Familiars
Familiars are companion creatures that become bound to the life force of a Caster. Standard Familiars maintain their animal intelligence and share and empathic bond with their master. Through it they can understand their master's simple directions and can communicate through simple feelings (i.e. scared, interested, hungry, happy, sad, etc). Awakened and Greater Familiars (including Hellspawn, Elemental, Angelic, etc) have a more average intelligence and can additionally speak and communicate in a language of the master's choice. Unless otherwise directed by their masters, familiars act as a typical creature of that species would. Familiars tend to stay close to their master, but their master can command them to travel up to 1 mile away.
Familiars have a Level equal to that of their master, Hitpoints equal to their master's Healing Value (or twice Healing Value for Awakened and Greater Familiars), and its own Attacks, Defenses, Skills, and Movement. Any Stamina or Resolve spent by the Familiar is deducted from its master.
Binding a familiar grants the master select special bonuses and abilities (determined by the type of familiar) and a +2 bonus to Awareness while the familiar is present and conscious.
A familiar may be summoned (or unsummoned) to any location within 30ft of its master as an Immediate Action.
A master can use any Ritual with the Scrying keyword on their familiars with no chance of failure. Familiars count as their master for the purposes of Ritual Curse Components (i.e. a familiar's claw counts as the master's fingernail, its feather as the master's hair, its blood the master's blood, its presence the master's presence, etc).
The familiar remains bound to its master until the master dies (a master that is raised from the dead has his familiar automatically rebound to him), it is released through an Unbind Familiar ritual, or its master chooses to bind a different familiar to his service. A caster may only have one Familiar bound to him at a time.
Familiars in Combat
Familiars do not take actions in combat. Instead, their master may use an immediate action to allow the familiar to move its speed and also perform one of the following options: use a Special Ability, move a second time, or automatically save against a single effect that a save can end (if applicable). Familiars may be attacked and damaged in combat and follow these special rules:
- The Familiar is immune to Morale Damage and abilities with the Mind-Affecting keyword.
- If a Familiar is Dazed, Stunned, or suffers Energy Damage, it cannot move or act for one round (either the current round if it hasn't yet acted, or the next round if it has).
- Familiars do not Threaten and cannot participate in Flanking.
- Familiars suffer no damage or effect from a Missed Attack.
- Familiars always fail their initial saving throw, and cannot roll saving throws (see action options above for how a familiar can save against an effect).
Familiars cannot die unless their master does. If a familiar is ever reduced to 0 hitpoints it discorporates. If desired, its master may burn 2 Resolve as an Immediate Action to restore it full hitpoints and summon it. Otherwise, a familiar has Regeneration (1) and at the end of a Short Rest will mystically return to its master's side at full hitpoints, either by waking up or reappearing in the environment (such as emerging from the brush, from around a corner, or behind a rock), unless it is prevented from doing so on your orders or through a Trap Familiar ritual.
Channeling Magic through a Familiar
A familiar can serve as the origin point for its master's cast powers (usually Eldritch Spells, but other philosophies are possible). The master must have Line of Perception to the familiar, and the familiar must be within 30ft of its master. When the spell resolves, it issues from the familiar (possibly causing the familiar to grant an opportunity), and uses the Master's attack bonus (if any, even allowing the master to make touch attacks). For Perceptive spells, either the master or the familiar must have Line of Perception to the target.