Familiars
Any arcane class can take a familiar. Doing so requires the feat, "Bind Familiar" which requires the ritual, "Ritual of Binding".
The ritual is extremely taxing to the person to whom the familiar is being bound. To enable a permanent connection to another being, a conduit must be formed through the Other Realms. This requires the sacrifice of a healing surge. This sacrifice is permanent.
By taking the feat you get the following key benefits:
+1 feat bonus to initiative.
+1 feat bonus to perception.
+1 healing surge value.
These benefits are always active and remain unless the familiar dies or the bond is broken.
By expending one of your own healing surges you can do one of the following:
Sensory Attunement Familiar Power
By concentrating his will upon the familiar, the master can see and hear through the familiar's eyes and ears.
Daily • Arcane
Minor Action Personal
Effect: See and hear whatever the familiar is seeing and hearing.
Sustain: One healing surge per minute.
Enhance Magic Familiar Power
By drawing upon the mystical energies that tie familiar and master together, the master can imbue his spells with power.
Daily • Arcane
Free Action Personal
Effect: +1 feat bonus to hit with a spell that is being cast. Applies to all targets of initial effect, but not to secondary targets.
A familiar is considered to share the master's hit point pool total. If it takes damage, the master takes damage. If the master takes damage, it takes damage. If either of them reach 0, they both fall unconscious. The master makes death saves as per normal.
However, it is also not treated as a separate entity unless the master chooses to make it leave his personal space. Whilst it is within one square of the master, it is essentially invulnerable and immune to all damage and cannot be attacked. It shares the master's personal space and is protected by the master's presence. This is a game mechanic, not a literal rule. It is not actually invulnerable or immune to anything. It is just a simplification that allows the familiar to exist in the game world without individual statistics.
If, however, the master makes him leave his personal space or it is forced to leave the master's personal space, it then takes on all the characteristics of the master. It uses all the master's stats as its stats. Remembering that now it is vulnerable to damage and attack and whatever damage it takes, the master also takes.
Any arcane class can take a familiar. Doing so requires the feat, "Bind Familiar" which requires the ritual, "Ritual of Binding".
The ritual is extremely taxing to the person to whom the familiar is being bound. To enable a permanent connection to another being, a conduit must be formed through the Other Realms. This requires the sacrifice of a healing surge. This sacrifice is permanent.
By taking the feat you get the following key benefits:
+1 feat bonus to initiative.
+1 feat bonus to perception.
+1 healing surge value.
These benefits are always active and remain unless the familiar dies or the bond is broken.
By expending one of your own healing surges you can do one of the following:
Sensory Attunement Familiar Power
By concentrating his will upon the familiar, the master can see and hear through the familiar's eyes and ears.
Daily • Arcane
Minor Action Personal
Effect: See and hear whatever the familiar is seeing and hearing.
Sustain: One healing surge per minute.
Enhance Magic Familiar Power
By drawing upon the mystical energies that tie familiar and master together, the master can imbue his spells with power.
Daily • Arcane
Free Action Personal
Effect: +1 feat bonus to hit with a spell that is being cast. Applies to all targets of initial effect, but not to secondary targets.
A familiar is considered to share the master's hit point pool total. If it takes damage, the master takes damage. If the master takes damage, it takes damage. If either of them reach 0, they both fall unconscious. The master makes death saves as per normal.
However, it is also not treated as a separate entity unless the master chooses to make it leave his personal space. Whilst it is within one square of the master, it is essentially invulnerable and immune to all damage and cannot be attacked. It shares the master's personal space and is protected by the master's presence. This is a game mechanic, not a literal rule. It is not actually invulnerable or immune to anything. It is just a simplification that allows the familiar to exist in the game world without individual statistics.
If, however, the master makes him leave his personal space or it is forced to leave the master's personal space, it then takes on all the characteristics of the master. It uses all the master's stats as its stats. Remembering that now it is vulnerable to damage and attack and whatever damage it takes, the master also takes.
