Familiars and other cohorts

[jueqel]

I'm not sure if WotC is planning on bringing these back, but this is my attempt at putting familiars back into D&D. I'm trying to add them without altering the dynamics of party / encounter balance. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Feat
Cohort: Whether through a ritual, curse, pact, or fate, the bonding of a cohort (familiar, homunculus, or companion) to you creates an intimate connection with the creature that then becomes an extension of you. Your cohort shares a pseudo-psychic connection with you and knows your intentions and is in your control.
You share your hit points and defense scores, as well as actions during combat.
In addition, your cohort grants you an alternate perspective, allowing you to have a keener sense of your environment. You gain a +2 Perception Bonus when you and your cohort are within 10 squares of each other.

Because your hit points are shared by your cohort, there is no difference between your hit points and that of your cohort. You are treated as one being for tracking your hit points. When your cohort gets hurt, the damage affects your hit points. This also means that when damage from any attack that affects you and your cohort, such as area attacks, the damage deals once to your hit points, and does not double the damage because you both were hit.

Healing a cohort heals you. Healing damage that affects you and your cohort at the same time only counts as if one of you were healed.

Your cohort has the same Armor Class, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will scores as you. You make saves separately when attacked with an area effect, what happens to one happens to both of you.

During combat you share your actions with your cohort. You divide your actions between you and your cohort. On your turn, you may take any actions you are normally allowed, but any actions taken by your cohort uses your action allotment.

• Your cohort may make a standard action, and that action uses up your standard action for your turn.
• Your cohort may use your move action to move on your turn in any manor normally allowed to your cohort.
• Your cohort may use your minor action to perform any minor action it would normally be allowed to make.
• Your cohort may make basic attacks using your basic attack modifier with its natural weapons. Spending an action point for your cohort counts as if you spend the action point on yourself and counts toward the spending limit per encounter.
• You or your cohort may flank an opponent, but not at the same time.
• You or your cohort may take an opportunity action against the same opponent, but not at the same time.
• Your cohort may make athletics, acrobatics, endurance, thievery, and stealth skill checks using your base skill check. Hands or prehensile appendages are still required to perform skills that normally require them (i.e., pick pocket).

Feat.
Cohort Point of View.
Prerequisite: Cohort Feat.
As a minor action, you change your perspective and perceive though the senses of your cohort. You have line of sight to anything your Cohort would normally have line of sight.

Feat.
Cohort At-Will Power Use.
Prerequisite: Cohort Feat.
Your Cohort may make use of your at-will powers. Your Cohort must meet the requisite criteria for such use (i.e., wielding a weapon).

 

[chronoplasm]

Personally, I think I would just do it like the figurines of wondrous power. Your cohort/familiar would have its own hit points, AC, and saves, and you would control it during your own turn as a minor action. Moving, attacking, or performing any action with your cohort is done by spending a minor action.

I think it would be cool if familiars could be used as implements.

 

[Syrsuro]

The difficulty is the economy of actions.

And the fact that familiars (barring feats) were nothing more than pocket bonuses (obligatory OOTS link: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0003.html )

I am fairly confident that some version of them will enter the game, but there is no assurance that they will have any effect on the game during combat and I would expect them to be ritual based.

Carl

 

[Rechan]

Animal Companions will be in Martial Power. I'm sure we'll see Familiars by Arcane Power.

 

[jueqel]

I thought about making cohorts have their own hit points, but that seems more like a punishment for taking a familiar. One area spell that knocks you cold and kills your familiar was never really fun. I've lost too many familiars that way.

I modeled my Cohort feat off the figurine items and the mounted combat feat.
Since feats are supposed to be small in benefits, I tried to steer away from having a feat that creates an entirely separate character. The figurines showed how to do this mechanically.

I thought a ritual would be the easiest way to explain the use of this feat. Anyone could get one of these cohorts, as a bonding ritual could be performed for fighters, warlords, and rogues to have their own cohort. I think that a case can be made for having a divine guide (a clockwork owl?) as a cohort for clerics and paladins. Warlocks might be "assigned" a companion through their pact. When the druid comes out, the desire for companions will double.

Thanks for the feedback. I can't wait to see what WotC comes out with!

 

[Hodag]

I like the idea of the pooled hit points, but that would mean that the actual base hit points of the cohort have no effect. How about the average of the base cohort's hit points and the owners or just the owners whichever is greater to not more then double Owner’s?

Also how would 2nd Wind work? Once for the owner and once for the cohort or just once overall per encounter?
If the two times is too powerful, why is it too powerful?

Defenses. Figure the cohort's defenses from the owner's base plus the cohort's stat mods?

Stats for a 6th level Human Wizard (no armor or special feats)

Base Chance to Hit +3 in Melee (w/o Stat Mods)
45 HP Base (CON 14)

AC   For  Ref  Will (Bonuses w/o stat mods)
+3   +4   +4   +4
------------------------------------------------------------
Stats for a Clay Scout Homunculous

Base Chance to Hit +2 in Melee (w/o Stat Mods)
HP 31

AC   For  Ref  Will
16   13   14   15
------------------------------------------------------------
Stats for Homunculus as a Cohort

Base Chance to Hit +3 in Melee (w/o Stat Mods)
Pool HP of 41

AC   For  Ref  Will
17   18   16   17
-------------------------------------------------------------
Stats for a Cave Bear

Base Chance to Hit +6 in Melee (w/o Stat Mods)
HP 170
AC   For  Ref  Will
20   21   17   18
-------------------------------------------------------------
Stats for a Cave Bear as a Cohort

Base Chance to Hit +3 in Melee
Pool HP of 90 (Averaged HP between Cohort and Owner to not more then double
Owner’s)
AC   For  Ref  Will
20   22   18   19