The morality of Summon Familiar

[Herzog]

This came up in our session yesterday.

Background info: we have a Wizard with the Improved Familiar feat who has summoned a fire mephit.
The Fire Mephit is being played by the wizard's player's wife.

Yesterday, the Fire Mephit started to complain against one of the other characters (a pregnant rogue) that it was unfair how he couldn't be with his wife during her pregnancy, having been summoned by this wizard to do his bidding.

This started off a whole discussion (between the characters) about the wizard effectively keeping a slave, and how that shouldn't be allowed.

The discussion ended with the wizard cutting a deal with the Mephit (and the party) to keep the 'contract' on for 12 weeks, after which the Fire Mephit could leave if he wanted to, or stay ('to fight the good fight') if he had changed his mind in the meantime.

Has anyone ever had this kind of discussions in his or her gaming group?

NB: Placing this here because it's the (sub)forum I frequent most, and tagged with 3rd edition because of the game system we are using.

 

[Gilladian]

Hmmm... that's an interesting twist.

I had always used the idea that the summoned creature either had chosen to become a familiar, or being unintelligent before being called to be a familiar, had no real memories of his previous existence and therefore didn't care what had gone on in the past.

Are "non-familiar" mephits intelligent? Hmmm... Int 6, so I would say they have every chance of retaining their previous memories and knowing where/what they've left behind.

I'll have to remember this twist!

 

[Jackinthegreen]

As interesting as can be having someone else play the familiar, it can really complicate things for the entire group. I'm partial to having the player character also play the familiar, since it's part of the class and all.

That said, I'm quite certain the process of obtaining a familiar basically sends out a call to all eligible creatures to serve the caster. If it's intelligent, it can choose to go along with it. If it's not, it's like choosing a pet at the store.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I always assumed that the bargain the familiar signed gave the familiar some benefits at the other end -- maybe the mephit will retain whatever advancement it gets leveling up as a familiar, becoming, essentially, an advanced mephit as a result?

 

[Visigani]

It's only Slavery if it's against the creatures will.

 

[Celebrim]

Wow. Talk about importing your modern morality into an archiac set of assumptions.

1) It's techically not slavery; it's indentured servitude. We may see them as the same class of thing, but they differ in two very important respects. First, that indentured servitude is entered into voluntarily, and second that it endures for only a fixed term. From the perspective of the Familiar, he is entering into a contract with a Wizard from which he obtains some abstract thing of value to him, and the contract expires upon the Wizard's death... which really a quite limited term of service if you are an immortal outsider.
2) In exchange for whatever the Wizard is providing (title to his soul upon death? education in the arcane arts, a portion of the power that the master acrews is bequethed to the familiar upon the master's death?), the familiar is promising absolute obedience (and if the Wizard is smart, absolute loyalty as well). As far as the Familiar is concerned, this must be some sort of good deal or the contract wouldn't have been agreed to.
3) As far as the familiar is concerned, a Wizard that says, "Oh no, you can go if you want" isn't offering freedom - he's welching on a deal. He's trying to void a contract. The Imp or Qausit or whatever that he's entered the contract with is going to be angry and offended and for fear of voiding the contract is going to DEMAND that the Wizard fulfill his end on threat of bringing a more powerful outsider in to arbitrate the labor dispute. He's going to be insulted that the Wizard has implicitly suggested that the familiar's services are of no value, and potentially jealous and fearful of the idea that the Wizard wants to replace him with a new familiar.
4) The very notion that the Wizard must remain on a peer to peer relationship with every being that he meets, even if that being is not in fact a peer, will be a bit bizarre and unworkable in a universe were sentient creatures are as diverse as D&D. And even if a peer to peer relationship with everything that can think isn't unworkable, it's going to be seen as abnormal or even insane by your average lawfully aligned person who believes it upends the very sort of heirarchial relaitionship the universe runs on.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well done, sir. Heck, that's a bit of flavor text away from being publishable.

 

[Herzog]

[MENTION=4937]Celebrim[/MENTION]:

First off, 'modern' has nothing to do with this. Yes, historically, slavery (or indentured servitude) was an accepted part of society. That does NOT mean, however, that everyone was happy about it. (as a sidenote, I should mention the various characters mainly wanted to get the Wizard to admit he was enforcing some kind of slavery to his familiar, not actually stop doing it )

Then, to your points:
1) From the information the other characters had, there was no reason to believe the familiar entered voluntarily. Also, the circumstances were a bit different from a 'normal' ritual (the Mephit was actually summoned), so some kind of forced start of the process could be deduced.
2) There was no mention of any exchange. As far as the Wizard and Familiar are concerned, they still have to negotiate the contract..... Except the Wizard thinks it's a done deal, and the Familiar just wants to create some chaos......
3) As there is currently no 'contract' to speak off, this doesn't come into play. However, it sounds good!
4) I'm not sure where you're going with this. Is this in relation to the 'slavery' aspect?

All in all, you've given me something to think about. I think I'll introduce the concept of the actual contract next session......

 

[Sekhmet]

"And thus, the Wizard rose into the air, aglow with arcane power - the hair of his companions prickling to the sky as a cold wind swirls about them. He looks down upon them, eyes illuminated with yellow, and then bellows in Infernal. His familiar translated.
"WHATEVER, I DO WHAT I WANT"

On a slightly more serious note, Wizards and their familiars are bonded by mutual need. Imagine being a lesser demon or devil living in Hell or the Abyss. All around you, you're getting the Hells kicked out of you by stronger and stronger devils and demons, you're constantly in pain, you're living in one of the most hostile environments imaginable, and no one cares for your safety - there are a million more imps and mephits right around the corner.
Then, you hear the call that a Wizard put out for a familiar. A friend. An ally to trust and depend on.
You're there before the summon is finished. You know that Wizard will treat you well, he'll make sure you're okay at the end of the day because he absolutely doesn't want you to die. You don't want him to die either, because that means you have to go BACK to your old life.
It is so much nicer on the Prime. You get to pick on things that are weaker than you, you get to gain power - while all the other imps and mephits are getting kicked around, you're living the life. Charlie Sheen would look at you and say that you're WINNING.

And then some whiny Rogue comes along and tells your Wizard that he has to let you go?
OH HELL NO.
Poison that idiot in his sleep and rid your group of the dissenter.

 

[dramamine]

I always felt that there was some sort of organization or understood law that the lowest class creatures in the hellish planes were eligible for Familiar status as some sort of character building exercise in the Material Plane. I figured something akin to a Lawyer from Hell or Big Evil Brother from Hell would be in charged of these 'services'.

However, I do like some of the ideas presented. I'll have to dwell upon them and see which ones I like best.