The Familiar: House-Rules & Random Tables

The AD&D spell Find Familiar, may have been the first aspect of the game I ever house-ruled. As written, it sucks! Unless you get lucky, you’re cursed with having to take care of a weak little pet, which does little more than grant a few extra hit points. Granted, the HP’s are welcome. But these familiars are so damned fragile, they’re doomed from the start. Right off the bat, I was having to save their asses by fiat. Let’s face it, one decent Fireball and they’re toast! I pretty much immediately decided that they were off limits. They’re just too easy to kill!

The second thing I decided, was to come up with familiars that were as entertaining as the Imp and Pseudo-dragon. Often, I would let players design their own, or at least solicit their input. 

Lastly, I beefed up their hit points a bit, while limiting the amount which was transferred to their master.

My new take on the little buggers, is that they’re creatures of spirit taking a physical form. If killed, they’ll reform their physical body in 24 hours. During that time, the MU will lose any benefits he gained from the creature, but suffer no other penalties. In the case of Infernal or Demonic familiars, different rules apply.

The Following is declared Open Game Content.

Table 1 – The Familiar – In addition to the powers listed, the familiar will be able to grant the caster access to its senses. Applicable bonuses, for searching and so forth, may apply. All are capable of speech, because I like having a pretty much permanent NPC to role-play. All may communicate telepathically with their masters.

d20	Appearance	Stats & Powers	Powers Granted to the MU
1	A small Green Serpent. Red Eyes. Has Feet.	2HD AC 7. Bites for d2 dmg. Save vs. Poison, or Sleep.	4 extra HP. May memorize one Extra First Level Spell.
2	A small Purple Toad, with yellow teeth and a permanent grin.	2HD. AC 7. Bites for d1 dmg. Can Cast Phantasmal Force, 1/day.	4 extra HP. It’s secretions are a powerful entheogen. The MU partakes, learning spells while experiencing the effects. Spells are inscribed into the mind of the toad, while in the same state. Immune to 1st & 2nd lvl Illusions.
3	An obsidian Panther. Yellow eyes.	4 HD AC 4. dmg 1d4/1d4/1d6. Hide, Move Silently  and Climb as an 8th lvl Thief. Can cast Dimension Door 1/day (Familiar & Caster only)	4 extra hp. May Hide and Move Silently, as a 5th lvl Thief.
4	An old, brown, Hound. Looks very lazy.	2 HD. AC 7. dmg 1d4. Can communicate with animals. Detects Poison.	4 extra hp. +1 to all saves.
5	An Undead Brownie. Dressed in brown robes.	2 HD. AC 7. Undead immunities. May be Turned as an Infernal Category Creature.  Can cast the following, 1/day: 1st lvl: Magic Missile, Erase, Ventriloquism, 2nd lvl: Darkness Globe, Shatter. 3rd lvl: Suggestion. All as a 5th lvl MU.  Knows a formula for lichdom.	4 extra hp. 30% Resistance to Sleep & Charm. +2 to saves vs. Fear. –2 Reaction Bonus when dealing with Intelligent Undead.
6	A miniature hag. Very long fingers and nose.	1 HD. AC7. Can vomit forth a random potion, 1/week. Wears a shawl, upon which will always be inscribed 1 random MU spell of 1st or 2nd lvl, which is replaced upon casting. Only the hag can cast the “scroll.” Casts at minimum lvl for the spell.	4 extra hp. –20% to costs/time for brewing potions & creating Scrolls.
7	A Silver Hawk, with black eyes and talons.	3 HD. AC 5. dmg 1d3. Sonic Scream attack 2/day for 3d6 dmg.	4 extra hp. The MU can store up to 3 spell levels inside the familiars mind.
8	A small, anthropomorphic Squirrel, dressed in plate and wielding a  +1 sword.	3 HD. AC 0. dmg 1d4 +1.	4 extra hp. +1 to all saves.
9	A small, anthropomorphic Lion, dressed in leather and chains.	2 HD. AC 6. dmg 1d4. Breath Weapon: Fire for 2d6 dmg. May cast the following spells, 1/day: Detect Magic, Feather Fall, Burning Hands, Mirror Image, Rope Trick, Summon Monster I.	4 extra hp. Breath Weapon: Fire for 2d6 points of damage, +2 per level, 1/day.
10	A Red Goblin, naked, with dancing eyes and a disturbing laugh.	1 HD. AC 7. Can see invisible creatures. Immune to Fire.	4 extra hp. + 10% to the effectiveness of all Fire based spells. + 2 to saves vs. Fire. –2 Reaction Bonus when dealing with creatures from the Elemental Plane of Fire.
11	A beautiful, humanoid, Fae creature.	2 HD. AC 7. Can cast Charm and Suggestion, 1/day, each.	4 extra hp. 30% Resistance to Sleep & Charm.  Any Enchantment/Charm type spells cast by the MU, are at 10% increased effectiveness, as regards to duration, Save difficulty, etc.
12	A red, extremely furry Bat, with horns.	1 HD. AC 8. Can detect invisible creatures. Breath Weapon: Sonic Attack for 2d6 points of damage, 2/day.	4 extra hp. If an open slot is available, the MU can “Double” one of the spells he has memorized, 1/day.
13	A miniature Blue Dragon, carrying a small, blue staff.	2 HD. AC 5. Breath Weapon: Lightning for 1d6, 2/day.	4 extra hp. The MU can store up to 3 spell levels in the familiars staff.
14	A short, fat, bald, ugly, naked humanoid; yellow in color, with horns, a tail, and fur in odd places.	2 HD. AC7. A Sage. Major Field: The Outer Planes. Minor Field: Culinary arts. Knows the True Names of 1d6 demons.	4 extra hp. The MU is given a spell to add to his spell book, each time he gains a level; this is in addition to any others he may gain for level increase.  1/day, the MU may recall one spell, which has been previously cast.
15	A Green Jackal. Disturbingly wise. Has the  poise of Dr. Who.	2 HD. AC7. dmg 1d4. Can Detect Magic. Immune to Fear.	4 extra hp. Spells cast are at –1 to save against; spells with death effects are at –2. (Bonus to overcome MR, if applicable.) +2 to saves vs. Fear.
16	A tiny, Yellow and Red Mushroom Man.	1 HD. AC 3. Can secrete a contact poison, 1/day.	4 extra hp. +1 to the MU’s Charisma. A Reaction bonus of –4 when dealing with Faerie Creatures.
17	A Big Black Cat. White eyes. Collar has a small charm, of absolute darkness.	1 HD. AC 6. Can Dispel Magic 1/day, at 11th lvl. The charm can be used to create a Globe of Darkness, 1/day.	4 hp. Grants a +1 Bonus to saves.
18	A white Mouse, with large ears and golden eyes.	1 HD. AC 4. Can Detect Magic. 30% chance of being able to identify a magic item.	4 hp. Increases the effectiveness of all damage dealing spells, adding +1 to each die of damage.
19	An Owl, white and red. Has ram-like horns.	2 HD. AC 6. Can shoot a pair of Magic Missiles, from its eyes, 2/day.	4 hp. Once per day, the MU can cast a Magic Missile spell from the mind of the Familiar. The granted spell, will be based on the MU’s casting level, but will grant one extra missile.
20	A Miniature, Purple Pig. Tattoos of strange sigils, in red and yellow, adorn its form.	2 HD. AC 7. Can eat anything. Immune to poison.	4 hp. Can eat anything. Immune to Poison. Can memorize one extra 1st and 2nd level spell.

Table II – Quirks and Maintenance

d20	Quirks
1	Amoral. Always advising the Mage to commit questionable acts.
2	Feeds on Blood.
3	Flatulent. Loudly, so.
4	Has an alarming habit of charging into battle.
5	Extremely protective and jealous of its master.
6	Kleptomaniac.
7	Thinks everyone else is an inferior life-form.
8	Doesn’t understand the concept of Lying.
9	Likes to spend it’s spare time, plotting out ways to kill the other party members.
10	Will fall in love with another member of the party.
11	Always eating. Will complain loudly, if no food is available.
12	Narcoleptic.
13	Thinks the MU is a god and the other party members are his slaves.
14	Practical Joker.
15	Will attempt to fornicate with anything that will let it.
16	Quick to anger. Will become violent, if not reigned in by its master.
17	Has OCD.
18	Paranoid.
19	Greedy.
20	Has a secret plan, which it’s hiding from its Master and everyone else.