History Main / Familiar

** In Shadowbringers, the nu mou frequently have familiars called Porxies, small pig-like beings that fly by flapping their sizeable ears. And the [[TheDragon Dragon]] to [[spoiler:villain Vauthry, Ran'jit, has a serpent familiar he is capable of merging with to enhance his combat abilities.]]
** In Endwalker, [[spoiler:in the area of Elpis, the thinness of the player character's aether [[CharacterCustomization (and other characteristics)]] gives them away as not one of the humans of that world, so they are forced to pose as an unusually gifted familiar belonging to a notable individual. There's also a lot of mention of familiars in that area, and a few familiars of various kinds are seen]].

* Arcanists in ;;[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIVA Realm Reborn]]'' gain the ability to summon Carbuncles, which are arcane entities created to support the Arcanist who summoned them. Upon promotion to Summoner, the former Arcanist can upgrade some of their Carbuncle forms to Egi forms, miniature versions of the Primals fought in the main story, though a side quest can be done to unlock the ability to change the Egis' appearance back to Carbuncles while keeping the upgrade in effect. On the other hand, the other promotion for Arcanist, Scholar, retires the Carbuncles entirely, and instead use a faerie for a familiar, to aid in healing.

* [[TheBeastmaster Beastmasters]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' can summon familiars as a replacement pet. Unlike charmable pets, they will never turn against their master. (They may spontaneously vanish after 30 minutes or so, but what can you do?) Summoners can call forth elemental spirits(Elementals), and Avatars (Classic FF summons).
* Arcanists in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn]] gain the ability to summon carbuncles, which are arcane entities created to support the arcanist who summoned them. Upon promotion to Summoner, the former arcanist can upgrade some of their carbuncle forms to Egi forms, miniature versions of the primals fought in the main story, though a side quest can be done to unlock the ability to change the Egis' appearance back to carbuncles while keeping the upgrade in effect. On the other hand, the other promotion for arcanist, Scholar, retires the carbuncles entirely, and instead use a faerie for a familiar, to aid in healing.
** In Shadowbringers, the Nu Mou frequently have familiars called Porxies, small piglike beings that fly by flapping their sizeable ears. And the [[TheDragon Dragon]] to [[spoiler: villain Vauthry, Ran'jit, has a serpent familiar he is capable of merging with to enhance his combat abilities.]]
** In Endwalker, [[spoiler: in the area of Elpis, the thinness of the player character's aether [[CharacterCustomization (and other characteristics)]] gives them away as not one of the humans of that world, so they are forced to pose as an unusually gifted familiar belonging to a notable individual. There's also a lot of mention of familiars in that area, and a few familiars of various kinds are seen]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1530 SCP-1530 ("A Bender's Friends")]]. A woman named Josephine used an SCP object to summon two familiars, a calico cat named Salix and a female beagle named Willow. They were her only companions, and after an escaped D-Class killed her they avenged themselves upon him.

* ''Literature/MotherOfLearning'': Familiars are acquired by bonding the souls of the mage and the animal together. It's technically possible for any two beings with souls to do this, but since the bond tends to result in a subconscious dominance contest, with the stronger soul reshaping the weaker to more closely resemble and become submissive to itself, it's generally a bad idea for both parties to be sapient. On the other hand, by bonding with humans, animals typically get increased intelligence and improved control of whatever magical abilities they possess. [[spoiler:Zorian becomes unable to form a familiar bond, since that would risk disrupting the soul marker that is keeping him aware of the time loop.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Familiars are a recurring theme, with John recruiting a salamander NPC and calling it Casey, then accidentally trading pets with Rose when he takes her cat. Rose then proceeds to get a small team of familiars, which she mainly uses for inventory space. [[spoiler: The bunnyKind [[WeaponOfChoice Strife Specibi]] causes the Uber Bunny to instantly align itself with John in the same vein as a familiar.]]

* ''Manga/VermeilInGold'': Every magical student must have a familiar to advance to the second year. Protagonist Alto Goldfield has failed to summon one successfully. In desperation, he tries an old book he stumbled across in the library, and gets a [[GagBoobs Busty]] [[HornyDevils Succubus]] who agrees to be his familiar.

* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' pirate Charlotte Linlin, also known as Big Mom, can create such creatures as part of the power of her Soul-Soul Fruit. She can extract pieces of soul and lifespan from individuals. These pieces of soul can then find their way into various inanimate objects or animals and bring them to life as creatures with human intelligence known as "Homies". Big Mom always keeps three particular Homies with her: A cartoonish-looking sun named Prometheus, a storm cloud calld Zeus, and her bicorne hat, Napeoleon. These three are explicitly stated by Big Mom to be more powerful than normal Homies since they're given life with Big Mom's own soul. Each has powerful abilities in battle, respectively fire, lightning, and the ability to become a sword. Napeoleon has also displayed an ability to get signals from elsewhere and keep Big Mom informed on goings-on around her kingdom of Totto Land.

* General Creedy from ''Webcomic/BasketsOfGuts'' is a one to [[VillainProtagonist Lich]]. Actually, [[AmbiguousGender it]]'s just an [[TheUndead undead]] [[YouDirtyRat rat]], but it's still the most long-living servant of the Lich.
* In ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'', Yiska has three bird familiars, their skulls adorn her tarnkappe where they maintain a glamor to make its color match her outfit and she uses two of them to send and receive messages.
* Technomages in ''Webcomic/TheCyantianChronicles'' have familiars that were formerly animals but had their consciousness transferred into cybernetic bodies after their deaths and are used as power sources by their masters.
* The Hag of ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'' thinks that the Shadowchild is Digger's familiar, but Digger is emphatic that this is not the case.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', familiars are a recurring theme, with John recruiting a salamander NPC and calling it Casey, then accidentally trading pets with Rose when he takes her cat. Rose then proceeds to get a small team of familiars, which she mainly uses for inventory space. [[spoiler: The bunnyKind [[WeaponOfChoice Strife Specibi]] causes the Uber Bunny to instantly align itself with John in the same vein as a familiar.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** Vaarsuvius the wizard has their raven Blackwing. In early strips, he is a nameless class feature who only appears when the InsufferableGenius remembers a use for him, but he becomes a more active member of the party after Vaarsuvius [[TookALevelInKindness Took a Level in Kindness]].

* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', Angelika has Norveg, an [[IntellectualAnimal exceptionally intelligent]] rat who offers to become her familiar. The fate of her previous familiar is a NoodleIncident that worries him a fair bit.
* A rogue wizard on the Second Sphere in ''Webcomic/UseSwordOnMonster'' had a familiar dubbed "Edison" who took the form of a monkey wearing a bowtie and a bowler hat. It later turned out he was a Demon Lord before being summoned and bonded and ''really'' resented that, to the point of offering to re-bond with a mage from the military police hunting his master.

* In ''Webcomic/WizardSchool'', Graham's familiar is a talking goat, Goatsie.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Yamara}}'' the elven mage Fea has "Poopsie"... er... Ralph the toad. [[http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-06-16 "Poopsie" has nightmare]].
* ''Webcomic/DaughterOfTheLilies'': "Familiars" are [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demonic]] Drath spirits bound into living or dead animal hosts, to [[AnimalisticAbomination generally gruesome effect]]. These beings are intelligent and can serve as protectors, aides, or "supplements" to spellcasting, so long as one doesn't mind a [[DarkIsEvil shadowy]] companion that intuitively knows one's deepest insecurities and most painful secrets.
* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', Misha is a [[TalkingAnimal talking]] cat who is Azha's familiar. According to Misha, in the Moon Clan, it's a familiar's job to carry their master's belongings (by keeping them in a [[{{Hammerspace}} "storage dimension"]]). Misha can also [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift]] into a [[PantheraAwesome big saber-tooth cat]], allowing Azha [[SapientSteed to ride her]], though that may have nothing to do with being a familiar. When not doing any of the above, she mostly just [[PartiallyCivilizedAnimal acts like a pet]].
* In ''Webcomic/FarStarSummerSchool'', Most of the students have familiars by the time the story starts. [[GreenThumb Namtara]] is particularly happy to have recently gotten a plant familiar, which Madam Karrisa notes in a meeting with the school’s teachers, is a healthy if unconventional familiar.

-->''"That doesn't look like a monster... Maybe a girl's familiar or something?"''

->''"Well, there isn't really ONE big reason, but a lot of good reasons. First, your familiar isn't just a pet; she's your ally. She's the best friend that I've ever had, and that I'm ever likely TO have. She listens to me, and tells me when my head is up my- er- when I'm playing silly head games with myself. She can see invisible beings and forces, even when I'm not looking for them, so she watches my back. And heterodyning your magical power with an ally never hurts. And Boots gets... Hey, what DO you get out of it, Boots?" Boots answered by sprawling on her back to allow her tummy to get rubbed. "Oh. Right. That."''

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' in the episode "Denial", Doctor Fate and Klarion the Witch Boy are battling and Fate takes a shot at Teekl, prompting this prissy response from Klarion:
-->'''Klarion:''' I can't believe you would assault a defenceless pussy cat!\\

'''Klarion:''' Please! You have no imagination! New cat, new name. Something totally original... ''[gasp]'' I've got it! I'll call her... [[GladIThoughtOfIt Teekl!]]\\
'''Mary Marvel:''' But that was-\\

* ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' changes Salem from a [[BalefulPolymorph transfigured human warlock]] to Sabrina's familiar. Accordingly, [[AdaptationalNonsapience he no longer speaks]] (and has a markedly reduced presence due to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Kiernan Shipka being allergic to cats]]).

* In ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'', Hermetic magi often have familiars because they are amazingly useful. They can help you not botch your spellcasting rolls, resist mind control, resist physical damage (and heal it when it happens), not drown, starve or die of thirst, and resist aging. And that's just from the magus-familiar bond. You can add special powers later in the lab.

* ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'': Scarab's talking Snake-Staff is described as the warlock's familiar in Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

** The only pets allowed at Hogwarts are animals traditionally thought of as familiars -- owls, cats, rats and toads. They don't appear to have any special magical connection to their owners, although owls, like Harry's, can be very useful, however; wizards tend to use them to deliver messages to other wizards.

* ''Westernanimation/TheOwlHouse'': In the Boiling Isles, most adult witches have a "palisman", an animal familiar that sits inanimate atop their staff most of the time. They are carved from wood gathered from magical trees.

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', familiars are gained by enacting a ritual such as the one found in the book ''Famulus'' to contract with a willing Other. Any Other who partakes in the ritual will then take on an animal form. Familiars are important for practitioners because they give them a power source outside themselves that isn't (necessarily) a [[Main/DealWithTheDevil Faustian bargain]] and the Familiar gives them a range of additional abilities. The familiars consent to this for varying reasons but mainly to have a foothold in the mortal world and share in the practitioner's power. The personality and traits of the familiar and practitioner are often complimentary.
** For example, Blake Thorburn's familiar is Evan, the spirit of an [[KidSidekick 11-year-old boy]] who died of exposure while trying to escape a demon that Blake later defeated and bound with Evan's help. Evan gains the ability to shapeshift into a sparrow and is kept from having to "cross over" into death, and Blake gains a major power boost and a familiar who excels at finding escape routes and using terrain and opportunity to his advantage.

* ''Literature/{{Pale}}'': The familiar bond is an ancient ritual that defines the relationship between man and Other, and often is an indicator of how twisted the relationship between practitioners and supernatural creatures has become-some take familiars as little more than extensions of their will, while the Musser family attacks practitioners who they feel are treating familiars with undue respect to take the unfortunate familiars for their own. Avery Kelly consciously defies this trend when she performs the familiar ritual with Snowdrop, vowing to share freely with her familiar as a friend and companion, and staging the ritual in the realm of the Lost, Snowdrop's people.

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', familiars are gained by enacting a ritual in the book ''Famulus'' to contract with a willing Other. Any Other who partakes in the ritual will then take on an animal form. Familiars are important for practitioners because they give them a power source outside themselves that isn't (necessarily) a [[Main/DealWithTheDevil Faustian bargain]] and the Familiar gives them a range of additional abilities. The familiars consent to this for varying reasons but mainly to have a foothold in the mortal world and share in the practitioner's power. The personality and traits of the familiar and practitioner are often complimentary.
** For example, Blake Thorburn's familiar is Evan, the spirit of an [[KidSidekick 11-year-old boy]] who died of exposure while trying to escape a demon that Blake later defeated and bound with Evan's help. Evan gains the ability to shapeshift into a sparrow and is kept from having to "cross over" into death, and Blake gains a major power boost and a familiar who excels at finding escape routes and using terrain and opportunity to his advantage.

* In ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'', Nanami's familiar, Tomoe, is a LittleBitBeastly {{Kitsune}} who doesn't like his situation one damn bit...[[MagicContractRomance at first, that is.]]

* Yukari from the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' games has a familiar (the term they use in Japanese is ''shikigami'', which is related to UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}}) called [[{{Kitsune}} Ran]], who in turn has a familiar called [[CatGirl Chen]]. Apparently, Yukari is [[RealityWarper so powerful]] that her familiar can have a familiar of its own. The benefit of being a familiar is that, in return for being a servant, the creature in question shares its master's powers.

* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' has Hedge Beasts, animals touched by the strange magic of [[TheLostWoods the Hedge]]. They're capable of human speech, are much smarter than the average animal, and have the ability to use [[FunctionalMagic Contracts]].