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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5518079" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 228: April 1996part 6/8Greater Familiars of faerun: Another article on getting better familiars? When I started doing this, I certainly didn't expect that to become one of the more commonly reappearing topics over the years. Issues 84, 146, 147, 181, 200, 221; there's already plenty to draw upon. This is an article of two halves. Find Companion is a 3rd level spell that lets you summon a larger fairly mundane creature such as a horse, bear or cheetah to accompany you on your adventures. Find Minion is a 6th level spell that lets you get hold of a mid-level supernatural beastie like a displacer beast, umber hulk or unicorn. What's particularly interesting about this implementation is that you can have one of each, giving you three bonded animals at high levels. The main issue I can see with that is if you allowed this article to be combined with the familiar upgrading article from issue 181, as having all three maxed out with those spells would be a pretty effective synergy. (But if you're that assiduous a collector, you ought to be reaping the benefits of combining obscure powersets. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> I'd allow it in my game. ) In the end, my main issue with this one is wondering why it's branded a Forgotten Realms article, since specific wizards are not mentioned, and none of the monsters are setting specific either. It just seems forced, especially compared to the Arcane Lore ones that do actually fill in who invented the spells and when. Maybe there was more fluff detail that was cut out in editing. Sage advice: Can you pick what age category of dragon you shapechange into (sorta. It's complicated) Is the size of a breath weapon reduced if a creature is (no. Smuggle a dragon in in your pocket, and watch it wipe out an entire hall. )Can humans enter an anti animal shell (yes. Normally they don't count as animals, but in this case they do. Curious.)Can animal growth be used on humans (no)Can ESP pinpoint the location of the creatures you're mindreading. (no)Does a scroll of protection from magic negate your own items as well (yes. So much for all those buffs.)Can anything remove an antimagic shell (just wish upon a star. )Where do meteors detonate if there are things in the way (The point designated. anything in the way just gets blasted through painfully.) How do the ranges on the monster summoning spells work (That's how far away from you they can appear) Does a rod of alertness let you know where the hostile creatures are (no. )Just how good is a prismatic sphere at stopping stuff. (It can stop a planet. You're no trouble, no matter how buff and buffed you are. ) How does spell immunity interact with other protections cast afterwards. (it stops. It doesn't play well with other protections, no matter what order they're applied in. )How do you decide what questions to publish (Skip uses special arcane methods. Skip will not reveal them, because then you would rules lawyer them. Skip does the rules lawyering round here, and will cap anyone trying to muscle in on skip's teritory) What happens if you possess yourself with magic jar (The spell ends. Read the book again. ) Are there any modules with weredragons (no)How long are elven characters pregnant for. (seven and a half years. That's a looooong time to be fat and cranky. Maybe that explains why so many elven women go for human men a tenth their age. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />  Half elves grow a lot quicker.) Can you kill a bag of devouring (sure, if you can find it. Can you go extradimensional?)What happens if a female dragon mates with a male human (nothing. Half-dragons are always male dragon/female human. You are free to be angsty about this if it would be appropriate to your character. Or you could find a couple of girdles of gender changing, and be proactive about it. )There are gaps in your rules ( Anyone can break the rules. The tricky part is getting them to work at all. And that's the goal you should be aiming for, not travesties like this. You oughta be ashamed!)</blockquote>

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