[Mage: The Awakening v1.9] Rules for Familiars

This post is Out of Character (OOC) 
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

These rules supplement Mage: The Awakening to expand upon Familiars and their use:

Mage II: Familiars & Familiar Merits

The Potent Familiar merit is no longer a Character Creation only merit.  Instead it must be purchased when the familiar merit is first purchased and can be bought multiple times to get Familiar specific XP that can be used to increase the Rank of the spirit.  This merit and associated experience costs represent the extra time, care and effort made to summon and bind a more powerful spirit to them.  Approval for taking this Merit more than once must be discussed with the Storyteller. 

Ranks: While it might be possible to strengthen a Familiar to Rank 5 and beyond, it is exceedingly unlikely to get a Rank 3 Familiar or higher it is also dangerous to the mage.  Being spiritually chained to a minor god would not be healthy and the chances of retaining free will also decrease.  At what point does the mage become the Familiar?

Familiars as Player or Player NPCs Characters:

Usually a spirit should never be played by a player, they are special tools scalable for use as a storyteller and usually can only change through growth but never can change their nature (through will).  However, the Storyteller may approve that a Player may roleplay his character’s familiar.  Familiars are linked to their masters but are not limited in distance which they can travel away from their master. 

The powerful binding and nearly indestructible link between the spirit and their master allows for some unusual properties.  First, the link between the Mage and Familiar also links this familiar to the Supernal. Magic quickens the spirit, allowing the Mage and Spirit to both feed off of Mana.  The Mana of a mage holds the same resonance as the Mana source and when it passes through the Mage it also gains the added flavor of the Mage’s personality and magical composition.  This allows familiars to be a bit more dynamic than a normal spirit would.  For instance, they can learn!

Familiars can not have Social Merits but can take advantage in some cases the External Social Merits of their master (Contacts, Allies, Retainers, Staff, etc).  If they possess at least close to human intelligence they may help develop or sustain the relationships represented by these merits. Utilizing these merits usually limits the Familiar to using ones that only interact with other spirits and supernatural sources.  These uses require Storyteller Approval.  If the Familiar is helping build Shared Merits like Sanctum: Security or Social Merits like Allies: Air Spirits, these should be purchased by the Familiar’s Master instead.  Any property or resources that a Familiar develops are really the property of the mage.

Ranks of Spirits increases when they cross the minimum total dots meets the threshold on the spirit hierarchy table in the Mage: The Awakening Corebook:

Rank                      Attribute Limit      Min Attr Points        Influence Limit          Essence Limit

1 (Squire/Lesser Gaffling)         5                      5                   1                              10

2 (Knight/Greater Gaffling)        7                      9                   2                              15

3 (Baron/Lesser Jaggling)         9                     15                  3                              20

4 (Count/Greater Jaggling)       12                    26                  4                              25

5 (Marquess/Lesser Incarnea)  15                    36                  5                              50

Ranking of Spirits is important.  If a Spirit outranks another they can easily inflict significant harm.  See rules in G-M Chronicle Corebook.

Improving Familiars takes the Mage’s own Experience Points.  Arcane Experience points can be spent only on Numina, Influences and Attributes.  If the familiar takes a central role in a story the player may reward experience points as if the character were present and acting where ever the familiar was and may split the experience points rewarded to the Familiar and Master.  If a character was not directly involved they may also opt to have their familiar retain all the experience points they gain. These modifiers also apply to Spirits and Ghosts of any kind.

-          Attribute Costs: Power, Finesse, and Resistance are increased with New Dots x 4 XP, this does not require Storyteller approval unless it automatically increases the Rank of the Spirit.  Arcane Experience points can be used to purchase these.

-          Influence Costs: Influences can be bought up to the Rank of the Spirit and are New Dots x 7 XP for each new influence but are limited in how many dots any one influence can have by their Rank.

-          Numina Costs:  Numina are special tools that allow an ST to represent varied powers of spirits and entities and are not rated based on their rarity or effectiveness.  Since they do not increase incrementally they have flat experience costs.  If a Familiar dedicates themselves to learning a lot of new tricks it is at the expense of increasing the spirits overall power instead.  Each Numen desired must be approved by the Storyteller on a case by case basis and the cost is presented on a case by case basis based on the guidance below:

o    Common Numina – These Numina tend to be like the ones in the Mage or G-M Corebooks that are common to most spirits and ghosts and have relatively weak and limited powers.  If such a power makes sense as part of something at is a Resonant for the Spirit it costs 5 Experience Points (usually justified by having a similarly-themed Influence).  If the power is opposite but still ST approved the spirits nature the cost is 7 Experience Points.  If the power is neither the base cost is 6 Experience Points.

o    Rare Numina – These are powers such as the bulk of the Numina described in the Geist, Werewolf and Mage Corebooks as well as the Book of Spirits and Predators.  The powers are moderate in strength and effect.  If said Numen is Resonant the spirits nature (usually justified by having a similarly-themed Influence) with then it costs 6 Experience Points, 8 Experience Points if it is against their nature but still ST approved, 7 Experience points if the power is neutral for the spirit.

o    Epic Numina – These are powers that are either extremely rare or very powerful and with lasting effects.  These are littered throughout The Book of Spirits, Predators, and random smatterings in many nWoD source books.  If said Numen is Resonant with the spirits nature (usually justified by having a similarly-themed Influence) with then it costs 7 Experience Points, 9 Experience Points if it is against their nature but still ST approved, 8 Experience points if the power is neutral for the spirit.  The ST must carefully decide if certain powerful and rare Numina should be allowed in order to maintain the themes of the Mage Chronicle and overall balance of the game.

o    Spell-Like Numina – Sometimes it makes sense for Spirits to gain powers similar to those of their masters, gaining some aspect of the Supernal transitively through the connection in the Mage and a Mage’s Arcana or Path may justify the Familiar getting abilities that mirror that.  Or sometimes it is just a matter something Resonant with the Spirit that the current books and systems really don’t have a Numina for.  First and foremost, all Spell-Like Numina must Resonant with a Spirit nature and cannot be purchased without that.  Spell-Like Numina usually just take the default effects of a spell with regards to duration and targeting and Numen that would require higher spell factor tables require more Experience cost to buy.   The ST has final say on whether certain powerful abilities can be bought at all.  Lastly, their costs vary based on the number of dots in an Arcanum needed to achieve the effect.

§  Numina Emulating 1 dot spells cost 6 Experience Points

§  Numina Emulating 2 dot spells cost 7 Experience Points

§  Numina Emulating 3 dot spells cost 8 Experience Points

§  Numina Emulating 4 dot spells cost 9 Experience Points

§  Numina Emulating 5 dot spells cost 10 Experience Points

Summoning & Binding a Familiar (Taken from Hunter: The Vigil “Witchfinders” page 183-185

Prerequisites for ritual (with no Arcana used): Gnosis O, Occult OO

A mage must research a Familiar binding spell, this can be done without the applicable Arcana. Many mages just use Spirit or Death magic to bind familiars to them more easily.  The ritual involves gathering items with sympathy between and representative of both the mage and the designed familiar.  For Ghosts this is usually their anchor and the Mage’s body is offered as the replacement anchor.  Without Death magic at least one anchor must be ritually burned.  While the sacrament/coorespondences burn the mage chants the True name (or at least one NAME) of the entity it wishes to bind. The mage then rolls Resolve + Occult + Gnosis as an extended action (each roll is 5 minutes) while the entity (if unwilling) rolls Resistance or Resolve + Composure.  The first one to net successes equal to the entities willpower dots wins.  To seal the bond the mage dedicates a permanent willpower dot or buys the appropriate Familiar Merit with experience points.

The main types of Familiars are:

1.       Supernal Companion from a Supernal Realm (Covered in Summoners)

2.       Infernal Familiars from Abbadon (Covered in Inferno) including Animals or Imps

3.       Ghost Familiars from the Twilight or the Underworld (Covered in Summoners)

4.       Geotic Familiars from Astral Planes (Covered in Grimorie of Grimories)

5.       Spirits from the Shadow (Covered in MtA Corebook) including Animals or Fetches

6.       Abyssal Familiars (Only approved under ST approval)

Familiar Inherent Traits (Adapted from HtV: "Witchfinders” page 183-185:

In addition to the Familiar creations rules in the sourcebooks, the following traits for familiars are also used.

- 1. Sympathetic Manifestation – (Incorporeal only) Incorporeal Familiars can always “touch” their master even when in Twilight.  They must be close enough to do so.  Also, while a Incorporeal Familiar must manifest to use its Numina it can freely use its Numina on the Master over any distance without materializing at all.

-  2. Numina: Innocuous – (Corporeal Only) Anyone but its bonded mage suffers a –2 penalty on perception rolls

- 3. Familiar Death/Destruction – (All Familiars) If the corporeal familiar is killed or the incorporeal familiar completely destroyed (no corpus, no essence/mana, and the mage didn’t transfer any mana/essence over in time.  The mage loses a Permanent willpower dot to represent the loss of part of the self and that strong spiritual connection.  While the mage does not have to re-buy the familiar merits (Sanctity or Merits or sold back for full xp) the mage will have to perform a new ritual of binding and get a new familiar.

- 4. Twilight Slumber – (Incorporeal only) – When not manifest or if the familiar runs out of Essence/Mana but has Corpus it goes into a slumber, demanifesting into a very haze about the mage in Twilight.  It is not banished across the Guantlet as a normal spirit would so long as the familiar bond exists and only goes into the Shadow using Numina or other methods.

- 5. Empathic Link – (All Familiars) Embodied familiars don’t communicate all that well (most of the time they lack the proper equipment) but the Master and Familiar can always tell how the other is feeling and when they take emotional, physical or spiritual harm.

- 6. Master’s Protection (All Familiars) – A familiar gains the Mage’s Gnosis as an armor trait to protect it from harm.  It also rolls Gnosis to resist or contest magical or supernatural effects cast against it.  No spell or power can make it turn against its master however… at least not directly.  It is part of its nature.

- 7. Manifestation Engine – (Incorporeal only) the familiar can always manifest within sensory range of its master with no roll required.

- 8. Magical Synergy (All Familiars) – Master and familiar are a team, anytime the master is ritually casting a spell and can physically touch their familiar throughout the casting, the familiar confers a +2 bonus to the casting.  This bonus is a Yatra of which the total bonus for spell components does not exceed +5.

- 9. Source Transfer – (All Familiars) – masters can transfer mana/essence or other power source between they and their familiar as a reflexive action but only up to the total mana usable per turn (so in combat these transfers take time).  Because of the tight bond between the master and their familiar the transfer works back and forth with a 1:1 ratio.

- 10. Sensory Sympathetic Connection – (All Familiars) – Over any distance the familiar’s master retains a sympathetic connection to the sensory input of the familiar as if they were physically present at that location.  The master also has an perfect sympathetic connection to its familiar, making it a target for enemies or a superlative spy since the mage can cast its Sympathetic magics through its familiar.  To clarify, the mage still has to cast such spells sympathetically but takes no penalty in doing so due to the strength of the connection.  Also, by spending a willpower point the mage can switch their perceptions to their familiar’s without using a spell.  The switch only lasts as long as the mage can concentrate on it.  With the master’s permission the familiar can also spend a willpower point to see through the master without a magical effect.  Familiars can use their numina to affect the master even when not locally present.

- 11, Perfect Understanding – (All Familiars) Commands issued from the master’s lips or mind (incorporeal) the familiar always understands what the orders given are within its intelligence (which is almost always human-level or better).  Whether or not they perfectly obey is another matter entirely.  This understanding crosses all language boundaries and can only be disrupted if the master doesn’t know what he is saying or thinking (that would be a trick).

-  12. Anchored – (Incorporeal Only) Incorporeal entities have at least one Anchor, their Master, but have no limit on how far away they can manifest or travel from the mage.

References:

1.       God-Machine Chronicle “Ephemeral Beings” pg 215+ (should be your first stop for rules)

2.       Mage: The Awakening “Spirits” pg 317-322

3.       Mage: The Awakening “Familiar Merit” pg 82-83

4.       Mage: The Awakening “Spirit 3: Familiar Pact” pg 249

5.       Book of Spirits “Spirit Creation” pg 130+

6.       Summers “Ghost Familiar Merit” pg 39 (We allow up to 5 dots, not limited by 3 dot)

7.       Grimoire or Grimoires “Goetic Familiar Merit” pg 96

8.       Tome of the Watchtowers “Additional Familiars” pg 154

9.       Magical Traditions “Temp Familiars Lu Merit” pg 54

10.       Free Council “Manifestation Machine  Merit” pg 131

11        Tome of the Watchtowers “Potent Familiar Merit” pg 154

12.      Summoners “Supernal Companion Merit” pg 186
13.    Witches’ Familiars - Hunter: The Vigil “Witchfinders” page 183-185 (utilized above only)

14.        Inferno “Animal Familiar Merit” pg 125 (Can adapt this to a Spirit in an animal version)

15.        Inferno “Infernal Demon Imp Familiar Merit” pg 125 (ST approval)

16.         Inferno “Twilight Infernal Demon Imp Familiar Merit” pg 126

Here is a table to export into your excel character sheets.  Hope you enjoy using some of these, or chronicle will be using all of them now.

Inherent Traits of Familiars:
Name:	Effect:
Empathic Link	Empathic Link – (All Familiars) Embodied familiars don’t communicate all that well (most of the time they lack the proper equipment) but the Master and Familiar can always tell how the other is feeling and when they take emotional, physical or spiritual harm
Sympathetic Manifestation	Sympathetic Manifestation – (Incorporeal only) Incorporeal Familiars can always “touch” their master even when in Twilight.  They must be close enough to do so.  Also, while a Incorporeal Familiar must manifest to use its Numina it can freely use its Numina on the Master over any distance without materializing at all.
Innocuous	Numina: Innocuous – (Corporeal Only) Anyone but its bonded mage suffers a –2 penalty on perception rolls. Embodied familiars get this Numen as a freebie
Death/Destruction of Familiar	Familiar Death/Destruction – (All Familiars) If the corporeal familiar is killed or the incorporeal familiar completely destroyed (no corpus, no essence/mana, and the mage didn’t transfer any mana/essence over in time.  The mage loses a Permanent willpower dot to represent the loss of part of the self and that strong spiritual connection.  While the mage does not have to re-buy the familiar mertis (Sanctity or Merits or sold back for full xp) the mage will have to perform a new ritual of binding and get a new familiar.
Twlight Slumber	Twilight Slumber – (Incorporeal only) – When not manifest or if the familiar runs out of Essence/Mana but has Corpus it goes into a slumber, demanifesting into a very haze about the mage in Twilight.  It is not banished across the Guantlet as a normal spirit would so long as the familiar bond exists and only goes into the Shadow using Numina or other methods.
Master's Protection	Master’s Protection (All Familiars) – A familiar gains the Mage’s Gnosis as an armor trait to protect it from harm.  It also rolls Gnosis to resist or contest magical or supernatural effects cast against it.  No spell or power can make it turn against its master however… at least not directly.  It is part of its nature.
Manifestation Engine	Manifestation Engine – (Incorporeal only) the familiar can always manifest within sensory range of its master with no roll required.
Magical Synergy	Magical Synergy (All Familiars) – Master and familiar are a team, anytime the master is ritually casting a spell and can physically touch their familiar throughout the casting, the familiar confers a +2 bonus to the casting.  This bonus is a Yatra of which the total bonus for spell components does not exceed +5.
Source Transfer	Source Transfer – (All Familiars) – masters can transfer mana/essence or other power source between they and their familiar as a reflexive action but only up to the total mana usable per turn (so in combat these transfers take time).  Because of the tight bond between the master and their familiar the transfer works back and forth with a 1:1 ratio.
Through the Eyes	Sensory Sympathetic Connection – (All Familiars) – Over any distance the familiar’s master retains a sympathetic connection to the sensory input of the familiar as if they were physically present at that location.  The master also has an perfect sympathetic connection to its familiar, making it a target for enemies or a superlative spy since the mage can cast its Sympathetic magics through its familiar.  To clarify, the mage still has to cast such spells sympathetically but takes no penalty in doing so due to the strength of the connection.  Also, by spending a willpower point the mage can switch their perceptions to their familiar’s without using a spell.  The switch only lasts as long as the mage can concentrate on it.  With the master’s permission the familiar can also spend a willpower point to see through the master without a magical effect.  Familiars can use their numina to affect the master even when not locally present.
Anchored to Master	Anchored – (Incorporeal Only) Incorporeal entities have at least one Anchor, their Master, but have no limit on how far away they can manifest or travel from the mage.