Mauler (Familiar Archetype)
Most of the time, a familiar is seen as a precious commodity, an ally that the mage must consider carefully before asking them to serve in battle. After all, the creature is often a dear friend, and relatively fragile, though they do have their benefits.
For the master of the familiars known as maulers, however, the opposite holds true. Their familiars are savage and deadly, trading magically-augmented cunning for greater might and combat prowess.
This variation of the binding ritual is typically used by mages with a bit of a bloodthirst, whom wish for a familiar that they can sic upon their foes to great effect, rather than serve in other ways. They might belong to callous societies that host familiar battling rings, or warlike nations that have little interest in the stealth and guile that other familiars bring to the table.
The bond of these savage familiar is one of a shared love of bloodshed, and both master and familiar grow more vicious when they bring low powerful foes. However, this is a silent bond of shared emotions, rather than words, for these familiars gain no ability to communicate with others.
While far from mere beasts, these familiars gain little in the way of enhanced intelligence as their master grows in power. Instead, their physical might grows, making them uncannily strong for their size.
Being so small does reduce their combat effectiveness though, which is why this bond has been engineered to allow the familiar to grow in size and muscle mass, achieving a human-sized battle form.
They also grow more durable, making up for their frail forms.
If you’re interested in playing any sort of combat mage with a familiar, this archetype can turn your pet into a ferocious foe in its own right, giving you an ally to spend your buffs on when others are not available, not to mention often having mobility that other party members might lack. I would recommend a mixed buffing and damage dealing build, so that you and your familiar can unleash your fury on foes. Magi and certain druids can use this quite effectively, or you could be a blasting caster and obliterate foes with evocation while your familiar weaves between blasts, tearing at survivors. Just keep in mind that most arcane classes lack healing, so it is better to buff them up rather than regret it later.
With only limited ability to convey emotions and reduced intelligence, these familiars might be particularly brutal in their thinking, or disturbingly naïve and innocent as they obey their master’s commands to tear at foes and destroy them.
As unpredictable and vicious as a feral predator, Princess Sildri delights in toying with her guests, pushing the boundaries of hospitality and graciousness. Her true viciousness, however, she reserves for those who actually offend her, commanding her housecat, actually an esipil sahkil to grow in size and tear apart foes while she watches and supports it with her magic.
Always eager as he was to prove himself in the area of spell duels, High Mage Erbranz invested in mystic rituals to turn his dwarf caiman into a much more fearsome crocodilian. However, while a fearsome fighter indeed, the beast was unable to do much to help when its master, having experimented with abyssal energies, accidentally brought a mass of lab equipment to life as a deadly urannag.
A shaman devoted to the ruined places of the world, the wyvaran mystic Huhanra is no stranger to defending herself from forgotten horrors, but she is not alone, using the power of her spirit to enhance her centipede spirit animal into a serpentine, many-legged horror to match what she finds in the dark.
