Your character has a magical bond with a spirit that aids him, one that is either in Twilight (that is, immaterial and invisible) or embodied. Twilight familiars have no bodies: they are spirits existing in an ephemeral state of existence called Twilight. Embodied familiars inhabit a physical body in the material world.

A Twilight familiar is bought for three dots; it is a spirit originating in the Shadow Realm, also known as a “fetch.” Twilight familiars can temporarily manifest like ghosts (see “Manifestations,” p. 210 in the World of Darkness Rulebook), but their ephemeral bodies are otherwise invisible and intangible to the physical world. A Twilight familiar must manifest or use Numina to affect anything in the physical world — except for its bonded mage, whom it can touch at will (its mage can also see and speak with the familiar even when he is not using a spell that allows him to see Twilight). Twilight familiars exist on the material side of the Gauntlet, although they can accompany their masters across into the Shadow, or travel there themselves if their Numina allow it.

An embodied familiar is bought for four dots. It takes the form of an earthly creature. Many of the legendary stories of sorcerers with cunning animal companions — cats, rats, bats — are actually references to embodied familiars.

A familiar’s bonded mage is considered to be its anchor to the material world, although there is no limit to how far a familiar can travel from its mage. It does not lose Essence for every hour it spends in the physical world or Twilight. It must follow all the other rules concerning Essence, however, including spending one Essence per day. If it is reduced to zero Essence, it falls into slumber (see “Essence,” p. 319), but it is not transferred back into the Shadow Realm as long as the mage-familiar bond still exists. Like other spirits, it can gain Essence by being in proximity to something that it reflects, or its mage can spend Mana points to give it Essence.

The master and familiar have an empathic connection; each can automatically feel the emotions of the other. (Magical effects that damage or manipulate the familiar through an emotional attack don’t damage or manipulate the master.) All familiars have a Sensory sympathetic connection to their bonded mage, meaning that a mage’s scrying spells can use the familiar’s senses in place of a scrying window, with no sympathetic penalty. This makes familiars superlative spies. Even more useful, however, the mage can spend his familiar’s Essence points as Mana points, no matter how distant the familiar is from the mage. He can also spend his own Mana points to give his familiar Essence.

Improvement:
To improve a familiar, a mage’s player must spend some of his character’s experience points on the familiar.

Familiar Traits

Whether immaterial or embodied, a familiar is considered to be a rank 1 spirit (a “squire”; see “The Spiritual Hierarchy,” p. 317). The Storyteller designs the spirit’s traits. Each familiar begins play with at least one dot in each Attribute, with extra dots as listed below. See “Spirits,” pp. 317- 322, for rules concerning spirit traits.

Twilight Familiar Traits

Attributes: 3/3/2 (allocate dots in any order among Power, Finesse and Resistance)

Willpower: Equal to Power + Resistance

Essence: 10 (10 max)

Initiative: Equal to Finesse + Resistance

Defense: Equal to highest of Power and Finesse

Speed: Equal to Power + Finesse + “species factor” (same as its earthly counterpart)

Size: 5 or less (same as its earthly counterpart)

Corpus: Equal to Resistance + Size

Influence: 2 dots (choose one)

Numina: Choose one

Ban: The fetch has one Ban, chosen by the Storyteller

Most mages with a fetch have a respectable command of Spirit Arcanum, since its spells are useful for influencing the familiar. It is possible to have a fetch without knowledge of Spirit magic — or even knowing what the fetch really is — but such a relationship may torment the mage more than it helps him.

When a fetch manifests, use the following modifiers:

Location	Modifier
Wilderness	+3
Demesne	+3
Hallow	+2
Place associated with the spirit’s Influence	+2
Ley line nexus	+1
Handmade structure (wooden bridge, shed)	+1
Parking lot	-1
Modern commercial building	-1
Modern industrial building	-2
Modern laboratory	-3

Embodied Familiar Traits

Attributes: 5/4/3

Skills: 9/6/3

Willpower: Equal to Resolve + Composure

Essence: 10 (10 max)

Initiative: Equal to Dexterity + Composure

Defense: Equal to lowest of Dexterity and Wits

Speed: Strength + Dexterity + “species factor” (based on its animal type)

Size: 5 or less (based on its animal type)

Health: Equal to Stamina + Size

Influence: 2 dots (choose one)

Numina: Innocuous (see below), and choose one more

Ban: The fetch has one Ban, chosen by the Storyteller

Embodied familiars live in the material world in a physical body, although it might be a rather strange body. They are often clever and loyal animals, the black cat or cunning rat of sorcerous legend.

All embodied familiars have the Innocuous Numen (see pp. 321-322). It is very good at not being noticed by others. Anyone but its bonded mage suffers a –2 penalty on perception rolls to notice the familiar, unless it does something to draw attention to itself.