Master dies; familiar ... ?

[Jeff Wilder]

Are there any 3.5 rules for what happens to a familiar when the master dies?

 

[the Jester]

I am not aware of any. You'd think it would be a topic that came up enough to be worth addressing in Complete Arcane or something, but I guess not.

In my campaign, when a pc died his bat familair kept fighting, using a wand of lightning bolts.

 

[Bront]

The familiar is now free to form his own plans to take over the world!

Seriously, I think that the familiar will stick around for a time, but will eventualy wander off. Perhaps to seek help, or just to wander back where he came from. If he gets rezzed later, then he will return, or the master may have to resummon him depending on how long it took to have it happen.

Remember, a familiar is a magical beast, not a natural one, so there's no reason it can't just return to some other mythical plane from which it was summoned.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

In my campaign, when a pc died his bat familair kept fighting, using a wand of lightning bolts.

The bat had Use Magic Device?

In our game -- still in progress, on dinner break -- a wizard's familiar (weasel) charged into combat after his master died and, believe it or not, ended up making us lose the fight. (It was at least an EL 10 encounter, and we're 4th level, so we put up a helluva fight.) I'm not sure I think that's reasonable.

I'd probably say the familiar sticks around, in a near-catatonic state, for a week per point of master's Charisma bonus (minimum one day), then departs.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

How did the familiar of the currently-dead wizard make you lose the fight?

The only thing I could see was his running into the fight provoked an AoO, which an enemy took and then Cleaved off of, killing the last remaining player on the Cleave.

Of course, if that were the case, you were pretty much hosed before the familiar entered the battle, so blaming the rat seems a little unfair ...

 

[mzsylver]

Umd

The bat had Use Magic Device?

I love activate blindly. It comes in handy so many times.

 

[Aeric]

I love activate blindly. It comes in handy so many times.

And who better to use Activate Blindly than a bat?

 

[SteelDraco]

I've run a game where the familiar slowly lost its intelligence, and reverted to a more natural state. Really freaked the raven out, too - he knew he was getting dumber, and couldn't do much about it. He was DESPERATE to find a new master, so he wouldn't turn back into an animal. I had fun roleplaying that raven.

 

[Ferret]

I thought in Tome and Blood that it says the familiar remains all of its powers, but is free. It doesn't resent the party but if it sees no reason to stay it won't.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I've run a game where the familiar slowly lost its intelligence, and reverted to a more natural state. Really freaked the raven out, too - he knew he was getting dumber, and couldn't do much about it. He was DESPERATE to find a new master, so he wouldn't turn back into an animal. I had fun roleplaying that raven.

Really cool idea.