TEXT: Familiars
  Familiars
  A familiar can be as important to a mage
  as a clip is to an M-16. The familiar is
  the mage’s extra eyes, ears, and WKM
  battery. Plus, they can make pretty good
  companions  (unless  your  familiar
  happens to be a cantankerous old hound
  dog with a southern drawl or a chicken
  with Turrets.). There are a few different
  ways to find a familiar and the familiar
  can be almost anything. They may also
  be more or less intelligent than the mage
  that summoned them. A familiar’s life
  span is increased to match the mages
  lifespan  unless  the  creature  would
  outlive  the  mage  naturally.  No  matter
  what the outcome, a familiar can be both
  a boon and a bane.
  Familiars have a wide range of abilities,
  depending  on  their  intelligence.  They
  can increase a mage’s abilities and even
  help a mage to heal.  A mage’s  spell-
  casting ability can also be boosted with
  help from a familiar. But for all their
  bonuses, a familiar can also have their
  downsides; downsides that can be deadly
  to the mage. 
  A GM should feel free to design and
  flesh  out  a  player  characters  familiar.
  Give it personality, but most of all, have
  fun with it.
  Finding a Familiar
  A  white  mage  must  find  their  own
  familiar while a grey or black mage can
  either find one themselves or be granted
  one by the darker forces. Another option
  available to players is the spell Choose
  Familiar  (see  spell  list,  Choose
  Familiar). A granted familiar will always
  be at least Intelligence Level 4 (+76 to
  roll) while a familiar acquired through
  the Choose Familiar spell will always be
  at least Intelligence Level 3 (+51 to roll).
  The  maximum  Intelligence  Level
  possible is Level 5 unless a natural 100
  is rolled on d100. 
  Example- Esmerelda, the White Witch of
  Compton  casts  Choose  Familiar.  She
  chooses a ferret named Willie, who is
  just a normal ferret before the spell is
  cast. Rolling for Intelligence Level she
  gets a dismal 5. But adding it to the +51
  gives  her  a  56.  Looking  at  the
  Intelligence table gives Willie the ferret
  an Intelligence Level of 3, making him
  as intelligent as the average adult along
  with the abilities listed for Level 3.
  Intelligence Level
  A  familiar  can  have  an  Intelligence
  ranging from that of an animal to higher
  than a normal human being. And with
  higher intelligence, a familiar will have
  more inherent abilities. But regardless of
  a familiar’s Intelligence Level, a familiar
  will never be able to take over a mage’s
  free will. The only exception would be if
  the familiar is ever possessed by darker
  forces  (or  holy  ones).  If  a  creature
  already has an Intelligence Level, a roll
  is not needed unless the mage wishes to
  increase  the  familiar’s  Intelligence
  Level. 
  Intelligence Level Chart 
  ROLL
  INT
  LVL
  Abilities
  1-25
  0-3
  1
  None
  26-50
  4-9
  2
  Speech I
  51-75
  10-16
  3
  Speech II
  76-99
  17-19
  4
  3 Skills
  100
  20-21
  5
  1 Spell List
  101+
  22+
  6
  Self Teleport
  Abilities are cumulative
  
  Level 1- The familiar is basically a well-
  trained animal. It has a telepathic link
  with the mage.
  Level 2- The familiar is the equivalent of
  a  human  teenager,  approximately  age
  sixteen as far as its intelligence goes. It
  can communicate telepathically with the
  mage or with other people.
  Level 3- The familiar is as intelligent as
  the average adult human being. Besides
  being able to communicate mentally, the
  familiar can also speak. Language(s) are
  to be determined by the GM.
  Level 4- The familiar is more intelligent
  than the average human. Besides normal
  animal abilities, the familiar gets three
  skills from the skill list, to be determined
  by the GM. 
  Level 5- The familiar is a genius (Wiley
  E. Coyote, Super Genius…). It is very
  adept in the magical arts and gains one
  spell list, to be determined by the GM. 
  Level  6-  The  familiar’s  intelligence
  borders  on  the  theoretical  and  the
  otherworldly.  It is able to teleport itself
  and up to five pounds 3 times a day a
  distance  of  up  to  20  miles  away.
  Intelligence Level 6 familiars tend to be
  rather smug (…yes, I like the way that
  rolls  off the tongue. Wiley E. Coyote,
  Super Genius!)
  Magic
  Familiars have the same WKM level as
  the mage that summoned them. When a
  mage uses a familiar to cast a spell, they
  get a +10% bonus to their base spell
  casting. If a mage casts a spell through
  the familiar, the spell will actually come
  from  the  familiar  for  combat  and
  detection purposes. Mages and familiars
  share spell lists, but a familiar must be
  Intelligence  Level  3  to  cast  spells.  A
  familiar cannot cast Find Familiar at any
  time. Any spells cast through or by the
  familiar are cast at the same level as the
  mage’s  level.  And a  familiar  must  be
  Intelligence Level 4 to cast spells from
  their mage’s list.
  Ups and Downs
  A familiar can provide many advantages
  to  a  mage.  Should  the  mage  get
  wounded, the familiar will help the mage
  to heal by regenerating d6 WBD while
  near the mage. A familiar also improves
  the mage’s MRE and resistance rolls by
  +05%. 
  The  downside  of  having  a  familiar,
  besides  any  personality  conflicts  that
  may arise, comes if the familiar id killed.
  Should  anything  fatal  happen  to  the
  familiar,  the  mage  must  make  a  10%
  Death  Shock  roll.  Regardless  of  the
  results, the mage will fall unconscious
  for d20 +4 hours. Also, the mage lose
  50% of their WKM for 10+d10 days.
  Spell List
  The spell list remains pretty much the
  same as the original with the exception
  of  removal  of  Bind  Familiar  and  the
  addition  of Cast Through and Choose
  Familiar. Spells marked with an Asterisk
  are usable by the mage as well as the
  familiar.
  SPELL
  COST
  TIME
  Find Familiar
  50
  3d
  *Familiar Sight 20 mi
  10
  1m
  *Listening 20 mi
  10
  1m
  *Spell Work +5 
  5
  1m
  *Tap Familiar’s WKM
  5
  1m
  Hide Familiar
  10
  2m
  *Cast Through
  15
  3m
  Choose Familiar
  200/day
  1wk
  
  Find  Familiar-  Allows  a  mage  to
  summon a familiar. What is summoned
  is determined on the random rolls chart.
  Familiar Sight- A mage can see through
  their familiar’s eyes. Range is 20 miles.
  Listening- A mage can hear through their
  familiar’s ears. Range is 20 miles.
  Spell Work- Gives a mage a +5 to their
  casting bonus.
  Tap Familiar’s WKM- Allows a mage to
  use their familiar’s WKM.
  Hide Familiar- Temporarily renders the
  familiar invisible or casts the illusion of
  something else over the familiar.
  Cast Through- A mage can cast a spell
  through their familiar. For the purpose of
  detection and combat, the spell comes
  from the familiar, not the mage. Range is
  20 miles.
  Choose  Familiar-  A mage  is  able  to
  choose  what  type  of  familiar  is
  summoned. The spell takes longer than
  Find Familiar and costs more, but the
  familiar will be of the mage’s choosing
  and be at least Intelligence Level 3. If
  the  mage  has  a  particular  animal  in
  mind, such as a favorite pet, the mage
  casts the spell over the creature for the
  week.  The  creature  than  becomes  the
  mage’s familiar.
  Familiar Random Roll Table
  1-30
  Cat
  31-60
  Dog/Wolf
  61-70
  Raven
  71-80
  Rat
  81-90
  Owl
  91-99
  Toad
  100
  Special
  Special Familiar Table
  1-10
  Raccoon
  11-20
  Common Small Lizard
  21-30
  Snake
  31-36
  Monkey
  37-45
  Common Small Bird
  46-55
  Squirrel
  56-60
  Opossum/Skunk
  61-70
  Large Spider/Insect
  71-79
  Raptor (Hawk, eagle)
  80-83
  Large Wildcat
  84-89
  Bat
  90-95
  Ferret
  96-98
  Wolverine/Badger
  99
  Minor Magical Creature
  100
  GM’s Choice
  Combat
  A familiar will not normally engage in
  combat unless it’s life or the life of its
  mage is threatened. Those creatures with
  a natural inclination towards combat will
  still have aggressive tendencies, but will
  not be as quick to enter a non-provoked
  combat. When they DO enter combat,
  they are as ferocious as they normally
  would be, more so if they have a higher
  than animal Intelligence Level.
  Example-  Murray  the  Mage  has  a
  wolverine  familiar.  Wolverines  will
  normally  attack  if  they  are  looked  at
  wrong.  But  Murray’s  familiar,  Tulip,
  only snarls and growls. That is unless
  Murray’s teammates keep poking it with
  a stick while it’s trying to sleep…
  Conclusion
  A GM can always mandate what kind of
  familiar a player gets, unless the player
  uses  the  Choose  Familiar  spell.  The
  important thing is to have fun. Talk with
  your  player  and  see  what  kind  of
  familiar they want and go from there,
  although minor conflict between a player
  and their familiar can be fun.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Bureau 13/Bureau 13 (d20)/Bureau 13 d20.-.Familiars.pdf