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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shade" data-source="post: 5028078" data-attributes="member: 287">We now move into the "natural familiars" portion of the article...Natural familiarsThe special familiars of the material plant are a diverse group, varying widely in their characteristics and the powers they confer upon their masters. The similarities between them are (from the spellcaster’s point of view) more negative than positive. They do not add their hit points to those of their master as do normal familiars, and they do not confer regenerative powers as do supernatural special familiars. On the other hand, the master of a natural special familiar does not lose hit points or levels if the familiar is killed. The natural familiars are less concerned with alignment behavior than their extraplanar counterparts; they are natives of the material plane, and, as such, are more familiar with the shades of gray that abound in the material plane’s alignment structure.While natural familiars will serve more or less faithfully, they are free-willed beings and can think for themselves. They will have had lives of their own before taking up service, and ideas of their own, which may be at variance with the outlook of their master even if they happen to be an exact match in alignment. They are in fact rather like henchmen and should be considered as such in cases that call for morale and loyalty checks. While normal familiars are willing (or at least unwitting) slaves or pets, and supernatural special familiars have other loyalties and purposes, the natural special familiars occupy an intermediate between these extremes’ position.There are few strings attached if a magicuser obtains the service of a natural special familiar. In general, the familiar will require good treatment, up to and including gifts of magic items they can use (there are a few) if their loyalty is to be assured. A natural special familiar will leave its master if conditions become intolerable, and the effects of this will be the same as if it had been sent away (see page 44 of the DMG). If the familiar is killed, there is no ill effect on the magic-user beyond the loss of any special abilities the familiar had bestowed upon its master.  However, the chance for the same magic-user to get another familiar of the same type is drastically reduced. The kindred souls of the slain familiar will know instinctively that one of their fellows met a tragic end while serving that magic-user, and they will understandably be reluctant to follow the same course. If another familiar of the same type as the slain one is indicated on a later casting of the find familiar spell, the creature will have a 100% magic resistance (instead of its normal resistance, if applicable) that must be overcome before the creature will hear the call.As pointed out earlier in the section on supernatural familiars, any creature is allowed a saving throw to escape the effect of the find familiar spell. In the case of a natural special familiar, this represents the chance that the creature will have serious doubts about entering into service. Life as a familiar can offer hazards as well as rewards, if the call comes from an adventuring spellcaster. On the other hand, life with a sedentary magic-user could be boring and unsatisfying. Perhaps the creature being called finds something objectionable in the behavior or appearance of its would-be master; similar alignments don.t necessarily make for a smooth relationship. Even potential familiars with no other commitments and little to lose might be reluctant, for reasons that may be fully known only to them.It isn’t necessary to postulate a different type of natural special familiar for every spot on the alignment spectrum, as was the case for supernatural familiars. Being residents of the material plans, natural familiars generally have some inherent flexibility where alignment is concerned. For instance, although most brownies are equally concerned with law and good, some put a greater emphasis on obedience and order than on happiness. The type of natural familiar that can be obtained by a magicuser of a certain alignment is as follows: LG to LN Brownie LE to NE DurocibNeutral HaudhlaCE to CN VeeruCG to NG PseudodragonThe brownie and the pseudodragon are described in the Monster Manual. Descriptions of the others are given below. Each type of familiar has its preferred habitat, but since they are hardy and (in the case of the individuals summoned) adventurous, they might be found anywhere. The DM must rule on this, but it seems reasonable that a natural special familiar would be summonable anywhere in the imaginary world of the campaign, with the possible exception of such places as polar ice caps and the middle of an ocean. In most cases it will not be too difficult to argue that some trick of fate has brought one of these potential familiars within range of the spell. After all, the lives of adventurers abound with strange circumstances and odd coincidences, of which this might be a relatively minor one.</blockquote>

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