Familiars are an interesting thing in The Fantasy Trip. They get mentioned, but nothing is said about how to get them or defines their game play effects. Well, here are some suggestions on how to use them in TFT.
What Is a Familiar?
A familiar is an animal that is magically tied to a wizard. Familiars have been common in traditional folklore, whether it was the witch’s black cat or a warlock’s raven. They have also been common in fantasy RPGs, from Dungeons & Dragons to Runequest.
Usually the familiar is somehow spiritually tied to its wizard. The wizard can see or otherwise sense the world through the familiar, giving him or her some advantage. Sometimes the familiar gives the wizard knowledge or advice. One common disadvantage, though, is that if the familiar is killed, the wizard is somehow pained or injured.
What Others Have Done
What does that mean in game terms? In The labyrinth or Advanced Wizard never spelled out how to get a familiar, or how to game them.
AD&D does have a Summon Familiar spell. The player does not get to choose the animal he or she gets–the DM rolls. If the spell fails, the wizard cannot try again for a year. AD&D also has the familiar’s hit points added to that of the wizard–but the wizard loses twice that many hit points if the familiar is killed.
Runequest takes it a little further and uses the idea of spirits that get bound into specially bred animals. A spell is used to bind the spirit to the animal, after which the wizard gains the sensory link with the familiar. Since it is an actual spirit–and not just an animal–the familiar can be taught to cast spells or perform tasks the wizard knows.
That Old Familiar Spell
So–what can we do in The Fantasy Trip? Listed below is a spell that wizards can use to summon a familiar. The process would be similar to that of Staff, but with its own differences. The IQ required is a little higher–you are dealing with a living thing, not an inanimate object. Note that this is NOT the same as the IQ 15 spell CALLING.
IQ 10
SUMMON FAMILIAR: (S) [inthelabyrinth.org] This spell is used to summon an animal to be used as a familiar. The wizard is psychically bound to the animal, and gains advantages from it.
A wizard does not HAVE to have a familiar. If he or she wants one, they must know the Summon Familiar spell to get one. The wizard DOES NOT summon the familiar during the game, he or she STARTS the game with a familiar, without expending any ST to gain it.
To summon and bind a familiar to him, the wizard specifies what kind of animal he or she is summoning, then rolls 3 dice against IQ. A successful roll gives the wizard the desired familiar. A failure gets the wizard nothing–and he or she must wait a year to try again. A critical success gets the wizard a very special familiar–GM’s discretion. A critical failure gets the wizard something unintended, possibly an imp or other demon. The wizard must go to a location where the familiar might be reasonably be considered to exist.
A wizard with a familiar gains the ability to share the familiar’s senses–sight, hearing, smell, etc. The wizard also can communicate telepathically with the familiar, and direct it to perform various tasks. If the familiar is asked to risk injury or death, the wizard must roll 3 dice against HIS IQ to force the familiar to perform that action. A familiar does not gain any ST benefit from the familiar, but will take 1 die damage if the familiar is killed, and LOSE 1 IQ point permanently.
Any small animal is suitable for a familiar. Larger familiars are possible, up to wolf or big cat sized animals.
ST cost: 5 for a small familiar, 10 for a wolf or similar sized animal. The Summon Familiar spell takes 1 week to complete. At the end of the week, on a successful roll the wizard will have his or her familiar.
So–what do you think? Do you have any home grown rules for familiars in The Fantasy Trip?
Marko ∞
(Originally published on inthelabyrinth.org, on 2/24/2017.)
