Animal Companions, Familiars, Spirit Vestages, and Totem Spirits

[Humabout]

I've been thinking a lot about various character allies that are common to fantasy settings and am curious about the hivemind's views on them.  Specifically, I'm looking at familiars, animal companions, totem spirits, and spirit vestages.  My thoughts are as follows:

Animal Companions.  These are mundane, albeit exceptional, animals that feel some sens eof loyalty to a character.  The ranger's pet wolf and the like are examples.

Familiars.  These are spirits that take physical form - usually that of an animal or such - that are bound by rituals to a magic-worker.  They usually are willing, but may be forced into the relationship by magic, and usually have a sympathetic bond to the magic-user.  Familiars sometimes grant their masters extraordinary powers.

Totem Spirits.  These are powerful spirits who often take the physical form of an animal, but not necessarily.  They most often represent some ideal form of animals but some embody lesser concepts.  They almost always grant extraordinary powers and sometimes serve as companions.  These are always more powerful than the character himself.

Spirit Vestages.  These are deific entities who occassionally grant powers by possessing them.  The mortal channels the spirit, taking on a vestage of its form and power, and usually a piece of its personality as well.  They can be used to justify other supernatural powers, but this transformation is central to the concept - otherwise they're little more than priests blessed by the gods.

What are your thoughts?  Questions?  Comments?  Experiences?  Anything?

[Rhamnousia]

I LOVE ALL OF THESE THINGS!

Ahem. In all seriousness, one of my favorite tropes (for no reason in particular) is the companion or familiar. So much so, in fact, that I've batted around the idea for a setting that revolves around Pokemon or Monsters and Other Childish Things-style supernatural cockfighting, but that is probably a topic for another thread...

Not to pimp my work or anything, but in the Manticore Gardens, I've incorporated Animal Companions and Familiars in the form of gargoyles and tulpa, though unlike in D&D and its ilk, they're not restricted to a certain class of character, which is a trope I never really understood: their version of familiars might be explicitly geared towards wizards, but I'd imagine all of the classes could make great use of some type of companion. A bear or wolf to cover a fighter's blind-spot? Check. A hawk lookout or viper infiltrator for a rogue? Check? A dancing monkey for a bard? Check. And that's just if you're going with the stereotypes; I bet the hivemind (love the term) could come up with some even more creative combinations. But anyways, between gargoyles, tulpa, and living talismans, it wouldn't be uncommon to find a courtier carrying around their own personal micro-menagerie of familiars and companions. While I haven't really described it in any depth, the Art of High Summoning involves summoning things from beyond the boundaries of the Unknown World, which could definitely fall into any one of the four categories. I think it's a great way to add to the fantasy-ness of a setting without having to go full-Ebberon and be all on-the-nose about it. Though it could just as easily be replicated in a science fiction/fantasy setting with aliens/AIs/genetically-engineered creatures.

You could probably expand Totem Spirits to include celestial bodies and geographical features as well.

Also, when I think of Spirit Vestiges, my first thought is of Anders and Justice/Vengeance, who was just about the greatest character in Dragon Age 2 (which is saying something). I also think of the Avatars from Unknown Armies channeling the archetypes of the Celestial Clergy, which was one of the coolest interpretations of the trope I've ever seen. You could probably base a pretty cool setting around the concept of characters either channeling or outright merging with powerful spirits/small gods, especially if you get into the interactions and ramifications of, say, channeling more than one entity at once.

How's that?

[LoA]

I LOVE ALL OF THESE THINGS!

Ahem. In all seriousness, one of my favorite tropes (for no reason in particular) is the companion or familiar. So much so, in fact, that I've batted around the idea for a setting that revolves around Pokemon or Monsters and Other Childish Things-style supernatural cockfighting, but that is probably a topic for another thread...

You too?!!!! In all seriousness I think everyone tries that atleast once. Also I think there was a big collaboration project to create a big monster trainer setting. You could look at that...

[Humabout]

I like your thoghts, Superbright.  Thanks a ton!

My thoughts about familiars and acquiring them don't relegate them only to wizards, largely because of my approach to magic.  Gaining a familiar involves a magical ritual, but anyone is capable of performing magic rituals anyway.  "Wizards" and "sorcerers" are just more talented than others.  I don't want to limit just what sort of animal can qualify as a familiar, either, since in my head, they are spirits taht assume a material form.  The particular form is up to the player to be approved by the GM (in fluffy terms, the spirit chooses a form it prefers).  In a sufficiently high-powered game, I could see a halfling bush-priest riding his kudu familiar around or a merman sage and his baluga familiar.  None of this prevents the traditional familiars, of course.  And I'd see familiars having some standardized powers like beign able to speak with other animals of their type, and such.  These would be personalized additions, of course.

I could see just about any powerful kami as qualifying as a potential totem spirit.  I just associate that concept (thanks to Arcana Evolved) with animal spirits, but really any nature spirit should suffice.  As with familiars, anyone could potentially acquire a totem spirit, but it would require ceremonial communions wiht nature, vision quests, etc.  At the end of it, the person would be appraoched by a potential totem, and he would then negotiate terms of their arrangement or whatever.  The relationship would be more symbiotic and equal than a master-familiar relationship.  Also, neither party would be bound to the other.

Spirit Vestages/Vessels strike me as being the most "religious" of all of these.  They represent an intimate communion with a spirit wehreby the spirit temporarily merges with the vessel channelign it.  One rather silly example is The Mask.  Of course, I'd be aiming for more serious stuff like channeling demons, angels, deities, major spirits, etc.  How religiocity of the experience probably depends on the spirit and the vessel involved, but I'd certainly consider it quite intimate if nothing else.  If nothing else, the relationship between spirit and host would be as lopsided as that of master and familiar, with the spirit being the master in this instance.  The vessel must struggle to maintain a sense of self and can probably find his personality if not his soul slowly being tainted (for good or bad) by the spirits he channels.  As for channeling two spirits at once goes, I suspect that would result in a war between spirits, which would hardly be good for the vessel.

I'm a little torn on whether or not animal companions should have any special qualities aside from just being really prime examples of their species and having a degree of loyalty to their "master".  Frankly, I'm not sure what sort of special abilities would even be appropriate, aside from perhaps being able to speak to other animals or their "master".

[LoA]

I'm a little torn on whether or not animal companions should have any special qualities aside from just being really prime examples of their species and having a degree of loyalty to their "master".  Frankly, I'm not sure what sort of special abilities would even be appropriate, aside from perhaps being able to speak to other animals or their "master".

You know I actually kind of agree. Although I suppose if you wanted to go a good/evil morality system for druids, you could use a system that incorporates the "horrid" animal template from Eberron, and create some celestial counterpart that makes your animal more powerful depending on how you act ingame. Just off the type of my head.

[Humabout]

I generally avoid any sort of alignment, and don't use d20 or wotc materials.  "horrid" is a template that makes aniamls nasty?  I'm not particularly familiar with Eberron except insofar as it appears to be victorian steampunk dungeons and dragons.

For what it's worth, I have decided that they should have a moderate understanding of their master's spoken native language.  I'm not against them being able to speak to others of their kind, too.  I think I'd draw the line there, though.  Anything more and they start to just be familiars.

[LoA]

I generally avoid any sort of alignment, and don't use d20 or wotc materials.  "horrid" is a template that makes aniamls nasty?  I'm not particularly familiar with Eberron except insofar as it appears to be victorian steampunk dungeons and dragons.

For what it's worth, I have decided that they should have a moderate understanding of their master's spoken native language.  I'm not against them being able to speak to others of their kind, too.  I think I'd draw the line there, though.  Anything more and they start to just be familiars.

Yeah you're probably right about that last part. As for eberron, I've always thought it more quasi-medieval magitek dieselpunk than steampunk.

[Humabout]

Actually sitting down to write some of this up has led me to the conclusion that Totem Spirits and Spirit Vestiges overlap sufficiently to combine them.  Some totem spirits lend pieces of their power to spirit vessels, while others are satisfied to grant powers or accompany thier allies.

I think I am going to reserve actual miracle-working for more distant gods (although a god is certainly capable fo possessing a person).

[LoA]

What setting are you making all of this for?

[Humabout]

The ever-evolving elyria-zalhrada-fantasy-thing that reincarnates perpetually.  I'll have to consolodate what thoughts I have solidified at some point, I suppose, but for now, I'm still just trying to sort out this bit.  I suppose my thoughts on spirits would be germane to the conversation, though.  Hmm.. I'll have to post a summary tomorrow, I suppose.

[Humabout]

Here is a link to the main article on Elyria's spirits from the wiki.  It has a couple of relavent links to eschatology and the undead, as well.  I'm not convinced I'll keep the bits where uncremated bodies automatically zombify, though.  That seems a bit harsh - more like an ancient superstition from a time when cremation was the norm.  I'm in the air baout that, still. 

Linkiness!