5e A Familiar Handbook

[Nunkuruji]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bJ7sEa2X-mTcXJ2fDQRDGx3dgoRgY7VOJZtsIMv0ppM/edit


An attempt at a handbook for familiars.
Base familiars, Warlock & Variant options, as well as some Variants that may be available with a flexible DM given some comments in the Mage NPC entry.
A few strategies for how to leverage them are included. Looking for other clever suggestions.

[sambojin]

I'll have a quick read soon. Thanks for putting up the doc.

Conjure Animals (swarms of 1/4 CR stuff, Swarms of Ravens mostly) + Voice of the Chain Master and an Imp familiar flying and invisible has been as busted-arse broken as I could make familiars. Many miles of attack range is good. I'll read up and see if there's any save-or-probably-die stuff included with familiars. Hex spell poison thingy combo? I'll work out stuff soon.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Familiar doing Help action to make advantage on Skill checks, is easy.

Help action in melee to get advantage on an attack, is rather delicious and powerful.  My homegame DM blanched, and insisted on a separate Initiative, forcing Delays and coordinated action, no surprise round use, every other round.  While that's a reasonable nerf ... grr grumpy about it anyway.


I like the idea of Barb 6 Eagle and a familiar for a mobile 1 mile vision+ "sensor" flying around the countryside.

[Nunkuruji]

good stuff,
added,
and thanks

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Rogue Thief 13 ... can use UMD on a Scroll of Find Familiar, or maybe even read it straight out of a Wiz's spellbook.

Class with FF on their spell list, doesn't have to have FF known, can just read the Scroll.  Not sure if Warlock can do it this way because of class feature.  Either way, Scroll of 1st level spell in Common and is supposed to be available for sale(-ish).


iirc Imp and Quasit are Tiny Undead.
If this is the reading of what can be a familiar, then ...

(click to show/hide)

DEMI-LICH !!

Who's the little happy T.O.-er today.


edit for below --- oh you mean like a Supermount-Lite? ... hmm

[Nunkuruji]

It perhaps seems possible that if one chooses Ranger/Beastmaster, acquires Find Familiar, chooses a Tiny Beast of no more than 1/4 CR, it could potentially be both a Familiar and Ranger Companion. Not yet sure if there is any sane reason to do so, or if there is RAW that stops it.

Note to self: Beast Master companion HP is x Ranger level, not character level, multiclassing is ass.

Nevermind, Find Familiar types the creature as Celestial/Fey/Fiend, where a Ranger's companion must be a Beast.

[sambojin]

A "has hands" style beast companion might be useful for some. The only problem being, that Baboon is the only one that fits in under the 1/4CR or less rules. So no rock throwing Apes of doom for you

The 4x Ranger level HP thing isn't bad for it, it has a climb speed and uses Pack Tactics.

The main use for it is: It is essentially a small humanoid with hands! This is an amazing thing.

Any magic item that doesn't need attunement will essentially fit this guy. Any common items (caltrops, ballbearings, lanterns, oil, torches, alchemist's fire, holy water, etc) can be carried and used by him.

He might not be a combat pet, but he is awesome in every other way. He even has 4 Int. 4! That's like as smart as a barbarian! So he can do pretty complicated things for a slave. Umm, beast companion. Yes, that is what I meant....
------

Just for another dumb thing. Stealth Ponies.

If you have, say, plains as you favoured terrain, can hang out by a horse corral for 8 hours while hidden, then you can steal a pony and ride out of there unnoticed at full speed. Rangers are the greatest horse thieves in the land. It's how they support themselves considering their otherwise shitty class abilities.

Works with mules, riding horses, ponies, mastiffs and elks (cattle?).

Stealth Ponies are great.

[Nunkuruji]

I've been debating on whether to write up something specific for Beast Master Rangers as well, but I haven't been inspired yet.

Though as I ponder, one of the possible things is for the beast to become a Half-Dragon. So maybe there are some things to write about...

I'm not sure why you state only items that don't require attunement. I don't now any rule that prevents attunement for them, and a lot of wondrous items still auto-resize.

[sambojin]

Just thinking attunement = comprehension = brain power. I know Apes have Int 6, Baboons Int 4, Barbarians varying amounts, normal Beasts a bit less (2'ish), so bleh. DM could proxy vote that out or in easily, unless there's a reason or a cool story behind it.

Since there's a time factor for attunement, there's probably a dumb-arse one as well, if you want to push it too far.

[sambojin]

Or let your baboon be present and helping as you kill an Air Elemental. While it's wearing an Air Elemental ring of Death
.
.
Because how could Flying Baboons of Lightning Death possibly be a bad thing? Completely RP, but not RAW (Baboons with that ring can only fly, not use the item's spells, therefore can't cast them. They can just fly while wearing it, after you've all killed an Air Elemental together).

Yes, flying monkey helpers for Rangers are possible.

[eleazzaar]

Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight both get to choose a few spells from the school of their choice.  Find Familair is an option for both.

[Nunkuruji]

Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight both get to choose a few spells from the school of their choice.  Find Familair is an option for both.

Thanks, I forgot they get 1 unrestricted school spell of 1st level.

[Necrosnoop110]

I'm in a particularly deadly campaign, how do I protect my little guy from AoE damage? [Gnome Wizard (Diviner), 3rd level] 

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Inspiring Leader feat , gets Temp HP pre-loaded.
Fam's can wear/use some magic items, just not all.
"Barding" so to speak too, say with the Aaracokra limit.

I wonder if Paladin Find Steed sharing spells
can be semi-cheesed over to Familiars.
Polymorph as a for instance.


Tome'Lock 3 can get the Find Familiar ritual too.

My DM let me have a town spellcaster service
cast Find Familiar for me.  If I lose the Familiar
then I can't get it back without going through
the whole bizness again back at a town.

[Nunkuruji]

I'm in a particularly deadly campaign, how do I protect my little guy from AoE damage? [Gnome Wizard (Diviner), 3rd level]

Yeah, this is the problem with both Familiars and Beastmaster, AoE just wrecks them with pitiful Reflex saves to avoid.

Barding is rather expensive, for anything worth a damn.

I don't have enough experience to give an anecdote of what may work well.

[Suthos]

The handbook notes that someone with access to the Ritual Caster feat and the Find Familiar ritual could complete the ritual and gain a Familiar.
Given that Clerics and Druids have the Ritual Caster as class features they may have access to it. But from what I read in the PHB it seems neither could be able to.

the Player's Handbook it notes;

"To cast a spell as a ritual, a spellcaster must have a feature that grants the ability to do so. The cleric and the druid, for example, have such a feature. The caster must also have the spell prepared or on his or her list of spells known, unless the character’s ritual feature specifies otherwise, as the wizard’s does." PHB, pg202

Given that the Find Familiar ritual is on the Wizard's list of spells only, then neither the Cleric nor the Druid could have such a ritual prepared on their list of known spells.

Also the Ritual Casting feature for the Cleric is specific and says,

"Ritual Casting; You can cast a cleric spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared." PHB, pg58

Meaning a cleric can only cast a ritual that is a cleric spell and is prepared.

This is a bummer cause I always wanted a familiar for a cleric without having to multiclass as an arcane caster and lose caster levels. Back in 3.5 I believe the Mystic Wanderer was the only option or the Knight of the Raven.

So given the blocks is there any other way for a Cleric to get one? aside from taking Magic Initiate and selecting Find Familiar as one of the spells.

btw I haven't read any errata regarding the Player's Handbook so if the above quotes/passages were already adjusted making this possible would be cool if I could find that file.

[linklord231]

The Ritual Caster feat is not the same thing as the Ritual Casting class feature. 

A cleric (or any other character, even a non-spellcaster) with the feat could cast Find Familiar as a ritual out of their ritual book, as long as the spell is on the class list for whatever class they chose when they took the feat. 

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Yep, Spell Sniper won't work.
Buying a Scroll won't work, since it isn't on your list.

Spellcasting Services works.
Small town's resident NPC Wizard 1+ casts Find Familiar, for you.
I'm educated guessing the MM Mage (wtf) can do this too.

Only real problem is if it's attacked, you don't have a Fam until you get back to town.
Only other  real problem, is don't be abusive with it, lest ye cause said attack.

[Strill]

In the section on keeping your familiar alive, you mention that the cost to resummon your familiar is only 10gp.  That's only if you got the familiar via the Find Familiar spell.  If it's a variant familiar, then it's not a summoned spirit, but a real living creature, and will simply die if its hits points get reduced to 0.

[Childe]

@Thread Title: Funny, I've never seen this handbook before. 

Useful handbook to have, with the noted corrections.