[HOE] Constructing Familiars (somewhat long)

["McKay, Ashley" <Ashley.McKay@dva.gov.au>]

Hiya Listee's

I'm in the process of designing a familiar and I've come across a few
questions.   Any advice or answers gratefully accepted...

Firstly, the form of this familiar is still somewhat amorphous.   I haven't
yet decided on a single idea so please bear with me as these questions range
all over the place.

Now, these are the current questions I have...

1.  The Locomotion power states that for 'walkers' it provides 4 limbs, and
requires 30% of the available slots for the frame.   What happens if I want
to add additional limbs to my familiar?   If I decide I want my familiar to
have four legs, two wings and a prehensile tail?   The wings could be argued
away via VTOL, but how do I calculate the tail?

What if I wanted my familiar to resemble a spider or octopus?

2.  I was toying with the idea of making my familiar 'invisible' via ECM but
the way the section on ECM reads, I would have to actually purchase sensor
ratings, purely for the ECM capability.   Is this correct, or does it run
off the inherent capabilities of the familiar (cognition or nimbleness or
sneak or whatever)?

If the primary locomotion for the familiar is VTOL, how noisy is it?   If I
was aiming at a noiseless system, do I have to buy ECM vs Hearing?

3.  The Junkman Cometh states that familiars get the same range of aptitudes
as player characters (cognition, mien, deftness, etc) and that the Marshal
should play the familiar as an extra that is loyal to the Junker.   Does
this mean the Familiar gets cognition+knowledge+smarts as skills points?
If so, how do you determine the skills of a familiar?

4.  When calculating the slot costs for one design, I came up .05 slots
short.   Is it possible to miniaturise the powers placed into a familiar
(like sensor), thus saving space?   The Junkman Cometh states that certain
powers (ammo, locomotion, etc) cannot really be miniaturised, but what would
people say to miniaturising VTOL, Sensor, and Flash Gordon?

5.  I wanted to arm my familiar with a small laser.   The Junkman Cometh
states that ALL powers placed in a familiar's shell during the bonding
ritual do not have Drain (the familiar provides all necessary power).   Does
this mean I can state that the familiar then has a weapon with near-infinity
AP properties?   What about if I also add Spirit Weapon to the mix?   Spirit
weapon states that for energy weapons, multiply the Drain by 10, but if the
devices suffers no Drain...

Looking at it from another angle, I was originally looking at the laser as a
cutting tool (you know, ask the familiar to cut out a door panel or
somesuch) that could damn near cut through anything.   Is this a valid use?

6.  In combat, do familiars draw cards for their actions or is there some
other method for determining when they act (like they act on the same phases
as the Junker)?

Thanks for your time...

Ashley McKay
Hospital Services
Tel:		(07) 3223 8386
Fax:		(07) 3223 8367
E-Mail:	Ashley.McKay@DVA.Gov.Au