Familiars and Animal Companions. Should they stay?

[Wolfwood2]

All of them? We're talking a small chunk of soul into a creature that's (usually) far less intelligent than the mage.

I think it should have its own skills. They could even have useful skills, but they should be their own. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone get a cohort having the exact same skill set.

I like the idea that one of the primary uses of Familiars is to do "Aid Another" for non-physical skills. To me, the classic familiar image is of the small animal perched on the table as the wizard does his work, reminding him when he forgets something and making small suggestions that improve the overall result.

With the direction the 4E is heading, I think there will be plenty of room to have Familiars be sort of living tools that help spellcasters do certain skills and certain magics better.

Yes, you can send them to scout or to be your eyes and ears or to carry messages. But that shouldn't be their primary use. Their primary use should be to make a spellcaster slightly better at doing the things a spellcaster does. And no doubt the Talents/Feats you can take as an alternative to a Familiar will also let you do magic "better" but in different ways.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

So how would the tiger/panther be handled? Would it be allowed one of his attacks? A way for him to flank?

I would treat it pretty much the way you suggested - it could be used to "explain" an extra attack, get flanking for "free" or for "cheap", maybe give some extra hitpoints, etc.

The Hawk clearly let him make a much more comprehensive spot check.

Yeah. It's kind of like an animal-based scrying power.

I think the Spirit of the Century (SotC) RPG handles companions well - basically, a companion is the equivalent of a feat and basically lets you take more damage. Depending on it's level, it can gain the ability to act indepently of the PC or access more resources. Indeed, if action points are going to play a bigger part in 4e, there may be a way to use them to activate powerful abilities of the companion/familiar, much like how Fate points power certain Stunts and/or Aspects in SotC.

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

I'm on board with optional companions, especially the paladin's mount. If they're doing away with the most obvious part of the class - LG only - they should drop the half-hearted "mounted knight" thing as well.