Summon familiar
From NWN2Wiki
| The information on this page includes speculation of what will be included in NWN2. It derives from Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules from the SRD or other sources, but Obsidian may change the actual implementation in the game. |
Obsidian has confirmed the existence of summon familiar in NWN2, but not all the details have been revealed.
Contents |
[edit] DnD 3.5 summon familiar
A character with this feature can obtain a familiar.
Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp. A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent. The creature serves as a companion and servant.
The character chooses the kind of familiar he gets. As the character advances in level, his familiar also increases in power.
If the familiar dies or is dismissed, the character must attempt a DC 15 fortitude saving throw. Failure means he loses 200 experience points per class level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount. However, a character's experience point total can never go below 0 as the result of a familiar's demise or dismissal. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. A slain familiar can be raised from the dead just as a character can be, and it does not lose a level or a Constitution point when this happy event occurs.
A character with more than one class that grants a familiar may have only one familiar at a time
[edit] Familiars
A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by a sorcerer or wizard. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar.
A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (a sorcerer or wizard), as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the familiar is summoned.
Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master's level.
| Familiar | Special |
| Bat | Master gains a +3 bonus on Listen checks |
| Cat | Master gains a +3 bonus on Move Silently checks |
| Rat | Master gains a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves |
| Spider | Master gains a +3 bonus on Bluff checks |
| Pig | Master gains +3 on Diplomacy checks |
| Rabbit | Master gains +1 on all saves |
| Weasel | Master gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves |
[edit] Familiar basics
Use the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar's kind, but make the following changes:
[edit] Hit dice
For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.
Hit Points: The familiar has one-half the master's total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.
Attacks: Use the master's base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar's Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar's melee attack bonus with natural weapons.
Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar's kind.
[edit] Saving throws
For each saving throw, use either the familiar's base save bonus (fortitude +2, reflex +2, will +0) or the master's (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn't share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.
[edit] Skills
For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever are better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar's total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar's ability to use.
[edit] Familiar ability descriptions
All familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master's combined level in classes that grant familiars, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.
| Master class level | Natural armor adj. | Int | Special |
| 1st-2nd | +1 | 6 | Alertness, improved evasion, share spells, empathic link |
| 3rd-4th | +2 | 7 | Deliver touch spells |
| 5th-6th | +3 | 8 | Speak with master |
| 7th-8th | +4 | 9 | Speak with animals of its kind |
| 9th-10th | +5 | 10 | - |
| 11th-12th | +6 | 11 | Spell resistance |
| 13th-14th | +7 | 12 | Scry on familiar |
| 15th-16th | +8 | 13 | - |
| 17th-18th | +9 | 14 | - |
| 19th-20th | +10 | 15 | - |
[edit] Natural armor adjustment
The number noted here is an improvement to the familiar's existing natural armor bonus.
[edit] Int
The familiar's intelligence score.
[edit] Alertness
While a familiar is within arm's reach, the master gains the alertness feat.
[edit] Share spells
At the master's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.
If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).
[edit] Empathic link
The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar's eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated. Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.
[edit] Deliver touch spells
If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the "toucher." The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master could. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.
[edit] Speak with master
If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.
[edit] Speak with animals of its kind
If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, rats with rodents, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, toads with amphibians, weasels with similar creatures (weasels, minks, polecats, ermines, skunks, wolverines, and badgers). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.
[edit] Spell resistance
If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master's level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar's spell resistance.
[edit] Scry on familiar
If the master is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Pre-release notes
- Obsidian has stated that familiars will not be "combat critters" in NWN2; they will not fight. The only way they can initiate an attack is by being a conduit for a touch spell from the master. [1]
- J.E. Sawyer posted the following details [2].
- "The oft-neglected familiar can be a fun pal in D&D. We (meaning Brock) have been working hard to make them be all that they can be. Our first pass at implementing familiars was received less than enthusiastically by QA. We went back to the drawing board, cut the familiars in half, stuffed their guts with ioun stones, and arrived at this implementation:
- "Familiars are available to wizards and sorcerers at character creation. These are the available critters:
- Bat: Master gains +3 to listen checks.
- Beetle: Master gains +1 hit point per level.
- Cat: Master gains +2 to move silently and Hide checks.
- Pig: Master gains +3 to diplomacy checks.
- Rabbit: Master gains +1 bonus to all saves.
- Rat: Master gains +2 to fortitude saves.
- Spider: Master gains +3 to bluff checks.
- Weasel: Master gains +2 to reflex saves.
- "The bonus granted by the familiar is only active when the familiar has been summoned.
- "Familiars can be summoned or unsummoned by the master at any time. If a familiar is unsummoned before dying, it can be summoned again without penalty.
- "If a familiar is killed, the master immediately loses the bonus provided by the familiar, has -2 to Con for the next 8 hours, and cannot summon the familiar again until after resting.
- "The player of the master can take direct control of the familiar. While under the master's control, the familiar has very limited capabilities. It cannot manipulate objects in any meaningful way and cannot speak to people (duh). It is capable of walking/running around, entering and exiting stealth mode, and being used as a conduit for the master's touch-based spells.
- "If a familiar goes more than 25' from the master, an effect plays on it that indicates it is reaching the maximum extent of its master's control. If the familiar goes more than 30' from the master, the master's control is severed. Control is forced back into the master and the familiar runs back to the master immediately."
- "Familiars are available to wizards and sorcerers at character creation. These are the available critters:
- "The oft-neglected familiar can be a fun pal in D&D. We (meaning Brock) have been working hard to make them be all that they can be. Our first pass at implementing familiars was received less than enthusiastically by QA. We went back to the drawing board, cut the familiars in half, stuffed their guts with ioun stones, and arrived at this implementation:
[edit] NWN comparison
- Familiars in NWN provided an extra ally for combat, or other skills (such as lockpicking).
- A slain familiar in NWN caused damage to the owner, however no further penalties were applied and a replacement familiar could be summoned after resting.
