Familiars for Mages

 If you notice in my story, Duncan doesn't have a familiar like most fantasy mages.  Most of my mages don't.  It's not so much an oversight, but a personal decision.  Familiars need to fit the personality of your mage and most of my mages, and wizards, just don't have the right temperament for a familiar.

For most of my mages I use their staves as their "familiar".  They require the staff for most of the more consuming magics that take great power, but can still cast without the staff.  The same can be said for mages who have familiars.

I'm not against familiars in my world, but here are a few things to think on before giving your PC a familiar if you are playing in my world setting.

1) If a player gains a familiar, make sure they pay attention to it.  My husband off the cuff said if I rolled a 20 on a D20 I could have a pseudodragon for my first ever familiar.  Guess what, I ended up with a pseudodragon.  But he made me pay attention to that little booger. I had to make sure it had gems, plenty of ale and good food, and was pampered.  I paid for that power in spades.

2) Make the familiar a "player character".  The guys I played with would randomly take turns playing my wonderful familiar.  I think I lost more money to my own familiar then I did to paying for my equipment.  The point is to keep the familiar fresh and upfront.  Plus, as a bonus, those players who are not in the scene or actively playing can have something to do.

3) Ask your player what kind of familiar they would like.  This is as personal as making the character and the player should have a say.  But don't let them get wild and crazy.  No dragons, no demigods, no all powerful beings.  If the player can explain a good reason for that werewolf, think about it, but just remember it could unbalance your campaign.

Happy gaming!