Post by Justin on Apr 14, 2012 5:37:43 GMT -8
Here is all the stuff that I felt like putting up for now on Familiars and thier creation. I will organize this and update it in the near future.
The Bond
The bond between a mage and his familiar is a very special thing, akin to the bond between a mage and his Avatar. Such bonds have been known to last beyond the grave and into new lives with mages and familiars meeting again in their new incarnations. In addition, the bond strengthens over time. The longer a mage and
familiar are together, the stronger the bond becomes. Some mages who have had the same familiar all their many lifetimes know its thoughts as well as they know their own. On the flip side, a mage tends to reflect his familiar as well. A mage who has a snake for a familiar may make serpentine motions, whereas one with a
rabbit might have small tufts of fur on the tips of his ears.
The bond provides some special abilities:
Arcane Connection: Others can magically exploit
the familiar bond: anything the familiar touches is also
touched by the mage.
Empathy: The mage and familiar have an empathic connection: each can sense the other's emotions.
Paradox Absorption: A mage can shunt points of Paradox onto his familiar (see Familiars and Paradox, p.83). Familiars don't generally appreciate this, but will consent if the need is great.
A mage cannot have more than one familiar at a time. This mystical bond can be broken only with a Spirit 5 Effect (two successes are needed per Background point spent on the familiar), but the mage can choose to break it at any time without an Effect. However, once broken, all points spent on the familiar
are lost.
Feeding Your Familiar
Most familiars need an amount of Quintessence per week equal to the Background points spent on them. A 3-point Familiar requires three Quintessence points per week. A familiar that doesn't receive its required Quintessence suffers one level of bashing damage each day that it isn't fed. This damage cannot be healed until the required Quintessence is provided.
The required amount can be brought down if special conditions are declared during the Bonding. For instance, the spirit could demand a rare form of Tass instead, such as cat hearts stewed in the finest cream. The difficulty in preparing this can lower the amount of Quintessence the familiar requires, as if it were a flaw, but instead of lowering the Background point cost, it reduces the weekly Quintessence outlay. Details are left to the Storyteller, but the minimum Quintessence per week should never drop below one point. Only extremely rare or dangerous~to~gather Tass should warrant large reductions.
THe Death of a Familiar
When a familiar dies it often comes as a great shock to a mage. This is a being who was tied heart and soul co him. Beyond the obvious emotional shock, there are also serious mental and physical ramifications. The mage who looses a familiar has lost a piece of his soul. The moment the familiar dies, the mage suffers the following afflictions:
• The mage looses a number of Quintessence points equal to the familiar's Background points.
• The mage must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 5) or become stunned for a number of turns equal to the familiar's Background points.
• If the mage intentionally caused his familiar's demise, he loses One dot of Destiny, which shows up as Fate mark scars on his soul.
• At the Storyteller's option, the mage may use the Background points he spent on his familiar to create a new familiar unless he intentionally killed his own familiar, in which case the points are gone. Taking a new familiar after the death of the old one is not an idea to be taken on lighdy, for the mage may never fully recover from the grief.
Familiars and Paradox
Famil iars are creatures ofspirit, and as such are naturally static magic entities. They are, however, given permanent material form through dynamic, Enlightened magic. Most familiars do not themselves generate Paradox (they don't
cast Enlightened magic), but certain familiars don't really belong in this world and may be relics of a previous, more mythic age. Such bygones do attract Paradox when witnessed, but instead of taking the paints themselves, their mage suffers them - the familiar Bond is not always a bonus.
Any familiar whose appearance or behavior falls outside of the natural order of things will generate Paradox if witnesses see it (one point per point invested in the Familiar Background). While a chimpanzee can get away with smoking a cigar (like the chimp who played Cheetah in the old Tarzan movies did when not on camera), a dog or cat can't. Any animal that actually talks (besides a mynah bird or parrot) will do more than raise eyebrows - it'll deliver Paradox to its mage.
Of course, mages can get their familiars to absorb Paradox, to hold it themselves. They cannot do this on the same turn they're hit with Paradox generated by someone witnessing an outlandish familiar; they must take an action on a following turn to shunt the Paradox to the familiar.
Familiars can hold up to five points of Paradox per Background point spent on them. If they take more than they can hold, the entire amount is unleashed in a Backlash not on the familiar, but on its mage. For this reason, it's not a good idea to use a familiar as a Paradox battery - it's only delaying and exacerbating the inevitable. Those familiars with the Paradox Nullification Charm (see p. 86) can shunt stored Paradox into the Umbra.
Familiar Creation Process
First, record the total Background points spent on the familiar. The more points, the more powerful the familiar.
Step One: Familiar Concept
Choose Concept, Nature and Type.
Step Two: Select Attributes
Prioritize the three categories: (5/3/1). Your familiar begins the process with one dot in each Attribute except Appearance (which is zero, unless points are allocated).
Rate Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina
Rate Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, ApiPearance
Rate Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits
Step Three: Select Abilities
Prioritize the three categories: (7/5/3)
Choose Talents, Skills, Knowledges
Step Four: Finishing Touches
Record Willpower (3) and Essence (1).
Spend freebie points (Familiar rating x1O).
Nature:
Choose from the list on pp. 87-88 of Mage revised.
Sample Concepts
A short description that sums up the familiar's character. You can use the samples given on p. 87 of Mage revised, or create your own. One thing also to consider is (the spirit's brood before it became a familiar (see the Broodmates sidebar, p. 81).
• Animal: Creatures native to the material world: dogs, cats, spiders, tigers, bears, birds, etc.
• Bygone: Creatures of legend and the fantastic. These beings no longer exist (or perhaps never existed) in our reality: dragons, imps, fairies, aliens, jackalopes, etc. The very sighting of a bygone by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage (vulgar~with~witnesses). This is somewhat made up for in that all bygones have the Quintessence Grazing Charm for no cost.
• Construct: Creatures that receive life or animation from a mage's imagination (magical) or ingenuity (technological): homoculi, PDAs or laptops, automatons, etc. Constructs cannot naturally heal damage; they must be repaired. However, they are immune poison and disease and automatically gain the Soak Lethal Charm at no cost (and can buy the Soak Aggravated Charm at 2 pts). If the construct is obviously well beyond modern technological capabilities, it will garner its mage Paradox if Sleepers sight it (vulgar~with~witnesses).
• Elemental: Creatures composed of one of the classical elements: sylphs (air), gnomes (earth), undines (water) or salamanders (fire). The very sighting of an elemental by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage (vulgar-with-witnesses). That all elementals have the Quintessence Grazing Charm for no cost somewhat makes up for this.
• Undead: Animated corpses: zombies and skeletons. The very sighting ofan undead familiar by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage
(vulgar~with~witnesses).That all undead familiars have the Soak Lethal and Resilience Charms for no cost somewhat makes up for this. They can buy the Soak Aggravated Charm at 2 pts, and additional Resilience levels at 3 pts each. They can also reduce their beginning one~dot Charisma rating of zero and add the dot to any other Attribute.
Freebie Points
Attribute - 5 per dot
Ability - 2 per dot
Willpower - 2 per dot
Essence - 1 per dot
Familiar Charms - As listed; a familiar can only learn Charms from the general list or from its type list.
Spending Experience
You can spend your experience on your familiar to make him cooler, but not by raising the level of the background. Here is how:
New Ability - 3
Willpower - Current Rating
Essence - Current Rating x2
Ability - Current Rating x2
Attribute - Current Rating x4
Familiar Charm - Point Cost x3
The Bond
The bond between a mage and his familiar is a very special thing, akin to the bond between a mage and his Avatar. Such bonds have been known to last beyond the grave and into new lives with mages and familiars meeting again in their new incarnations. In addition, the bond strengthens over time. The longer a mage and
familiar are together, the stronger the bond becomes. Some mages who have had the same familiar all their many lifetimes know its thoughts as well as they know their own. On the flip side, a mage tends to reflect his familiar as well. A mage who has a snake for a familiar may make serpentine motions, whereas one with a
rabbit might have small tufts of fur on the tips of his ears.
The bond provides some special abilities:
Arcane Connection: Others can magically exploit
the familiar bond: anything the familiar touches is also
touched by the mage.
Empathy: The mage and familiar have an empathic connection: each can sense the other's emotions.
Paradox Absorption: A mage can shunt points of Paradox onto his familiar (see Familiars and Paradox, p.83). Familiars don't generally appreciate this, but will consent if the need is great.
A mage cannot have more than one familiar at a time. This mystical bond can be broken only with a Spirit 5 Effect (two successes are needed per Background point spent on the familiar), but the mage can choose to break it at any time without an Effect. However, once broken, all points spent on the familiar
are lost.
Feeding Your Familiar
Most familiars need an amount of Quintessence per week equal to the Background points spent on them. A 3-point Familiar requires three Quintessence points per week. A familiar that doesn't receive its required Quintessence suffers one level of bashing damage each day that it isn't fed. This damage cannot be healed until the required Quintessence is provided.
The required amount can be brought down if special conditions are declared during the Bonding. For instance, the spirit could demand a rare form of Tass instead, such as cat hearts stewed in the finest cream. The difficulty in preparing this can lower the amount of Quintessence the familiar requires, as if it were a flaw, but instead of lowering the Background point cost, it reduces the weekly Quintessence outlay. Details are left to the Storyteller, but the minimum Quintessence per week should never drop below one point. Only extremely rare or dangerous~to~gather Tass should warrant large reductions.
THe Death of a Familiar
When a familiar dies it often comes as a great shock to a mage. This is a being who was tied heart and soul co him. Beyond the obvious emotional shock, there are also serious mental and physical ramifications. The mage who looses a familiar has lost a piece of his soul. The moment the familiar dies, the mage suffers the following afflictions:
• The mage looses a number of Quintessence points equal to the familiar's Background points.
• The mage must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 5) or become stunned for a number of turns equal to the familiar's Background points.
• If the mage intentionally caused his familiar's demise, he loses One dot of Destiny, which shows up as Fate mark scars on his soul.
• At the Storyteller's option, the mage may use the Background points he spent on his familiar to create a new familiar unless he intentionally killed his own familiar, in which case the points are gone. Taking a new familiar after the death of the old one is not an idea to be taken on lighdy, for the mage may never fully recover from the grief.
Familiars and Paradox
Famil iars are creatures ofspirit, and as such are naturally static magic entities. They are, however, given permanent material form through dynamic, Enlightened magic. Most familiars do not themselves generate Paradox (they don't
cast Enlightened magic), but certain familiars don't really belong in this world and may be relics of a previous, more mythic age. Such bygones do attract Paradox when witnessed, but instead of taking the paints themselves, their mage suffers them - the familiar Bond is not always a bonus.
Any familiar whose appearance or behavior falls outside of the natural order of things will generate Paradox if witnesses see it (one point per point invested in the Familiar Background). While a chimpanzee can get away with smoking a cigar (like the chimp who played Cheetah in the old Tarzan movies did when not on camera), a dog or cat can't. Any animal that actually talks (besides a mynah bird or parrot) will do more than raise eyebrows - it'll deliver Paradox to its mage.
Of course, mages can get their familiars to absorb Paradox, to hold it themselves. They cannot do this on the same turn they're hit with Paradox generated by someone witnessing an outlandish familiar; they must take an action on a following turn to shunt the Paradox to the familiar.
Familiars can hold up to five points of Paradox per Background point spent on them. If they take more than they can hold, the entire amount is unleashed in a Backlash not on the familiar, but on its mage. For this reason, it's not a good idea to use a familiar as a Paradox battery - it's only delaying and exacerbating the inevitable. Those familiars with the Paradox Nullification Charm (see p. 86) can shunt stored Paradox into the Umbra.
Familiar Creation Process
First, record the total Background points spent on the familiar. The more points, the more powerful the familiar.
Step One: Familiar Concept
Choose Concept, Nature and Type.
Step Two: Select Attributes
Prioritize the three categories: (5/3/1). Your familiar begins the process with one dot in each Attribute except Appearance (which is zero, unless points are allocated).
Rate Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina
Rate Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, ApiPearance
Rate Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits
Step Three: Select Abilities
Prioritize the three categories: (7/5/3)
Choose Talents, Skills, Knowledges
Step Four: Finishing Touches
Record Willpower (3) and Essence (1).
Spend freebie points (Familiar rating x1O).
Nature:
Choose from the list on pp. 87-88 of Mage revised.
Sample Concepts
A short description that sums up the familiar's character. You can use the samples given on p. 87 of Mage revised, or create your own. One thing also to consider is (the spirit's brood before it became a familiar (see the Broodmates sidebar, p. 81).
• Animal: Creatures native to the material world: dogs, cats, spiders, tigers, bears, birds, etc.
• Bygone: Creatures of legend and the fantastic. These beings no longer exist (or perhaps never existed) in our reality: dragons, imps, fairies, aliens, jackalopes, etc. The very sighting of a bygone by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage (vulgar~with~witnesses). This is somewhat made up for in that all bygones have the Quintessence Grazing Charm for no cost.
• Construct: Creatures that receive life or animation from a mage's imagination (magical) or ingenuity (technological): homoculi, PDAs or laptops, automatons, etc. Constructs cannot naturally heal damage; they must be repaired. However, they are immune poison and disease and automatically gain the Soak Lethal Charm at no cost (and can buy the Soak Aggravated Charm at 2 pts). If the construct is obviously well beyond modern technological capabilities, it will garner its mage Paradox if Sleepers sight it (vulgar~with~witnesses).
• Elemental: Creatures composed of one of the classical elements: sylphs (air), gnomes (earth), undines (water) or salamanders (fire). The very sighting of an elemental by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage (vulgar-with-witnesses). That all elementals have the Quintessence Grazing Charm for no cost somewhat makes up for this.
• Undead: Animated corpses: zombies and skeletons. The very sighting ofan undead familiar by the unenlightened will inflict Paradox on its mage
(vulgar~with~witnesses).That all undead familiars have the Soak Lethal and Resilience Charms for no cost somewhat makes up for this. They can buy the Soak Aggravated Charm at 2 pts, and additional Resilience levels at 3 pts each. They can also reduce their beginning one~dot Charisma rating of zero and add the dot to any other Attribute.
Freebie Points
Attribute - 5 per dot
Ability - 2 per dot
Willpower - 2 per dot
Essence - 1 per dot
Familiar Charms - As listed; a familiar can only learn Charms from the general list or from its type list.
Spending Experience
You can spend your experience on your familiar to make him cooler, but not by raising the level of the background. Here is how:
New Ability - 3
Willpower - Current Rating
Essence - Current Rating x2
Ability - Current Rating x2
Attribute - Current Rating x4
Familiar Charm - Point Cost x3