Balancing Mythical Companions/Book of Familiars

[Giant2005]

I have been trying to re-balance these books in order to bring them more in line with the C&C ruleset and this is what I have so far. The goal is to reduce the strength of the Familiars so they are more comparable with the strength of their master (preferably slightly lower than the master, but Huge creatures for instance need to be a little stronger in order to mitigate the issues associated with their size).
If you are familiar with these books and know of any more issues I have overlooked, I'd love to hear about them. Particularly those related to the actual class chapters - I avoided them as altering them would increase the effort required to balance things considerably, but if there is something really broken in those chapters, it will need to be addressed.
Also, looking at these changes, are they enough? Again, the goal is to make the familiars less powerful than their masters, with the exception of Huge creatures which can afford to do slightly more damage.





The following was written with Mystical Companions in mind, although as there are few to no discernible differences between that book and The Book of Familiars, it should apply to both equally.

It is no secret that the book was written with 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons in mind and it is even less of a secret that 3e DnD is a game with a much higher power level than C&C. That combination results in some balance issues that renders the book all but useless for those of us that wish to use it within the C&C ruleset. These houserules are to address that balance as well as any other conversion issues.

Firstly, if it wasn't obvious enough, any references to Base Attack bonus should be replaced with BtH. Any references to Feats should be replaced with Advantages. Any references to Flat-Footed should be replaced with Surprised. Any references to abilities not defined within the C&C ruleset do not apply. Any references to abilities that are defined within the C&C ruleset should instead use the C&C equivalent ability (for example: Sneak attacking Familiars gain the Sneak Attack ability as per the Rogue class, not the +1d6 damage as cited within the book).

Secondly, the Familiars described within this book serve a completely different purpose to those summoned by the Find Familiar spell. As such, the same conditions and abilities do not apply - familiars gained through use of this book do not bestow their Hit Points upon their master.


Specific Conversions:

Familiar Basics (Page 5):
-Abilities (New Sub-header): A medium-sized familiar rolls the same 3d6 for all of its abilities as a human (or whatever ability generation method you are using in your game). For every size category larger than medium, the familiar loses 1 point to all of its mental abilities and gains 2 to two physical abilities of choice. For every size category smaller than medium, the familiar loses 2 points from two physical abilities of choice and gains 1 to all of its mental abilities. All of the creature's base stats are modified by these abilities as per the general rules. Tiny Familiars receive no Strength bonus to damage. Small Familiars only receive half of their Strength bonus to damage.
-Hit Points: The familiar has one-half the master's total hit points (rounded down), or the familiar's normal hit point total, whichever is higher.
-Attacks: The Familiar uses its master's BtH for making attack rolls, or its own HD, whichever is higher. Regardless of the number of attacks a creature would normally have, as a Familiar it is only capable of making at most one attack when attacking. All natural attacks from a Familiar are considered to be magical for the purposes of bypassing Damage Resistance.
-Class Abilities: Scrap this entire heading. Each class chapter will tell you exactly what class abilities your familiar can use, in addition to any possibly gained via Advantages/Familiar Special Abilities.

New Advantages and Abilities (Page 6):
-Hero's Weapon: Prerequisite increased to Fighter level 2.
-Improved Familiar: Delete this Advantage. All class Familiar options are available to that class from the onset.
-Special Mount, Greater: Prerequisite reduced to level 6.
-Special Mount, Supreme: Prerequisite reduced to level 11.
-Strike of the Familiar: In addition to the -5 to attack, whenever this ability is used, both you and your familiar suffer AC penalties of -2 until the beginning of your next turn.
-Summon Diabolical Servant: Prerequisite increased to level 6.
-Summon Familiar: Add prerequisite of minimum level 2. Wizards are no longer considered to have this ability for free - Wizard Familiars and Familiars gained via this book are very different creatures.
-Summon Greater Familiar: Add prerequisite of minimum level 6. Other requisites found in table "1-4: Greater Familiars" on page 25 (rather than within the class chapters as described). Wizard familiars no longer naturally fulfil the prerequisites of this ability. Taking this ability multiple times is only possible if you have multiple Familiars gained via the Summon Familiar Advantage.
-Summon Supreme Familiar: Add prerequisite of minimum level 11. Other requisites found in table "1-5: Supreme Familiars" on page 26 (rather than within the class chapters as described). Taking this ability multiple times is only possible if you have multiple Familiars already enhanced by the Summon Greater Familiar Advantage.

Familiar Special Abilities (Page 16):
Any time you level up, you can switch one of your Familiar's abilities for any other ability it qualifies for, as long as the ability being switched isn't a prerequisite for another abilities possessed by the Familiar.
-Alertness: Replace with: The presence of the familiar sharpens its master’s senses. While the familiar is within arm’s reach, the master gains +1 to all Surprise checks and +1 to Initiative.
-Natural Armor: Replace with: The familiar's level is considered to be 2 higher (as per the tables located within the class chapters) for puposes of its AC. The AC is still capped as per the limits of the table. This ability can be selected more than once. Its effects stack with all other level bonuses the familiar already possesses.
-Spell Resistance: Replace with: The Familiar gains a Spell Resistance of 5.
-Natural Armor, Greater: Replace with: The familiar's level is considered to be 4 higher (as per the tables located within the class chapters) for puposes of its AC. The AC is still capped as per the limits of the table. This ability can be selected more than once. Its effects stack with all other level bonuses the familiar already possesses.
-Opportunist: The Attack is made with a -5 penalty, however if the attack misses, the Familiar retains the ability to make a free attack should an enemy move outside of its reach.
-Spell Resistance, Greater: Replace with: The Familiar gains a Spell Resistance of 10.
-Wholeness of Body: Replaced with the Monk's Fast Healing ability.
-Familiar Growth: The Familiar's BtH and Saves are not doubled by this ability.
-Natural Armor, Supreme: Replace with: The familiar's level is considered to be 4 higher (as per the tables located within the class chapters) for puposes of its AC. The AC is still capped as per the limits of the table. The Familiar also gains a natural +2 bonus to its AC. This ability can be selected more than once. Its effects stack with all other level and AC bonuses the familiar already possesses.

Available Familiars: Ignore table "1-3 Standard Familiars". Other than having a powerful familiar at its beck and call, and those bonuses gained by powers possessed by said Familiar; the Master gains no other bonuses from the Familiar bond.


Appendix A: Animals (Page 139):
-Bull: As a Familiar, the Bull's Gore damage is reduced to 2d6.
-Chameleon, Giant: As a Familiar, the Giant Chameleon's Bite damage is reduced to 1d8.
-Crab, Monstrous: As a Familiar, the Monstrous Crab's Pincer damage is reduced to 3d4.
-Deer: As a Familiar, the Deer's Gore damage is reduced to 1d6 and Hoof damage to 1d4.
-Giraffe: As a Familiar, the Giraffe's Kick damage is reduced to 2d4.
-Kangaroo: As a Familiar, the Kangaroo's Kick damage is reduced to 1d8.
-Lizard, Huge: As a Familiar, the Huge Lizard's Bite damage is reduced to 3d6.
-Lizard, Monstrous: As a Familiar, the Monstrous Lizard's Bite damage is reduced to 3d4.
-Lizard, Giant Venomous: As a Familiar, the Giant Venomous Lizard's Bite damage is reduced to 1d6.
-Lizard, Huge Venomous: As a Familiar, the Huge Venomous Lizard's Bite damage is reduced to 2d6.
-Musk Ox: As a Familiar, the Musk Ox's Ram damage is reduced to 1d12.
-Saber Tooth Tiger: As a Familiar, the Saber Tooth Tiger's Claw damage is reduced to 1d10 and Bite damage to 2d6. The Improved Grab, Rake, and Rend abilities are removed.
-Turtle, Monstrous: As a Familiar, the Monstrous Turtle's Bite damage is reduced to 1d10.
-Walrus: As a Familiar, the Walrus's Gore damage is reduced to 1d8 and Tail Slap damage to 1d12.

Appendix B: New Monsters (Page 151):
-Dark Familiar: As a Familiar, the Dark Familiar's Vampiric Touch damage is reduced to 1d6 plus 1 per each of the master's levels and can only give its master Temporary Hit Points once per day.
-Tree Warrior: As a Familiar, the Tree Warrior's Branch damage is reduced to 1d12.
-Elemental Homonculous (Fire): As a Familiar, the Fire Elemental Homonculous's Slam damage is reduced to 1d4 + 1d4 Fire.

[Treebore]

A good start! I myself have just started playing a game where the CK, my eldest son, is allowing me to play with these rules to see what I have to modify to be willing to use them in my games. Upon reading through, a lot of it seems to be too powerful, which isn't surprising since 3E was all about power escalation. So finally being able to play through using the rules will give me a much better sense of just how powerful things are. Several of the other players are going to try the rules out too, so I will get to see familiars and companions of many of the classes in play. I myself am playing a Ranger Druid.

[Giant2005]

A good start! I myself have just started playing a game where the CK, my eldest son, is allowing me to play with these rules to see what I have to modify to be willing to use them in my games. Upon reading through, a lot of it seems to be too powerful, which isn't surprising since 3E was all about power escalation. So finally being able to play through using the rules will give me a much better sense of just how powerful things are. Several of the other players are going to try the rules out too, so I will get to see familiars and companions of many of the classes in play. I myself am playing a Ranger Druid.

That is really cool - I'd love to hear your experiences with it when you are done - I'm a little concerned that the Familiar's AC is such a problem that even with my changes it will still be way too high. The problem is that people are going to want to stick barding on their Familiars and it is hard to justify saying no to. I think my changes lower it enough that it isn't too bad without barding (maybe another point or two dropped would still be a good idea) but barding just throws everything out the window.

It is actually a bit of a shame that you are playing a multiclassed character - I don't know if that will make the Familiars more or less powerful (probably more due to the extra Advantages), but it will certainly effect your experience.

[Brutorz Bill]

I'd be interested in hearing about folks experiences with this tome as well.
Thanks!