Get Fa miliar By Logan Bonner illustrations by Marco Nelor “Oh, don’t be so timid. Amatrusian beetles might look vicious, but they never attack people,” the young wizard said as he and his companions waded through a murky swamp in the Feywild. “Follow me!” The skull tied to his belt hummed with arcane energy, and its deep voice intoned a string of incomprehensible syllables through its motionless jaw. “Well, yes, Metrucius, there have been a few cases, but . .” He paused for a bit, looking around in all directions. “You know, I was thinking perhaps we should take othat alternate path between those trees over there.” The spirits called familiars serve their arcane masters as spies, messengers, guards, combat assistants, sages, and constant companions. These minuscule spirits take the form of animals, monsters, or objects, which frequently allows others to identify devoted practitioners of the arcane arts. They can provide knowledge and assistance about a variety of subjects, depending on the type of familiar. More powerful spellcasters can call upon different forms of familiars (many of which are reminiscent of creatures from the paragon and epic tiers) by either gaining a familiar later in their adventuring careers or warping an existing familiar into a new form. Familiars were introduced in the Arcane Power™ supplement. This article expands the selection of familiars and debuts the familiar master paragon path. TM & © 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved. March 2009 | DRAGON 373 5 Get Familiar Choosing a Familiar Example Personalities Changing Personality You can choose a familiar for purely mechanical pur- When you’re thinking of a personality for your You don’t have to stick with your familiar’s initial poses (to gain the skill bonuses or resistances that you familiar, you can draw some ideas from this list personality. Maybe it clashed too much with other want, for example), or you can choose one that ties to (choosing one or multiples). You also might base your party members or got the party into too much trouble your character’s story. familiar’s personality on companion animals you’ve with its antics. You can change your familiar’s seen in fiction or pets you’ve had in real life. These personality during an extended rest. are all simple, one-dimensional personalities, but feel If you use the retraining rules to change your Personality free to come up with a deeper personality if you like. familiar, that’s a good opportunity to change its Choose a familiar that reflects your personality, such Aloof: Your familiar is an enigma. Even you don’t personality, too. When you change its physical form, as a talkative parrot if you’re outgoing or a badger if know what it’s planning or thinking. An aloof you can also deliver a little “attitude adjustment.” you have a tendency to be surly. familiar helps you on a whim, but it keeps quiet most of the time. Cowardly: In the eyes of your familiar, danger is Familiar Backstory Class everywhere. It’s tough to spur a cringing, afraid Creating a history and background for your Some classes gravitate toward specific familiars. familiar into action, and you need to command it familiar can be a rainy-day activity, or it can come Bard: Arcane wisp, falcon, owl, parrot, raven, strongly to make it do what you want, especially about through relevant bits you improvise while serpent, or weasel. during combat. roleplaying. Take a look at some sample backgrounds Sorcerer: Bat, chaos shard, dragonling, Curious: Infinite ways exist in which you can find to help you get started. dragonspawn-themed creatures, or damage trouble in the world, and your familiar is trying to Born of Hubris: The familiar spirit was once an type-based creatures such as fire lizards or mephits. explore every one. The upside is that such a familiar arcane caster, but it became trapped in spirit form Swordmage: Canine construct, falcon, raven, can find interesting things where no one else dares go. after a failed attempt at an ambitious ritual. toad, or damage type-based creatures (for assault Haughty: Your familiar thinks it’s smarter than A Piece of Mind: Instead of an independent swordmages). you, and it isn’t afraid to let everybody know. A spirit, your familiar is a fragment of your own mind— Warlock: Raven, skull, or by pact. haughty familiar provides great ideas—as long as you perhaps one that says the things you never would. Fey Pact: Arcane wisp or rootling. give it credit for those great ideas. Refugee from Evil: The familiar once belonged Infernal Pact: Book imp or fire-based familiar. Obsequious: Fawning and begging, an to an evil creature, possibly one of your enemies, but Star Pact: Beholderkin, gibbering pet, or ooze. obsequious familiar does anything it can to stay in now it wants to be on your side. Dark Pact: Bound demon, shadow incarnate, your good graces. An obsequious familiar follows any or spider. direction you give it, and it does so gladly. Wizard: Arcane eye, bound demon, cat, Temperamental: The spirit of your familiar feels disembodied hand, ooze, raven, or shadow incarnate. strong emotions, and it can’t suppress them. The familiar has wild mood swings. Fortunately, if somebody in the party has an outburst, the familiar Spell Style grows strangely calmer, which can allow the party to Choose a type of spell you use frequently, and choose make further progress. a familiar with a similar theme. If you use fire spells, take a fire lizard, fire mephit, or redspawn spitfire. If you’re an illusionist, you might pick a book imp or rakshasa claw. April 2009 | DRAGON 374 6 Get Familiar Badger Familiar Fire Lizard Familiar Casters who want a stronger defense manifest badgers to protect These blazing hot lizards are favored familiars for OBJECT FAMILIARS them, as do those who are dangerous when they are hurt. tieflings and pyromancers. Some familiars look more like objects than crea- Speed 5, burrow 2 Senses Low-light vision tures. These might be spirit minds bound into real Constant Benefits Speed 6 objects, or they are normal familiars that take the You gain a +2 bonus to Intimidate checks. Constant Benefits form of objects instead of creatures. Object famil- You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls while bloodied. This You gain a +2 bonus to Athletics and Endurance checks. iars are more knowledgeable than their creature bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level. You gain resist 5 fire. If you already have resist fire, increase counterparts. They follow the same rules as crea- Active Benefits it by 2. Your resist fire increases by 2 while you are bloodied. ture familiars. Devoted Minion: If your badger is adjacent to you when you Active Benefits are hit by an attack, the badger is reduced to 0 hit points, Lizard’s Immunity: The fire lizard is immune to fire. and you reduce the damage you take by your PARAgoN AND EpIC FAMILIARS Constitution modifier. Lightning Lizard Familiar Some familiars can be gained only at 11th level and Storm sorcerers and other lightning-focused casters choose higher, or at 21st level and higher. You can replace Canine Construct Familiar lightning lizards as familiars. your current familiar with a new one when you This dog-shaped familiar is a loyal, valiant guardian. Senses Low-light vision reach a new level. Basically, treat this as though you Speed 7 Speed 6 were retraining the Arcane Familiar feat. Constant Benefits Constant Benefits You gain a +2 bonus to Athletics checks. You gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics and Athletics checks. You gain a +2 bonus to skill checks for Warding rituals. You gain resist 5 lightning. If you already have resist Active Benefits lightning, increase it by 2. Your resist lightning increases by 2 Tenacious Guard: You gain resist 1 against ranged and while you are bloodied. New Familiars melee attacks while adjacent to the canine construct. This Active Benefits increases to resist 2 at 11th level and resist 3 at 21st level. Lizard’s Immunity: The lightning lizard is immune to lightning. Heroic Tier Familiars Disembodied Hand Familiar Ooze Familiar Arcane Eye Familiar This hand crawls around using its digits, and it can expertly This colorful, blobby familiar is a boon to those who explore This hovering eyeball enhances your vision and sees in places manipulate items. underground areas. you can’t. Speed 6, climb 2 Senses tremorsense 5 Senses low-light vision Constant Benefits Speed 5 Speed fly 6 (hover) You can retrieve or stow an item as a free action instead of as Constant Benefits Constant Benefits a minor action. You gain a +2 bonus to Dungeoneering checks. You gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks. Active Benefits You gain resist 5 acid. If you already have resist acid, increase You gain a +2 bonus to skill checks for Scrying rituals. Agile Digits: A disembodied hand can open latches and it by 2. Active Benefits turn knobs that require only one hand to operate. It can also Active Benefits See All: Once per encounter, you can determine range, line manipulate objects to make Thievery checks. It gains a +2 Ooze’s Malleability: The ooze can squeeze through gaps as of sight, and line of effect for one ranged arcane implement bonus to such checks. small as half an inch wide. attack from the eye, and you ignore concealment (but not total concealment) for that attack. April 2009 | DRAGON 374 7 Get Familiar Parrot Familiar Social arcane casters prefer talkative parrot familiars. Senses low-light vision HEROIC FAMILIAR QUIRKS Speed 2, fly 5 (hover) Constant Benefits Arcane Eye You gain a +2 bonus to Diplomacy and Streetwise checks.