Post/Author/DateTime	Post
James_Nostack 12-28-05, 09:09 PM	I'm thinking about running a campaign based in Medieval Europe. In folklore, magicians get their powers by striking bargains with unearthly creatures (fairies, demons, whatever). In fact, that's sometimes said to be the origin of the "familiar"--it was really a demon in disguise. I'd like to tweak the Core Wizard so that they gain power through eerie pacts. Any ideas how to do that? Is there an existing class that's Open Gaming content? Or could it work as a cosmetic change to the Core Wizard? For people who are familiar with the Sorcerer RPG (http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/), it's where I got the idea from.
Tempest Stormwind 12-28-05, 09:50 PM	Cosmetic change in its entirety. Particularily if you roleplay your familiar as a tutor. I would suggest a cat as an initial familiar, representing a Material Plane projection of the spirit that took you under its wing, and then take the Improved Familiar feat for an imp or the sort. Rename Improved Familiar to "Familiar Avatar" or something and reflavor it into "Your familiar assumes its true form." This would also open up a roleplay hook for you and other wizards of this type -- imagine if all cat familiars are aspects of a particular spirit that tutors people in the arcane arts, for instance? EDIT: if I remember my studies of the Witch-Craze period, a familiar was a spirit in animal form that was granted as an aide and tutor, rather than the actual demon that was contacted in the contract. This is minor, but it might be up your alley. An interesting read in this topic is Robbins' Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, if you can find time.
James_Nostack 12-28-05, 10:28 PM	Sweet. Thanks for the help, and the correction on the historical side.
TheGogmagog 12-29-05, 08:17 AM	I like that idea. Actually it makes more sense in faster pace games. When your wizard levels up twice in as many days while in a dungeon where he hasn't found as much of a scroll, some DM's will complain that the wizard coudn't have "done research as they have been adventuring". The idea the arcane secrets are shared by the familiar fill's the bill. The familiar being a normal animal that's posessed by a spirit, also explains his lack of overwhelming power or even interest in preserving the mortal form.
runestar 12-29-05, 11:28 AM	Doesn't a familiar grant its master a small bonus? There's your power. :D
James_Nostack 12-30-05, 03:52 PM	Pardon me -- "Improved Familiar" is something I'm not (ahem) familiar with. Is it in the Core 3.5 books? (If it's not in them, and it's Open License stuff, could someone splat the details up here?)
Grayequus 12-30-05, 03:59 PM	Improved Familiar is in the FR Campaign setting, I believe. Alsi, you might wish to take a look at Atlas Games' 'Northern Crown' setting. Their Witch class is very much what you seemt o have in mind.
Tempest Stormwind 12-30-05, 04:25 PM	So is the Wizard or Sorceror if you roleplay it right. The rules never say the knowledge doesn't come from the familiar. Now, Improved Familiar is a core feat in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedFamiliar). It is also reprinted in Complete Warrior and a few other locations for alternate options. To demonstrate what I was talking about, here it is, with the altered flavor I mentioned.Familiar Avatar [General] You may conduct a ritual similar to acquiring a familiar which instead transforms it into its natural form. Prerequisites: Ability to acquire a new familiar, compatible alignment, sufficiently high level (see below). Benefit: You may repeat the ritual to acquire a familiar. Doing so transforms your existing familiar into one of the forms on the following table, which represents the true form of the spirit that provided you its animal aspect and your tutoring. The spellcaster may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each of the alignment axes (lawful through chaotic, good through evil). Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: If the creature’s type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate). The list in Table: Improved Familiar by Alignment presents only a few possible true forms. Almost any creature of the same general size and power as those on the list makes a suitable true form . Nor is the master’s alignment the only possible categorization. For instance, improved familiars could be assigned by the master’s creature type or subtype, as shown in Table: Improved Familiar by Type/Subtype. Choosing this feat means, in character, that your familiar transforms into the form it originally should have had, which is a decision you make as a player. However, in the game, this choice is nonexistent -- if you select Quasit, for instance, then your familiar was always a quasit in disguise. The tables appear in the SRD link deonstrated above. Will that serve?
BW0222 12-30-05, 05:07 PM	Just add training rules. If you want to gain levels in an arcane class, you need to find a higher-level trainer. Make most of the trainers witches and non-human creatures. The wizard may have to make deals to find them and of course deals to perform certain services in return for training. Maybe your familiar knows where your wizard might find them and keeps wanting deals for herself. You can also look at the spell components closely and of course the legality of being a wizard/witch.
Lina_Inverse 12-31-05, 12:16 AM	Just add training rules. If you want to gain levels in an arcane class, you need to find a higher-level trainer. Make most of the trainers witches and non-human creatures. The wizard may have to make deals to find them and of course deals to perform certain services in return for training. Maybe your familiar knows where your wizard might find them and keeps wanting deals for herself. You can also look at the spell components closely and of course the legality of being a wizard/witch. Worst idea ever. How did that trainer get training? Internal Consistansy is your friend.