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The hypothetical familiar thread

KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
in Archive (General Discussion)
We all know and love the currently present magical familiars in BG:EE, as well as their cuteness and unique usefulness in battle. So far so good. Now imagine you could actually choose from a great variety of tiny, small or medium sized creatures to match your sorcerer's or mage's alignment. What kind of familiar native to Abeir-Toril (or beyond) would you choose then? Other than the already present ones ingame of course. :)

To give a bit of a layout choice for you all: standard familiars include normal animals such as bats, hawks, lizards, owls, rats, ravens, snakes and toads. Other, more magical possibilities include the shocker lizard, stirge, formian worker, small elementals, and the ever popular, self-build homunculus. Ravenloft also had adorable undead familiars, so there's that too. If you have another Forgotten Realms creature you fancy more then feel free to choose that instead. ;)

Me, I'm particularly interested in keeping a juvenile glacier snake. There's just something romantical about this brown-furred serpent and native of the Spine of the World. :D
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Comments

  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    This sounds like a great idea for a mod. Why hasn't anyone done this? Maybe they have and I'm just ignorant... yeah, I probably am.

    A homunculus sounds nice, though. Very mage-y, all scholarly and stuff. I think an animal companion would be more suited to a Sorcerer, being the more "natural" kind of spell casters. And then there's Wild Mages, of course, which are likely to have familiars ranging anywhere from pet rock to lobotomized ogre.
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
    Good topic!

    I kinda like the aurumvorax, though it may be more appropriate as a druid's animal companion.

    Cockatrice sounds like it would be kinda neat to have.

    Maybe some kind of beholder-kin would work.

    I like snakes so maybe one of those winged snakes.

    Some kinda wisp or will o wisp?

    All these and more can be found here: http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00000.htm
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    edited August 2013
    Ooooh! Funnily enough, I thought of this today as well as I reflected on how I hate being stuck with a ferret for my Charname due to alignment.

    It'd great it if I can choose familiars. I'd LOVE it if there was a minature serpertine dragon you can use. (Think Mushu in Disney's Mulan, but not so silly).
  • ShinShin Member Posts: 2,344
    A raven, crow, hawk or falcon would suit me. Shouldn't be that hard to mod, though the available bird animations are a bit limited.
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    I always fancied a baby T-Rex as my familiar.

    The PnP brigade would say it was overpowered though...

    I'd compromise on a pygmy woolly mammoth...
  • blackchimesblackchimes Member Posts: 323
    Kiwis are awesome.
  • MathmickMathmick Member Posts: 326
    I don't care if they have nothing to do with BG at all, Baneling familiars would be freaking epic.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Mathmick said:

    I don't care if they have nothing to do with BG at all, Baneling familiars would be freaking epic.

    I dunno, self-destructing familiars seem a bit unhealthy for their masters. Considering the Con penalty and all that jazz. Guess it's still a viable option for hardboiled arcane casters.
  • MathmickMathmick Member Posts: 326
    Kamigoroshi said:

    Mathmick said:

    I don't care if they have nothing to do with BG at all, Baneling familiars would be freaking epic.

    I dunno, self-destructing familiars seem a bit unhealthy for their masters. Considering the Con penalty and all that jazz. Guess it's still a viable option for hardboiled arcane casters.
    Familars can talk. Convincing the thing to not explode sounds like a possible and intense challenge!
  • BattlehamsterBattlehamster Member Posts: 298
    @bengoshi
    @Heindrich1988
    Do not fear! Battlehamster is here to satisfy all of your space hamster needs! After all, how many space hamsters do you know are able to fly into a berserker rage with a pair of battle-axes?
  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    edited August 2013
    Varwulf said:

    I personally would be happy if BG:EE could be tweaked to allow multiple wizards to have familiars, not just Charname :)

    Aerie: Some sort of adorable something-or-other, as adorably adorable as its adorable summoner. :3
    Edwin: An imp that constantly gets picked on by the other familiars.
    Imoen: One angry lizard, or something.
    Neera: A TURTLE!
    Quayle: A bird that excites easily and poops on him?
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Varwulf said:

    I personally would be happy if BG:EE could be tweaked to allow multiple wizards to have familiars, not just Charname :)

    Yes! Aerie needs a little dragon to keep her safe!
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    SCARY_WIZARD said:

    Aerie: Some sort of adorable something-or-other, as adorably adorable as its adorable summoner. :3
    Edwin: An imp that constantly gets picked on by the other familiars.
    Imoen: One angry lizard, or something.
    Neera: A TURTLE!
    Quayle: A bird that excites easily and poops on him?

    image
  • ParasolsyndicateParasolsyndicate Member Posts: 54
    I'm almost sure I'm going to reget asking, but what's the rationale behind Neera having a turtle?
    (I can, however, Imagine
    Baeloth
    with an immaculately groomed rat.)
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    I'm not too well-versed in D&D creatures, but for Neera I could imagine some sort of fire elemental - that blows up regularly but unpredictably.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Edwin would have a hawk that would eye boo like a light snack.
    Aerie would probably have a raccoon like Chiktikka Fastpaws.

    More options for familiars would be a nice touch in any case.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    It does seem odd that no mod has been written for that by now. It's such an obvious project!
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited August 2013
    The most fitting familiar partner for Edwin is still a stirge in my eyes. I mean, just look at it:
    Doesn't it look like Edwin's long lost twin brother?
    image

    Neera on the other hand could very well be the master of a darkmantle.
    Gotta love that small, adorable, terrestrial devil squid. :3
    image

    Dunno about Nalia. Considering the dark rings below her eyes I'd lean on some kind of nocturnal familiar... an owl maybe?

    Aerie is clearly best off with a flightless bird familiar, a dodo for instance. I imagine she would be rather jealous of any kind of airborne familiar and whines its ears off to no end. Now that's animal cruelty taken to a whole new level. :/

    Gorion's familiar would probably be an elderly silver fox. Heh, somehow I now really want to see these two together!

    Dynaheir is tricky to figure out in that aspect. Giving her alignment, however, maybe she'd choose a blink dog as her familiar?
  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    Parasolsyndicate said:

    I'm almost sure I'm going to reget asking, but what's the rationale behind Neera having a turtle?
    (I can, however, Imagine

    Baeloth
    with an immaculately groomed rat.)
    Because Jonathan the Zombie likes turtles.
    Kamigoroshi said:

    Aerie is clearly best off with a flightless bird familiar, a dodo for instance.

    D'awww! That makes me think of that one episode of Primeval, with the dodos. Maybe she could get a cute thing like Rex.
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    A friend of mine had a tiny little clay knight homunculous called Squire Maltrake as a familiar. It didn't speak, just saluted, pointed and yanked on robes when it wanted to communicate. It was totally awesome.

    I'm totally on board with giving Aerie a badger familiar (which she'd name Chiktikka) and Edwin an Imp familiar (he IS a conjurer after all).
    Jan could have an imaginary friend familiar, being an illusionist and a crackpot.
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    Jan should have a little turnip golem. It would shamble around behind him on its roots, and only he would be able to hear it "speak" and understand it.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Come to think of it... was it ever mentioned what familiar Irenicus had in the novel? Or failing that, what do you guys think is the most probably creature for him? How about a flying squirrel of doom with thick accent?
  • CoutelierCoutelier Member Posts: 1,282
    edited August 2013
    A raccoon would obviously suit Aerie. Although a tiny dragon, or better yet, a phoenix, would be very appropriate to the character as well (provided the phoenix could turn its flame off, or it would be awkward carrying it around in a sack).

    And Neera... a gremlin.

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