Witch’s Familiars

Few images are as strong as that of the witch accompanied by her black cat. So strong was this association that along with the millions of women burned as “witches” in the dark ages, so were thousands of cats as “familiars”.

Liber Mysterium, The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

Familiars are actually a newer concept of the witch myth, the but concept of the magical properties of animals are as old as magic itself.

A familiar is a magical, unusually tough, and intelligent version of a small animal. It is a magical beast, not an animal. The creature serves as a companion and servant.

Familiars are often the most under used aspect of a spell casting character. The same should not be said for the witch. To begin with a witch’s familiar will always appear to be a normal animal. Of course they will be the most intelligent members of their species. Many witches believe that familiars are the reincarnated souls of humans, or even other witches, sent back to aid others. Some, in particular Malefica, believe that their familiars are in fact imps in animal form. The typical types of familiars that can be found and their sensory powers are listed below. Witches gain all the benefits of a familiar as listed in Core Rulebook I under sorcerer. Witches multiclassed with wizard or sorcerer have their familiar powers stack.

To call a familiar the witch needs to meditate and perform special rituals that cannot be interrupted. Typically these will occur only during special times of the year and if the ritual is interrupted then the witch will have to wait till the next occurrence. Examples would be mid summer, a blue moon or an eclipse. The witch will need to burn fine incense (100 GP value) and leave small tokens of food to entice the familiar to come. Familiars as tough as a witch’s are difficult to locate; if her familiar dies a witch must wait till the next holy season/sabbat to find another

Familiars are usually named by their mistresses with bizarre sounding names, like puns (MephistoFleas), nonsense words (Sybybala), anagrams of other famous names (Yaabagab), alterations on the names of their deity (Heceight), and so on.

A witch’s familiar is capable of human speech, has high Intelligence and considerable cleverness. Such familiars may not appear noticeably different from others of their own kind.

A familiar is much more than a pet or a servant for the witch. A familiar is a guide for the witch and a conduit for the witch to speak to both the natural and supernatural worlds. The familiar should be seen as a partner for the witch. It should also be noted that a familiar will consider itself as equal to the witch, or would even consider the witch as its familiar. Familiars all have personalities and should be played as such. The other players should treat the familiar like another party member. Granted one that may not add much to the combat round, but a valued member all the same.

Once the familiar has joined up with its witch, the GM must think about the effect the newcomer will have on the other animals in the party. If the witch has a ferret and another character keeps guard dogs or a hungry falcon, trouble could easily erupt unless everyone is very careful. The witch player needs to consider all of the pros and cons before calling a familiar. The witch decides what kind of familiar she wants to call. However the geography of the area will play a role. Also the GM can choose to override this choice.

Witch’s Familiars
Familiar*	Additional Powers to the Witch
Badger	+2 to Constitution score
Bat	+2 to any Intuit Direction checks
Beaver	Double normal speed when swimming
Cat	+2 bonus to Move Silently checks
Dog Small	Surprised only on a roll of 1 on a d6.
Crow	+2 bonus to Reflex saves
Dog medium	Surprised only on a roll of 1 on a d6.
Eagle	+2 to any Spot checks
Fox	+2 to Intelligence score
Hawk	+2 to any Spot checks
Lizard	+2 to Dexterity score
Lynx	+2 bonus to Reflex saves
Mouse	+2 to Dexterity score
Porcupine	Improved AC, +2 bonus
Rabbit	Surprised only on a roll of 1 on a d6.
Raccoon	Surprised only on a roll of 1 on a d6.
Rat	+2 bonus to Fortitude saves.
Raven	+2 bonus to Reflex saves.
Snake	+2 bonus to Fortitude saves.
Squirrel	+3 to Climb Checks
Swan	+2 to Charisma score
Toad	+2 to Constitution score
Turtle	Improved AC, +2 bonus
Weasel	+2 bonus to Reflex saves.
Wolf	+2 bonus to Fortitude saves

• * The GM may substitute other small animals suitable to the area
• ** The witch must wait till the next holy day to try again.

Multiple Familiars

Witches are often depicted as having multiple familiars. Often these animals are no more than pets, albeit intelligent ones. A witch with the access to the Extra Familiar feat can have multiple familiars. The mechanics of gaining and loosing these familiars are detailed with the feat.

Often the witch will limit her familiars to no more than three or so, most stick with only one. Covens, Traditions and Game Masters can place limits on how many familiars a witch may have at one time.

Improved Familiars

Some players may want to consider the use of special familiars, such as outsiders, fey, constructs or small elementals. Familiars of this type are known as Improved Familiars

Improved Familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: If the creature’s type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).

Improved Familiars by Alignment
Familiar	Alignment	Witch Level
Stirge	Neutral	5th
Imp	Lawful evil	7th
Quasit	Chaotic evil	7th

The list in the table above presents only a few possible improved familiars. Almost any creature of the same general size and power as those on the list makes a suitable familiar. Nor is the master’s alignment the only possible categorization. For instance, improved familiars could be assigned by the master’s creature type or subtype, as shown below.

Improved Familiars by Type
Familiar	Type/Subtype	Witch Level
Celestial hawk 1	Good	3rd
Fiendish Tiny viper snake 2	Evil	3rd
Aitvaras	Evil	5th
Air elemental,	Small Air	5th
Earth elemental,	Small Earth	5th
Fire elemental,	Small Fire	5th
Water elemental,	Small Water	5th
Homunculus 3	undead	7th
1 Or other celestial animal from the standard familiar list.
2 Or other fiendish animal from the standard familiar list.
3 The witch must first create the homunculus, substituting ichor or another part of the master’s body for blood if necessary.

Author’s Note: While these could easily be adapted to use for the witch, I would suggest avoiding them except for Malefic witches. The familiar types presented there have the potential of giving the witch game-unbalancing power. Familiars for witches have always been described as natural animals; this work tries to continue that tradition.