A familiar can 'hold' a spell for five minutes or the duration of the current encounter.
Beast Speech
Prerequisite: Familiar
The familiar can speak with creatures of a similar 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, similar 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.
Epic Tier Feats
Far Messenger
The Master can send his familiar great distances, bearing a message. This is similar to the Animal Messenger ritual, but the familiar will travel for a number of days equal to the Master's Charisma modifier. Once it has delivered its message, or if it is captured or prevented from doing so, it will vanish and reform at its Master's side. While the familiar is performing this task, the Master loses all other benefits such as skill bonuses. This is a Daily power, similar to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on.
Feedback welcome.
Familiars in 4e
Basic design goal -- mimic, as much as possible, the 'flavor' of 3e familiars without impacting the 'action economy' of 4e.
Familiar Rules
Once you have taken a familiar (see below), the following rules apply to it:
A familiar is a magical construct of Tiny size. It commonly resembles a normal animal, such as a cat, owl, snake, or lizard, but it can appear as almost anything -- a tiny rainbow colored dragon, a cackling imp, or a pulsing ball of light. The familiar's appearance does not grant it any special or unique powers or abilities, although the DM might allow a +2 circumstance bonus in special situations -- for example, a tribe of orcs which worships an owl-god might respect a wizard who has a companion owl-spirit.
Once the familiar's form is chosen, it is fixed, though the familiar can be reshaped whenever its master gains a level. 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.
The familiar has a mental bond with its master. They can communicate, whispering in a language only they understand. By default, a familiar cannot communicate with others.
Familiars, being magical creatures, have an innate understanding of magic. A familiar grants its master a +2 bonus on Arcana checks and a +2 bonus to all Trained skill checks made when performing rituals.
Familiars are closely bound to their masters. They cannot travel more than fifteen feet from them or lose line of effect. If this happens, the familiar dissolves into wisps of magical energy, which can be reformed adjacent to its master as a Standard action.
Familiar Actions:
As a minor action, the familiar can pick up a small objects of no more than 5 pounds in weight.
As a move action, a master can direct the familiar to travel within its limited range.
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 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.
Familiar Abilities:
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.
If a familiar's attributes are required, the following is a reasonable template:
Str 4, Con 10, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12
Acrobatics +7, Stealth +7
These numbers may be slightly modified to better fit the type of animal the familiar is.
Familiars can fly, if it is appropriate (ravens, winged imps, and so on). They obey all the same range limitations as 'grounded' familiars. As a balancing factor, flying familiars are not Trained in Stealth.
There should be very few circumstances where a stat block is needed. Familiars cannot make attacks. They do not count as allies for purposes of spells. They cannot flank. They cannot normally be used to distract or hinder enemies in any way. The DM may wish to use the rules on P. 42 of the DMG if a player has a particularly cunning use for a familiar, but these should be very limited. A familiar is a useful tool and mystical guide; it is not an allied combatant. Creative roleplaying is encouraged; seeking to get more benefit from a single Feat than is warranted is not.
Familiars have personalities, but are completely loyal to the caster. They cannot be Charmed or Dominated. Roleplaying a familiar can be a great deal of fun. They can be fun-loving and bouncy, mysterious and grim, sarcastic and condescending, or any other personality appropriate to both the form and the caster.
Familiar Mechanics
Feat: Familiar
Prerequisite: Arcane power source, Cha 13+
You gain a familiar, as described above. There may be a cost (in gold, ritual components, time, or all of the above) for this feat. The DM will work with you to establish just what is required; it may be as simple as "I take the feat", or it may be more complex, though it should not be prohibitively so. A total expenditure of no more than 100 gold pieces or one day of game time should be the maximum. At the DMs option, a skill challenge to 'bond' with the familiar may also be required. Useful skills for this challenge include Arcana, Nature, and Diplomacy.
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 effect. 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, similar 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. 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. When the spell is placed on the familiar, the caster can choose to be able to discharge it as a minor action during his turn, or set a trigger condition, causing the spell to discharge as an immediate interrupt. (This counts as the caster's Immediate action for the round; if he has already taken one, the spell goes off at the beginning of the next round.) The trigger condition is limited by the casters own senses; typical triggers are 'When any enemy is adjacent to the familiar', 'When the familiar reaches a given square', and so on.
If targets for the spell (such as an adjacent creature) must be chosen, the caster chooses them when the spell is discharged. 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.
A familiar can 'hold' a spell for five minutes or the duration of the current encounter.
Beast Speech
Prerequisite: Familiar
The familiar can speak with creatures of a similar 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, similar 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.
Epic Tier Feats
Far Messenger
The Master can send his familiar great distances, bearing a message. This is similar to the Animal Messenger ritual, but the familiar will travel for a number of days equal to the Master's Charisma modifier. Once it has delivered its message, or if it is captured or prevented from doing so, it will vanish and reform at its Master's side. While the familiar is performing this task, the Master loses all other benefits such as skill bonuses. This is a Daily power, similar to activating the daily power of a magic item, with the same limitations. It counts against your daily activations, and so on.
Good show.
