Neil, I really like this idea.
It's actually a mix of the first idea for this monster (a creature that sat on the shoulder of its victim and whispered good advise, but also slowly turned the victim insane) and the final result (targeting familiars).
Why didn't you think of that, Jacob? Oh, I remember - the time and last minut revisions... Don't worry schatzie, you can always give it another go next year!
Anyways - thank you all for your input. Jacob has really learned a lot from this and I've become quite addicted to visiting the forum during work hours.
In case he doesn't advance to the next round we'll need to start talking about something else. I wonder how that'll be.