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<blockquote data-quote="Beholder Bob" data-source="post: 1388148" data-attributes="member: 12866">I'm leaning towards #2 &amp; 3, with the addition that the initial draw of the familiar occurs at puberty.&nbsp; Once a familiar dies, the owner undergoes another year of puberty - mentally, not physically, as the owner must re-develop the portion of himself he just lost.&nbsp; This typically results in a permanent mild change in personality, though in some cases it is much more severe.&nbsp; The new familiar matches the new personality.Why replace what is lost, if just 'overflow'?&nbsp; Well, a caster w/out a familiar sheds his excess or overflow, losing the least essential and functions fine.&nbsp; A caster w/ a familiar, though, is not filling the additional vessel (familiar) with his least essential traits, rather a random mix of himself.&nbsp; This essence does not include his mind or memory - just portions of his soul and self identity.&nbsp; So you lose XP and undergo a period of re-adjustment, you need to re-find yourself.&nbsp; The self you find will not always be the 'self' your friends knew...A caster who dismisses his familiar can re-adjust himself in preparation, temporarily (it takes effort, only lasts a short while) sorting himself so that only the least essential is lost when the familiar is dismissed.&nbsp; He still loses the XP, but does not lose nor alter personality traits.As to option 4) too boring.as to option 5) possible - but couldn't any arcane caster then acquire a familiar?As to option 1) too vague - though I could try to give it more definition.As to note X) in this 'plane' of existence, the trail from master to wizard is obvious.DaveStebbins: the old dm guide picture of the fellow holding the wizards familiar 'make a move &amp; the familiar gets it' holds true to your model - Yikes!&nbsp; I like the concept.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Beholder Bob, post: 1388148, member: 12866"] I'm leaning towards #2 & 3, with the addition that the initial draw of the familiar occurs at puberty. Once a familiar dies, the owner undergoes another year of puberty - mentally, not physically, as the owner must re-develop the portion of himself he just lost. This typically results in a permanent mild change in personality, though in some cases it is much more severe. The new familiar matches the new personality. Why replace what is lost, if just 'overflow'? Well, a caster w/out a familiar sheds his excess or overflow, losing the least essential and functions fine. A caster w/ a familiar, though, is not filling the additional vessel (familiar) with his least essential traits, rather a random mix of himself. This essence does not include his mind or memory - just portions of his soul and self identity. So you lose XP and undergo a period of re-adjustment, you need to re-find yourself. The self you find will not always be the 'self' your friends knew... A caster who dismisses his familiar can re-adjust himself in preparation, temporarily (it takes effort, only lasts a short while) sorting himself so that only the least essential is lost when the familiar is dismissed. He still loses the XP, but does not lose nor alter personality traits. As to option 4) too boring. as to option 5) possible - but couldn't any arcane caster then acquire a familiar? As to option 1) too vague - though I could try to give it more definition. As to note X) in this 'plane' of existence, the trail from master to wizard is obvious. DaveStebbins: the old dm guide picture of the fellow holding the wizards familiar 'make a move & the familiar gets it' holds true to your model - Yikes! I like the concept. [/QUOTE]

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