What is the point of Find Familiar??

[LostAngel1000]

Seriously they don't get stronger they don't learn anything better then what they start with they don't get anything that makes them worth the spell it seems...

They don't add more then a few HP to the Mage and really do not seem like anything but going to die and remove a point of Con.

Is there something I am missing? Is it only worth it if you have a certain alingment?

[vysionier]

It’s a lvl 1 spell that adds some permanent hp to a character that gets a maximum of 6 per level up. A sorcerer can cast it from the scroll, as can a wizard or bard. Just talk to it then get it to sleep in your inventory. There’s really no other point to it in this game. Enjoy the free hp.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

As in the many older topics about Find Familiar on the Internet, whether and what to do with a Familiar depends on chosen difficulty mode, alignment, personal playstyle and the differences between BG and IWD.
--> https://icewinddale.fandom.com/wiki/Find_Familiar

You don't strictly need a Familiar and any of its limited abilities. For mages, there is no reason not to store a Familiar in the backpack at least. Only the wizard kits that cannot learn spells from scrolls may need to decide more carefully whether to learn this spell.

Generally, there are various other spells that are not popular or not worthwhile, and few players use them on their own and without taking specific hints/instructions from a walkthrough/guide. Such as Contact Other Plane, Clairvoyance, Farsight, Find Traps, Goodberry, Wizard Eye, Limited Wish (without save scumming anyway).

[LostAngel1000]

I just find it odd since normally one would assume a pet like a Familiar would grow as you level as well, gain Armor class or HP or more charges of its starting spells. Just seems strange that they don't grow with you as the idea is its a part of the Mage or caster who creates it.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

"Normally"? Not even in the Baldur's Gate games it is like that. With the exception that the sequel and the expansion made the spell more powerful, or else the Familiar from the first game would remain even weaker.
--> https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Find_Familiar

There are only limited use cases.

[LostAngel1000]

guess I mean normally in other types of games with similar styles of systems something like a pet which a familiar would be in many types of games like this.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Well, the role model for this game, Baldur's Gate, is over 22 years old.

[vysionier]

Other games with other pet systems have already balanced the class around the pet. This game has not. The wizard is considered too powerful to also have a companion who’s nearly as powerful as everyone else in the party.

[Yojo0o]

In terms of the archetype of the wizard's familiar, this is pretty standard for any fantasy system. A familiar, across all mythology I'm familiar with, is essentially a pet that's bonded with the wizard, sometimes exhibiting some degree of sentience, sometimes assisting to some degree with the wizard's spellcasting, offering companionship, occasionally spying for their master or defending them to some degree. But I'm not familiar with any interpretation of familiars that involves some sort of powerful leveling combatant that accompanies the wizard. There are plenty of examples of wizards having summoned companions that grow powerful and defend them, such as golems, bound demons/elementals, and similar concepts, but that's never really applied to familiars.

[vysionier]

It feels like they are referring to never winter nights’ familiar interpretation which is a bastardized d&d 3rd edition. Fun game though.

[LostAngel1000]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

In terms of the archetype of the wizard's familiar, this is pretty standard for any fantasy system. A familiar, across all mythology I'm familiar with, is essentially a pet that's bonded with the wizard, sometimes exhibiting some degree of sentience, sometimes assisting to some degree with the wizard's spellcasting, offering companionship, occasionally spying for their master or defending them to some degree. But I'm not familiar with any interpretation of familiars that involves some sort of powerful leveling combatant that accompanies the wizard. There are plenty of examples of wizards having summoned companions that grow powerful and defend them, such as golems, bound demons/elementals, and similar concepts, but that's never really applied to familiars.

Im not thinking it get insanely powerful but I did think every few levels it gain a few HP maybe a little more Armor or another charge of theirs spells over time. It seems like something that wpuld make sense, not growing super strong but growing some. like every 3 levels gain 2 or 3 Hp or something very simple that give it a purpose besides extra HP and a spot in the bag taken up.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by LostAngel1000:

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

In terms of the archetype of the wizard's familiar, this is pretty standard for any fantasy system. A familiar, across all mythology I'm familiar with, is essentially a pet that's bonded with the wizard, sometimes exhibiting some degree of sentience, sometimes assisting to some degree with the wizard's spellcasting, offering companionship, occasionally spying for their master or defending them to some degree. But I'm not familiar with any interpretation of familiars that involves some sort of powerful leveling combatant that accompanies the wizard. There are plenty of examples of wizards having summoned companions that grow powerful and defend them, such as golems, bound demons/elementals, and similar concepts, but that's never really applied to familiars.

Im not thinking it get insanely powerful but I did think every few levels it gain a few HP maybe a little more Armor or another charge of theirs spells over time. It seems like something that wpuld make sense, not growing super strong but growing some. like every 3 levels gain 2 or 3 Hp or something very simple that give it a purpose besides extra HP and a spot in the bag taken up.

It's not just the extra HP, you also can use familiars for scouting and pickpocketing. And RP stuff. Beyond that, you probably don't want to use it for combat anyway due to the permanent constitution loss when they die.

It's a level 1 spell that permanently improves your character and that you only ever really need to cast once. That already makes it one of the best level 1 spells in the game.

[Mentos]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

As in the many older topics about Find Familiar on the Internet, whether and what to do with a Familiar depends on chosen difficulty mode, alignment, personal playstyle and the differences between BG and IWD.
--> https://icewinddale.fandom.com/wiki/Find_Familiar

You don't strictly need a Familiar and any of its limited abilities. For mages, there is no reason not to store a Familiar in the backpack at least. Only the wizard kits that cannot learn spells from scrolls may need to decide more carefully whether to learn this spell.

Generally, there are various other spells that are not popular or not worthwhile, and few players use them on their own and without taking specific hints/instructions from a walkthrough/guide. Such as Contact Other Plane, Clairvoyance, Farsight, Find Traps, Goodberry, Wizard Eye, Limited Wish (without save scumming anyway).

I used to love Wizard Eye. It's not nearly as useful now that I've discovered 5 million other more effective ways to scout lol.

[YouHaveNoPrivacy]

The following is a word-for-word transcription of the spell "Find Familiar" in the AD&D 2nd Ed. Player's Handbook. IceWind Dale is based entirely upon the rules of that world, under the Faerun (Forgotten Realms) setting.

Find Familiar

Range: 1 mile/level
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 2d12 hours
Area of Effect: 1 familiar
Saving Throw: Special

This spell enables the caster to attempt to summon a familiar to act as his aide and companion. Familiars are typically small creatures, such as cats, frogs, ferrets, crows, hawks, snakes, owls, ravens, toads, weasels, or even mice. A creature acting as a familiar can benefit a wizard, conveying its sensory powers to its master, conversing with him, and serving as a guard/scout/spy as well. A wizard can have only one familiar at a time however, and he has no control over what sort of creature answers the summoning, if any at all come.

The creature is always more intelligent than others of its type (typically by 2 or 3 Intelligence points), and its bond with the wizard confers upon it an exceptionally long life. The wizard receives the heightened senses of his familiar, which grants the wizard a +1 bonus to all surprise die rolls. Normal familiars have 2-4 hit points plus 1 hit point per caster level, and an Armor Class of 7 (due to size, speed, etc.). The wizard has an empathic link with the familiar and can issue it mental commands at a distance of up to 1 mile. Note that empathic responses from the familiar are generally fairly basic--while able to communicate simple thoughts, these are often overwhelmed by instinctual responses.

Thus, a ferret familiar spying on a band of orcs in the woods might lose its train of thought upon sighting a mouse. Certainly its communications to its master would be tinged with fear of the "big ones" it was spying on! The caster cannot see through the familiar's eyes.
If separated from the caster, the familiar loses 1 hit point each day, and dies if reduced to 0 hit points. When the familiar is in physical contact with its wizard, it gains the wizard's saving throws against special attacks. If a special attack would normally cause damage, the familiar suffers no damage if the saving throw is successful, and half damage if the saving throw is failed. If the familiar dies, the wizard must successfully roll an immediate system shock check or die. Even if he survives this check, the wizard loses 1 point from his Constitution when the familiar dies.

The power of the conjuration is such that it can be attempted but once per year. When the wizard decides to find a familiar, he must load a brass brazier with charcoal. When this is burning well, he adds 1,000 gp worth of incense and herbs. The spell incantation is
then begun and must be continued until the familiar comes or the casting time is finished.
The DM secretly determines all results. Note that most familiars are not inherently magical, nor does a dispel magic spell send them away.

Deliberate mistreatment, failure to feed and care for the familiar, or continuous unreasonable demands have adverse effects on the familiar's relationship with its master.
Purposely arranging the death of one's own familiar incurs great disfavor from certain powerful entities, with dire results.

D20 Roll Familiar* Sensory Powers
1-5 Cat, black Excellent night vision & superior hearing
6-7 Crow Excellent vision
8-9 Hawk Very superior distance vision
10-11 Owl Night vision equals human daylight vision, superior hearing
12-13 Toad Wide-angle vision
14-15 Weasel Superior hearing & very superior olfactory power
16-20 No familiar available within spell range
* The DM can substitute other small animals suitable to the area.

Obviously, for purposes of the video game, the casting time and components element have been modified, as have some of the extended rules. While this lends to the possibility of other more arbitrary modifications throughout the game, one can see that very little has actually been changed, and the core rule-book RAW has been left intact as much as possible to maintain integrity with the tabletop game, while accommodating the play-style of a video game environment. (The lack of 12 hours needed to cast for example, or the 1,000gp investment.)

Despite this, there are also considerable benefits of the familiar which have been left out of the game-- in some cases (like the Sensory powers meant to be bestowed) this is due to the difficulty of translating the benefits in a meaningful way to the video-game character. In other cases however (like the ability to cast touch-based spells through the familiar) there appears to be no discernible reason for it, aside from either laziness in programming or an arbitrary decision that it would make the caster too powerful if touch spells could be delivered through the familiar.

Either way, it's clear that the developers only decided to maintain integrity with the table-top version of the game insofar as it was convenient for them to do so-- arguments against whether the familiar *should* be more powerful however, are herein invalidated.