I'm getting to the stage in the game where my character is looking at acquiring a familiar.
Background on character:
House Verditius
Rego Terram / generalist mage
Telekinesis magical focus
Primogeniture lineage
Has trained 2 apprentices and made a talisman
Hermetic architect
Hoplite
Member of cult of mithras
Craftwise he's a weaponsmith / armourer with a side order of mason, engineer, leatherworker, carpenter, bowyer, fletcher, potter... no he's not dwarf blooded.
Personality wise he is trying to be as ethical as he can, as he has to set a good example for his fili(a? us? ii?) So they don't go off the rails big time. He is currently working out of a flying covenant he created and enchanted (five size +10 labs plus ancillary buildings), and threatened to bring a motion at tribunal to "stop people having crises that I have to come sort out. Just for the next 7 years or so, so I can get some lab time." (The praeco refused to let that one go to vote...)
So basically he's a generalist telekinetic, so arts are basically inapplicable. If it matters, his lowest art is about 13?
Same thought here Around here people get their familiar before their talisman or apprentices.
Architect rego control leader (all go together)
Weapons hoplite
Lineage respect leadership by Right
Something related to castles and organization is the kind of animals I would go for. And the hunt.
Your animal for me is a pack leader and a hunter, one that likes organization and the fight. A wolf or a hound. A hound sounds fine since it is more "human" in the kind of environment that he might appreciate.
Conclusion: A mastiff. I would recommend a Mastiff to you.
Honestly? Too busy saving the order from itself, and I interpret primogeniture lineage as meaning that you either take your time before getting an heir apprentice,
(Something that would actually be bad in my case as the dangers abound meant that I might not have survived.) OR you get an heir fast so you can boot them out and get on with the politicking.
Mastiff is good, my primary apprentice is a shapeshifting wolf so I'd prefer to avoid wolves.
I had an idea involving automata and a modified version of the bind spirit thingy in HoH:MC Verdi. Unfortunately that takes 2 major virtues, reverse engineered because my house doesn't talk to me, then modifying the initiation script to get a different ability, massive amounts of research, and then you still don't have a familiar yet!
With a Rego specialty and that "leadership" attitude, I would try to bind a lion, ideally one strongly associated with Terram (maybe a golden lion automaton someone else produced?)
Alternatively, moles are pretty good examples for Rego Terram, though admittedly not that impressive.
But what I'd really try and look for is an animal strongly associated with telekinesis, so that the magical focus becomes applicable and the animal is really "in tune" with the Verditius' magic. Any animal that's known for "throwing" stuff would be appropriate, as well as magical animals with the appropriate powers.
Awakened Devices from Ancient Magic! Not only will you be able to make a Familiar that most mages can only dream of, replacing the "Lost House Mystery" of Automatons with Awakened Devices (Superior in every respect!) will put you in line to be Primus!
Rego Terram specialist? You want a Badger! They rule over their underground burrows, can shift earth well, and are savagely territorial, much like a hermetic magus.
Checking page 57 of RoP:Magic, the suggestion which links both Rego and Terram is badger, but cat/lion/wolf/owl work well for rego or you could get a hedgehog (if you're into symbolic armour and defensiveness) or a ferret or fox for cunning Terram.
Alternatively, tell the SG you want an Ant of Virtue so he has to write a story where you go to Mythic Africa and find a giant, gold-digging Ant which you cajole into being your familiar and has the handy effect of digging up gold.
OK, suggestions and responses after <24 hours are :
mastiff - reasonable, easy to procure, (stonehenge based saga)
ancient magic (mechanica of heron?) / Awakened Devices - Wouldn't I have to spend even more time than for the automata?
lion - I'm in stonehenge, I'd have to go find a lion.... where's the King's menagerie kept?
golden lion automaton - time issues, otherwise good idea, adds to the 'big and impressive' theme.
moles - not overly impressive, but a good option.
Badger - defense, rego terram, classic, doable.
cat - base default for me anyway, and has the advantage of just going out and finding the nearest kitten.
wolf - too many wolves as it is.
owl - wisdom, nice idea but I associate these with Bonisagus rather than verdi.
hedgehog - interesting, wouldn't have thought of that.
ferret - likewise, not something I'd have thought of.
fox - here's where my thought processes differ, I tend to think of foxes as the equivalent of the native american Coyote, so trickster not cunning, but in ME p*radigm, the cunning isn't bad, not really appropriate to the character though, unfortunately.
Ant of Virtue - You can do insects?!? cool......
Keep the ideas rolling in!
as an aside, how do you enchant a familiar that has a life span of less than 3 months? ie Mayflies or butterflies or equivalent.
Usually a potential familiar has to have a touch of magic. In some (many?) cases this means they have a might score.
...which would meke them untouched by age...
I like the Idea of an Ant of Virtue too particularly for the Terram aspect of digging up gold. Though an ant that is supposed to be the size of a dog following your character around mythic europe could be a bit conspicuous. Of course a mechanical bronze lion wouldn't be much better.
You might also consider a Bee of Virtue. IMO it's a good match for the Rego as well as the architecture and craftsman character aspects. According to RoP:M Bees form a model society build homes with great skill and are ruled be a King. A King of Bee's would be an awesome familiar.
A king bee with his court (hive) in your lab can be a little bit noisy, though be sure to equip yourself or your friend with a few beast of outlandish size spells! A hive of hand-sized bees can be quite intimidating!
If it's already a Magical Beast, it is most likely immune to aging...
With your Arts, you could go for a dragon if you wanted to. Of course finding one that fits and is willing is going to be an adventure in itself, but I'm guessing you'd have the Arts to bind it.
Working from memory here...
Highest arts are definitely <20, 18 i think...
Lowest arts are about 13.
Any dragon i can bind as a familiar is going to be teeny tiny at this point i'd have thought.
Not an issue, but I'd assume a baby dragon (low might = baby?) might have issues with being taken from its mum.
K.
Around here people get their familiar before their talisman or apprentices.
be sure to equip yourself or your friend with a few beast of outlandish size spells! A hive of hand-sized bees can be quite intimidating!