Canonfire!

Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:31 pm Circle of Eight and the Leadership feat

Does anyone know if any of the Circle of Eight other than Jallarzi have a familiar? I recall that Jallarzi has Edwina the pseudodragon, and a 3rd edition source might have listed some sort of construct/ homonculus familiar for Rary. Duicarthan's versions of Bigby and Mordenkainen include a cat and owl familiar repectively but I'm not sure if he just picked whatever seemed appropriate or if they are listed in a source somewhere.

My own experiences suggest that plenty of adventuring mages (at least in my game) actually choose not to summon a familiar lest they become a target for enemy spellcasters in a spell duel.

Also, does anyone else feel that Mordekainen should have the Leadership feat? Obviously the official (deeply flawed IMHO) version doesn't but I think he should on account of the Obsidian Citadel troops and extensive spy network at his command. The version that I'm creating for my home game certainly will. Smile

I note that the fantastic Gord's Greyhawk site stats that Bigby also has a private army at his disposal. Seems a bit more out of character from what I know of Bigby but perhaps he should have the feat also...

Ta.

Damien

Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:49 am

I agree with this. I am not aware of any of the Circle having familiars besides Jallarzi. I'd be pleased if Drawmij or Otto had em though.

Sure Mordy could have Leadership as could Tenser who has a castle and a town nearby filled with adventurer level allies. In the 3e build sense its a waste for a wizard to take Leadership though when they get so few feats, while its clearly a boon for fighters who get em by the truck loads. The Circle's follower-henchmen-stronghold set up works better in the 1e-2e mold where they came with hard earned money and (name-level) reputation.

Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:34 am

All of the Circle of Eight had cohorts (see Vecna Lives) so it's not a stretch to give them all Leadership. Jallarzi's henchman eventually became a 15th level wizard (compared to Jallarzi's 17th level) so cohort style rules were being used there I think.

Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:55 am

Yeah, all the Circle had VERY advanced cohorts (10th level +) as the pregenerated PC's for Vecna Lives. Also, the descriptions of those cohorts inferred that they were not the only ones. Mind you, these cohorts worked for the individual mage NOT the Co8. In fact (now that I think of it) Mordy has a black dragon companion/mount.

So, Leadership feat is a definate 'yes'.

Familiars are another thing. In my experience alot of player mages like to have a familiar early on in their careers, but tend to release them by about lvl 10 or so. Familiars are just a bit squishy when we try to run them thru Walls of Fire... Certain familiars would be useful due to granted abilities, of course. Personally, I've always kept mine. But I always have a dog (house rules say a dog grants Scent ability).
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