familiars in OD&D

[barrataria]

So, was there a "find familiar" spell, or were there other rules for these? Or was it an AD&D innovation? I'm working on some ideas for B/X magic-users and was wondering if and/or how familiars were included in the original books.

[tombowings]

There isn't in any of the supplements. I'm not sure about any of the magazines though.

If you're talking about B/X, BJ at B/X Blackrazor has some ideas concerning familiars in his B/X Companion.

[aldarron]

Here's a freebie From The Book of Elder Magic. Its a spell I put together to be much more historically based than the SRD model and work for OD&D:

Bind Familiar
Magic-user 1
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent until dismissed or death of the host

This spell binds a spirit or numinous being into any vertebrate animal of low intelligence the caster chooses. The spirit must first be contacted, usually via a Contact Higher spell and agree to the binding. While casting this spell on a unwilling being will still work, the being will not cooperate with the spell caster and will flee or suicide the host at the first opportunity.
Binding a familiar to a corporeal form creates a unique companion and servant. Doing so takes a full day and uses up materials costing at least 300gp. A character may have only one familiar at a time, and the familiar’s loyalty to the master is handled exactly as with retainers (loyalty score). Contests of will between familiars and masters rarely arise, but in such a case the procedure outlined for magic swords is used.
The familiar will aid the Magic-user in learning new spells, spell research, magic item creation and so forth. The exact degree of help must be determined by the Referee as each familiar is different.
The spell also creates an empathic/telepathic link between the master and the familiar. The empathic link functions only if the familiar is within one mile of its master. Although some familiars may be able to communicate verbally with their master, telepathic communication is typically better in conveying meaning and intent.
Additionally, the empathic link allows the master to share the familiar’s senses as long as the master concentrates on doing so. When concentrating, the master shares the familiar’s five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). Thus, for example, the master can see through the familiar’s eyes. If a familiar has an enhanced sense, like superior hearing, the master gains the benefit of the enhanced sense as well, but only as to what the familiar can sense. In other words, an owl familiar does not grant its master the special ability of superior hearing, the master simply shares and listens through the owl when concentrating on doing so. Sharing the familiar’s senses is a somewhat alien process, as a familiar does not always sense in the same way a person does. Some familiars may have a deficiency in one sense, or lack certain body parts, such as ears, that are normally associated with a sense.
The empathic link also allows the master to cast a spell on a familiar that normally can only be cast on the caster alone, without having to touch the familiar (range is up to one mile). At the master’s option, the master may cast any spell on themselves and it will also affect a familiar (such as shield). If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, the spell stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than one mile away. The spell’s effect will not be restored even if the familiar returns to the master before the duration would otherwise have ended. The master and familiar can share spells in this way, even if the spells normally would not affect creatures of the familiar’s type.
Familiars do not involve themselves in combat. A familiar may fight if its master faces a life-and-death situation. Combat statistics will be identical, or perhaps a little better, than the usual for the animal form. Strength will also be determined by the animal form but other Character Traits are determined as normal with 3d6.
If a familiar dies, or the master chooses to dismiss it, the master loses a level. A master’s experience point total can never go below zero as the result of a familiar’s demise. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and a day. Slain familiars can be raised from the dead just as characters can be. If a familiar is raised from the dead, the caster will recover the experience points lost as a result of the familiar’s death.

[tavis]

I find that I avoid telepathic communication for magic swords and familiars because I like roleplaying these as NPCs and so want to spend lots of time on that interaction without having to make the other players exclude themselves from the conversation because their characters aren't supposed to be privy to it. Otherwise that is awesome!

[barrataria]

Nov 2, 2011 12:24:10 GMT -6 tavis said:

I find that I avoid telepathic communication for magic swords and familiars because I like roleplaying these as NPCs and so want to spend lots of time on that interaction without having to make the other players exclude themselves from the conversation because their characters aren't supposed to be privy to it.

Good point. And thanks Aldarron for posting as you did. I'm more inclined to make it something the MU has to "research", as opposed to having a spell for it. I also expect the MU's ability to communicate with the familiar will improve as he advances in levels. I do like leaving the MU with more autonomy in picking the kind of familiar- I remember one player being mad when he ended up summoning a toad

Further musings are not really about OD&D so I'll move along, but thanks fellows for the responses.

[aldarron]

Nov 2, 2011 19:07:08 GMT -6 barrataria said:

Nov 2, 2011 12:24:10 GMT -6 tavis said:

I find that I avoid telepathic communication for magic swords and familiars because I like roleplaying these as NPCs and so want to spend lots of time on that interaction without having to make the other players exclude themselves from the conversation because their characters aren't supposed to be privy to it.

Good point. And thanks Aldarron for posting as you did. I'm more inclined to make it something the MU has to "research", as opposed to having a spell for it. I also expect the MU's ability to communicate with the familiar will improve as he advances in levels. I do like leaving the MU with more autonomy in picking the kind of familiar- I remember one player being mad when he ended up summoning a toad

Further musings are not really about OD&D so I'll move along, but thanks fellows for the responses.

Yeah research is a good idea. Note that although the spell is first level, the MU has to find a willing spirit familiar first - how that happens is the open ended part.

[talysman]

I agree with the research vs. spell suggestion. I actually wrote up something about that when I spotted this thread, but I've scheduled that blog post for tomorrow. But basically, it's HD of desired familiar = "spell level", just use the btb research rules.

[Lord Kjeran]

Chello!

There is a free addition for Basic Fantasy that adds a familiar spell here:

basicfantasy.org/download.cgi/BF-Spells-Supplement-r4.pdf

To summarize:

Familiar Range: Touch
Magic-User 2 Duration: Special

With this spell, the caster binds a single animal into his
service as a familiar. The creature must be present, and
the caster must touch it to cast the spell. Only normal
(non-magical) creatures of 1-1 hit die or lower and having
animal intelligence may be made into familiars. Further,
each spellcaster may have only one familiar at a time. If a
familiar dies, the caster will not be able to successfully cast
this spell again for 2d6 months (the period to be rolled by
the DM and not revealed to the player). A saving throw
vs. Spells is allowed to resist, and if this roll succeeds, the
animal chosen is not compatible with the caster and
cannot become his or her familiar.

The familiar will behave as if permanently charmed by its
master, and will do its best to perform any task assigned
to it (to the best of its ability). The creature's morale is
raised +2, and it receives improved intelligence (equal to
3+1d4 points). Familiars normally capable of speech
(such as parrots) or sign language (such as monkeys) can
even carry on conversations. Familiars also age at only
1/2 the normal rate for their kind, so a cat familiar (for
instance) might easily live forty years.

The familiar and its master are linked telepathically,
allowing normal communication in both directions. The
caster can see through the eyes of the familiar (using
moderate concentration). He or she can also sense the
direction and approximate distance to the familiar (in
general terms, such as "northeast more than a mile away"
or "south more than a hundred miles and underground")
by concentrating fully upon it for 1d6 rounds.

The connection between the master and familiar will
extend any distance on the same plane, but if they are on
different planes, the familiar saves vs. Spells once per
week with success meaning it has freed itself from the
master. The freed familiar loses all benefits gained from
this spell and becomes a normal animal. The master
behaves as if his familiar has died. However, if the familiar
was well treated by its former master it will be friendly
toward him or her should they meet again, and the
master may again cast this spell (even if the normal time
limit has not expired) to re-bind the animal as his familiar
again.

[Lord Kjeran]

[deleted double post]