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Familiars are the constant companions to a character, like a mercenary in Diablo. They can be of several types and can respond to commands (e.g. stand back, fight shoulder to shoulder, range ahead; be aggressive, responsive, passive; etc.).

(this section rewritten).

Familiars have one or two runes that they are connected with, an aura, an effect (the result of the runes), skills (each with a trait that goes along with it), characteristics, a sense, and advantages and disadvantages. The standard advantage/disadvantage groups are combat, spirit form and stealth. More on that follows below.

To render a familiar in game terms requires working through each of the parameters, in a proper balance. A character can gain a "standard' familiar easily or a unique familiar by completing a quest.

The "standard" familiar has mastery and magic as their runes. This combination results in the character having a mastery that off-sets the normal -1 that in my campaign the normal world has to magic and increases the amount of magic energy available to the character (somewhat like a spirit shirt overcomes the standard range disadvantage). This creates the basic sorcerer's familiar. Of the effects/skills/Characteristics, 4 are shared, five if a disadvantage is taken without an advantage in type.

Samples:

Black Cat (Standard Magician's Familiar.  Example of a beginning familiar)

• Type: Stealth, non-combat.
• Runes: Magic/Mastery .
• Effect: Magic (Energetic), Increase Magic (Lazy), (shared).
• Skills: Magic Sight 14 (Suspicious), Spell 14, Spell 12; (shared).
• Characteristics: Lazy, Quick, Indulgent (shared).
• Aura: Replenish Magic Points.
• Sense: See in dark.
• Other: Likes cream, weak against Wolf, may wear magic collar.

Wolf (Standard Fighter's Familiar).

• Type: extra characteristic, reduced combat effectiveness.
• Runes Death/Mastery.
• Effect: Weapon Mastery (Vengeful); Enhanced Damage 14 (Valorous) (shared).
• Skills: Specific Weapon Skill 14 (Cruel); Spot Hidden 14 (Suspicious); Purge Poison (touch range/Merciful) 12; (shared).
• Characteristics: Runs, Quick, Strong, (shared).
• Aura: Resist Magic.
• Sense: Enhanced scent and hearing (shared)
• Other: Loyal, hates cats, strong against Rabbit, weak against Dog, can wear a collar.

Shadow Cat (Amber's original familiar, gained on a quest).

• Type: Stealth, non-combat.
• Runes: Magic/Mastery.
• Effect: Magic (Cruel) , Increase Magic (Curious), (shared).
• Skills: Glide (Temperate) ; Shimmer 14 (Deceitful), Detect Spoiled/Poisoned 12 (Suspicious); (shared).
• Characteristics: Suspicious, Quick, Stealthy (shared).
• Aura: Replenish Magic Points/Life (composite aura).
• Sense: See in dark.
• Other: dislikes bright light, may wear magic collar.

Ice Falcon (A beginning quest familiar).

• Type: extra characteristic, reduced combat effectiveness.
• Runes Cold/Mastery.
• Effect: Cold Magic 5 (Chaste); Cold Armor 14 (shared); Good for a user of cold magics.
  Note, does not overcome the - for any non-cold magic, but adds to cold magic skill in return for the limitation.
• Skills: Spot Hidden 14 (Suspicious); Healing (touch range/Merciful) 14.
• Characteristics: Flies, Quick, Alert, Intelligent, (shared).
• Aura: (erode/resist curses).
• Sense: Telescopic Distance Vision (shared).
• Other: Loyal, can wear a collar or leg wrap.

Great Snow Griffin (Ariel's familiar -- gained and transformed via quests:  example of an advanced familiar)

• Type: Large (No extra combat advantages).
• Runes: Cold/Mastery.
• Effect: Cold Magic 102 (Chaste), Penetrating Cold 122 (Chaste); (shared).
• Skills: Combat 142 (Valorous); Spot Hidden 141 (Suspicious); (shared). 
• Characteristics: Flies, Intelligent, Sharpness (shared).
• Aura (erode/resist curses).
• Sense: Telescopic Distance Vision (shared).
• Other: Loyal,  Ariel's wears the white torq (replenish life, replenish magic, cold mastery).

White Raven (Michael's Familiar -- gained via quest:  example of an advanced familiar).

• Type (standard advantage/disadvantage): Stealth, non-combat.
• Runes:  Knowledge (the half rune of Truth)/Death.
• Effect:  Severance 142 (Just) (shared).
• Skills:  Find the Way 122 (Just); Death Affinity 102 (Cruel); Keep the Dead Dead 191 (Pious).
• Characteristics: Flies, Agile, Hungry (Vengeful) (shared).
• Aura:  White Light Aura 182 (note, counters - as to lightwalker abilities, adds to light use).
• Sense: See magic/spirit (shared).
• Other: Unable to use items.  Keeping the dead, dead ability activated by pecking out the eyes of the dead. Prevents undead from returning, stills walktipi, etc. Severance increases the damage of attacks significantly, severs. Most tasks other than direct combat have a built in resistance of 12 vs. severance.  Allying costs an eye.

The Red Bull (Indigo's Familiar, gained via quest, example of an advanced familiar)

• Type: Spirit Form
• Runes: Mastery/Death (Weapon Mastery)
• Effect: Weapon Mastery (Valorous), Weapon Block (Honest) (shared)
• Skill: Cause Terror (Cruel) 23, Unhealing Wounds 152 (Cruel); Bleeding Wounds (Vengeful) 53 (shared).
• Characteristics: Fast (Faster Run/Walk), Agile, Strong.
• Aura: Increase Damage.
• Sense: Weakness (shared).
• Other: The Red Bull is a great Minoan bull, brilliant red in color, a spirit creature. It is of the kind that is used by a character whose abilities do not require ranged spell casting.

Discussing types and attributes.

• Combat familiars -- these have combat forms (fu dogs, bears, dire wolves, etc.), but are large targets.
• Spirit form familiars -- these are harder for enemies to reach, but do not have as useful of combat forms (i.e. The Red Bull).  Basically they have 75% resist all, and do 25% of the damage a normal creature would do.  Against ghosts and other spirit creatures they have no resistance, but do 50% normal damage instead of the usual 25% that most creatures do.
• Evasive or stealth familiars -- these have a physical combat form, but are not as strong to fight (i.e. an ice falcon or shadow cat or a brindle cat or a dragonsnake entwined on a weapon) and tend not to be noticed. Note that a familiar might be an evasive form spirit familiar or a combat form spirit familiar -- one of the big differences would be how much attention they would draw from enemies.
• When a character is riding a familiar (large or very large familiars may be ridden) they generally travel faster, have more range, any damage taken by one is taken by the other, they form multiple targets, but they add their damage bonuses and most personal magics.
• Note that familiars tend to have a mastery associated with them (e.g. the dragonsnake Marie has is a bow mastery familiar), or additional combat effects (i.e. extra damage of various types -- either one type or blended, but reduced for multiple categories -- Marie's had two types of extra damage rather)

A character gains a familiar as part of their early questing and then decides how to grow and improve them at each level. A familiar may start as an aura familiar, then at the next difficulty level gain a mastery, and at the next a new aura or perhaps a skill or a different mastery, all depending on how they grow.

The Oreads at the roof of the world transformed several of the familiars, but not all (i.e. the ice falcon became a snow griffin, the shadow cat became a flame lion, but the red bull remained the red bull, the dragonsnakes remained as they were, etc.).

For more creatures (not all translated to heroquest terms):

• beastiary
• creatures001.htm
• creatures002.htm
• creatures003.htm
• creatures004.htm
• creatures005.htm
• familiars (in the new Issaries Heroquest format)
• more from Shattered Norns //// aesr\www\hero\norns\04.htm
• Chaosium Heroquest Creatures
  • Draugr; Broos; Evil Dryad -- all "off site" (i.e., not my work).
  • Anaxial's Roster: Creatures of the Hero Wars -- 150 entries describing more than 300 animals, monsters, and other creatures, including game statistics, origin myths, and other pertinent facts. Extra material online is here.