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Matthus
Senior Scribe
Germany
393 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 13:14:07
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Poll Question:
Just a curious question: Which familiar do you prefer for your wizard?
As being DM for many years now, it seems to me, that only some of choices from the list are really interesting for my players – nobody ever summoned a lizard in my adventures  .
Are you waiting for the advanced option that you can get with the selection of the feat Improved Familiar from the Player’s Guide to Faerun?
Is there something that any wizard should think of when creating the bond?
How do your PC transport his familiar? Always a deep pocket?
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 13:20:49
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Mostly cats. I love cats... and the Lady K and I have always had cats as pets, so we're always trying to find strange and interesting ways to include cat familiars in our games.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 13:40:20
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I played a complete dandy of a wizard a few years back, and I intentionally gave him a toad familiar. He was constantly fussing with how clean his robe were, or how immaculately groomed he was, and he was upset that when he called his familiar, a toad responded.
He named the toad "Blight," and was constantly complaining about the little thing, right up until it died in an avalanche, at which point he mourned the little amphibian for the rest of his career. |
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Kes_Alanadel
Learned Scribe
USA
326 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 17:26:16
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The one and only time I've played a wizard, she had a bat as a familiar. As far as carrying it, the bat would climb into her hair and nestle itself just behind her ear against her neck.
The bat made the most sense for this wizard being she was a Drow, but was masquerading as a half-elf for story purposes. 
~Kes |
Ack! I seem to have too much blood in my coffee stream!
When did 'common sense' cease to be common? |
Edited by - Kes_Alanadel on 06 Jul 2007 17:27:47 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11690 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 18:43:43
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I'm the mage that prefers not to have a familiar in general. I'd gladly trade it in for SOME other ability. However, since I normally play fighter mages, they'd probably have really good hit points and could fight alongside me if I were to get something special. The one time it really intrigued me was the griffon familiar in Unclean, which spurred me to write up a class which would EVENTUALLY get this ability (i.e. you give up a good bit for the ability).
If my familiar isn't going to fight at my side, then he needs to be a good scout (and that equates to, he can survive the scouting). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 20:36:15
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| Hm, tough choice between hawks, ravens and cats, but I have to go with ravens. My cat will not be pleased. |
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 20:43:10
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| In my 27 years of D&D I've played four wizards to 4th to 15th level. Of those wizards only 1 has a familiar which is a psudodragon. Of the mundane critters I'm partial to the owl or cat (my own cat is 14 years old and I think I am HER familiar!) |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2007 : 22:57:24
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Toad.
1. Put the things on its back in your palm.
2. Cast shocking grasp for him to deliver.
3. Throw as a ranged touch (range increment 10 feet, -4 for nonprofiency, unless you're crazy enough to take "Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Toad")
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Pasta Fzoul
Seeker
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2007 : 04:53:20
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| I play wizards more than any other class, but I very rarely decide to acquire a familiar. The character concepts I come up with just tend not to accomodate one. |
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Darkmeer
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2007 : 05:00:53
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I'm with you PF. Most of the time, I don't want to invest the time in a familiar, while the other part of the time I find "hiding" and "protecting" my familiar to be tedious at best, and an above average annoyance at worst.
My wizards, when I play them, tend not to be the type to want a familiar. I like the idea of it being a feat or spell (as per Complete Arcane/Warrior and 2e, I can't remember which), mainly because it allows those that want to invest in the concept something to hold onto, while those that don't aren't penalized by not utilizing a class "feature".
/d |
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME." |
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Drew
Acolyte
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2007 : 07:16:03
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| Cat, because it was fun to annoy all the other wizard NPC's in the realms that had mice/rats |
The noblest fate a man can endure is to place his body between the home he loves, and wars desolation. |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2007 : 05:33:19
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| My players and I usually try to pair our familiars with our character concepts. We've had toads, lizards, cats, ravens, foxes, wrens, pseudodragons, tressyms, hedgehogs, you name it. This also means that sometimes we forego familiars altogether. All that aside, ravens are my personal favorite. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2007 : 06:14:29
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| I chose rat. Over the years I think I have used just about every common type, but always come back to the rat. |
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Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2007 : 07:15:45
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| played a wizard quite a few times allready ... but never had an familiar ... on the other hand i've had a Staff (Dragon) which got better the higher level i got and counted as a familiar ... i've tried a few of the alternative rules in Unearthed Arcana for specialists and so on |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
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Victor_ograygor
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1072 Posts |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jul 2007 : 22:33:44
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| I chose cats because I'm a cat lover. But many times I don't want my wizard to have a familiar. A lot of times, it just feels like having a tag-along pet--cute, but kind of dull after awhile. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Halidan
Senior Scribe
USA
470 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2007 : 21:01:52
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| I'm the perpetual DM for our group, so I don't often get the chance to play any characters. However, of the few mages that I have played, most of them have either a cat or an owl as a familiar. My last mage had a cat with several magic items, including a collar of animal growth. Between the cats items and the buff spells that he could recieve, he could became one of the better melee fighters for the party (I know that's strange, but trust me, it was a wierd sort of party.) |
"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Allen Poe - 1849 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2007 : 21:38:32
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| I've never been a fan of familiars, myself. I came up in 2E, and back in those days, familiars weren't terribly beneficial, and represented a large risk to the mage. |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Mortagon
Acolyte
Norway
33 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jul 2007 : 07:56:27
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My personal favorite of the mundane familiars is the raven for two reasons, it can fly, and it can talk, making it a great messenger.
Almost all mages i've played have had a raven familiar and i can't remember that one has ever died.
Once i played an exalted arcanist with a lantern archon familiar, that rocked since my familiar could heal.
My favorite familiar of all times was a pseudodragon one of my players had back in a 2nd edition campaign. The familiar was so loved by the players that it almost became an extra character in the party. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2007 : 10:58:00
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| To me it is not so much a matter of the usefulness of the familiar as the visual aspect. The creature tied to the wizard is as much a cliche as the staff and one that I like. |
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Calrond
Learned Scribe
USA
118 Posts |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2007 : 02:12:56
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Toad.
1. Put the things on its back in your palm.
2. Throw it on a random square (ranged touch vs. AC 5)
3. Cast "Benign Transposition" from Spell Compendium on an ally fighter to switch place with your familiar (i.e. great way to send some muscle on a balcony up above, castle wall parapet, etc. where archers usually like to park their butts to pepper the party unfettered... did that once: our DM had a dozen kobolds up in a wide cave opening 15 feet above ground level... things were looking bad for our level 2 party until I sent the barbarian upstairs this way... you could almost "see" the kobold's faces going from laughter as they saw the toad land in their midst to sheer horror when the 7 foot tall Illuskan barbarian "poofed" suddenly...)
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Penknight
Senior Scribe
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2007 : 02:34:05
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| I would have loved to say cat since I am a huge cat fan, but I've had and heard far too many instances involving familiars in the past to ever want one with a caster. It's a shame, really. |
Telethian Phoenix
Pathfinder Reference Document |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 00:51:31
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| When I play a mage, I make it a *point* to use my familiar effectively, which surprises almost everyone. There's so much one can do with a familiar it's not funny. What is the most simple thing to me (i.e. use your familiar as a spy) seems to shock or awe most of the DMs I've played under, or some of the players gaming at my table (i.e. I have had 1st or 2nd level magelings spy the crap out of them countless times, despite them being all high and mighty 17th level adventurers; doesn't matter how many magical precautions you take against spying when you [Duh!] don't stick a tight rag under your inn room door, or check for holes in the wall under your bed, or leave the window open, etc.; these little familiar critters will fit *anywhere*, and most understand common even if they can't speak it, and most can go back to their masters and speak to them in their nice little secret mage-familiar language to report; if my players would know how many times I've done that they'd buy a cat or a fox terrier to carry around, and I must admit that I would be thoroughly dissappointed to lose that avenue as a DM! :) ) |
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Kiaransalyn
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
762 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 10:15:45
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I voted for the toad. Sadly, my main reason for choosing the toad as a familiar is pure power-gaming. The three extra hit-points my wizard gains at first level are too tempting to give up for anything else.
My main wizard PC was a drow mage who purposely did not have a familiar because, he reasoned, it could be a potential thing for an enemy to exploit. |
Death is Life
Love is Hate
Revenge is Forgiveness
Ken: You from the States?
Jimmy: Yeah. But don't hold it against me.
Ken: I'll try not to... Just try not to say anything too loud or crass. |
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Fillow
Master of Realmslore
France
1608 Posts |
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Kazzaroth
Learned Scribe
Finland
104 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 21:05:33
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| My favourite is cat but also like mobility of flying pets. So these both combined my ultimate favourite familiar is tressym :). It is cute, inteligent familiar, can fly and I think can talk in meowing manner like in Blackstaff novel (not rulewise confirmed but got DM agree to allow it). |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 21:54:23
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Okay, I don't know the rules, so I'm not sure about how to go about getting a more exotic critter as a familiar. But, upon reflection, I know what familiar I'd love to have for a wizard. It's the griffling that I created for the sixth batch of hooks. I'm thinking a housecat-sized griffon would be a nifty familiar.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 16 Jul 2007 21:54:52 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2007 : 01:27:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Kiaransalyn
I voted for the toad. Sadly, my main reason for choosing the toad as a familiar is pure power-gaming.
I saw a toad in one of the potted plants by my house a few days ago. The toad was cute. Therefore, next time I make a wizard and want a familiar, I might very well choose a toad. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2007 : 01:28:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Kazzaroth
My favourite is cat but also like mobility of flying pets. So these both combined my ultimate favourite familiar is tressym :). It is cute, inteligent familiar, can fly and I think can talk in meowing manner like in Blackstaff novel (not rulewise confirmed but got DM agree to allow it).
Cats with wings--what could be better? |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Penknight
Senior Scribe
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2007 : 05:19:46
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| Very true. I've always liked the information given on the tressym. I'd like to see one as a ranger's companion also. |
Telethian Phoenix
Pathfinder Reference Document |
Edited by - Penknight on 17 Jul 2007 05:20:30 |
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Topic |
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Which familiar do you prefer for your wizard?
