Post by Admin on Jan 29, 2012 19:47:30 GMT -5
The Familiar special ability is the most complex ability, with enough variations in different mediums that we thought it merited its own thread explaining how to use it in game. Fundamentally, a familiar is something that a mage shares power with, or channels power through, to become stronger. Like other special abilities, a mage can retrain this to something else, or alter their familiar as they advance in age or as a mage.
As the player, a familiar is technically a part of your character and does not count as another PC unless separated (guidelines for that later, after Intelligent Familiars) - yet a mage's familiar does count as a PC just as much as the mage does for sake of the PC rules. Familiars cannot advance on their own or gain additional Special Abilities than their actual Tier, but do technically count as being at the same Tier as the familiar's mage for the sake of other things like Magic Pressure and Proficiency.
Mages that choose this ability must choose how attached they are to their familiar.
If a mage is partially dependent upon their familiar, then the mage's Proficiency with magic increases by half a tier when they have their familiar. If they are separated from their familiar, however, then their Proficiency with magic decreases by half a tier.
If a mage is fully dependent upon their familiar, then the mage's Proficiency with magic increases by a full tier when they have their familiar. If they are separated from their familiar, however, then they cannot perform any magic at all.
(A mage still cannot increase their proficiency beyond one full tier with this method, even if they have other ways of increasing their Proficiency.)
A mage that is fully dependent upon their familiar also has two other unique advantages in the case of a living familiar - emphasis on living; it cannot be an item familiar.
First, such a mage could forego learning a special ability when they reach a higher tier, and instead "give" that special ability to their familiar as a bonus. This is usually used by mages to make strong, combat-oriented familiars by giving them more physical special abilities then they would otherwise have.
Second, such a mage could choose to channel some or all of their magic directly through their familiar. The mage thus functions more like the magical ammo for their familiar, with their familiar acting as the trigger and the gun. This method is usually easier for very young mages who don't have the will, the skill, or the training to manipulate magic, but do have the raw magical energies for it. It also provides the familiar with more energy to work with.
Note that this is different than just sharing Specializations, which all mages can do with their intelligent familiar.
Mages that choose this ability must also choose what kind of familiar they want.
For almost all kinds of familiars, if the familiar has a consciousness, mage and familiar are able to communicate telepathically, whether sentient item, nonintelligent or intelligent.
Item -
An item familiar is an inanimate object that a mage imbues with their power, like an external battery for their magical energies. Depending on the mage's choice, such familiars can be magical or mundane items, or even awakened and given their own consciousness by the mage. An awakened item familiar is fully sentient but has a personality that reflects their mage in some way, and can sometimes use their master's Mental magic themselves. The sentient item familiars of powerful mages of Tier 3 or higher usually end up with their own Spirit form. Only as a Spirit can an item familiar share more than their master's Mental magic.
Nonintelligent -
A nonintelligent familiar is a normal living creature of its kind, imbued with the mage's energy and directly connected to each other. These creatures - whether animal, monster, or magical beast - are all of limited mental abilities. Though the creature still has its own thoughts and desires, a mage can fully direct such a familiar to do what they want. While a mage can use their magic to augment their familiar, these creatures cannot use magic themselves or any magical special abilities.
A nonintelligent familiar can be made permanently intelligent in the same way an item can be, with a personality that fits their mage in some way. Animals are forever afterward treated as magical beasts and gain the bonuses of being such a creature.
Intelligent -
An intelligent living familiar is a fully sentient companion to the mage, for better or worse. Capable of advanced thoughts and feelings themselves, intelligent familiars don't necessarily follow all the orders of their mages or even spend all their time with them. Most intelligent familiars and their mages usually treat this as a mutually beneficial partnership, rather than a master-servant relationship. Intelligent familiars can take magical special abilities, and some can use their mage's specializations as their own. Some are even more intelligent or proficient with their mage's magic then the actual mage.
Intelligent familiars can be anything from magical beasts and monsters to Tier 0 or 1 of most advanced races. A mage can only be partially dependent upon a familiar that is a Tier 1 though, and cannot connect strongly enough to share magic specializations between the two. A tier 5 mage is strong enough to have a tier 2 familiar instead, but the other restrictions remain. In such a case, the familiar can also take "Familiar" as a special ability, solely for its increase of Proficiency, to represent the connection between mage and familiar. The mage does not actually become a familiar or count as such, and the familiar does not gain one of its own.
An intelligent living familiar could also choose to take a unique Shapeshifting special ability: Item. This special ability allows them to turn into a specific item that the mage can wield - usually a weapon of some sort. The two are still able to communicate telepathically while the familiar is shapeshifted. An intelligent living familiar can take this special ability twice, which allows them to turn into multiple items (not at the same time) instead. Chimerical Shapeshifting could also apply if taken. This special ability can only be used as a familiar.
Multiple Familiars -
Like some other abilities, a mage can take the Familiar special ability twice. If they do so, then the mage can have more than one familiar, following the same guidelines as above. Usually, a mage uses this for two familiars, but some mages have enjoyed having four or so small familiars, like cats or mice.
If the mage has at least one of their familiars with them, then they neither gain nor lose any Proficiency from being partially or fully dependent upon them, but they still must have all of their familiars with them to gain any Proficiency as normal. If they do not have any of their familiars with them, they still lose Proficiency as normal.
Ex-Familiars -
Unlike item familiars or nonintelligent familiars, an intelligent, living familiar can break the magical bond between the pair to become its own mage or to become someone else's familiar. If they do the former, then the familiar effectively becomes their own mage (and their own PC, separate from the mage's account). If the ex-familiar shared its mage's specializations while they were connected, the ex-familiar becomes a Tier 1 mage. If the mage of the pair was Tier 4 or higher, however, then the ex-familiar becomes a Tier 2 mage instead from being exposed to such powerful magic.
The ex-familiar can only retain as many specializations (which it chooses) from its mage as the ex-familiar's new Tier will allow. Any exchanged special abilities return to the mage, though the ex-familiar gains new special abilities as appropriate for their tier. They can then rise (or try to rise) to a higher tier as normal, with all the benefits thereof.
As the player, a familiar is technically a part of your character and does not count as another PC unless separated (guidelines for that later, after Intelligent Familiars) - yet a mage's familiar does count as a PC just as much as the mage does for sake of the PC rules. Familiars cannot advance on their own or gain additional Special Abilities than their actual Tier, but do technically count as being at the same Tier as the familiar's mage for the sake of other things like Magic Pressure and Proficiency.
Mages that choose this ability must choose how attached they are to their familiar.
If a mage is partially dependent upon their familiar, then the mage's Proficiency with magic increases by half a tier when they have their familiar. If they are separated from their familiar, however, then their Proficiency with magic decreases by half a tier.
If a mage is fully dependent upon their familiar, then the mage's Proficiency with magic increases by a full tier when they have their familiar. If they are separated from their familiar, however, then they cannot perform any magic at all.
(A mage still cannot increase their proficiency beyond one full tier with this method, even if they have other ways of increasing their Proficiency.)
A mage that is fully dependent upon their familiar also has two other unique advantages in the case of a living familiar - emphasis on living; it cannot be an item familiar.
First, such a mage could forego learning a special ability when they reach a higher tier, and instead "give" that special ability to their familiar as a bonus. This is usually used by mages to make strong, combat-oriented familiars by giving them more physical special abilities then they would otherwise have.
Second, such a mage could choose to channel some or all of their magic directly through their familiar. The mage thus functions more like the magical ammo for their familiar, with their familiar acting as the trigger and the gun. This method is usually easier for very young mages who don't have the will, the skill, or the training to manipulate magic, but do have the raw magical energies for it. It also provides the familiar with more energy to work with.
Note that this is different than just sharing Specializations, which all mages can do with their intelligent familiar.
Mages that choose this ability must also choose what kind of familiar they want.
For almost all kinds of familiars, if the familiar has a consciousness, mage and familiar are able to communicate telepathically, whether sentient item, nonintelligent or intelligent.
Item -
An item familiar is an inanimate object that a mage imbues with their power, like an external battery for their magical energies. Depending on the mage's choice, such familiars can be magical or mundane items, or even awakened and given their own consciousness by the mage. An awakened item familiar is fully sentient but has a personality that reflects their mage in some way, and can sometimes use their master's Mental magic themselves. The sentient item familiars of powerful mages of Tier 3 or higher usually end up with their own Spirit form. Only as a Spirit can an item familiar share more than their master's Mental magic.
Nonintelligent -
A nonintelligent familiar is a normal living creature of its kind, imbued with the mage's energy and directly connected to each other. These creatures - whether animal, monster, or magical beast - are all of limited mental abilities. Though the creature still has its own thoughts and desires, a mage can fully direct such a familiar to do what they want. While a mage can use their magic to augment their familiar, these creatures cannot use magic themselves or any magical special abilities.
A nonintelligent familiar can be made permanently intelligent in the same way an item can be, with a personality that fits their mage in some way. Animals are forever afterward treated as magical beasts and gain the bonuses of being such a creature.
Intelligent -
An intelligent living familiar is a fully sentient companion to the mage, for better or worse. Capable of advanced thoughts and feelings themselves, intelligent familiars don't necessarily follow all the orders of their mages or even spend all their time with them. Most intelligent familiars and their mages usually treat this as a mutually beneficial partnership, rather than a master-servant relationship. Intelligent familiars can take magical special abilities, and some can use their mage's specializations as their own. Some are even more intelligent or proficient with their mage's magic then the actual mage.
Intelligent familiars can be anything from magical beasts and monsters to Tier 0 or 1 of most advanced races. A mage can only be partially dependent upon a familiar that is a Tier 1 though, and cannot connect strongly enough to share magic specializations between the two. A tier 5 mage is strong enough to have a tier 2 familiar instead, but the other restrictions remain. In such a case, the familiar can also take "Familiar" as a special ability, solely for its increase of Proficiency, to represent the connection between mage and familiar. The mage does not actually become a familiar or count as such, and the familiar does not gain one of its own.
An intelligent living familiar could also choose to take a unique Shapeshifting special ability: Item. This special ability allows them to turn into a specific item that the mage can wield - usually a weapon of some sort. The two are still able to communicate telepathically while the familiar is shapeshifted. An intelligent living familiar can take this special ability twice, which allows them to turn into multiple items (not at the same time) instead. Chimerical Shapeshifting could also apply if taken. This special ability can only be used as a familiar.
Multiple Familiars -
Like some other abilities, a mage can take the Familiar special ability twice. If they do so, then the mage can have more than one familiar, following the same guidelines as above. Usually, a mage uses this for two familiars, but some mages have enjoyed having four or so small familiars, like cats or mice.
If the mage has at least one of their familiars with them, then they neither gain nor lose any Proficiency from being partially or fully dependent upon them, but they still must have all of their familiars with them to gain any Proficiency as normal. If they do not have any of their familiars with them, they still lose Proficiency as normal.
Ex-Familiars -
Unlike item familiars or nonintelligent familiars, an intelligent, living familiar can break the magical bond between the pair to become its own mage or to become someone else's familiar. If they do the former, then the familiar effectively becomes their own mage (and their own PC, separate from the mage's account). If the ex-familiar shared its mage's specializations while they were connected, the ex-familiar becomes a Tier 1 mage. If the mage of the pair was Tier 4 or higher, however, then the ex-familiar becomes a Tier 2 mage instead from being exposed to such powerful magic.
The ex-familiar can only retain as many specializations (which it chooses) from its mage as the ex-familiar's new Tier will allow. Any exchanged special abilities return to the mage, though the ex-familiar gains new special abilities as appropriate for their tier. They can then rise (or try to rise) to a higher tier as normal, with all the benefits thereof.