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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mongoose_Matt" data-source="post: 1006587" data-attributes="member: 239">Hi guys,As I type this, Encyclopaedia Arcane: Familiars - Crouching Monkey, Hidden Toad, written by Joseph Miller, is on its way to your local store and should be available in just a few days (if it is not already there!).Fully 3.5 compatible, EA Familiars takes a good look at a member of the party all too often forgotten - the humble  Familiar.  The Overview looks at different types of familiars available to the enterprising wizard and sorcerer, as well as their training, treatment (very important!) and dismissal.  This is followed by the Summoning, which casts an eye on the rituals to bring a familiar to its master.  It also introduces new arcane methods of calling upon less traditional creatures, such as aberrations and constructs - though personally, I love the idea of an ooze for a familiar (hey, it can work!).Consequences of Bonding studies the effects of 'boons' that familiars grant their masters, running through a huge list of possible creatures, as well as providing GMs with guidelines on how to utilise their own creations as familiars.  Once a familiar has been called, the master then infuses it with magical powers, that grant it the regular special abilities and boosted intelligence.  However, there are now six more infusion paths to choose from, allowing arcane casters to specialise not only themselves but their familiars too.  For example, you can set your familiar on the Path of the Assistant, which will supplement the master's own arcane skills and grant the familiar even greater intelligence.  Those that follow the Path of the Infiltrator are more skilled at being spies and thieves, with obvious benefits to the player who likes to actually 'use' his familiar.  Two pages are also spent looking at Unbound Mages, those who choose to forego the chance to call upon a familiar, dismissing them as mere parasites - in exchange, they gain access to new rituals which grant substitute powers.Training Familiars looks at enhancing a mage's companion (though at a high cost) through more mundane means and, ultimately, can grant a familiar a few class features (ever seen a raging toad?  Nasty. . .), whereas Familiar Feats strengthen the bond between master and servant.Following this, Masters - Bound and Unbound introduces a few new types of mage who either seek to become closer to their familiars (eventually becoming more like them) or avoid the summoning ritual at all costs, and become champions of the unbound.  A favourite here is the Ooze Lord who gradually becomes more. . . viscous.  Not every player's dream character, but a stunning adversary for them.EA Familiars wraps up with spells that allow a familiar to be bolstered or otherwise enhanced, a discussion on how they should be treated day-to-day and a few new creatures that were cynically overlooked in Core Rulebook III and yet would make superb familiars for the mage looking for something a bit different.  Want a Kiwi, Otter or Penguin?  No problem.   And yes, we could not resist putting a Mongoose in here too (mine will be called Montgomery).Encyclopaedia Arcane: Familiars is priced at $14.95 and will be available in your local store sometime this week.</blockquote>

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