I've been on servers before with xp penalties for familar loss, given that the PnP rules apply it I can see why they do it, first of all I agree that whatever penalty you apply to familiars should also apply to companions.

Now in PnP familiars are NOT combat orientated creatures, the chance of them being killed is not high because they are small innoculous creatures for the most part, and generally the d.m isnt big on punishing the wizard simply for having one.

On this server as a starting level 2 character you will lose in excess of 177 xp (how much I had when it knocked by xp back to level start) this is HUGE considering the familiar only had 7 hitpoints and can get one shotted very easily.

Now hear me out .. instead of an xp penalty I think that an ability time disable would be more effective and reasonable for a server with such a high threat value (the underdark is an extremely hazardous place - and rightly so) . If you lose your creature your ability to GET another should be hampered, maybe for 8 hours game time (in excess of resting minimum time)

I say this because starting characters have a hard time anyway, and the familiars are not so strong as to keep you from death, it's even possible that an area effect spell will take YOU and your familiar out which will be doubly harsh.

Currently it's just not viable to even THINK about using a familiar or companion the way it's set up at the moment until you're at least a level 5 (monoclass) character or beyond. If you're multiclass.. forget completely about it.

p.s. I do like that you've made new familars/companions.. kudos!

I have played on a few NWN Servers now and one very heavily. Additionally, I played for a few years in an MMORPG called Asheron's Call and the Star Wars: Empire Divided. The Death rules in EFU are exceptionally good, including the penalties for Familiar death. I play a mage here and while it's true, I am only 1/2-way to level 4, I really appreciate the thought and intention that went into selecting this set of penalties. Familiars are all too often used as proxies for a wide variety of things, but most often, for a mage who'll stay back from combat and let the buffed familiar kill things off. That is just wrong and it defeats the purpose of a server geared towards group-play.

Consider all the players (from other servers, perhaps) you've met who blithely kill off others, or allow themselves to be killed in the headlong pursuit of almighty xp because "Death" is nothing really serious. I know a player who's running a story in which they casually offer others the option to kill their character if the other person gets annoyed at their actions! I can not understand the mindset where death is not serious. If you're going to call it "Death" then it should mean something and in EFU it surely does.

In closing, kudos to the creators and don't change a thing.

I agree with Merilee.

If you want something in your party to keep you from dying check out other PCs in fullplate.

Well, I think it's the balance question once again here. As Wizards and Sorcerers have a tendency to become SERIOUSLY powerful at higher lvls, it makes little sense to make them powerful at low lvls as well.

If we give the familiars more hp, a little damage reduction and of course a little regeneration, then the mages wont really need the company of a warrior. Not now, not ever.

As it is, the familiars are great for rp but poor in combat and I like that. The xp loss on familiar death is a way to make the mage "care" about his pet. If he loses one and can just call another after a shower and a shave it's just not rough enough.

If anything, I think Clerics are a bit too powerful, but that seems to always be the case, even in PnP, and EfU DMs have done lots to nerf them, so in my opinion the DMs have a very good idea about what's hot and what's not.

And now I went off topic again.. If only just a little. 8)

Well I have lvl 4 druid, and I've been using my companion from the start. It had like 10 hp at start with my first companion, but that's just how it is. Don't let the companion/familiar run near horde of enemies. It hurts when it dies, but then you got something more to rp with. They have been balanced pretty well in my opinion, although some may need a little adjusting, and they are going to do so.

Actually, i'd be in favor of having more powerful familiars if the wizard had to do something special to obtain them - in pnp, i think it's a 24 hour ritual whereby they have to maintain absolute concentration or something?

(For instance, something along the lines of mage must actually seek out creature in question/summon it and convince it to become his familiar, forming the telepathic bond etc. and then, when it's dead, it's dead - but it retains all of its powers. That would allow the 'fear factor' of watching it die, while meaning that mages would still retain their useful familiar. Sketchy on details here, though, i guess.)

I agree with a lot of the sentiments, here.

I think familiars/animal companions should be be a bit of a trial to get at your side *(rituals or in the companions case actually going to a particular place to get one)

If you want penalties on death thats fine, cursing the character with an unremovable "grief" effect that disrupts their saves, gives them 10% arcane failure, modifies their "to hit" in a bad way would also infer that the loss is something to be avoided.

All I'm saying is that in their current state they are more harm to the caster than they are worth, which goes along with the above comment about getting a person with full plate to "tank" for you.

If you want the additional flavour of having familiars/companions around, I think the xp penalty needs to be seriously looked at. (especially since your control over the familiar is so limited) Avoiding it's death is extremely difficult.

Putting a large amount of TIME before you ability to re-summon them would put a dampner of it's own on your ability to use it as some sort of tactical thing. You could even look at making it so it's 1 day REAL-TIME before you can resummon a lost pet or familiar. You'll probably see more tactical use of "unsummon" if that was the case.

They are poor in combat which I like also, and yes calling another after a shower and shave is too often for me too.

I was never suggesting the familiars/ compansions be IMPROVED to be tanks or anything of that nature. I just suggest that the xp penalty on their death should be removed and just TIME itself be the deterent to their mis-use.

Is it worth trialing it?

Well I play my companion as a real companion. I don't summon it inside, but in places where it really could come. I RP and assume that it is usually near me, but not in town or similar places, like sewers or so. But if I'm in wilderness of Underdark, I assume I can just call it when it is needed. I'm not entirely sure what happens when and if it dies some day, but most likely I wouldn't summon it anymore. Atleast before I could figure out something to get it back by some ritual or some other stuff. Or then I just wait for lvl up and take other companion :S

Can I just have my toad and its +1 con bouns? :wink:

I just pretend my sorc has none currently, I find her interesting enough to RP without one and I dont risk to lose any more xp beyond my own, rather common, deaths.

Curse you 18hp and the moron telling you to march into the midst of the fray!