Perhaps someone could lower the XP loss of the companion death? I believe that not many bring out companions because of it and i think that it could bring out better concepts and battles in the future of EFU

Personally I believe it is fair enough. If you bring out your familar then you are accepting the fact that your campanion could be attacked and be fatally wounded(unless you are new to the server). It's simply how you go about using your campanion rather than letting it run rampant in combat situations.

Like for example you could use your campanion to find hidden entrances in the underdark or use their special abilitys to benefit you depending on their race.

IMO, the fact that companions are not allowed within the city limits, the fact that many have their hp crippled to 1/LVL and the fact that if they should die you lose a decent chunk of exp make companions far less fun than the original implementation had intended them to be.

This is largely inarguable. If they were fun, you'd see people using them. As it is I only see new players ever using them often, and older players may use them, but typically only druids and even then very very rarely. I agree that having pets only to use them as combat tanks is BS, but for the most part, using them in any other way is too risky for what little meager fun they can offer.

Come to think of it, my current character is a pure wizard and I've been playing him for at least 2-3 weeks now. And yet.. I can't even recall which familiar type he has. This isn't even because I'm afraid of the exp hit. It's largely because wizard familiars are so weak that I can honestly admit I'd be ashamed if someone thought that I might be relying on such a pathetic creature for even the smallest function in some scheme or strategy. Yes, that's right. I am -ashamed- of the pathetic little one hit wonders that EfU calls a deep dragon hatchling, or the imp familiar of a L10 mage which could easilly be killed with a lucky heavy crossbow shot from a kobold. Granted I might be underestimating their usefulness a little, but the fact of the matter is that if I were to consider clicking that button, in combat or out of combat, the factor that stops me is shame. On this server using a familiar or companion is often taken by many players the same as walking around with a "NOOB" sign on your back.

I've no problem with the exp hit, but for a druid to lose 200 exp on a quest which might typically only offer him 500-700 total. That creature had better have at least a 50/50 chance of both not dying and pulling it's weight in terms of exp loss. As it is you have about a 2% chance of either if you plan to bring a companion along for the duration of a quest. So too hell with EfU familiars. I'll allocate a spell slot to Summon Creature and beat it hands down anyday. The risk is simply FAR greater than the reward to use the familiar. I might not be able to control it for complicated tasks, but a typical summoning will do the trick for most purposes. If I ever find myself in such dire straights that I need a 1hp/LVL imp or mephit with negligible special abilities for any task what so ever, my character would deserve his permadeath before a 100exp penalty.

A bit of a pouting rant, but it's how I feel.

...it should be self-evident that mage companions are not for use in combat? Much like in normal DND.

That said, there are several tasks which companions are -very- good at. I'll let you figure them out yourself.

-Cross

Agreed. Familiars were never supposed to be good at combat in PnP. They are just small animals that would do minor tasks for the wizard. As far as animal companions and summons, it is my understanding they were weakened to (basically) prevent people from roaming about with their own personal party, not to mention the built-in companions are extremely over-powered in NWN to accommodate single players.

Although the topic is old now. I just wanted to clarify that given the near uselessness of familiars/companions on this server, I would suggest to have the druidic exp hit dropped slightly as well as making wiz/sorc familiars a bit more functional somehow for non-combat purposes. I also agree that wiz/sorc familiars should -not- be combat oriented, but they shouldn't be next to redundant either.

Perhaps giving each familiar some sort of ability which might offer some non-combat usefulness might warrant players to risk the exp hits. Imps could go invisible 1/day, the braindogs might have a mental tracking ability, the eyes might be able to see inivs 1/day, the shining lights (if they don't already) might be good enough to simply shine a light radius, and do so intelligently on things to give it's master a +3 spot and search bonus.

The shining light can already heal, and it's useful!

As for the others, I think invis for imps is good, but I believe they have another ability already.

Check about each's creatures ability, and remember the possession is powerful!

PICK THE SHINING LIGHT FAMILIAR IT HAS HEAL GUYS COME'ON

Crosswind makes a good point, and whoever witnessed the Escape quest with Crumb will agree that familiar's have their advantages in a deadly situation. You just have to know when to use them.

:lol:

ExileStrife PICK THE SHINING LIGHT FAMILIAR IT HAS HEAL GUYS COME'ON

*gasp* Do I detect a hint of cynicism Strife?

At least some of the animal companions also are fairly good at what they do already, and definitely worth the risk of losing a meagre 200 XP.

Vendayan said: This is largely inarguable. If they were fun, you'd see people using them.

It is wholly, 100% arguable. They are fun. They are nerfed for balance reasons the OC campaign had completely screwed up, and to simulate you loosing a real companion and friend. These are not summons. These are close allies, and IMO the XP penalty is not enough as it stands right now.

In PnP if they die, you can not just resummon them the next day and or walk around until you see a different animal you like and AE them to be your animal companion.

As for usefullness, we do not feel that providing a means for a wizard to become an uber scout, uber thief/trap specialist/etc, is needed or even wanted as was possible in the OC. Familiars in PnP are even more nerfed than they are here and usually have 1/2 HD. The penalty for loosing them is to take a CON hit and have to recast a very complicated spell that may not even work.

In the players handbook when a familiar dies the master takes a DC 15 fort save if he fails he loses 200 xp per level and if he passes he takes half of this penalty he can not replace it for a year and a day. It can be reseructed however without penaltys so no con loss or level loss for the familiar, however you don't get back the xp penalty.

I've never had any issue playing with my familiar when I had one and I found them very useful in Rp. So IMO this doesn't seem necessary.