D&D Ideas — Familiars

D&D Ideas — Familiars

December 26, 2022

Dungeons & Dragons/ Editorial/ Free Nerdy Things/ Game Master Tips

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is familiars, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy YouTube Channel to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. To celebrate International Tabletop Day 2018 we launched our revised Patreon rewards by sharing Empusia, Curator of Souls for free. Perhaps a fiend spirit familiar will have heard of Empusia. Check out our free section of products over at Nerdarchy the Store category for our FREE material like this one.

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Delving Dave’s Dungeon

A couple of weeks ago we talked about familiars in 5e D&D on our weekly live chat. A familiar can be a great asset to the game for players and DMs alike. There are three ways to acquire a familiar. By character class, feat, or through game play.

There are three classes that can have a familiar, druid, warlock, and wizard. The wizard gets the find familiar spell on their spell list. The warlock can get access to that spell if they take the pact of the chains patron boon. Optional rules for the druid were given in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything for spending wildshape uses to summon a familiar. Only the wizard or a variant human can start the game with a familiar. Druids have to wait until 2nd level and warlocks 3rd level. Now I did mention variant human being able to start out with a familiar as well. There are three feats that can gain you access to the find familiar spell: Magic Initiate, Ritual Caster, and Strixhaven Initiate.

What do familiars offer to the game? First let’s look at them from the players side of the DM Screen. First and foremost many players love pets and companions. Second, they are great for reconnaissance. Third, they can be awesome for role-playing with the group. Fourth they come in handy for delivering touch spells.

Now for the DMs side of the screen they can be a useful tool. How about a handy alternative to the DMPC.

If you’ve ever wanted to have DMPC just give one of your players a familiar instead. There are a ton of reasons a Dungeon Master might want a DMPC in the adventuring group. Most of those reasons aren’t great, but there are a few that are noteworthy. The best one is injecting information into the game. A familiar could do that and give the DM a way to RP with the group even when away from other NPCs. This works especially well if the familiar isn’t a summoned creature rather something they find or are granted.

Even if you aren’t substituting a familiar for a DMPC they are great opportunities for the DM to role-play with the group or impart information to them. Familiars aren’t true beasts, but spirits that are aberrations, celestial, fiends, or fey. These critters could give the group a unique perspective into those realms where they come from if the DM wishes.

The DM can use a familiar as a reward. Several creatures in Dungeons and Dragons have side bars for becoming familiars. They are all more than acceptable for gifting to a player.

Spotlight

Dark Paths

Forbidden Library

In a hidden library miles below the ground in the city, a librarian collects books slated for burning, missives never meant to see the light of day. A small complex and vault of secrets, those who know of the Forbidden Library are few and those who have been inside even fewer.

Adventure scenario for four 4th-5th level characters
5 New Creatures including the Library Drake — a new variant familiar option
2 New Subclasses — Facedancer and Oath of Secrets
4 New Magic Items

Check out our entire Dark Paths series here

From Ted’s Head

Familiars, and I am gonna lump companions into this as well, are fun way to add something different into the game. Animals offer a layer of comfort that some people do not have the ability to replicate. Support animals come in all shapes and sizes and do much to allow people in today’s society to function, so there is no reason why it should not be able to be taken into our games. I, personally, love animals. A lot of my Instagram are cute cats and otters as well as some other animals. It brings me joy to see the antics they get into.

With all of that being said, if a player wants an animal companion, and they want to do nothing with it mechanically, but just have it, then just let them have it. The urchin gets a mouse right, but as tiny as it is, a single area effect spell can take it out with even a successful save. What reason is there in killing the mouse? If you delight in torturing your players, go for it. That is just not my style. If the player is not getting anything out of the animal beyond having it, treat it like an item. If something comes up and the player changes their mind and begins using the animal, then you can see how you might exploit it. If they are really getting a lot of use out of it and using it in combat then the kid gloves can come off. If it is a minor thing then you can have it cause trouble. Does it steal like the monkey (Abu) in Aladdin or goof up like the dragon (Mushu) in Mulan. {Yes I watch a lot of Disney movies}

My daughter(10 years old) loves collecting animals in the games she plays and is even writing her own game and one of the quest rewards is getting an animal of choice. And that dovetails into my next thing. There is no reason why rolls or role-playing cannot allow you to add more companions into a game. In Those Bastards, I thought it would be cool if my shadow sorcerer could have his hound of ill omen out all the time and treat him like a pet dog. The awesome GM put in a way for me to have him out even when not active with the power. It might be power gamer to not have to use those 3 sorcery points any time I want to get use of him, but as he moved to pet I do not always remember to use him. In my kids game the rogue in the party had a really weird situation change into him adopting a cockatrice with a Nat 20 persuasion after a dirty 20 on a disadvantage animal handling roll. It was hilarious.

There are plenty of ways to add more animals, familiars and companions to the game, if your players want them. Quest rewards make a great way if you did something for someone powerful; deities, divine beings, dragons and powerful fey have enough sway to bind a creature to an adventurer no problem. The same thing could be done against the players will. What if the same kind of creature wants to keep tabs on the adventurer. The creature could be able to watch and report back. Turn the player’s wishes on their sides or force the animal thing to be there. Mushu in Mulan was not always a help and had his own agenda. What other ways can you think of to make these additions to a game?

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