The Forgettable Familiar

[DRD1812]

Do the rest of you guys ever deal with this mess? You've got a cool little familiar buddy. You think he's a fun part of your character. But when you remember to mention him the rest of your party is invariable like, "Who? You have a familiar?" My question is this: If you're the type of wizard who rolls with a non-combat critter, how do you go about keeping your familiar an important and active part of the game?

[Mysterious Stranger]

If you want the rest of the party to notice and remember your familiar he has to do something useful. Since you stated he is a non-combat critter he needs to do something out of combat that is useful. If all it does is sit there doing nothing it will be ignored and forgotten. Choosing a familiar that actually has things it can do will go a long way. Even something as simple as being able to fly can be enough. Taking the feat improved familiar will really help with this.

If the familiar is able to fly you could use it to deliver messages, or even as a signal of sorts. For example let’s say you are going after someone and need to split up your party to cover both the front and back of the house. If you have a hawk familiar you could use him if you encounter your target and are chasing him. Have him fly to the other group and follow him back to you. You will need to set this up in advance so the other players know if your hawk comes to them that they should follow it.

The spider that just hides in your coat pocket is going to be ignored and forgotten.

[ryric]

My group has a tradition where the player buys a cheap (~$5) stuffed animal of their familiar and sits it on the table next to them. Makes sure that everyone remembers the critter is there. Obviously this falls apart a bit with Improved Familiars, but usually those end up being quite active anyway.

[quibblemuch]

My halfling witch, Mother Maybelle Toescruff, used her toad to deliver touch spells (like cures) requiring the party "Kiss Mister Beelzy" to receive healing.

[Grandlounge]

I make my non comabt familairs helpful.

Sage figment is a good start, protector, mascot, or valet are also good options.

Have them aid skill check and discover it. My eagle flies in to the air and helps me see a head.

Decide on the relationship between your two characters. I have pcs that cas speak with animal every night to talk to their animal companions. You don't need to do this with a familair, but do create a little scene each day.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

I usually have something that can talk (like a raven) and I talk as it in a weird voice. Helps characters remember it's there.

[John Mechalas]

There's a reason why combat buddies, scouts, and messengers are popular as familiars: they can be involved in the party's actions and contribute meaningfully to the game while also providing some RP opportunities. No one takes a Raven or Thrush as a familiar for the skill bonus. People take them because they can talk and fly.

[Volkard Abendroth]

Mr. Fluffles gets his own placard at the table, with photo.

[Mark Hoover 330]

Even if your familiar is non-combat and doesn't talk, the creature is by no means non-communicative or silent. Consider; the owl familiar of a Wizard 3 has a 7 Int - roughly the same as the dump stat on the barbarian.

So:

1. Use your familiar: this thing is more than just a static bonus to Initiative. It is a living creature that helps you, even outside of combat. It can access your skill ranks for Aid Another bonuses, it can scout, it can hunt for Tiny sized food in the wilds, it can stand guard outside a room or encampment. The more YOU remember the value of your familiar, the more your party will.

2. When using your familiar, interact: if your GM takes over running the familiar, you lose control of some of this. Otherwise, have conversations with the creature, even if they're one sided. "So Mr Nails, did you see anything when you flew up ahead?" turn to the rest of the players: "My owl Mr Nails just gives me a sarcastic look." "Come now Mr Nails, if you tell me what's ahead I'll give you a little treat" and tell your fellow players you're dangling a dead mouse by the tail.

3. Finally, give the familiar a personality: even from level 1 the familiar has an Int 6. This creature is sentient and, with some Archetypes it is SPECIFICALLY there to do SOMETHING. All that being said, the familiar should exhibit some level of self-awareness and attitude. Perhaps your toad is incredibly shy and self-conscious; your owl is overly sardonic and aloof; that Mauler goat you have is highly aggressive. Make sure to demonstrate this personality. You ask your aggressive goat to stand guard by the door; describe how she paces back and forth, snorting and scraping the flagstones.

[Garbage-Tier Waifu]

Last month the sorcerer's familiar died.

We remember the session we found him, a tortoise in an abandoned tribal halfling village covered in intricate and detailed depictions of the peoples history and magical secrets carved into its shell. The sorcerer was enamored and found a way to make him her familiar. It took the player ages to finally choose the method to do it, but he would frequently talk about what the sorcerer and the tortoise, dubbed 'Runeshell', were doing and how she cared for it.

He died sacrificing himself to save several PC's who were downed by tar skeletons, bringing one of them back up long enough to rouse the others, but having taken a sizable attack of opportunity as a result. He had gained sentience for only 24 hours, and yet was willing to risk it in order to help the ones he cared about.

RIP

[ryric]

Heroic turtles FTW. My Skull&Shackles witch's turtle nearly died delivering a dimension door to a fellow party member who was surrounded and low on hp.

[Dasrak]

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

If you want the rest of the party to notice and remember your familiar he has to do something useful.

This. Players remember actions, and a familiar that is doing things on a regular basis is going to be remembered a lot more easily. This does mean familiars with flight, speech, or opposable thumbs tend to make a much bigger impact. You'll need to work much harder for a spider or a tiny octopus to ever merit more than a passing mention.

Bottom line: if it's not actively doing anything, the other PC's won't give it much more thought than the color of your hat.

[Patrick Newcarry]

I played in a campaign where our super-rich halfling rogue used his mastiff to do flips off of and gain attention, as well as an extra combat buddy and some other stuff. Eventually the dog died in a shredding/dropping trap (for those who ave played in Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition, near the beginning where you're level three and you have the showdown with the Aasimar sorceress and her pet hound that she summons). RIP Ogd, 2016.

[Dastis]

A) A small plushee or a framed picture
B) Make them amusing
C) Make them heros

[DeathlessOne]

I gave my Mascot Monkey familiar the Celestial template with the Improved Familiar feat and had his kamikaze some baddies with smite evil, saving the lift of one of the party members. Jack has become very popular. He now often uses the aid another action to boosts attacks and defense of party members.

[Mark Hoover 330]

Dastis wrote:

A) A small plushee or a framed picture

B) Make them amusing
C) Make them heros

D) Make them delicious

[Avoron]

Mark Hoover 330 wrote:

D) Make them delicious

You jest, but I have played multiple characters whose familiars have been killed and eaten by party members.

[Chuck Mount]

My character that I played since D&D 1e and converted up through 3.5 had a rat familiar. I didn't want it at first. Back then, you cast a spell and the roll is random. He was a remembered and loved member of the group because I interacted with it. I would roleplay feeding him, explaining things to him, having him get things for the others, etc... He was really "useful", by most others' standards until 3e, but everyone knew and remembered him before that.