Familiar Spirits

Familiar spirits are lesser spirit beings that spell casters call up to act as familiars. Most are neutral by nature and slowly take on the morals and ethics of the caster they serve; in fact every one of them adopts its master's alignment, knowing that refusing would endanger the bodily form it craves.

On their own planes they have some physical substance, but in the material world they have no true shape, so they must take over the body of a healthy animal to become solid.

The Game Judge chooses a small or medium animal native to the region of the summoning; cats, owls, bats, hounds, wolves, rats and ravens are typical, and the spirit gains that creature's senses and talents. A cat sees in the dark, moves silently 95% of the time and claws for 1-3. An owl flies, sees at night and has such wide vision that it is surprised only 10% of the time, clawing for 1-3. A bat flies, finds its way even through magical darkness and detects illusions by sonar 90% of the time, biting for 1. A hound hears so well that no corporeal creature can surprise it and tracks by scent at 90%, biting for 1-4, while a wolf is surprised only 10% of the time, tracks at 85% and bites for 1-6. A rat has a sharp nose, above all for other animals and food, burrows a foot a minute and bites for 1, and a raven flies, sees keenly, can talk and claws for 1.

A spirit housed in an animal gives no trouble and serves loyally, since most spirits would rather have a body than be without one. Every familiar can talk mind to mind with its master at up to a mile, and none can reach the material plane unless magic summons it.

If no fit animal is close at hand, the spirit may settle instead into something the caster owns, such as a cauldron, a crystal ball, a mirror or some odder object. These disembodied spirits can foretell the future once a week, but they resent it and grow rude and unpleasant if consulted more than once a month. Each month spent without a body brings a small risk of madness, and a mad spirit is a dreadful pest that wails, sings, cracks stupid jokes, insults its superiors and ignores its master. For reasons no one knows, it cannot be dismissed like other familiars and has to be driven out by a capable priest or mystic.