Taeli Raaf
Bookworm
Sith Sorcerer animating four raven-shaped Arma Familiars
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To submit a new type of Sith familiar for Sith sorcerers to utilize.
- Image Credit:
- https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aGnaDq - Sith Sorcerer animating four raven-shaped Arma Familiars
- https://scryfall.com/card/stx/85/promising-duskmage - Sith Acolyte attempting to animate their Arma Familiars for the first time in the presence of their Master
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links:
- Sith Familiar - Concept and Base Specimen
- Sith Tattoo - Anchoring Agent
- Sith Alchemy
- Sith Sorcery
- Name: Arma Familiar
- Arma is ur-Kittat, the language of the Sith, for Ink meaning their name in Galactic Basic are Ink Familiars
- Designation: Non-sentient
- Origins:
- Average Lifespan:
- As the familiars are animated ink structures created from tattoos, their average lifespan can be measured more in line with the Sith they have been bonded to as they can only be animated by that Sith. Once that Sith dies, the familiars remain as decorative tattoos on their body if it remains.
- Estimated Population: Scattered
- Generally, these creatures found in the service of sorcerers and other Sith and agents among the Order of Arcane Syn. However, the Lady of Secrets has allowed the knowledge to be taught to the wider order on a case-by-case basis.
- Description:
- As their forms can vary depending on the creature used in creating the alchemized and enchanted ink for the tattoos, they can appear in a variety of animal shapes. However, Arma Familiars all appear as shadowy animal creatures formed from wisps of shadow and ink animated by the will of their Master.
Sith Acolyte attempting to animate their Arma Familiars for the first time in the presence of their Master
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
- Breathes:
- As they are animated ink constructs created from alchemized and enchanted tattoos, they can technically exist in any environment as they do not require an atmosphere to survive. However, the individual that animated them is restricted by their ability to breathe so these creatures are typically encountered in Type I and Type II atmospheres.
- Average Height of Adults:
- Can vary depending on the animal that was tattooed onto the Sith, although height is restricted by the size of the tattoo itself and the body of their Sith.
- Average Length of Adults:
- Can vary depending on the animal that was tattooed onto the Sith, although length is restricted by the size of the tattoo itself and the body of their Sith.
- Skin color:
- All Arma Familiars take on the pigmentation of the ink used in their creation, typically black although some Sith opt for more colorful variety, while mixed with what appear to be midnight black shadow as their forms shift and move.
- Hair color:
- No hair as the creatures, when animated, are made of shadows and ink.
- Distinctions:
- The most distinctive physical traits of the Arma Familiars are precisely how widely they can vary in both form and substance as each creature takes on the shape of the tattoo they are formed from. However, they all share the same ink and shadow form that betrays their nature as a construct to anyone that seems them. They all also take on the eye color of their Master, and like all other Sith familiars, they can act as extension of their Master's will and power.
- Races: No other races
- Force Sensitivity: All
- Each familiar is a construct created from Sith alchemy and sorcery for the purpose of acting as extensions of their Master's powers and senses, necessitating an innate connection to their bonded Sith's own ability to wield the Force. Unless channeled through the creature, they cannot wield the Force actively on their own.
- Due to their creation process, Arma Familiars are incredibly difficult to destroy with conventional weaponry. As creatures of shadow and ink, animated by Sith magic and given semi-physical form through the ink, slugthrowers and blasters have little effect on their forms. Even disruptors have little effect on their forms, however a lightsaber can damage them due to their connection to the Force. In addition, until the tattoo they originate from is destroyed, their Master can resummon the constructs after a few moments and they emerge whole once again.
- Like other Sith familiars, an Arma Familiar can be used as an extension of their Master's senses, allowing the bonded Sith to see and hear through the construct and direct its movements like a puppet. As their bodies are mostly shadow and ink, the creations can also slip into narrow spaces that other creatures might not be able to access to act as spies for their Masters.
- Like other Sith familiars, an Arma Familiar can be used by their bonded Sith to channel their Force Powers through it. However, unlike other Sith familiars due to their creation process and greater connection to their Master, they can channel a greater degree of power through their bodies before they are overwhelmed and destroyed, and their essence returns to their anchoring tattoo.
- As the creatures are tattoos, animated through the dark side at the command of their bonded Sith, they can be transported anywhere their Master is and do not require any sort of storage.
- If their bonded Sith is within an ysalamiri bubble or in a void stone suppression field, the tattoos that create the familiar cannot be animated and the creature fails to form, becoming merely decoration on their body until they escape the bubble or field. If a familiar flies into such a bubble or field, they instantly dissipate, and their essence returns to the tattoo on their Master's body.
- If the tattoo on their Master's body becomes damaged, destroyed, or separated from the body through such actions as dismemberment, the familiar is destroyed and cannot be animated again until a new tattoo is placed on the Sith's body. In addition, if the tattoo is directly targeted by Force Light or the familiar is, they are instantly destroyed and cannot be reanimated until the effects of the Force Light dissipate from their Master if ever.
- While they can channel the powers of their Master's better than the original Sith familiars utilized for centuries by the Sith, they can be overwhelmed by particularly powerful displays of Force powers and their corporal form can be destroyed while their essence returns to their anchor tattoo.
- Diet:
- The creatures, due to their nature as constructs, do not require sustenance to maintain their forms or bodies. If they subsist off anything, it is their bond with their Master where their anchoring tattoo resides and connects them to the essence of their bonded Sith. Without that bond, they are just decoration and cannot exist.
- Communication:
- The creatures cannot communicate between each other, although multiple tattoos from the same Sith recognize each other from the imprint of their Master within them. The Sith bonded to the familiar can channel their own voice through the creature, either physically through their mouth or telepathically, so can speak any language their Master is fluent in.
- Technology level:
- No technology level due to their nature as non-sentient constructs animated from Sith tattoos.
- Religion/Beliefs:
- No religion or belief system due to their nature as non-sentient constructs animated from Sith tattoos.
- General behavior:
- Due to their nature as constructs animated from tattoos on their Master's body, if they are not animated, they are merely decorative Sith tattoos. They only gain some semblance of agency once their Master animates them through the application of the dark side of the Force, and even then, their behavior and actions are influenced by their Master. They can appear to have similar mannerisms as the creatures they were formed from, such as birds or reptiles, but these behaviors are all simulations while they act as an extension of their Master's senses and powers.
Developed at the direction of the Lady of Secrets, Darth Arcanix, to create a new type of Sith familiar, the alchemists and sorcerers of the Order of Arcane Syn and the Sith Order began adapting the creation process of the original Sith familiars. Drawing inspiration from their Mistress utilizing Sith tattoos as anchors for Sith spells, as she did when crafting her false Jedi persona during her infiltration of the Jedi a few decades ago, the team of alchemists and sorcerers began there in developing a new type of alchemized ink empowered through the dark side. The ink was created by combining the various elixirs and components used in creating a Sith familiar and reducing them down into the ink, utilizing Sith alchemy and sorcery to combine the two seamlessly while enervating the creature components that were ground down to a powder with the essence of the creature it originally was.
Once the ink was created, several volunteers had the tattoos applied in the traditional manner with Sith pincerbugs in various shapes, although the most common was a raven in honor of their Mistress. Applied to their bodies, a command word in the Sith language was taught to each volunteer and infused with meaning with Sith sorcery that would animate the spirit and ink within the tattoo to create the construct. The new familiar, once animated, was formed from shadow and ink and was anchored and bonded to the Sith.
Tests were done to ensure that the new Arma, or Ink, Familiars retained the abilities of original Sith familiars and were found to have improved capabilities due to the increased bond between familiar and master.
