Find Familiar (Dragon)

(See also: Locate Spells)

This spell is similar to the wizard spell find familiar, except that the familiar summoned by this spell is a humanoid. Only races of the goblinoid class are eligible to become familiars (i.e., kobolds, goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins). The humanoid so attracted is unshakably loyal to the dragon caster (morale 20), willingly giving its life for its master. The dragon and humanoid share the ability to communicate telepathically at a range of up to five miles. The dragon gains no sensory bonuses, and it suffers no damage should the humanoid familiar die.

The casting takes considerable time. The dragon must be in a calm, relaxed state, well away from any distractions, and must continuously repeat a monotonous, hypnotic chant until the familiar appears. It's impossible for the dragon to maintain the chant for longer than 20 hours, so if at the end of this period no familiar has arrived, the spell fails. A dragon can cast this spell no more than once per year; it can have no more than one familiar at one time.

When the familiar arrives, it is totally loyal to its master. The spell is actually a form of charm, however; it grants its victim a similar opportunity to throw off its effects. On a regular basis, the familiar can roll a saving throw vs. spell, this roll suffering a penalty of -1 for each three age categories of the casting dragon. The frequency of the saving throw depends on the race of the familiar.

A successful saving throw means that the familiar has thrown off the effects of the spell and is totally free-willed again. (Its first reaction will probably be to escape.) If the dragon is within five miles of the familiar and awake when it shakes off the influence, it will sense the termination of the telepathic bond, and thus, know that its familiar is free. The dragon's response depends on its alignment and mood.

The DM can select an appropriate humanoid candidate depending on where the dragon is casting the spell, or he can use the table provided.

d20 Roll | Familiar | Frequency of save ----------------------------------------------------------+-----------+------------------ 1-6 | Kobold | Every 2 years 7-11 | Goblin | Every year 12-14 | Orc | Every 9 months 15-16 | Hobgoblin | Every 6 months 17-20 | colspan="2" | No humanoid available; spell fails. | |

Killing a familiar while it is still bound by the spell is not acceptable behavior, and will probably bring down upon the dragon retribution from various celestial powers. (Killing the thing once it has shaken the spell is just fine, however.)

Knowledge of the draconic spell is useless toward developing a human, demihuman, or humanoid version. The spell is too closely aligned to the mental architecture and innate magical abilities of dragons to be translated into any form usable by non-draco forms.

Notes: Restricted to dragons; uncommon.