Skarp Hedin
First Post
No one's had a familiar in any of my campaigns for quite a while, actually.. most people seem to be afraid the little buggers'll die. It's not such a big deal, familiar-death, in 3rd edition.. but old habits die hard.
DMs: how do you integrate familiars into the game?
- Thread starter Plane Sailing
- Start date
I had a player in my campaign ask to have a pseudodragon familiar as an Improved Familiar. I thought it was important to make it seem different than a regular familiar, so I created Farrah the pseudodragon as an NPC.
I have to tell you, this is one of the most fun things I've done in the entire campaign.
The party ran into Farrah in a random wilderness encounter (she had been treed by a couple of dire wolverines who had damaged her wings enough that she couldn't fly away). The party heard these little telepathic cries of help and responded. Then the sorceror who wanted the pseudodragon went *nuts* trying to win the thing over. Farrah knew a good deal when she saw one, and she basically wrapped the sorceror around her little finger. Farrah was getting magic items, special rings custom made for her (nonmagical, but still), all the spiders and nuts she could eat, etc.
AND the party has used Farrah's telepathy and whatnot to good effect. (Too long to go into here.) Though, since Farrah is a little impulsive and eager-to-please, sometimes things don't quite turn out the way the party wants ...
Anyway, once Farrah and the sorceror officially bonded as familiar's, I offered to let the PC have control of her. My entire party, bless their hearts, insisted that I continue to play her as an NPC (though she took orders from the sorceror pretty well) because they loved the way I played her.
Unfortunately, now the sorceror is leaving the party (the player is just too busy to stay in the campaign), and the wizard in the party doesn't want a familiar because he doesn't want to have to worry about it getting killed.
Long answer to a short question ...
I have to tell you, this is one of the most fun things I've done in the entire campaign.
The party ran into Farrah in a random wilderness encounter (she had been treed by a couple of dire wolverines who had damaged her wings enough that she couldn't fly away). The party heard these little telepathic cries of help and responded. Then the sorceror who wanted the pseudodragon went *nuts* trying to win the thing over. Farrah knew a good deal when she saw one, and she basically wrapped the sorceror around her little finger. Farrah was getting magic items, special rings custom made for her (nonmagical, but still), all the spiders and nuts she could eat, etc.
AND the party has used Farrah's telepathy and whatnot to good effect. (Too long to go into here.) Though, since Farrah is a little impulsive and eager-to-please, sometimes things don't quite turn out the way the party wants ...
Anyway, once Farrah and the sorceror officially bonded as familiar's, I offered to let the PC have control of her. My entire party, bless their hearts, insisted that I continue to play her as an NPC (though she took orders from the sorceror pretty well) because they loved the way I played her.
Unfortunately, now the sorceror is leaving the party (the player is just too busy to stay in the campaign), and the wizard in the party doesn't want a familiar because he doesn't want to have to worry about it getting killed.
Long answer to a short question ...
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Familiars in my campaign are actually rather significant NPC's.
One of them, for a female elven wizard, has gone since LV 1. He's a cat, and got killed at one point. The PC's went on a quest to rescue him, and it turns out that the whole dying thing turned him into a ravishingly handsome and suave dude when he wants to be. He's fiercely protective of the elven wizard, but not to the point of suicide, and a bit overconfident about his human form (he's got no weapons...just his fists and a lot of cojones.
)
Another one was a gecko familiar for a human sorcerer. They were actually rather antagonistic to each other, the sorc demanding things and the gecko hiding away. At one point, the party got a little mini-golem, and the gecko holed up inside. And the mini-golem was equipped with all the modern amenities. Even after the sorc died, the gecko was still a prominant character...until a gnome squished 'em.
The same player now has a human psion, and his rock can now talk....I'm still struggling a bit with this one. It's supposed to be the stubborn, bullheaded psicrystal, but I can't think of what a familiar could be bullheaded about.
One of them, for a female elven wizard, has gone since LV 1. He's a cat, and got killed at one point. The PC's went on a quest to rescue him, and it turns out that the whole dying thing turned him into a ravishingly handsome and suave dude when he wants to be. He's fiercely protective of the elven wizard, but not to the point of suicide, and a bit overconfident about his human form (he's got no weapons...just his fists and a lot of cojones.
)Another one was a gecko familiar for a human sorcerer. They were actually rather antagonistic to each other, the sorc demanding things and the gecko hiding away. At one point, the party got a little mini-golem, and the gecko holed up inside. And the mini-golem was equipped with all the modern amenities. Even after the sorc died, the gecko was still a prominant character...until a gnome squished 'em.
The same player now has a human psion, and his rock can now talk....I'm still struggling a bit with this one. It's supposed to be the stubborn, bullheaded psicrystal, but I can't think of what a familiar could be bullheaded about.
Familiars are very significant NPC's with personalities and foibles all their own. While the players and the NPC's are ultimately there for each other, they can disagree and have little tiffs, just like real people but deep down they know they're in it for the long haul.
Kinda like a married couple.
My story hour has a Familiar as one of the characters during one chapter and I was thinking of writing one entirely from Famliar's points of view, since there are two in the party right now.
Kinda like a married couple.
My story hour has a Familiar as one of the characters during one chapter and I was thinking of writing one entirely from Famliar's points of view, since there are two in the party right now.
Dingleberry
First Post
In the campaign I run, the sorcerer is a haberdasher and his familiar is a toad, so the WB frog was a natural image we've used since day one - top hat and all.
The toad's image did change slightly when he was magically transformed into the "air element" template (from MotP) and now rides around on a tiny vortex, garnering the nickname "Toadnado".
The toad's image did change slightly when he was magically transformed into the "air element" template (from MotP) and now rides around on a tiny vortex, garnering the nickname "Toadnado".
Henrix
Explorer
Our familiars tend to be rather dull extensions of the PC, especially since I tend to forget to play them as NPCs in the heat of the action.
I am considering letting one of the other players run the familiar, though.
I used to do this with the grogs (cohorts, sort of, in d&d3 terms) in Ars Magica (with other players), to very good effect.
That way the familiar gets a personality of its own.
In some groups it might be a good idea to choose carefully who gets to control the familiar.
In others, it would be fun to randomly assign the familiar to another player, and let them make up the personality as they wish.
I am considering letting one of the other players run the familiar, though.
I used to do this with the grogs (cohorts, sort of, in d&d3 terms) in Ars Magica (with other players), to very good effect.
That way the familiar gets a personality of its own.
In some groups it might be a good idea to choose carefully who gets to control the familiar.
In others, it would be fun to randomly assign the familiar to another player, and let them make up the personality as they wish.
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BluWolf
Explorer
I usually point out player's that want familiars that if played recklessly they can be a HUGE liability. That being said, they are treated as NPCs and I will act as the familiars "voice".
They usually spend 50% of the time as a balloon.
AS a side note, in over twenty years of playing I have only had 1 spellcaster with a familiar. I've never been a big fan of familiars as a player.
They usually spend 50% of the time as a balloon.
AS a side note, in over twenty years of playing I have only had 1 spellcaster with a familiar. I've never been a big fan of familiars as a player.
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Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Thanks for all the input, and the poll results are interesting.
As a DM, two of my current players have a familiar, and I'm delighted that one of them has chosen a raven - because at least he starts out with a voice, and I find it *much* easier to RP when I can give something a voice! The cat familiar hasn't really done much, the two psicrystal "psuedopersonalities" haven't been up to much (I really ought to do more whispering of thoughts from them) and the early and now long deceased owl familiar was just a flying scout.
Part of the problem I find as a DM is that most of the familiars can't talk at this level, and I'm never quite sure what kind of information can/should be transmitted by empathic link...
As a player, my Paladin/Sorcerer (a really bad combo, in practice!) has a toad familiar named Rorschach (rolling 1hp three levels in a row has that kind of effect on your decision making...). So far the only useful thing I've been able to use him for other than the obvious is sneaking through holes in earthquake rubble, looking for survivors who could be rescued. So far my DM hasn't really done anything about giving him a personality, perhaps when he gets to the level where he can talk things will change.
Cheers
As a DM, two of my current players have a familiar, and I'm delighted that one of them has chosen a raven - because at least he starts out with a voice, and I find it *much* easier to RP when I can give something a voice! The cat familiar hasn't really done much, the two psicrystal "psuedopersonalities" haven't been up to much (I really ought to do more whispering of thoughts from them) and the early and now long deceased owl familiar was just a flying scout.
Part of the problem I find as a DM is that most of the familiars can't talk at this level, and I'm never quite sure what kind of information can/should be transmitted by empathic link...
As a player, my Paladin/Sorcerer (a really bad combo, in practice!) has a toad familiar named Rorschach (rolling 1hp three levels in a row has that kind of effect on your decision making...). So far the only useful thing I've been able to use him for other than the obvious is sneaking through holes in earthquake rubble, looking for survivors who could be rescued. So far my DM hasn't really done anything about giving him a personality, perhaps when he gets to the level where he can talk things will change.
Cheers
Olive
Explorer
we kinda play a combo of all fo them...
basically i play my characters raven as an extension of himself. the DM steps in when he feels i'm over playing it all, or getting Jaspen to do things he wouldn't.
when jaspen talks to other birds I decide what he'll say etc. but jasper doesn't always do what my PC wants him to do...
if anything we forget about the bonuses!
basically i play my characters raven as an extension of himself. the DM steps in when he feels i'm over playing it all, or getting Jaspen to do things he wouldn't.
when jaspen talks to other birds I decide what he'll say etc. but jasper doesn't always do what my PC wants him to do...
if anything we forget about the bonuses!
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