Familiars
Posted: 17 Feb 2005, 03:46
After discussing animal companions (from another thread) and the magic system with a friend, he came up with this idea, which sounds like it could be quite cool to me.
A familiar, for those not (pun alert) familiar with the term, is a small animal or spirit (or demon) that accompanies a mage/wizard/sorcerer in their travels and helps them out. Familiars tend to be fairly powerful. In TMW, I could see familiars working as such:
They would take the form of element-specific spirits, that float alongside the player. Any player would only be allowed one familiar at a time, which is in line with the folklore surrounding these creatures. When I say element-specific, I mean this: when a character gains enough skill in any single element of magic, and they return to the appropriate "temple," they can go on a quest to attain a familiar of that element. The familiar aids in the casting of spells, and can defend itself if attacked, but won't physically fight for you. Spells cast by a character with a familiar are increased in power, and potentially have their mana cost reduced. The effect is miniscule, except for spells of the familiar's own element, wherein it essentially adds a couple extra skill levels on (for example, if I have a familiar of water, my fire spells might do one extra point of damage, but my water spells are substantially better). Familiars stick with you, unless killed (rather difficult) or you release them in order to get a different one. However, the quest required to obtain a familiar should be a difficult one, no matter your character's level (ie, if you have to fight a boss, his HP depends on your level), so that people tend to stick with the one they've got.
Obviously, this would only be something available to those who get quite proficient at spellcasting (perhaps only if they hit level 100 in an element?), but it could add an interesting element to the game, encouraging people to choose one or two schools of magic to specialize in (and adding to potential titles: pyromancer, geomancer, cryomancer, chronomancer, lucomancer, etc) and as such increasing character diversity (which is really the bread and butter of a good MMORPG).
A familiar, for those not (pun alert) familiar with the term, is a small animal or spirit (or demon) that accompanies a mage/wizard/sorcerer in their travels and helps them out. Familiars tend to be fairly powerful. In TMW, I could see familiars working as such:
They would take the form of element-specific spirits, that float alongside the player. Any player would only be allowed one familiar at a time, which is in line with the folklore surrounding these creatures. When I say element-specific, I mean this: when a character gains enough skill in any single element of magic, and they return to the appropriate "temple," they can go on a quest to attain a familiar of that element. The familiar aids in the casting of spells, and can defend itself if attacked, but won't physically fight for you. Spells cast by a character with a familiar are increased in power, and potentially have their mana cost reduced. The effect is miniscule, except for spells of the familiar's own element, wherein it essentially adds a couple extra skill levels on (for example, if I have a familiar of water, my fire spells might do one extra point of damage, but my water spells are substantially better). Familiars stick with you, unless killed (rather difficult) or you release them in order to get a different one. However, the quest required to obtain a familiar should be a difficult one, no matter your character's level (ie, if you have to fight a boss, his HP depends on your level), so that people tend to stick with the one they've got.
Obviously, this would only be something available to those who get quite proficient at spellcasting (perhaps only if they hit level 100 in an element?), but it could add an interesting element to the game, encouraging people to choose one or two schools of magic to specialize in (and adding to potential titles: pyromancer, geomancer, cryomancer, chronomancer, lucomancer, etc) and as such increasing character diversity (which is really the bread and butter of a good MMORPG).
