[Legacy]使魔連鎖/Cross Familiar

[Mounrou]

2020 Notes:
This was a failure of sort?
Don't exactly remembered why. v=3=v

A big reason would be the linked-Player/Familiar system.
It's actually quite hard to have two players codependent on each other for their individual abilities. TRPGs' too highly individualistically-minded for that.
Was thinking about making an NPC-emotion mechanic... Until I shelved it. v=3=v

Also the first attempt to simplify the thing... By cutting everything. !!!=_=

This was the "Mechanical Evaluation Version", meaning it's trimmed and not full version... I think I've actually stated lions and gorillas and other magic effects and stuffs... It's probably in a folder somewhere, but this is for storage that nobody would read or use so who cares? v=w=v

Whatever.

Original spew below:

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A Wizard and His Familiar

It had always been the unwritten rule: For every wizard that’s ever existed, there would always be a familiar by his side. 

Over time and folklore, people simply assumed that it was a perk of the job and left it at that. Yet no one out of the arcane circle had ever came up with the question: Why kept a smelly, diseased, wild and nearly untamed ball of flurry around, when a couple of servants would help them so much more?
   
The truth was in fact a relatively simple one: Because all the humans on this world combine didn't have an ounce of magic within them. Familiars weren't just a wizards' pets and lackeys, they were literally THE source of magic.

Like most everything in nature, "Magic" as an idea was never really that complex: It was a source of natural energy to power the world we live in, not unlike electricity which was just a rationalized and watered-down variant of human comprehendible magic in the first place. Coming straight from the source, no other energy was as powerful as raw magic, but there was a catch: Magic, as the raw and chaotic force that shaped nature, could not be bounded into any other humanly-recognizable form but electricity. Precisely because humans were logical, rational and creative, they had created Order out of natural Chaos, and shaped their own world into the image of what they wished it to be. The high capacity in analytical thinking had, in turn, tuned them off the raw force of creation and denied them access to pure magic.

While not without logic of their own, animals other than humans were not as developed in their intellects, nor as focus in their perception. Simple animals with simple desires survived simply in wherever their environment was, with no attempt to bend it to their will, but rather accepted it as it was and instead changed themselves to fit in. By comprehending less, they ended up seeing more of what this world truly looked like, and some of them, those who were born "special", could even reach into the source and be transformed by it, to become a "super-natural" existence who embodied nature.

As the living embodiment of nature, they gained awareness and comprehension, as well as a permanent linkage to the land, while still retaining the primal hearts and minds of animals. This was the limit of their gift though, as they still lacked the creativity and imagination to utilize the magic they have within them, the same things that made humans human. They could talk and read the aura of all living beings… But otherwise they were still only animals.

Nobody remembered when the first Wizard/Familiar partnership first started or who they were, but it was probably a union of coincidence and necessity: The human who could shape magic but lacked any, and the animal filled with magic but lacked imagination to do anything with it. Only by becoming one could the two halves be whole.

As human beings continued to evolve, their bond to the world of their birth gradually became weaker, and more and more raw magic force were unconsciously cultivated and converted into forms understandable by human's "rational thinking." Those who did not fit into that picture would find it increasingly difficult to live in the continually expanding and “humanizing” world. Wizards and familiars, the world today simply had no place for them.

But they would always have each other.

[Mounrou]

1: Character Creation:

There are 5 basic Aptitudes:
>Physique                    for all Strength-, Stamina- and Endurance-related physical abilities.
>Perception                  for the acuity of the 5 senses, and natural capacity for awareness and clarity.
>Reflex                        for both mental and physical speed of actions and reactions.
>Education                   for the accumulation of all knowledge and skilled expertise in life.
>Aura                          for personal inner strength, radiance of one’s own personality, and an understanding of interactions.

As well as 4 extended Abilities:
>Size                         being the general size of a being.
>Vitas                        being the stamina and lifeforce.
>Spiritas                    as Humans’ unique way of shaping the world they live in through the power of Mind and Preconceptions.
>Mysticas                   as Animals’ natural adaptation to the world’s own raw elemental energies, to become as nature itself.

===========================================





To create a Human Character:

There are two types of human characters: Average Joes and Wizards.

First, to create a human character,
>all of the human’s 5 Aptitudes start at 1.
>10 free Aptitude Points are then available to distribute freely between them. A Human’s Aptitude limit is 5.

The difference between Joes and Wizards is:

>Joes cannot do magic. A Joe have twice his Aura in Spiritas but it’s largely useless to them. Instead he gets Expertise, tightly defined tricks and skills that he excels in. The Joe will have 2 plus Education Aptitude number of Expertise to start with.
(Players make up their own expertises. General rule of thumb: An expertise has one specific field its related to that it can do in general, and two well-defined thing in that field its especially good at. No swiss army knife expertise here.)

>Wizards can do magic, but little else. His starting Spiritas is equal to 5 times his Aura, and 2 intuitively known effects, plus one more Base Level effect for each Starting Aura Aptitude point. Once he’s bonded with a Familiar, he can start pulling out all those wizardly tricks of his. Because of the absolute dedication necessary for their supernatural deeds though, they get no starting Expertise at all.
While magic can be weaken, resist or counter, there is nothing in the game world that can nullify it. (It's the invisible 5th force that science cannot detect.)
(optional rule: Wizards are allowed One expertise related to things that happen in common daily life, and they never get another one. That is so that Wizard PCs are not completely incompetent when they're not using magic.)


      Human Sizes are Half their Physique round up plus 1.
      Human Vitas are equal to their Size*(Physique+1).

[Mounrou]

To create an Animal Character:

Being specific evolved to survive in a specific environment, Animals tend to not have as big a variation within their own subspecies as Humans do. In order to create an Animal Character, choose one animal type from the list below:

>Main Difference between Common Animals and Familiars is that Common Animals get all four Abilities, but Familiars only get the two without the brackets, and instead acquire Familiar Abilities as replacement. (They were not completely wild anymore after being "tainted" by humanity.)

Domestic Cats
Physique   2   
Perception   5
Reflex   6   
Education   0
Aura      4   Size      2
Vitas      8   Mysticas   24
Animal Abilities
(Exceptionally Agile)   Featherdrop
(Heightened Awareness)   Night Vision

Domestic Dogs
Physique   4   
Perception   5
Reflex   5   
Education   0
Aura      3   Size      3
Vitas      20   Mysticas   15
Animal Abilities
(Trackers)      Fangs & Claws
(Heightened Awareness)   Night Vision

Small Birds
Physique   1   
Perception   4
Reflex   7   
Education   0
Aura      5   Size      1
Vitas      3   Mysticas   35
Animal Abilities
(Exceptionally Agile)   Flight
(Sense Magnetic Field)   All Round Vision

Small Mammals
Physique   1   
Perception   5
Reflex   4   
Education   0
Aura      7   Size      1
Vitas      3   Mysticas   49
Animal Abilities
(Exceptionally Agile)   Stalker
(Motion Sensitivity)   Night Vision

Spiders
Physique   2   
Perception   6
Reflex   3   
Education   0
Aura      6   Size      1
Vitas      6   Mysticas   42
Animal Abilities
(All Round Vision)   Stalker
(Glide)         Weaver

      

[Mounrou]

2) Mechanics:

In this game, many rolls and mechanics are determine by a roll of 3d6 (or 3 six-sided dice), to be refer to as the 3DE, or 3D Effort System. Otherwise regular d6s are usually for total results.
Skill Resolution

To resolve a skill contest or match against a ranked difficulty, the character will roll 3DE, choose the most fitting result, and add the aptitude most relevant to the situation to get his skill score.

To determine the “most fitting result” though, the GM should separate the 3 dice rolled into best, median, and worst results, then look at these deciding factors:

-How much time had the character prepared for this?
-Does the character have an Expertise in this?
-What is the background situation for the check?
-Any other factor that might favor or penalize the check?
-Roleplaying Effort can also be a factor (It is an EFFORT-based system after all.)

A regular 3DE check will use the median result as base for consideration of effort, for a skill check made with sufficient time, with adequate knowledge and barely any exterior influences.

If the character is sufficiently experienced in this, have great tools or help, or has prepared for a long time for it, then the best result can be used.

If the character is sufficiently incompetent, in a drastic or high pressure situation or taken completely by surprise, physically wounded or otherwise unsuitably affected, then the worst result might be used.

It is the GMs task to consider all factors before deciding which dice result to utilize.

Skill-Resolution --- Difficulty Ranks

There are 5 Difficulty Ranks for this game, but they are mainly guidelines, and the GM might decide to use more than 5 or change it to better suit the playstyle.

The 5 Difficulties are:

Simple (4)*   Very common, everyday difficulties
Tricky (6)   Something that requires slightly more focus & cares.
Tough (8)   A tough situation that you don’t usually see every day.
Insane (10)   Things strictly reserved for experts to solve.
Inhuman (14+)   Frankly impossible for regular human individuals.

*Unless in an adverse situation, an individual of any Skill/Aptitude level should automatically succeed in any Simple Rank checks.

Note that these are not just “an average skill check”, but are reserved for Difficulties, things that are of any levels of potential deterrents and means enough to need a check for. A simple check can be jaywalking across a completely empty and blocked-off street, but what is the point of that? A simple difficulty is more about jaywalking across a street with light traffic: Simple enough to be done… As long as you remember to look both ways and always ready to dodge incoming traffic.

The Players should never call for a check. The GM will have the sole decision of whether a check is required. If that means a game session without rolls at all, then so be it.


Skill-Resolution --- Human/Animal Superiority

For humans, the Education attribute stands for the amount of knowledge and experience one had acquired over the course of life, with multiple perspective to use multiple methods to resolve multiple situations. For animals though, most of what they need to know are already inside them before they are born, and the rest they will pick up soon after birth. Animals don’t have the time or the leisure or the educational structure that humans require to learn, and if they do not live with humans in specific capacities like for pets or competition purposes then they have no need of it either.

Therefore the presence of Education attribute for animals is used to represent their understanding of human beings. Animals of 0 Education have no awareness of Humanity. They see humans as just another animal in the environments. Even if the environment is a concrete jungle they will have no concepts or feelings of it, and will react as they always will: As a wild animal reacts to nature.

Animals of Education 1 attributes are, through immersion or by similarities in shape (Simians being the only species to have this naturally) have more familiarity with the ways of humans. They are somewhat aware of the fact that the cities they live in are tie to humans and have its own forms of social dynamics. This basic understanding, while given a basic standpoint for humans and animals to begin communication, doesn’t necessarily means the they will understand each other, or that animals will follow the human social dynamics.

Only at Education 2 level is the animal trained to follow the workings of human society. At this level animals and humans can begin to understand each other’s body languages and gestures, even verbal cue to a certain extent, and the awareness of mutual rules and preferences. It is only at this level that animals can attempt simple, everyday physical actions that humans regularly perform, like opening of a button-locked door, pushing of a button or pressing of a lever, and be somewhat aware of the implication of such actions.

Only human physical action of either Simple or Tricky Difficulty can be attempted by animals. For this they are to roll 3DE and use the worst result as base for consideration, with no other modifier possible to reflect their incomprehension.

So for a Simple human task an animal only have 33% chance of succeeding, and for something a little Trickier the chance of success is only 1-in-6. Even for Familiars who are humanly-aware, they will still have hard times acting outside of the instincts of their species. For this is not only a question of intelligence, but reflects the fundamental differences of instincts and mentalities between two different species, a gap that might never be able to breach. Just like how a modern human might never be able to truly behave like an animal in the wild: For humans, when faced with an animal-specific task or situation, they would also have to roll under identical parameters.

It is for this very reason that when a human and an animal are facing off in a check and both make the same roll result, in a physical contest the advantage will go to the animal. If it is intellectually based though, the advantage will go to the human.

Skill-Resolution --- Para/Normal Divergence

Human and Animals might have their shares of differences in capabilities, but for the Wizards and Familiars among them that difference is further divided: Their specific niche in evolution called for them to deal with problems in their own specific and mystical ways, and as such they are not evolved to do thing like their non-mystical brethren do: When face with any expertise and difficulty checks that they attempt to solve without using magic, if the Wizards or Familiars in question do not know the suitable expertise or animal abilities, they will always use the worst result as base for consideration.
(Which means, yes, they are mostly incompetent when it is not about magic.)



Expertise/Animal Abilities

Expertise is not a skill set, not a trade or occupation, nor is it a way of life. It is just a trick that the individual picks up in his life, one very specific thing that he is good at or one particular situation that he is especially excels in. It can be anything from flipping eggs, building towers of cards or making up games that nobody will ever play, to extremely high altitude jumping or shooting backward while looking into a mirror.

It is not about straight combat (even though it might sometimes cover a highly specific set of related situation – To use an expertise in combat, remove one dice from the roll and use another one to determine its effectiveness) and never about spellcasting. It is what stands the individual out and makes him unique.

And anyone with an expertise that appeals to the situation will have their base for consideration raised by one before all other factors are considered. (All expertise must still be approved by the GM first though.)

Animal Abilities are almost just like that, except that for animals those are usually more generalized aspects within the subspecies.

[Mounrou]

Combat

For purpose of combat, every individual involved will first determine how they will focus their efforts over the three factors: Strikes, Damages, and Defense, as well as the method of action (i.e. the representing Aptitude.) 

After everyone has sorted their priorities, they will write their tactics and priorities down, reveal them at the same time, then everyone will roll 3DE. The one with the highest total of 3 dice will act first, follow by the next highest, and so on.
The sorted effort will then be added to their respective Aptitudes.

Here are some examples:

-Wielding a melee weapon will fall under Physique.
-Using a range weapon will be related to Perception.
-Unarm combats and grappling are based on Reflex.
-Operating complex weapons or machineries are in the field of Education.
-Giving Fire Supports and other coordinated actions depends on Aura.

And on the side of the defenses:

-Taking a blow without flinching is handled by Physique.
-Finding out when shots are coming from and getting a dead angle from that calls for a sharp Perception.
-Dodging away from incoming attacks requires a good Reflex.
-Finding protective covers means a cool head as represented by Education.
-Protecting others will need a good strong Aura.

These examples are not set in stone, and can change according to how the character decides to act. And even though the basic 3DE combat has Strikes, Damages and Defense as its basic factors, a character can freely choose to have any combination as he wishes, as long as the dice results don’t stack: He can have 3 defense rolls and uses the best one, 1 personal defense and two supporting defenses of others, 3 Strikes using only the Base Aptitude as damage. 1 Strike and 2 Damages and use the best result for the strike hit while the other being a wild swing, etc.  As long as the GM thinks is viable.

Optional Combat Rules: Tactical Superiority

(Optional rule) For Aptitude-based resolutions:

-Perception will always be superior to Physique. (Observation over brute force)
-Reflex will always be superior to Perception. (Action over observation)
-Education will always be superior to Reflex. (Disciplined logic over wild action)
-Aura will always be superior to Education. (Dynamic Anticipation over Static Logic)
-Physique will always be superior to Aura. (Direct approach cut through indirectness)

And the superior side will always suppress the other side regardless of dice total.
Damages in Combat: Vitas and Lethality

A strike is scored when an attacker’s Attack total is larger than his target’s Defense total.

To calculate damage, the Damage roll is added to the base Aptitude minus the target’s Defense total. Any positive difference is then resolved as Vitas damage. When the Vitas of an individual is reduced to zero, he is consider to be tired out, and all his Aptitudes are functionally halved until he regain 50% of his Vitas through resting or other means.

There is also the factor of Lethality: While unarm attacks or nonlethal weapons do not cause Lethality damages until the target’s Vitas is reduced to zero, and from then on only does one lethality per hit, most of the weapons have a Lethality Rating (LR) that, regardless of actual Vitas damage done, if the target does not have a corresponding Coverage Rating (CR) worth of body protection, the first LR damage point received will take away all remaining Vitas point, then a number of d6 equal to the remaining LR will be rolled, and the target’s Aptitude will be reduce by one point each as per the results below:

Lethality Damage Chart
1      Vital Shot!.            –1 Physique
2      Glazing Wound!      –1 Perception
3      Limb Shot!            –1 Reflex
4      Shock Shot!            –1 Education
5      Face Shot!             –1 Aura
6      Luck Out!             No reduction

For every two point reduction in an Aptitude, 1 of them will be permanent until you regain it through experience.

When one Aptitude is reduced to zero, the individual is knocked out, and will not recover for 1d6*1d6 hours unless someone with a medical expertise revive him.
When two Aptitudes are reduced to zero, the individual is now into a coma, will not wake up in 1d6 days, and will not be functional until 1d6*1d6 hours after that. He is also in life threatening danger (3/1d6 chance of dying if left unattended) unless attend to by someone with a medical expertise and sufficient medical care.

When three Aptitudes are reduced to zero, the individual is not at death’s door. He is now required to check for dying (3/1d6) every round until he receive serious medical care, then once every day for the next 1d6 days. He will not be functional until 1d6*2 weeks after that, and one of his zeroed Aptitudes will have its maximum upper limit permanently reduce by 1 to reflect the experience.

With four or five Aptitudes gone, the individual will be dead already.

Wound Recovery

Vitas recover at a rate of 1d6 per hour of regular actions. Twice that if resting.

Lethality Damage is recovered equal to the next rank up in days, with the most severely wounded Aptitude recover first. Vitas will not recover when there are still Lethality Damages unhealed. As mentioned before, for every two points lost in an Aptitude, one of them is permanent until  repurchased by experience.

[Mounrou]

Layer Magic

Only a Wizard can utilize magic, and for him to do so, he must first become bonded with an animal capable of becoming a Familiar. As humans have no reservoir for magic energy themselves. 
Once bonded, the Wizard can use the innate Mystica of his Familiar to cast spells.

1) Shaping: To cast a spell, the wizard must first create a spell to be cast. This is done by rolling 3DE, and fit the results under three basic categories:

   A ) Effect
   B ) Durations   
   C ) Range

He can only call up to his Aura in ranks for all spell effects. If one or all dice does not fit well, the Wizard can discard what he doesn’t need and reroll until he gets it right. He can also use higher dice for lower effect ranks, but it is a waste in Mysticas.

If for example, an additional factor of an Area of Effect is required, the Wizard can freely “tweak” his spell to add one more die for the extra factor. Only rolling 3 dice per round does not mean that a spell is only limit to three dice.

2) Enforcement: Now that the basic framework of a spell exists, the next step is to submerge it into the caster’s conscious mind, and from that turns into an effect that can affect the reality. The total result of all component dice rolled is divided by the caster’s Aura Aptitude. This is how long the caster must “think” about the spell, working it out in his mind, to realize it.

The caster can still act normally during Shaping and Enforcement, performing simple actions or combat moves. It is just that he will not be able to perform any expertise or think about other spells, and that any blows more than a slight slap and he will lose the whole chain of thought. He can hold as many different spells at the same time as his Aura, and their total Mystica no greater than the Familiar’s. If he need to shape a new spell but his Familiar does not have enough Mystica, he has to release Enforced spell to scrounge up Mystica. And he can only hold enforced spells until he falls asleep or unconscious, or his Aura reduced to zero.

3) Activation: Once Enforcement is complete, the caster can start casting starting next round. Since affecting others with magic is not automatic unless a willing participant, depending on the effect and delivery, a spell might requires a Strike to successfully “hit” a target; On the other hand, the casting of a spell itself requires no roll, an a Wizard can cast as many spells as many times as he wishes per round from his Enforced Assortments, up to his Aura Aptitude. This is known as “Chain Casting”, and for each additional spell casted he must roll 3DE and check against the strongest roll. If it is larger than his current Aura, he will take a Lethality damage in Aura.

Resisting and Countering Magic:

The Strength of a Wizard’s Magic is equal to the spell’s total Mysticas cost. The simplest way to resist a spell is to direct cancel by paying that full cost in Spirita or Mystica. Spiritas and Mysticas lost in such a way though is only regain by 2 per hour of complete rest. This is the only way an Average Joe or Common Animal can ever hope to resist a spell, and for them they still have to make a 3DE worst Aura effort check against the Wizard’s Best Effort to avoid paying double. (A Wizard or Familiar can choose to resist this way without the check.)

Or, a Wizard can choose to stand in as the target and counter the spell using these methods:

One way of countering spell is through countercasting a spell’s effect: If the spell’s effect is known to him, he can drop everything he is doing in the same round and concentrate on shaping the same spell. Enforcement is unnecessary as the spell already exist in the world. For the 3DE he throws, any results equal or above one part of the spell is one rank reduction of the spell’s effectiveness. If 3 part of the spell is successfully surpass (even if the spell has more than 3 parts – Longer spells are more vulnerable this way) than it can be direct away harmlessly. Or the countering Wizard can even choose to take over the released spell by engaging in 3DE Aura effort check with the spell caster.

If the spell’s effect is unknown or if there is no time, he can still choose to engage in 3DE Aura effort check against the caster. (Rule of thumb being that if the defending Wizard surpass the offensive by less than 3 points, than the spell effect is halved; If  it is surpass by over 3 points, the resistance is absolute, but this can change depend on the situation at hand.)

The Magic and The Familiar

While Familiars provide the Mysticas that Wizards need to cast spells, they are not merely living Wizard batteries. They can always choose to deny further request for Mysticas, and the Wizard/Familiar bond can be broken by either side.How many spells a Wizard can Shape and Enforce depends on the amount of Mysticas a Familiar has: The total Mystica amounts can never exceed what a Familiar can give.
While a Wizard can Chain Cast, every spell he casts draws Mysticas from the Familiar. A Familiar has enough Mysticas equal to its Mystica Points that it can release safely per round, and while it can draw beyond that level, it will receive feedback damage equal to the overdrawn amount in Vitas, and after that in Lethality Damages per 25% overdrawn per round. The Familiar can choose to share this damage with the Wizard, and the Wizard is incapable of refusing this.

A Wizard/Familiar bond is a strictly one-on-one relationship. Polygamy is simply impossible.

[Mounrou]

The Wizard/Familiar Bond Mechanic

When a Wizard and Familiar first bonded, they have entered a relationship, and that relationship must be maintained.

On a scale of 3 to 18 (3d6), the bond relationship usually starts at 11. At this level all Mysticas flow and spell effect output is normal. Yet with a good partnership, the Mage becomes more efficient, and the Familiar more focus that, as one, they can somehow go beyond and become more the mere sum of the two.

The only way to raise or lower this is through social roleplaying. In a Wizard/Familiar bond, it goes beyond mere formalities and is in fact a bond of mutual spirituality. A "marriage of spirits" that requires both sides to contribute, sometimes even to the point beyond what can be given without permanent loss.

To calculate this fluctuation of bonds, every time the GM sees one side perform an action that might help/harm the relationship, roll 3d6. Rolling below the current bonding level for a negative act reduces the relationship to the middle of the two numbers (e.g. the current bonding level is 11, and the roll results in a 7, the new bonding level is now 9.) Vice versa for rolling above the current bonding level for a positive act; rolling above for negatives and below for positives does not do anything at all.

Rolling criteria for trust/mistrust:

As the most important aspect of a Mage and a Familiar’s outlook in life, such rolls should never be made lightly. Under the normal circumstances, only one trust/mistrust roll should be made per session if at all, and neither Mage nor Familiar should ever explicitly request such a roll be made as these rolls should be completely out of player control and only be GM's discretion. But should such a roll becomes necessary, the guidelines in the next page should be considered.

Rolling Criteria for Bonding Rolls:
18         [At this point the two is as one.]

17-16    (Trust)      Permanent actual loss of irreplaceable chance, life or object of utmost importance for the other.
              (Mistrust)   Blatant display of betrayal without immediate explanation.

15-14   (Trust)      Risk of life or things of equal importance.
              (Mistrust)           Convincing evidence or reasoning of deceit or betrayal; Blatant disregard of the other.
13-12   (Trust)      Precise team playing that brings immense positive success beyond    what's imaginable.
              (Mistrust)           Accidental wrecking of the other's plan or important action.
11-10   (Trust)      Understanding and catering to the other's feelings and needs.
              (Mistrust)           Wrecking of the other's plan or important action without good reason or explanation.

9-8           (Trust)      Precise team playing that is the key of success to a plan.
              (Mistrust)           Any incident of moderate importance that might put both sides at odds.

7-6           (Trust)      Precise team playing that brings immense positive success beyond what's imaginable.
           (Mistrust)           A somewhat heated argument.

5-4           (Trust)      Risk of life or things of equal importance.
           (Mistrust)           Pretty much anything that's only needs to be seemingly wrong for the other.

3         [At this point the bond is irrecoverable.]

The Trust/Mistrust Cascade

A Cascading Success/Failure is when a bond faced a consecutive series of either positive or negative rolls and when it fails every time to make a change. If the consecutive number of times a roll is required reached (Current bond attribute/2 rounded down), then a plus or minus will be made without the need of a check. Every time this happens though, the counter will be reverted back to zero. Also if a a successful change is made, the chain will be broken and revert back to zero.

(Optional)Misc. Trust/Distrust Rules for MEV version:[/u]

For the MEV only, when the Bond Rank is at 16 and above, a caster’s Mystica requirement for spell shaping and casting is halved while Enforcement rate is still the same; When the Bond Rank is at 5 or below, available Mystica from a Familiar is halved, and all further negative Bond checks will be made with 1d6, with the result of 3 or below breaking the Bond outright.

If a broken pair of Wizard and Familiar wish to renew their Bond after all the things they went through, they will need to make another Trust roll, with the GM deciding what sort of trails they must go through together to even get the roll, and at which difficulty rank out of 3d6. If they succeed, use the lowest dice from the check, +3 and make that their new Bond Rank.

The Objectivity of The Bond Mechanics:

“So how come we are not just roleplaying the whole relationship out without resorting to dice?” Well, you can do that as well. The Bond Mechanics is totally optional. You can just ignore it if it doesn’t work in your game. What the Bond Mechanics is supposed to represents though, is an individual’s emotional state that is more often than not irrational. It is like when you know you should not blame someone for something, but still cannot control how you feel about it, and sometimes there is no help but to have it influence your rational decision.
The Bond Mechanics works like that, as a replacement for the irrationality inherent in all living beings, but that sometimes we might not remembered during Roleplay.

If you wish to use it, that is your decision. If not, that is your decision as well. As long as there is a group consensus you should not let it affect your game.

[Mounrou]

Animal Abilities:

Animal Abilities are just that, abilities that the species acquire during the evolution and adaptation of the environment. They are the animal equivalent of Expertise, though for the animals their abilities tend to be more focused and developed than even the humans.

Check the List at the back for explanations.

Animals in Urban Locales:

For every animals there are two factors when they need to move about in human circles: Mundanity and Size. All stock animals available in the MEV are common urban animals, so Mundanity is not a factor. For Size though, it determines how accessible human structures are to animals.

Think of each Size class as double of the last one. A regular, two meter tall single-door doorway will be the equivalent of a size 4 fit; A Size 3 will probably be as big as a ducking crawlway. For a Size 2 it will be about as big as a tight tunnel or one of those overhead small air-conditioning ducts that movie heroes and villains tend to crawl around in (Did someone mentioned a certain Snake? No?) Size 1 will be about the size of a 12’ sewerage pipe, and Size 0 will be for openings as big as a household pipe or even smaller. (You don’t get a Size Null unless it’s an Airtight or Specially-Designed Clean Room.)

Your regular human might fit into a Size 2 area if he is very small and lean, but most animals can fit into amazing places human never ever considered. Even wonder how rats get into warehouses? It is just like that.

[Mounrou]

Fundamental Familiar Abilities:

Unlike Animal Abilities, these are abilities that nature never intends for animals to have. To acquire them naturally will requires eons of evolutionary attempts, and even then some of them will simply be impossible to attain.

Only the Familiars, touched by the flow of magic will arrive at the first step of supernaturalism by attaining these abilities:

-Understanding
Ability Type:      Inherent

Description:       
The Familiar can understand all verbal languages and dialects regardless of species. And beings who are magically inclined will be able to communicate and understand the Familiar as if they are communicating in the beings’ most fluent language. Also with this comes a basic understanding of humanity at the cost of some  animal instincts and abilities.

Activation:       Always      
Duration:       Permanent
Change of features:    None

   

-Aurasight
Ability Type:      Inherent

Description:    
The Familiar can see the aura of any being, object or location it gaze upon, and from that its true nature and amount of power. This power is only basic and cannot see through trickery though)

Mysticas need to use:   1

Activation:       1 round delay
Duration:       Instantaneous
Change of features:    
Familiar’s corneas will glow violet when in use.

These are basic abilities of all familiars, the transcendence of awareness that allows them to go beyond the limit of their own race, as well as finding people with an equally supernatural Aptitude.

Once a Familiar is bonded with a Wizard, it will then automatically receive these abilities also:

-Telepathic Bond
Ability Type:      Merged

Description:
 The Familiar and Wizard will know what each other experiences, and thinking and thoughts can be telepathically communicate with no range or time limit. Abilities and Expertise are not shared, and they can always choose to withhold anything, but expert advice can always be asked or given.

Activation:       Always      
Duration:       Permanent
Change of features:    None

-Familiar Immortality
Ability Type:       Merged

Description:
The Familiar will not age a day as long as it is bonded with a Wizard, and in theory can be immortal as long as it is bonded. This effect only stops natural aging and death though, and the Familiar will still takes damage normally, and can still be killed violently.

Activation:       Always      
Duration:       Permanent
Change of features:    None

Furthermore, now that the two supernatural halves are united into one, the Familiar can now starts to develop his Familiar abilities. These are based on the human imagination of its Wizard counterpart, and require his Spiritas to exist. Once an ability is developed, it remains permanent for that specific bond even if the bond is broken and then rejoined at a later date. If the bond is broken, the Wizard can no longer cast, and the additional abilities of the Familiar will all disappear.

So, in short: The Wizard makes up his Familiar’s ability, and the Familiar in turn fuels his magic.

[Mounrou]

3. Various Lists


A) Animal Abilities (MEV version):

All Round Vision   
   
The ability to see in every direction all the time.

      
   

Exceptionally Agile

The animal is more agile than it seems, with a +50% bonus to its Reflex rolls.

Fangs & Claws

The animal gains +25% bonuses to damage and +1 lethal rating (should it choose to) in an attack for having these.

      

Featherdrop

The animal only takes half damage when falling, and a fall at full health is never lethal - It will never take more than 50% full Vitas or 1 Lethality in damage in a fall.

Flight

The animal can fly with a pair of wings. Double all Reflex of an animal in flight. Taking flight against a snatch requires a tricky regular Reflex check though, and the animal’s reflex when grounded is halved.

Glide

The animal can safely & Silently glide downward form a high place through the use of wings or skin flaps, and has limited control, but cannot ascend (In "flight" the animal can move any ways but up, unless the upwind can carry its weight).

      

Heightened Awareness

The animal is even more aware than it seems, +50% bonus to Perception for noticing hidden objectives and potential ambushes.

      

Motion sensitivity

The animal can sense motion without seeing or hearing and even around corners, for a range equal to twice its perception in meters; if animal is native underwater or underground; the range is twenty times its Perception.

         

Night Vision

The animal can see in darkness as clear as day as long as there is some background lights (equivalent to starlight) present.

         

See Magnetic Field   

The animal can 'see' the Earth's magnetic field, and can find its global position as well as navigate by it.      

Stalker

If desired, the animal can move stealthily, making its detection a tough check even for those with Heightened Awareness (who check with only +1 Perception bonus instead of +50%, whichever is lower).

      

Tracker

The animal is a natural tracker capable of tracking and identifying targets by sights, scents and footprints. Nullifies each other when use against the Stalker ability.

         

Weaver

The animal can spin adhesive silks, with strength equal to its Physique. The silk can support its spinner like a rope, bind things, or trap targets of its Physique and below in a web, where escaping requires a tough Physique check. Targets of higher Physique than the Animal can easily break the web apart though.
A length of silk can be created equal to the animal's physique in meters every round. A web can be spin at a speed of 1 meter diameter per 10/Reflex rounds. (Special note: The silk spin by a Familiar has durability equal to the combine physique of the Familiar and it’s Wizard.)