Help: Fire Animals?

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. So I have this PF story in my head, but before I can start writing it I need to finish fleshing out some of the characters. I'm NOT asking for help with picking characters or even personalities, I have that more or less worked out. There's basically on thing I know I want, but don't know of anything like this in the books. So I want to ask here before I end up just creating something myself (I can create, but I'd prefer to use something from the books if it exists).

What I'm looking for ...

A fire based friend/companion (it's for a theme). So I'm thinking either A: an animal that's fire based, or B: a faerie that's fire based.

My first thought was an animal (canine based would be nice, but not necessary), but I've got to thinking that a faerie could actually be a great possibility too (since I intend to include one anyways).

Requirements:
1. Something fire based, and not just with fire powers. Example: A fire dragon is good, but a great horned dragon (which has fire abilities) not so good. While the great horned has fire capabilities, it's not really the symbolism of fire. ((No, I don't want a dragon, this is just an example.)) The opposite of a Frost Pixie would be awesome! ((If no one can find anything fitting in the books, I'm likely to create something like this for my purpose.))

2. Something not too intelligent (should be animal intelligence). While yes, a faerie is a possible exception, that's my only exception. So dragons, Phoenixi (even though another good option), and other intelligent fire beings are out of the running.

3. Something that can be a friend or companion, not just a powerful tool/attack animal. So something like the Firebird from Mystic Russia (Rifts) is out (because no one could come in like 10 feet of it, which makes it totally impractical). So it has to be something that can work with a group, not just help it from a distance. Again, not really seeking intelligent, but should be able to at least travel at someone's side.

4. Something from the books. I don't mind if it's PF, Rifts, Nightbane, or even a Rifter. My main objective here is to find something in the books. Fan websites are OFF limits. If I want something from a website, I can do it myself. While Rifters are optional material, it's at least printed material and something I'll consider (official would be better though).

5. I feel like there's something else I'm forgetting. Just fire based. Elemental powers would be cool, but far from necessary.

All right, I think that covers it. Again, not looking for suggestions on other aspects. I already have like 11 characters plotted out for this story along with personalities and such. I don't really need more. I'm also not really looking for someone to create something for me (because I probably won't use it). Because this is a Palladium story, I've decided to go with the Palladium philosophy that if you post it here, it'll probably ensure that I don't use it. This is also why I'm sticking to book (if I can).

Since this is a story, I'm more concerned with concept than game mechanics. If you think you know something from the books that's close, feel free to mention it. I might be able to justify the concept. Anyways, I think that's all for now. Thank you for your help and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.



P.S. This is one of the last pieces of the puzzle for me. Once I have this piece (even if it means I need to create the being myself), I'll be just about ready to start writing (when I get time and can focus). As I finish sections, I will post (at least the first three chapters) here.

[novatomato]

The only thing that comes to my mind is the Sun Dog, but that is not really fire but light based and also has a higher level of intelligence.

[novatomato]

possibly a Sun Devil could do, its a faerie-like elemental creature with elemental aspects of fire.
You have certainly piqued my curiousity in this and I can't stop pouring over my books to find something.

[Prysus]

The only thing that comes to my mind is the Sun Dog, but that is not really fire but light based and also has a higher level of intelligence.

Greetings and Salutations. It may not be what I'm looking for, but which book?

Hmm ... unless you mean the Sun Devil (which I found while I flipped through Monsters & Animals for it). They're a little more evil than I'd like though (the fact they say even friendly ones will betray the group kind of makes it non-group compatable). I'd have considered it more if I hadn't found another good option (see below).

Options provided (from the Nexus Nine) include: Dragondactyl which isn't quite what I had in mind (but I may end up using for something else entirely) and a Fire Sprite (from Yin-Sloth). The Fire Sprite, though not technically a faerie, fits the requirements I'm looking for well enough.

I'm leaning towards the Fire Sprite for now, but I'm remaining open to other suggestions for now. Someone else may find something even better.

Thank you for your time and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Cinos]

Ever considered a Salamander?

[zyanitevp]

Fire sprite would be close to what you are looking, unless you want to do a less evil, less intelligent version of a sun devil. A fire salamander was in one of the Rifters I think, but cannot remember which one.

[novatomato]

The only thing that comes to my mind is the Sun Dog, but that is not really fire but light based and also has a higher level of intelligence.

Greetings and Salutations. It may not be what I'm looking for, but which book?

Hmm ... unless you mean the Sun Devil (which I found while I flipped through Monsters & Animals for it). They're a little more evil than I'd like though (the fact they say even friendly ones will betray the group kind of makes it non-group compatable). I'd have considered it more if I hadn't found another good option (see below).

Options provided (from the Nexus Nine) include: Dragondactyl which isn't quite what I had in mind (but I may end up using for something else entirely) and a Fire Sprite (from Yin-Sloth). The Fire Sprite, though not technically a faerie, fits the requirements I'm looking for well enough.

I'm leaning towards the Fire Sprite for now, but I'm remaining open to other suggestions for now. Someone else may find something even better.

Thank you for your time and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

The Sun Dog is in the Land of the Damned book one.

[Prysus]

The Sun Dog is in the Land of the Damned book one.

Greetings and Salutations. Hmm ... cool! You are right, not exactly what I'm looking for, but definitely an interesting read and appreciate the reference. Once they compared it a Sphinx in intelligence though I kind of knew it was too smart. But I still appreciate the reference. Thank you very much.

Ever considered a Salamander?

Fire sprite would be close to what you are looking, unless you want to do a less evil, less intelligent version of a sun devil. A fire salamander was in one of the Rifters I think, but cannot remember which one.

Wait ... is the Fire Salamander an actual fire based creature in a book then? Someone mentioned that on the other board too, but I thought he was just joking. I know the real fire salamander and there's a version (non-magical or anything like that) in Monsters & Animals. Hmm ... I may need to actually check out the Rifters then to see their odd version of it (I only say "odd" since it sounds like they named it after a real animal).

Anyways, thanks again. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. Just to include some more options from the other message board.

1. Rifter 21 (minor elemental familiars): Very cool find!

2. Living Magic (Nightbane: TtGD): I actually have plans for this later, so I think I'll avoid it here. But a darn fine suggestion.

3. Adding Powers (Nightbane: TtGD): Right, not quite what I'm looking for, but still appreciate the option. I'd rather have more options than not enough, or someone not mentioning something that would've been perfect because they think I won't like it.

4. Fire Salamander: Still can't find another reference other than the M&A one.

5. Fire Drakes (Megaversal Builder): Yes, I've been looking at them (as per Lord Z's post). They're kind of coo. They definitely fit the bill for what I'm looking at.

Right now the Fire Sprite is still my leading option, but the reason I want to keep my mind open is that in another day or two (with all these options brewing in my head) I may have some sudden flash of the perfect concept and it may be different than my current thoughts. That's why I like having options and letting them brew a few days before making a final decision.

Once again, thank you all for your time and help. There have been some very interesting options so far. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Grug]

I think they mean the Silver Salamandyr, from The Library of Bletherad page 116.
You could use the level four fire warlock spell Flame Friend, PFRPG core book page 236.

[Tyberius]

Fire Sprite, Yin Sloth Jungles book, page 53.

[Cinos]

Well, there is the Silver Salamandyr, but as I recall, they're intelligent. I meant a plain ol' Salamander you can find on Earth. Ancient cultures revered them for possessing mystical fire powers (such as an immunity to it, or birthed from it) since they liked to live and sleep in old logs, and when people collected these logs for firewood, the Salamander would flee the log when it started smoking (a natural response of any animal).

But an animal able to get limbs severed and regenerate them, small enough to scout around, able to move on land or water, but still be small enough to hide in your pack seems like a fine familiar.

[The Dark Elf]

Za (intelligent)
Flame friend (spell)
Nimro (maybe not)

[drewkitty ~..~]

Agrees that it is not a fire based creature but the Sun Dog is the best if to be a companion for the adventurers. (had one join the pbp pf game I last ran a while back).

Maybe use the Sun Dag as a template to Mod from for a "fire dog" relative.

[jaymz]

What about the riding beast the order of the white rose uses in Madhaven for Rifts?

[Prysus]

What about the riding beast the order of the white rose uses in Madhaven for Rifts?

Greetings and Salutations. Interesting. I remember talk about them and thought: "Great idea!" Then I looked them up. Are those the "War Birds"? If so, nothing actually fire about them (odd, because I had thought they had something fire about them). They have a blue magical aura, but that's it. They're also known as "Little Thunder Birds" and "Stormhawks" which separates them more from fire. If I'm looking at the wrong animal, please point me in the right direction (I don't know Madhaven that well). If it is the same, well, I appreciate the suggestion.

Though, on a side note, looking into that I did run into the Phantom Wolf. Totally not what I'm looking for, but still pretty darn cool. I find myself wanting to use it for ... I don't know, something. Maybe a mount for a rival group or enemy, or just a wild threat. Hmm ... not sure.

Hmm ... if I think of the blue aura as blue fire ... they could work for something else. Not what I'm looking for, but could be a good tie-in to a seconadry story (that's related and yet unrelated). Anyways ... I digress.

Thanks again for the suggestion and have a great day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.



P.S. @ jaymz: For a different thread, not sure if I ever apologized. I'll say I was working an 18 hour day (after 12 hours of travel time), followed by a 12 hours day, followed by a 10 hour day, 2 hours of sleep, and a 17 hour day. That's still no excuse. If I came off rude, I apologize. I'll say I still think those posts could have come off in the negative tone I indicated, but online it's hard to determine tone and I usually give people the benefit of the doubt. I didn't do that in this case, so sorry.

[jaymz]

P.S. @ jaymz: For a different thread, not sure if I ever apologized. I'll say I was working an 18 hour day (after 12 hours of travel time), followed by a 12 hours day, followed by a 10 hour day, 2 hours of sleep, and a 17 hour day. That's still no excuse. If I came off rude, I apologize. I'll say I still think those posts could have come off in the negative tone I indicated, but online it's hard to determine tone and I usually give people the benefit of the doubt. I didn't do that in this case, so sorry.[/justify]

Believe me when I say this. If I let every post from someone having a bad day get to me I'd never have stayed here for as long as I have and continued to be as critical as I have No worries my friend no worries.

[Prysus]

Believe me when I say this. If I let every post from someone having a bad day get to me I'd never have stayed here for as long as I have and continued to be as critical as I have No worries my friend no worries.

Greetings and Salutations. Didn't think I hurt your feelings or drove you away, but I still felt I should respond because it was the right thing to do. Right is right, and you deserved an apology. That's just who I am. I would've actually done it sooner, except after my crazy work schedules ended I forgot. Have a great day man. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

[Cinos]

Believe me when I say this. If I let every post from someone having a bad day get to me I'd never have stayed here for as long as I have and continued to be as critical as I have No worries my friend no worries.

Greetings and Salutations. Didn't think I hurt your feelings or drove you away, but I still felt I should respond because it was the right thing to do. Right is right, and you deserved an apology. That's just who I am. I would've actually done it sooner, except after my crazy work schedules ended I forgot. Have a great day man. Farewell and safe journeys for now.

Prysus not being polite to a fault? That's not possible!

[zyanitevp]

I think they mean the Silver Salamandyr, from The Library of Bletherad page 116.
You could use the level four fire warlock spell Flame Friend, PFRPG core book page 236.

Yes, the Silver Salamander.

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. So, I've been reading and thinking on the various suggestions so far. As things stand now ...

@ Cinos: Hmm ... I must admit you've made a darn good case for the plain ol' Fire Salamander. I mean, NOT for what I was looking for. They don't have fire powers so won't fit the bill. BUT! I will have some secondary familiars/companions and this could fit that bill well. So while not what I was looking for, you made a good enough case that gave me an entirely different idea that can be fun.

@ zyanitevp: Well, the Silver Salamandyr isn't what I'm looking for. Again, just too intelligent. They're closer to another player character than a familiar/companion. BUT! Once again ... I think this has given me inspiration for something else. What I'm thinking may be far off down the line (we're talking even if I start writing this story it could be a year or two down the line), but still might be fun (just a little something).

Random note: Yin Lords (found as I was reading up on the Silver Salamandyrs) are pretty cool. I won't use one in this story, but if I ever run a campaign again I think I might just have to use one. Just saying ...

Right now Fire Sprites are still in the lead (and the most likely for me to use for what I wanted), but I am getting some pretty cool ideas along the way. Ideas I've gained from these threads (just for the story in one form or another) include possibilities of: Fire Salamanders (mundane), Silver Salamandyrs, Phantom Wolves, Fire Drakes, and maybe the elementals from Rifter 21. For added stories (or campaigns) include ideas for War Birds and Yin Lords.

All in all a very productive experience. I'm likely to make my decision by the end of the week (if I'm not too busy with work, then maybe a week or two after). Since you've all been helping, I'm doing my best to keep everyone in the loop without giving away too much details (yet). Have a great day everyone. Farewell and safe journeys to all.

[drewkitty ~..~]

You could just use the Random monster tables to create a race that fits your bill.

[Prysus]

You could just use the Random monster tables to create a race that fits your bill.

Greetings and Salutations. Yes, I easily could. Or I could even make something that fits what I want and not even use any table whatsoever because I do that a lot (and have a fair bit of experience doing so). My goal here though is to use something that others can identify. While there's a handful of things in my story I'll be using that either makes something up (at times this is a necessity!), when writing a story (especially for a specific company/setting such as Palladium) I find it important for the fans and readers to be able to identify what's going on. This is why I wanted pre-existing book material first. Thank you for your time and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys.

[pblackcrow]

Do you have library of blethera (Sp?), I think there's a fire sprite in it? It's in one of the books, can't remember for sure which one.

Oh, and do you have Rifter 21? There is a bookwyrm (mini dragon) in it.

Also, fire ferret from new Avatar show could be rather cute. And has a very high animal intellect. Though you could make it a mongoose or weasel.

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. If anyone is curious as to the intent of the original question (over a year later), I used this to create Fenix, the Fire Sprite in my Purifiers story (seen in Chapter 1). I just wanted to let people know the outcome of this discussion. Once again, I appreciate everyone's help. There's a few other questions I started along these same lines which I'll be updating when the time comes. Thank you for your time and help, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys to all.



P.S. A few other suggestions in this thread sparked other ideas, which I may credit here as they come up as well.

[The Dark Elf]

My first thoughts upon reading the post were that you would be sitting across a board room pointing at animals shouting "You're fired!"

[pblackcrow]

Greetings and Salutations. So I have this PF story in my head, but before I can start writing it I need to finish fleshing out some of the characters. I'm NOT asking for help with picking characters or even personalities, I have that more or less worked out. There's basically on thing I know I want, but don't know of anything like this in the books. So I want to ask here before I end up just creating something myself (I can create, but I'd prefer to use something from the books if it exists).

What I'm looking for ...

A fire based friend/companion (it's for a theme). So I'm thinking either A: an animal that's fire based, or B: a faerie that's fire based.

My first thought was an animal (canine based would be nice, but not necessary), but I've got to thinking that a faerie could actually be a great possibility too (since I intend to include one anyways).

Requirements:
1. Something fire based, and not just with fire powers. Example: A fire dragon is good, but a great horned dragon (which has fire abilities) not so good. While the great horned has fire capabilities, it's not really the symbolism of fire. ((No, I don't want a dragon, this is just an example.)) The opposite of a Frost Pixie would be awesome! ((If no one can find anything fitting in the books, I'm likely to create something like this for my purpose.))

2. Something not too intelligent (should be animal intelligence). While yes, a faerie is a possible exception, that's my only exception. So dragons, Phoenixi (even though another good option), and other intelligent fire beings are out of the running.

3. Something that can be a friend or companion, not just a powerful tool/attack animal. So something like the Firebird from Mystic Russia (Rifts) is out (because no one could come in like 10 feet of it, which makes it totally impractical). So it has to be something that can work with a group, not just help it from a distance. Again, not really seeking intelligent, but should be able to at least travel at someone's side.

4. Something from the books. I don't mind if it's PF, Rifts, Nightbane, or even a Rifter. My main objective here is to find something in the books. Fan websites are OFF limits. If I want something from a website, I can do it myself. While Rifters are optional material, it's at least printed material and something I'll consider (official would be better though).

5. I feel like there's something else I'm forgetting. Just fire based. Elemental powers would be cool, but far from necessary.

All right, I think that covers it. Again, not looking for suggestions on other aspects. I already have like 11 characters plotted out for this story along with personalities and such. I don't really need more. I'm also not really looking for someone to create something for me (because I probably won't use it). Because this is a Palladium story, I've decided to go with the Palladium philosophy that if you post it here, it'll probably ensure that I don't use it. This is also why I'm sticking to book (if I can).

Since this is a story, I'm more concerned with concept than game mechanics. If you think you know something from the books that's close, feel free to mention it. I might be able to justify the concept. Anyways, I think that's all for now. Thank you for your help and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.



P.S. This is one of the last pieces of the puzzle for me. Once I have this piece (even if it means I need to create the being myself), I'll be just about ready to start writing (when I get time and can focus). As I finish sections, I will post (at least the first three chapters) here.

How about a golden eagle familiar with pyrokinesis, fire faery in LB.