Familiars

[windmark728]

Have familiars ever been present in MRQ? I have a player who is of the Witch Profession and is interested in obtaining a familiar. I can always come up with something, perhaps using BRP, but if there is a good MRQ resource out there, I would really like to know.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Have familiars ever been present in MRQ? I have a player who is of the Witch Profession and is interested in obtaining a familiar. I can always come up with something, perhaps using BRP, but if there is a good MRQ resource out there, I would really like to know.

No, familiars got dropped along with most forms of MP storage - the game system does not need them any more since there is no Free INT for manipulation, and spells cost much fewer MPs. If you want them for style and flavour, then the benefits should be toned down accordingly.

 

[windmark728]

In what edition of RQ were familiars used?

 

[Vagni]

Familiars last appeared in Chaosism RQ III as did Allied Spirits for Divine cults.

They would be fairly easy to reintroduce, but some of the powers would be best toned down. I would make it some kind of pact with a small amount of dedicated POW.

 

[Simulacrum]

There are familiars (and the enchantment to create them) in the Age of Treason setting. The setting's central character (The Iron Simulacrum) is actually a familiar himself. There may be something in Clockwork and Chivalry too, I'd have to look.

 

[Hopeless]

Out of curiosity how was this handled?

Its just that from whats been said it sounded alot like the shaman's fetch.

Would a familiar be therefore based on the spirit rules except the familiar physically exists and perhaps grants their master the ability to see through their eyes or cast spells via them as if they were in actually contact including healing them when they're hurt?

Sorry if I'm getting this all wrong but I was wondering how this would be handled?

 

[Simulacrum]

Handled by sacrificing INT and CHA to complete an incomplete creature, and bestowing specific 'Enchantment Virtues' (traits) at the same time. When I post some preview material of the age of treason companion I might put up one of the NPCs who has a familiar so you can see how it works. A familar does actually have a mind of its own, hence the Iron Simulacrum can have independent thoughts from his creator (and hide them). It's not a remotely piloted drone.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Out of curiosity how was this handled?

In RQ3, you take an incomplete creature (a creature that is lacking any of the stats other than CHA, fixed-INT creatures counted as lacking INT) and casting Create Familiar (Characteristic) on them, multispelled for all the missing characteristics, and transferring at least one point of each characteristic from yourself to the creature. You usually need to Dominate the creature first. The typical "best case" was to take a chimpanzee and add 1 INT to it. There are some more exotic possibilities that avoid the loss of precious INT, I had a troll sorceror with a hag (bog nymph) familiar that needed STR, SIZ, and CON instead. Stoorworms are another controversial option, as they need POW and may be chaotic. If you want to really cheat, get a praxian to cast Fix Intelligence on a human and then make them into a familiar - but it is unclear whether Dominate Human would work on such a subject, and it was a rare and exotic spell in RQ3 to boot.

 

[Hopeless]

Out of curiosity how was this handled?

but it is unclear whether Dominate Human would work on such a subject, and it was a rare and exotic spell in RQ3 to boot.

That reminds me of a short story about a dragon who had a human as a familiar!

That and the construct side of this would make an interesting subplot if someone was making duplicates of people in charge and making them familiars so if they're killed they could jump bodies for example...

Then again what if they're enspelled to blow up?

Sorry getting a little off the topic!