need some info concerning familiars (2E)

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im playing a mage in my d&d campaigns, and im now going through the tedious process of collecting 10000 gold worth of ingredients for my find familiar spell....but in the players manual it gives a list of possible familiars and they're all normal beast, like a rat, a cat, etc...while some npcs (like methrammar, the son of lady alustriel) do have other familiars (he has a pseudodragon). i frankly dont understand it

 

Well, the good news is that its only 1000, not ten thousand (still a lot for your benefits, but still).

However, special familiars require something more than the standard Find Familiar spell in 2nd edition (1st edition gave you a small chance of summoning one based on your alignment; the pseudodragon was for NG, I believe). I'd need to look up what spells are needed, though, and I don't have my references available.

My suggestion? Talk to your DM and ask him if you can summon a special familiar by using special (and expensive) ingredients. Something like a tressym or a pseudodragon is reasonable, though I'd require you to have a good chunk of money above the initial 1000, and perhaps a minor magic item which would help (like a potion of animal control for a tressym, or a scroll which would summon the creature).

 

the spell description says 10000 gold.....im playing 2E, you know....the spell just takes 2d12 hours to cast and then the dm rolls to see what familiar it is,a dnthen he checks if it can actually live in the area, and then i have a chance that i have a familiar....why do i have the idea i will take so much more time....

 

Yes, I know you're playing 2nd edition. The spell description in my copies (I have the original and the mid-90s reprint) says 1,000, not 10,000. And it sounds to me like your DM is making this a lot more of chore than it should be... all of the creatures listed are fairly standard ones that you should be able to find in any reasonably settled area.

 

yes, i know....but the point is, all the listed creatures are normal, non-magical ones; no pseudodragons, eyeballs, pixies, etc...

 

There is an extended list in the Complete Wizard's Handbook. Should I post it?

 

Yes, Arianyr, and there a couple reasons he might have a different familiar.

1) Holdover from 1st edition, where there was about a 5% chance of it.
2) Special spell from another, non-PHB source.
3) Writer's fiat.

Technically, all you need to do is find a pseudo-dragon and befriend it... the 2e rules for them make them very useful to have as a friend (since they can extend their spell resistance to you, familiar or no familiar).

 

@felinoid: if it's not too much trouble; id appreciate it

 

No trouble at all. From page 108 of the CWH:

Hand this table to your DM, and if he rolls more than once, insist that you see the rolls and ask him why he's rolling again. If he doesn't have a good reason, you get what he rolled the first time. If he wants to make a substitution, make sure it's a fair one.

[rant]
The DM may be in control, but without the players to give him that authority, he's nothing. If he doesn't know that, well, "absolute power corrupts absolutely", and he'll turn into the biggest a**h*** you can imagine. I've seen more than one friendship strained to the limits by over-bearing DM's.
[/rant]

 

thanks for the info still no magical creatures though i dont understand why npc's can have them...

 

You're not supposed to have a awesome familiar. That's why it's a first level spell. You can always wait until you find a friendly creature you want to make your familiar. A good DM might allow you to direct the spell at it, but the components should have to cost a little more (perhaps that 10,000 gp you mentioned).