`Familiar Original, Spell - utility [Communication], [Conjuration], [Magical], [Scry] W5: Halp W4: Halp W3: Halp W2: Halp W1: Halp A sorcerer can pour magic into a solid form, creating a being known as a Familiar. A Familiar appears as a ghostly being of a form dependent on the sorcerer- it could resemble anything from a Moblin to a person to an animal. In and of itself, the Familiar is little more than a method of scrying and communicating. The Familiar can travel impressive distances in a short period of time within the size of a town around the caster, and is capable of transferring the information from its senses to its master, so that the master can see and hear what the Familiar sees and hears. Additionally, it is possible to speak to the Familiar to reach the sorcerer- likewise, the sorcerer can speak through his or her Familiar. There is a peculiarity to the Familiar, however. At the RPer's discretion, an additional field can be added to this Treasure, giving the Familiar one additional magic ability. For example, the [cold] field could be added to give the Familiar the ability to be freezing to the touch. Note: The specific Familiar I want for Triton would get the [protection] sub-field, as it would be capable of pulling up a magic shield similar to Nayru's Love but shorter in duration around an ally. I'm thinking this would be a Major Treasure, but I have been known to misjudge the power of things.
I am confused. Can this be used in combat? The familiar is solid, and can be as large as a Moblin, which suggests that it can be. However, you also say that it's useful for nothing outside of long-distance scrying and communicating, being able to traverse great distances quickly and having everything its senses pick up continually relayed to the caster. Then you say that a familiar can be granted a combat-field, and I'm just left confused. Another thing. It looks like while the familiar is travelling the land, the caster is instantly receiving all of its sensory information. At least, that's how I think it works, versus the familiar returning and touching the caster to instantly relay everything it picked up. How would that impact the caster? I'd imagine that it'd be like being in two places at once, which would be disorienting at best. If there is indeed a magical bond between the caster and familiar that relays information constantly, is there a distance limit? What would the magical strain be like on the caster? I like the idea: create something to gather information over long distances.
1). That was a mistake in wording on my part. Without the additional field the familiar can't be used in combat- it can't use weapons or attack. Also, solid may not be the word I'm looking for (I stumble over my English a lot recently), as a familiar touching a person would normally go right through him or her. In and of itself, it's harmless. In the example I gave, the Familiar is not supposed to be picked up and tossed at someone else to freeze them solid, as funny as that could be. At most it's a defensive mechanic, or used to interact with the environment. This is not meant as a combat treasure, although I am willing to, in the most extreme scenario, remove the 'custom modifier' to balance that. 2). The caster sharing the senses of the Familiar has to be started by the caster himself. If a mage shares the senses of his Familiar, he substitutes his perception of his own environment, thus leaving him wide open. The Familiar itself can't initiate this, and the relaying information is certainly not constant. I should also note that if the Familiar is created by someone who has Sense, the Familiar does NOT have Sense and therefor that doesn't get relayed. Only the five mundane senses. 3). While miles and yards and stuffies are weird to me, I was thinking that at most, if the caster is on one side of a town (think OOT Zora's Domain) the Familiar cannot go further away from him/her than the other side of that town. Since the Familiar can't go further than that, of course the sharing senses doesn't go further than that. ...gaaaawd rewordings ._. Good thing this was meant to be a first draft.
Don't worry, you're in NaNo. Word jumbling is normal Hmm... I gotta say, I'm loving the idea. Familiars phase out when they come directly into contact with something, making them virtually useless as offense / defense things. I like the idea of it having basic powers according to its field. [Fire] field would burn anything it touches, [Light] would illuminate its surroundings- I'm thinking that the fields' affects should stay as simple as possible. In the case of [Protection], perhaps it has the ability to become truly solid when struck, thus giving it the previously mentioned potential of shielding. Something basic, yet effective, like that seems more reasonable than "can cast almost spells." I used to think of this as "across the realm of Hyrule," but I agree with you; that would be a little much. You could basically scope out all of Ganon's stuff with that. I like the distance you have, and in most practical situations it would be immensely useful. Ooh, that brings up a thought. Sometimes it would be definitely useful to make it look like a rat (sneaky) or a person (spy-y); will a familiar be cast in the same way, unique to its caster? Or can the caster choose its form every time? How detailed is it (going back to the spy idea)? Final thought: you say that while the familiar is active, the caster can choose to turn on the sensory-sharing whenever he likes. Would that mean that he would only experience what is going on in that present moment? How would he check to see what had already happened to it? Does the familiar have thoughts that are relayed? I think the most iffy thing are the fields. Not whether or not they should be done, because I like the idea, but what they do. Should they be left to the RP'er? Should we take the time to list them out? I'm leaning to the second one, because it makes much more sense, but I would dearly value you guys' input.
Will pop in here. Like Quill said, I like the treasure a lot. One thing I certainly want to leave open, though, is the ability for the RPer to be creative with something like this. While there are some potential nitpicks, I don't feel like this spell is purposed for (or will result in) abuse, so if possible I'd love to leave it more open-ended. Summoning is an area on the site that could use some love, and Familiars are a great way to land spots anywhere in that spectrum. For this reasoning, I would actually say to not list out all the possible fields with what they'd do and blah blah blah. I'd much rather leave this open-ended, and if it becomes abused then we can look at it, but I feel like the parameters that BP has detailed so far are sufficient rails to counter abuse. If someone thinks of a clever way to use a familiar, then sweet, but I feel the description describes adequately that this is, in fact, a utility spell and not simply a way to have a fire army, your own personal healer, and so on. tl;dr, leave it open, I like it. My only question for you, BP, is this. You've said it serves primarily to interact with the environment, but given some of the mechanics of it vanishing on touch and such, I'm curious as to where that line (roughly) rests. One main example comes to mind: Zelda dungeons often use things where you need two people across the room from each other to stand on separate switches, or you have to push a block with two (or four) people, or there are two levers that need to be dropped simultaneously. Could a Familiar aid the caster with such a task? Either is fine, I'd just like to know.
Quill: that interpretation of [protection] could also work for me, it was just an idea that needed polishing. However, I'm with Ribs in that I'd like to not list out all options- this could cause extra work for the mods, but maybe Familiars could be judged on a case-by-case basis as far as the custom field goes? Also, in my mind the Familiar's form is set, much like a Patronus from the Harry Potter series. If Triton's familiar is a cat-sized being, he can't make it take the shape of a Moblin. Otherwise you could shape it to your needs, such as the cat to fit into little nooks and crannies and the Moblin to hold down switches for Goron Link. In addition to that, I think the set shape adds a little more flavor... but that could be me. Also it is clearly distinguishable as not a living being. I always imagined it as roughly the same texture as the TP Poes (not Big Poes), but more blueish in color. EDIT: I should note that any one character can't have more than one Familiar. As far as the reading past memories go, in my initial concept the Familiar would have a 'hard drive' of sorts that the sorcerer could access, but only if it is within an arm's reach. Additionally said hard drive would wipe itself once the Familiar was dispelled. However, I can live with missing that if that's needed. Ribs: the Familiar doesn't so much vanish when touched by a person or phasing through a wall, but if it's attacked it probably will. I think that would make the most sense, and that way it also doesn't poof when it accidentally bumps into someone or some animal, either. Under normal circumstances the caster will have to dispel it though. As far as dungeon mechanics go, I'm not certain. I'm torn between making it dependent on the exact shape the Familiar takes, with my Moblin example being able to press heavy-weight switches and pull levers, or making it so the Familiar isn't sentient enough to realize what has to happen for its master to proceed. I kind of don't want to add the [RC] field... then again maybe that would be more fitting than I thought at first. It's more effective for information gathering if the caster can steer the Familiar a little, rather than having it wander around on its own.
Fields are left open to the RP'ers interpretation. I like that. If it's ridiculously over the top, we'll probably have to step in, but other than that.... So, the RP'er can choose what form / field the familiar will forever have for that character. I think that whether or not the caster can choose the form at the first casting should be left to the RP'ers discretion. That seems to fall under creative license. Just to leave people a way out (say if the RP'er realizes that they really don't want to have a pig-shaped familiar anymore), perhaps if someone wants to change their familiar (either in field or in form) they have to re-buy the treasure. The new familiar would supersede the old one (I like your 1-at-a-time rule). I like the hard-drive idea. The caster can choose to immerse itself in the familiar's senses from a distance, and it would be possible to speak through it, however if the caster so chooses he could just ignore it until it returns, then he would touch it to obtain its stored sensory data. So, it's tentatively solid. It is solid enough to feel, but anything hard or forceful contact will phase right through it. This semi-solid, not-altogether-there feel makes me think that it couldn't be used on switches and stuff. However, I suppose that it is also possible to argue that the familiar would still possess weight, and that if its form was large enough it could press down switches. Both seem reasonable to me. I would also imagine that the caster would give the familiar a single directive upon summoning. This directive could not be changed after it was summoned. I mean, it's not sentient, right? For it to do anything, it would need to be "programmed" upon creation. The caster could still, as you say, steer it a little, but its central task would be set. BP, is this what you had in mind, or were you thinking something different? Thoughts?
While I didn't have anything in mind at all about the directives/programming thing when I first thought of the Familiar, I like what you just said. With all the rest, you're spot-on. If that's all acceptable, do you have anything in mind for the price?
Pshhhh. Prices. There's almost nothing to base this off of, so I used the upper-tier-while-not-yet-a-Major-Treasure-pricing of W5: 60 rupees W4: 80 rupees W3: 120 rupees W2: 160 rupees W1: 320 rupees (While very useful, I don't think this would be a Major Treasure.) BP, could you post an updated version of this treasure for a final review / grading session?
...it ended up huge. Feel free to edit the description to make it more compact. `Familiar Original: Blonde Panther, spell – utility [Communication], [Conjuration], [Magical], [RC], [Scry] W5: 60 rupees W4: 80 rupees W3: 120 rupees W2: 160 rupees W1: 320 rupees A Familiar is a creature born of magic, which always takes the same form as long as it is summoned by the same person. Its form is unique to the caster and can vary from something as big as a Moblin to something as small as a cat. Regardless of the Familiar’s form, it is only half-solid and normally phases through walls and people. It can travel a large town’s worth away from its master and is dispelled if it goes any further than that or if it is struck with sufficient force. Its master can also dispel it at will. The primary use of a Familiar is as an extension of its master’s senses- the caster can choose at any given moment to temporarily substitute his or her hearing, sight, smell, touch or any combination of the four for that of the Familiar. Additionally, the Familiar stores everything it perceives in its memory, which can be accessed by the caster through touching it. This memory is erased once it is dispelled. Another use is for long-distance communication; the caster can speak through his or her Familiar. A Familiar can be given a directive upon being created, and while the caster can revoke this direction or steer his or her Familiar from a distance, if left alone it will follow this directive. Lastly, at the owner’s discretion, a single field may be permanently added to this treasure, giving the Familiar an additional, unique ability. Any one character can only have one Familiar at a time. Should they desire to re-shape their Familiar, the treasure must be obtained again.
DAMMIT QUILL I just edited my last post with the new description. It turned out a little huge to my taste but I think it has everything.
Ooh, I like that much more than "phases through things when struck with sufficient force." Any combination of the four... that sounds awesome. I love this treasure. I really, really do. You've got my approval for this treasure. Thanks for adding this to the Library BP!
