Find Familiar 5e D&D Guide

The spell “Get Familiar,” which is a low-level spell in D&D, allows you to create a familiar. 

Although your familiar cannot attack, it can be used for many other purposes that will transform your character’s abilities from being only occasionally effective to extraordinarily powerful.

What is the Find Familiar Spell and how does it work?

Find Familiar (a 1st-level conjuration or ritual spell) is on the wizard spells list. Casting this spell takes approximately one hour and you will need charcoal, incense, and 10 gold-plated herbs.

You must place the materials in a brass brazier, and then set them on fire when you have cast the spell. You will also need to provide somatic and verbal components for the spell.

After you’ve completed the spell, an animal-like spirit appears within 10 feet of your body, probably in Brazil after the fire has consumed the components. This spell explains how to use your familiar.

• Although your familiar appears like an animal, you can choose to make it a celestial, a fiend, or a fey.
• It acts independently and takes initiative, but it obeys you fully.
• It can’t attack, but it can take any other action. It can also take the form of a dash or dodge, disengage, help, hide, or disengage action.
• The spell does not decide how long your familiar will last. The spell brings the familiar to your attention. It lasts indefinitely once it is here.
• It can be communicated telepathically within 100 feet. It can also hear and see through you for six seconds, while you are blind and deaf to all your senses.
• It can be permanently or temporarily dismissed. It is considered a pocket dimension that waits for you to return it. You must cast the spell again to bring back the item if you have already dismissed it.
• One family member can only be one. Casting this spell while your familiar is already present can cause you are familiar to adopt a new form.
• Your familiar can cast spells with a range of touch, and your familiar can perform the spell just like it did when you cast it. This works only if your family is within 100 yards of you.

The spell’s long casting time means that it is not intended to be used in combat. 

It is more of a preparatory spell that you can cast in your spare time, or at the end of a long day with a slot left over.

What can a family member do?

Help

This spell states that your familiar can’t attack but can take other actions. The Help action is by far the most useful. You can find this action on page 192 in the Player’s Handbook.

You can use the Help action to help another creature gain an advantage in their next ability to complete the task you are supporting. 

Instead, it can give a creature an advantage in their next attack against a creature located within 5 feet of your location.

Place your familiar within 5 feet of the enemy that you intend to attack. Your familiarity will distract your enemy and give you an advantage when you attack that enemy again.

If your spell requires a saving throw instead, you can ask your family member to move to give Help action to another party member.

You could, for example, send it to the rogue to aid them in sneak attack damage. The familiar is a constant source of advantage for your party on the battlefield.

Scouting

Your familiar can be a great scouting tool for your whole adventuring party. You can ask your family member for help if you don’t know what’s in that next room, what is making that noise in the forest, or who the people behind the bar are discussing.

Many people won’t pay attention to your familiarity because they think you look like an animal. Wild animals might not notice you are familiar at all. 

It can communicate telepathically to you, so it can tell all the things it heard or saw once it is within range again.

What animals are Familiars with?

When you cast the spell, you can choose the animal from your familiar’s take. Your familiar will assume all statistics for the animal you choose, with some functional differences.

Also, consider your character’s personality and what animal you will bond with. You might find it fun to choose an animal that is completely different from your character.

Classic Family

This spell describes the options available to familiars. Here is a list of their benefits. Your familiar cannot attack so the usage statistics are their movement, skills, and special abilities.

• Bat- Blindsight, flight, and advantage hearing tests
• Cat- The advantage of smell checks is situational, but 40 ft. speed gets them to where they need to go to help.
• Crabs- They are slow and offer little else.
• Frog- similar to crabs, but with slightly better vision.
• Hawk- Hawks are great for any situation, except in a dark dungeon. They can fly 60 feet per hour and have an advantage on checks that rely only on sight.
• Lizard- Similar to the crab, but with a faster climb speed than swimming speed.
• Octopus- Only suitable for an underwater campaign. It can move stealthily underwater, making it an excellent scout.
• Owl– Flight, excellent dark vision, superior hearing- and sight-based perception make for great scouts. Flyby’s abilities are easy to forget. When flying away, they don’t cause opportunity attacks. They can be safely sent in to help, and then they will be freed.
• Poisonous Snake- You don’t get the poison damage that familiars normally cause because they can’t attack you.
• Quipper fish– They are only good underwater but have poor vision and make terrible scouts.
• Rat- Advantage on smell checks and dark vision
• Raven– They have a decent sense of smell and flight. The ability to mimic is not necessary since it can be communicated telepathically with you.
• Sea Horse- Only for diving and not for other purposes.
• Spider- They are stealthy and can climb up on ceilings. Technically, you could locate an invisible creature by casting and sending your spider inside.
• Weasel- Weasel has a good sense of smell and hearing and can stealth.

The owl is by far the best choice. They can scout in all environments (except underwater), and they don’t provoke chance attacks.

This reduces the amount of time it takes to cast the spell to bring them home. Octopus is the best option underwater, with its stealth and scouting skills.

Family variants

Additional creatures to the spell’s description have been added from other sourcebooks. A note indicating that the creature could take the form of your familiar was also included.

• Abyssal Chicken (Descent Into Avernus). This chicken-like creature is native to the abyss. It can fly, but it falls at the end of every turn. It has 10 hit points and is more durable than other options. It is immune to poison damage and can withstand cold, fire, and lightning damage.
• Almiraj (Tomb of Annihilation). This bunny has a unicorn horn. It’s adorable. It has good perception and stealth at 50 ft. speed and an advantage on sight- and hearing checks.
• Anvilwrought Raptor This is a metal bird made from iron. This creature is difficult to defeat. It has 18 hit points and immunity against fire, poison, and many other conditions. It can also record people and perform sight checks.
• Flying Monkey (Tomb of Annihilation). Flying is useful. When the monkey isn’t attacking, pack tactics don’t work as well.
• Gazer (VGtM). Have you ever wanted to be a pet owner? These are baby beholders.
• Imp (MM). A tiny devil who can become invisible and share its magic resistance with others.
• Quasit (MM) You can share your magic resistance with this shape-shifting demon.
• Tressym (Storm King’s Thunder). A cat is the best! A cat with wings! This cat can see invisible creatures up to 60 feet away.
• Pseudodragon (MM) It is a tiny dragon that can share its magic resistance and keen perception with you.

Note on page 347 that NPC spellcasters are allowed to have any Tiny creature as familiar beyond the list of named creatures that can be used as familiar. 

This is not for PCs but you can still use this text to justify the acquisition of a velociraptor familiar. Your DM may make you an enemy if you do this.

Homebrew Family

How about a beetle. The squirrel? The jackrabbit Perhaps you have an idea about the type of animal your character should have. Most DMs will accept this, provided it isn’t an overpowered or dangerous animal.

It is possible to easily skin an existing option and make it your own. For example, the familiar bald eagle who uses hawk stat blocks. 

You might also work with your DM on creating your familiar statistics. You can play the final product as long as your DM approves.

Who can access the spell?

Are you convinced that this spell is great? Good! It’s not on the wizard spells list. You don’t have to be a wizard to get a familiar. There are many ways you can get the D&D familiar you desire.

• Bards can access any spell in the game through their Magical Secrets ability. This ability is available to Lore bards at the 6th level.
• Druids have the option to use Wildshape to cast the spell, or they can also use Wild Companion which is an optional feature for druids.
• Three wizard spells are available at the 3rd Level for the fighter subclass Eldritch Knight, one of which may be from any school.
• The rogue subclass Arcane trickster also gains three wizard spells at the third level. One of these wizards can be from any school.
• Pact of the Tome warlocks has access to ritual spells.
• This spell is the core of the Pact of the Chain.
• The Ritual Caster feat can be used by any character who has at least 13 Intelligence or Wisdom.
• Any character can choose to take the Magic Initiate feat, and this spell can be used as their 1st level option.
• Similar to magic spell-storing items such as a Reserve Ioun Stone, and a Ring of Spell Storage, the spell can be cast into them and then passed on to another person.

Pact of the Chain: Super Familiars

Pact of the Chain Warlocks: Learn the Find Familiar skill at the 3rd level. This spell comes with some advantages, and you can upgrade it by using Eldritch Invocations.

You can select one of these additional forms when you cast this spell:

• Tax, please see Family Variant.
• Pseudodragon, please see Family Variant.
• Almost, Please see Family Variant.
• Sprite, A sprite is a tiny, invisible creature made of fey. They can be blinded, have exceptional stealth, and can even turn invisible.

To have your familiar react to your attack, you can sacrifice your attack. Although you will be more efficient most of the time, you can still use unique abilities such as the quasit’s Scare ability and the Gazer’s Eye beams.

You can access Eldritch Invocations as you progress in warlock classes. These invocations can make your family more powerful.

• Voice of the Chain Master– As long as you are both on the same plane, your telepathy and ability to perceive through your familiar’s eyes are unlimited. You can also communicate with your family members. You can now navigate ahead without being in danger.
• The Gift of the Ever-Loving Ones– You get maximum healing if you recover hit points within 100 yards of your familiar. This applies to healing spells, potions, and recovering with hit dice.
• Investment of a Chain Master (TCoE)- You can grant your familiar flight speed or swim speed. Your familiar can also use your spell save DC to make its attacks magical. Your familiar can also use your reaction to give it resistance to incoming damage.

This is the best option. It transforms your familiar into a valuable member of your adventuring team. All of these abilities are available as you gain experience as a warlock.

Giving Touch Spells

You can use your familiar to cast spells with a range of touch. You can have your familiar deliver a spell to you, without even having to be in the actual battle.

This is a great way to give buffing spells to your allies while they are engaged in combat with their enemies. You can send your familiar to heal with Cure Wounds, buff using Heroism, or add utility using Fly.

FAQs

Final Words

A familiar is a powerful character option that can be used to aid you in scouting or combat in D&D. It’s a 1st-level spell. There are many ways to get it, even if you don’t have to be a wizard.

Your familiar gives you an advantage in attacks and allows you to have a companion who can enhance your character’s appearance. 

This spell is worth attempting if you can. You’re just 1 hour and 10gp away from having your friend back, even if they drop to 0 HP.