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Background: Familiar

Page history last edited by Myrrh 14 years, 9 months ago

 

Background: Familiar

 

Every normal animal, regardless or size or combat effective or what-have-you is a one dot Familiar. The difficulty of keeping a Tyrant Lizard around more than compensates for its size and dangerousness while the size and weakness of a mouse can be useful as well.

 

All familiars are exceptionally intelligent and loyal, for an animal. They can understand basic commands such as "Get the key!" or "Defend him!" but not "Find a doctor and bring him here!" - anything that is immediate and doens't require much problem solving skill. All Familiars have an unbreakable Intimacy towards the character; this is a supernatural enforced bond and serves as a perfect defense against any attempt to get the animal to betray its master in social combat. The familiar's Motivation is "Assist my master" or some variation of the same.

 

Every dot after the first grants the Familiar mutation points, using the mutation rules, to buy the Familiar enhanced traits. These points don't count as wyld mutations for the purposes of needing the Wyld to survive, nor are they Shaping effects that can be removed via Order-Affirming Blow or similar effects. These merely represent increasingly supernatural versions of animals. Mutations are also not necessarily obvious, since they merely represent advanced capabilities. Unlike people, the player cannot assign negative mutations to gain more mutation points.

 

Familiar Dots - Mutation Points

* - None: Base Animal Only

** - 4 mutation points

*** - 8 mutation points

**** - 14 mutation points

***** - 20 mutation points

 

The Essence Channeler blight can be purchased for the Familiar, with the usual effects. However, the animal cannot learn Charms. Regardless, the mutation is useful, as several mutations listed below allow the familiar the option of spending essence.

 

New mutations available only to Familiars include:

 

Man-Speech Evolution (Pox, 1 point) - The animal is capable of speaking human languages. Its native tongue is the same as its master's. If still of animal intelligence the familiar is capable of only simple words and phrases, the equivalent of a very young child. Familiars with greater intelligence can engage in normal conversation and often develop interesting personalities in their own right, they can also learn other languages via Linguistics dots.

 

Hands (Pox, 1 point)

The Familiar’s paws can now be used as hands, capable of manipulating objects more skillfully and carrying them, as well as using basic tools.

 

Bipedal (Pox, 1 point)

The animal can now stand on its hind legs and balance well enough to walk on two legs rather than four if it so chooses.

  

 

Thought-Speech Link (Affliction, 2 points) - The familiar and its master can communicate silently. This is limited like Man-Speech Evolution above, but doesn't require actually require speaking out loud so it allows orders and information to be passed silently from on to the other. Thought-Speech doesn't work in any area screened against magical scrying and intrusion (such as a Private Plaza of Downcast Eyes) and is can only be intiated if the Familiar is within (master's Essence + familiar's Essence) x 10 yards of his master.

 

Man-Thought Evolution (Affliction, 2 points) - The familiar's Intelligence increases to two (if it wasn't already) and it becomes as intelligent as any human. It still retains its supernatural loyalty to its master via the Intimacy, but its Motivation can change and evolve, but will never be directly antithetical to its master's. The familiar can learn any Ability its physiology would allow. Note that it is not capable of speech (and thus can not be targeted or perform Social Attacks on non-animals) unless it has the Man-Speech Evolution, nor do most animals have the fine manipulators neccesary to learn Melee, Medicine, Larceny, Craft or other abilities that require precise dexterity.

 

Two Bodies One Mind (Affliction, 2 points) - So deeply entwined have the two souls become that the lines between bodies and mind have begun to blur with time and closeness. Familiars and their bonded partners remain separate entities, but certain things begin to pass between them regardless.  Strong physical sensations such as pain or comfort, extremes of mental states like fear or wild elation, and the chemical effects of being drunk or otherwise impaired can be felt by one almost as distinctly as by the originator. This only becomes more distinct with physical closeness.  The further apart the two entities are, the vaguer, more impressionistic these affects are. A warm hand petting the familiar may be felt as a phantom stroking down the back of the person, and a should the person get drunk enough to slurr his speech, the familiar will almost certainly have a hard time walking in a straight line.

 

With the expenditure of 1 WP at close range, the PC may prevent his Familiar from experiencing what he at the time is feeling. Close range is considered to be Essence x 5 miles. The Familiar, depending on intelligence levels and personality, may choose to do this without cost. Beyond ‘close range’, this link is felt only in whispers and impressions of the very strongest of emotions and sensations; impairment by chemical or other natural means does not transfer. UMIs do not affect this bond.

 

Demon-Defying Essence (Blight, 4 points) - This mutation is available only to the familiars of Solar Exalted. The animal draws on its connection with its master and becomes itself an instrument of divine power. All of its natural attacks inflict it's master's Essence in additional damage against Creatures of Darkness. All social attacks from Creatures of Darkness are Unacceptable Orders to them. Familiars that gain this mutation seem to be more noble and pure than others of their breed and often have hints of their true nature apparent, such as golden eyes or fur, or a caste mark pattern in their pelt. This increases their Appearance by 1.

 

Element-Adapting Essence (Blight, 4 points) - This mutation is available only to the familiars of Terrestrial Exalted. The animal draws on its connection with its master and becomes infused with elemental energy. The familiar is immune to its master's Anima Flux and may spend one willpower - or five motes if it is an Essence Channeler - to activate an anima banner similar to it's masters. If it activates its anima banner it is immune to its master's as well - Fire Aspects will not burn their familiars, nor will Wood aspect poison theirs). The animal gains the aspect of its master, which will be reflected in a number of ways in its appearance (red fur for a Fire Aspect, white skin for an Earth aspect, and so on).

 

Spirit-Shape Essence (Blight, 4 points) - This mutation is only available to the familiars of Lunar Exalted, and then only if the familiar is the same type of animal as the Lunar's Totem Shape. The animal draws on its connection with its master and becomes touched with a bit of the Wyld spirit of the Lunar, making its form more protean. The animal gains an effect similar to the Deadly Beastman Transformation, which it can activate as a Miscellaneous Action. Doing so costs the familiar one willpower (or 5m if it's an Essence Channeler) and lasts one scene. The animal grows larger and more dangerous, adding one dot each to its Strength, Dexterity and Stamina. The animal is also more durable, even in its normal form. It gains a number of additional -2 health levels equal to its permanent Essence.

 

Essence-Restoring Breath (Blight, 4 points) - The familiar can restore its master's Essence by breathing onto him. The familiar must be touching its master to use this effect. It spends one Willpower point, restoring 2m of Essence to its master. This is a Miscellaneous action (Speed 6, DV -2) in combat time and can only be performed once per flurry. If the Familiar is also an Essence Channeler, it can spend motes to fill its masters pool instead of willpower, a cost of 5m to restore 2m to its master.

 

Advanced Essence (Abomination, 6 points) - The Familiar must already have the Essence Channeler blight to obtain this mutation. Additionally, the master must have at least Essence 4. This increases the familiar's permanent Essence to 3, and it gains a bonus pool of Peripheral Essence equal to its permanent Essence x 5. Using this pool cause the familiar to display an anima banner at the same level as an Exalt of its master's type, stylistically complementary to the banner of its master. The familiar is now clearly a supernatural creature. No further mutation can raise the familiar's Essence over three.

 

Perfect Partnership Method (Abomination, 6 points) - This mutation is only available to familiars of Solar Exalted, and then only if the familiar has both the Essence Channeler and Advanced Essence mutations. This mutation interacts with the Solar's Ride Charms, specifically those that allow a mount to benefit from Solar Charms. When using those Charms, the Solar may pay the Essence cost of the Charm from the familiar's Essence pool rather than his own. The Solar must still be able to evoke the Charm for the familiar to benefit from it.

 

Perfect War Form Evolution (Abomination, 6 points) - This mutation is only available to familiars of Lunar Exalted and then only if the familar already has the Spirit-Shape Essence mutation. The familiar gains a warform similar to the Deadly Beastman Transformation, except more potent than the previous version. The beastman form exactly mimics the Lunar's beastman form, with identical Strength, Dexterity and Stamina and all the warform's mutations. Assuming the advanced warform costs 2wp, or 10m. As a final note, the familiar becomes very much humanoid in this form, and if the Lunar finds the form sexually compatible, he may mate with it. Any child of such a union is guaranteed to be born as a beastman with a racial template (see MoEP: The Lunars of CoCD: The Wyld) that includes all the warforms mutations.

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