Familiars

[CaptainCalico]

My character currently has a weasel (an ermine, to be precise). Works very well for fetching spell components in a pinch.

 

[Angelsboi]

Dude, that is SO g... errrr, nevermind.

Would you have me any other way? I had a cleric/wizard who had zombies as his go-fers.

Maybe it's a throwback to that old WB cartoon with the singing frog, maybe it's a throwback to Beavis & Butthead... I dunno what it is, but there's just something cool about a fat, flaccid, morose, glutton-for-punishment toad.

Wulf

As long as you can advance it and make it a bard. "Hello my baby, hello my hunny, hello my ragtime gal ...

 

[Zaukrie]

I've always wanted to play the familiar as the character, with the PC as the familiar. I think it would be interesting to have what the other characters think is the PC really be the familiar, without them knowing. You know, a Faerie dragon or some other small creature that wanted to be a human, but couldn't, but somehow controlled a humanoid, and lived their life through them.

 

[JoeBlank]

Any recommendations for a familiar for a kobold sorcerer with a dragon fetish?

My dwarf fighter/wizard (without any dragon fetish, by the way) has a lizard familiar. Can't recall if I got it from the Dragon article or just came up with our own, grants +2 to Climb. Named it Durgarn, which is dwarf for dragon (from Dragon 279).

 

[Nightfall]

Well one of my wizard character concepts, a sorcereress of the Albadia tribes ends up with a Huror familiar. That or my hollowfaustian necromancer has a weran.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Currently my Mystic Wanderer(MoF) has a Thrush from T&B (same as a Raven, but smaller). The talking is great, saved me a couple of times expesially when I was kidnapped and it was with my party. Plus with having the masters skills it has a +19 Diplomacy and +19 Sense Motive.

Of course overall I must say the best familiar is a Rat, but then I am a little biased in favor of my compatriots.

 

[Kibo]

Usually I stick to the basics. A weasle, or falcon, or black panther. But one time I played a young europeanesque lad that had a mongoose familiar named Riki. Saved me too.

 

[candidus_cogitens]

Don't underestimate the importance of style! Your familiar is one of the biggest fashion statements (as it were) that your character can make. If your character is noble and refined, do you really want to have a rat, toad or lizard?? If your character is decieptful and tricky, would it really be appropriate to have an owl? You gotta make sure the archetype, or image, matches that of your character.

That was the only reason I did not choose the toad for my elf wizard. Otherwise, who could pass up the much needed hit point and fortitude boost!!

So, I went with a ferret (virtually the same as a weasel, but without the negative connotations of the expression “to weasel out”). A ferret adds a playful and friendly presence to the party.

It also doesn’t hurt that you get a boost to your reflex save!! And, last but not least, it has Scent, which will come in handy on many occasions!

If you play with miniatures, you might want to consider that as well. The Reaper miniature series includes two packs of familiars, each containing about five or six familiars for a total of about three bucks. There is no toad mini, to my knowledge, but there are two cats, a bat, a weasel/ferret, a pseudodragon, and several others.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Don't underestimate the importance of style! Your familiar is one of the biggest fashion statements (as it were) that your character can make. If your character is noble and refined, do you really want to have a rat, toad or lizard?? If your character is decieptful and tricky, would it really be appropriate to have an owl? You gotta make sure the archetype, or image, matches that of your character.

Hey, me and my fellow rats take objection to this. We can be found in the finest of homes as well as in the beggars district. I bet Bagpuss doesn't recieve these kinds of slights being a cat and all.