Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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"You can summon a nature spirit that assumes an animal form to aid you. As a Magic action, you can expend a spell slot or a use of Wild Shape to cast the Find Familiar spell without Material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is Fey and disappears when you finish a Long Rest."
Does this mean that for a druid, this is the only way to cast Find Familiar (unless you also have it through another instance such as magic initiate (wizard)), or could I also cast it as a regular/ritual spell (expending a spell slot (regular) or 10 minutes (ritual), alongside the component cost) if I only have it from this feature? And if so, does that mean the restriction of it needing to be fey disappears when I cast it with material components?
I have the impression the way it is worded is that although the Wild Companion feature acts mostly like Find Familiar, it is not exactly like Find Familiar and you do not actually have the Find Familiar spell prepared. Compare the wording with that used for Speak with Animals gained from the Druidic Language feature, which says you always have the spell prepared.
Because it lacks language saying you have Find Familiar prepared, that spell is not prepared, therefore you cannot cast Find Familiar as a Ritual unless you have it from another source. However, I think that if you have Find Familiar from another source, it would follow the normal rules (can be cast as a ritual if you have it prepared, will cost the 10 GP to replace the familiar if it died, can be fey, fiend or celestial and not just fey, will not disappear after a long rest if it hadn't actually been killed).
But that's just how I see it.
Thanks for the clarification from both of you
It being listed in the DnD beyond online character sheet as a prepared spell made me unsure, but I'm guessing they just don't have a good way to implement this (yet) in there.
Although, I do wonder why they didn't just rewrite the spell with the changes (no material cost; only fey) as a class feature itself, rather than making the class feature refer to the spell along with changes/restrictions, when you only have access to the spell via the class feature anyway, would it be to ensure that someone can't have 2 familiars (1 from the class feature, and 1 from the spell if they take something like Magic Initiate (Wizard))? Other than that, I can't think of any reason to do it in this more convoluted way.
fair enough
These answers are incorrect. DnDBeyond treats Find Familiar for Druids like it treats Speak with Animals for Druids (Note, you can't upcast ritual spells, which is why spells like Detect Magic & Detect Poison and Disease do not appear when you select the Rituals tab of you spells... but Find Familiar and Speak with Animals show you can still upcast them as rituals)... they are always prepared. The wording says "When you cast the spell in this way," meaning you can cast it the other way... if it was limited to only that way, it would say "The Familiar is always a Fey, and disappears when you finish a Long Rest, you can't cast Find Familiar any other way". This would be how you would remove redundant language while conveying that it can only be cast the one way. The reason for not saying "It is always prepared" is because that is unneeded language and then would require more language to clarify the differences between the prepared casting and special variant casting, while the only needed part is to say the variant casting is different in these ways... The whole point is, 2024 Warlock expends no spell slots to quick cast, but needs material components; most people require a ton of time (1 hour) to cast it AND material components ; Druids can cast it fast and without components but need to expend limited spell slots OR even more limited Wild Shapes; Or they can all ritual cast it (but why would a Warlock who can already cast it faster at the same material components), which is still faster for Druids than the majority of People, because Ritual casting is Casting Time +10 Minutes, which means Wizard take 1hour & 10 Minutes to make a Familiar without a Spell Slot, Pact of the Tome Warlock takes 1 hour & 10 minutes to make a Familiar (period, as they tome only gives them access to Ritual Cast version, but therefore it is Always without a Spell Slot), Pact of the Chain Warlock takes 1 Action to make a Familiar without a Spell Slot, and a Druid takes 1 Hour & 1 Action to Make a Familiar without a Spell Slot (The Druid is trading not using their limited resource by using 10 gp of another resource, that everyone else had to have to do it no matter what).
Wording matters, so WHEN a term is used, it has importance. The first rule is that it is meant to be fun, which means NO is a bad word, NO should almost never be said, you should always err on the side of YES... Can the Tavern Brawler Barbarian throw a rock with some rope tied around it as a makeshift Grappling Hook? There is no rule that says either way, then the answer is YES. Rules are meant to be the explicit limits, not the defined capabilities... can an NPC use the disengage action, YES, it isn't on the stat block but it isn't defined as not on their stat block. Can an NPC Cast a spell, generally, if it isn't on the stat block, probably not, but if they can cast spells of a similar level, there is nothing that says every NPC has to have the spells on the stat block to cast them, they just have to have lost access to a different spell. Can a PC walk on their hands? There is no walking on hands feature, there is no hand walking movement speed, so, YES, because there is nothing that says they can't... now, a general dex save DC 10 or a DC 5 Acrobatics Check if they are proficient are valid requests for a DM to make (maybe a DC 10 Performance Check, if it is being done to entertain or distract, rather than be a way to not leave foot prints or move across something that is too narrow for feet but hands would allow you to cross and have a chance to catch on if you did fail and fall).
tldr; DnDBeyond lists it in Rituals, therefore it is Ritual Castable, anyone telling you otherwise doesn't understand how the game works.
Read it again... Druids can cast it with a Spell Slot... that means it counts as prepared. Warlocks must use components when casting it... that means it IS prepared. At Will is not Prepared... there are things they can do At Will, you don't prepare cantrips, they are at will, you don't prepare spells granted by invocations At Will... neither of the features say At Will, they just say you can do so as a Magic Action (change of the time needed to cast) and they allow you to bypass specific resources. Proof that DnD Beyond adjust spells for special conditions when those special conditions completely bypass the rules... Moon Druid Spell Lists Spells have an added line of text (colored so you see it no less) that says they can be cast while in a wild shape at level 3 (meaning way earlier than other druids get the ability to cast spells while wild shaped), Druid and Chain Pact Warlock's Find Familiar Spells don't say 1 hour, they say 1 action, but they still register as Ritual spells in the Ritual Spell tab. The system does its job, they CAN be cast as rituals... now, why a Chainlock would cast it as a Ritual is a different matter, but they can... possibly because it means they can create a scroll of base Find Familiar because they can ritual cast it (remember, the Chain Lock Options are Added Options granted explicitly by their feature, they can access them, meanwhile a scroll of find familiar could potentially be cast by anyone with the ability to cast a spell, but they would only get the familiar the scroll was designed to summon).
DDB is a database so therefore cannot be a rules arbitrator.
You are skipping a word... They are The OFFICIAL Implementation of the Rules... D&D Beyond has not been a 3rd Party simply implementing the rules for years, it is now Officially Owned and Operated by the Official Company, and the Implementation is the Official Implementation of the Official Rules, which makes it Official Until WotC gives and Official Statement to the contrary about how it has Officially Implemented a Rule, at which time they tend to Officially Correct the Official Rule.
This was clear long ago, when Rituals had to be prepared by every other class except Wizards for the Rituals to appear in the Spells that could be cast as Rituals on the Ritual Page... yup, they've had this covered since before 2024 switchover... if it is a Ritual only (such as the 2014 Book of Shadows Warlock Invocation) the Ritual only appears as a Ritual, if the Spell can only be cast with a Spell Slot or other Means and not as a Ritual (such as a non-caster with Strixhaven Initiate that grants a 1st level Ritual like Identify once a day) it only appears as a Once a day use... If it can be cast by multiple means, it appears everywhere it can be cast... D&D Beyond is Official and it covers the Official Rulings, Official Errata, and Official Implementation of the Official Rules... Unofficially (because I am not a WotC Official) end of story.
Been here for a month, and it's already wild to me that anybody's arguing with wagnarokkr about anything they have to say.
I would say DDB Character Builder, as a tool for rules arbitration, can best (only?) be used to suggest the intent of the creators when the official rules/Sage Advice are otherwise unclear. I've been using the tool since it was implemented, and there have been COUNTLESS instances where it fails to work as intended. Many have been patched out, many have not, and it's, frankly, a rat's nest of lazy coding and confounding logic. More often than not, features like Wild Champion list the spells as "prepared" just because it's the path of least resistance for the developers, not because it reflects the official rules.
That said, in this instance, the rules are clear, even if I'd prefer it were explicit rather than implicit. If you look at an ability like the Paladin's Smite, you see "You always have the Divine Smite spell prepared" clear as day. It gets added to your list of prepared spells, so you can cast it using spell slots, you can upcast it, and if it were a ritual spell (which it is not), you could ritual cast it (which you cannot). The same can be said for abilities like the Circle of the Moon Druid's Circle of the Moon Spells ability: "When you reach a Druid level specified in the Circle of the Moon Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared." It therefor stands that any class feature that does not list a spell as prepared does not add the spell to your "prepared spells" list, regardless of what DDB Character Builder might say.
That said DnD is a game, so play it however you want. If you want it to count as prepared, who cares what the rules say? Houserule it and move on. But wagnarokkr is right about the RAW, and, frankly, RAI of the class feature.
See, this is a problem... you use Baseball to define RPGs, they are different. Baseball's rules are total, complete, and meant to define both what you can and can't do. RPGs are a focused form of Make-Believe and the rules are not there to define what you can do, only what you can't do. In Baseball, you must follow a set path, you can't choose to run the bases in the inverse order or a random order, you have to advance under most circumstances and once you advance you can not go back of your own volition and in fact are penalized for doing so... in D&D you can move where you want in you speed, but you don't have to except under specific situations, you can mix your movement, you can choose to act or not act, the rules are only there to tell you what you are unable to do. When something is enabled, it is there, it is yours, you choose...
This isn't about house rules, though since you used Baseball, I will point out there are Field Rules that are discussed like house rules even in Baseball... no, this is about what is a valid option granted. You are trying to say, "The Rule says you can't do that.", which it doesn't, it provides added options that are special to cast the spell in ways that it usually can't be cast, meaning RAW and RAI is that you can cast it normally or the new special ways... if the books said "YOU CAN ONLY CAST THE SPELL THIS WAY" you would be right, but there is nothing that explicitly defines the spell MUST be cast in the special way for Druid, nor Warlock. As I pointed out, D&D Beyond has adjustments for such cases, they are implemented. RAI is you assume on the side of permissive not restriction when there is ambiguity, and when people are trying to present the information for places where DMs are looking for incite, erroneously falsifying the ability is harmful to the community and to players. This is not about House Rules, this is about making sure when a West March looks for information, the multiple DMs can see confirmation that the OFFICIAL IMPLEMENTATION currently says, "Yes, if a Druid wants to not have their familiar poof every long rest, they can choose to spend the resources" and "yes, since a Warlock can choose to ritual cast Find Familiar, they can craft a scroll of Find Familiar if they choose."
You admit it is implementation, but miss the main thing, D&D Beyond is the only place for some of those rules, D&D Beyond is Officially operated by the developers and company, D&D Beyond is the place where the Sage Advice and Errata are posted and presented... so, despite your opinion, D&D Beyond is absolutely the arbitrator of the Rules (Notice: Errata & Sage Advice, ARE ARBITRATION OF RULES)
You mean, you, who don't understand the implementation, don't realize you don't NEED to take Agonizing Blast more than once, you just go in and manually choose which one(s) you want it to affect or not.
The are updating the 2014 subclasses to have the spells always prepared, you just are in too much of a rush to think that you know better than WotC, and decide that, as I said, you presume on the side of permission, not restriction.
AND IT ISN'T AT YOUR TABLE... it is so everyone has a proper reference to know that the Official Ruling is that it is okay, and the restriction is the DM decision at the table. You are trying to spread an unnecessary restriction as the Official Rules, I am trying to make sure that people are educated that RAI is not the restriction.
Updates to add features take time, the 2024 Classes and Subclasses were given priority over updating 2014, which is why Circle of the Moon Druid DOES have its Circle Spells listed as such, why Pact of the Chain says it is a Magic Action and not an Hour to cast Find Familiar, and why all things listed on 2024 Classes are RULES AS INTENDED, as they have had their implementation handled, but 2014 things are lower priority, and still are being updated...
TrueGeminiDragon and Wagnarokkr, could you please end this conversation? I get notified of new additions on my post, but it seems to be getting more and more away from the actual question and going into deeper things about how each of you believes one should go about finding what the rules are, and at this point I get the feeling that you two are just mostly repeating yourselves (although tbh, I couldn't be bothered to read either of your latest couple of replies because they're long winding and not all that relevant to me).
I think it's clear how each of you feels about the issue, you disagree, and you don't seem to be be getting any closer to agreement, so I think there's a point (and I think we're already past it tbh, but better late than never) where you should just agree to disagree and move on.
Others who have this question can see both of your takes on the actual question and more than enough detail from each of you about your underlying ideas of how you come to such conclusions, and those others can make up their own minds, and regardless of how they interpret it, they can houserule it to play it differently if they enjoy it better in a way they believe aren't the official rulings.
If either of you, or anyone else, actually has something new to add in regards to what they believe the answer is, I invite them to contribute, but let's try to keep the sidetracking and repetition here to a minimum. If this really is something you both wish to explore together in greater detail, I'd like to ask you to make a post of your own where you can explore this meta topic of how one draws conclusions about what the official rules are to be interpreted to be.
Bring back real wild companions druids have been pruned back quite a bit they could use a buff.
As per 2024 Rules, it is less the Druid has been pruned, and more the base Find Familiar Options have been greatly upgraded...
Giant Fly (Large, 60ft Fly Speed, Str 14, AC 11, 3d10+3 HP average of 19)
Deer (Medium, 50ft Speed, AC 13, 1d8 HP average of 4)
Hyena (Medium, 50ft Speed, AC 11, 1d8+1 HP average of 5, Pack Tactics)
Goat (Medium, 40ft Speed & 30ft Climb, AC 10, 1d8 HP average of 4)
Baboon (Small, 30ft Speed & 30ft Climb, AC 12, 1d6 HP average of 3, has hands that can carry and manipulate objects, Pack Tactics)
Just a small sampling of things that are standard options, even viable for mount purposes if you are small (except the Baboon, but I included it because it can feed you potions if you are downed or activate other non-attack action items)... other things to consider either from earlier expanded option books or in general are the Chimeric Animals from RIme of the Frost Maiden, Flying Monkey from Tomb of Annihilation, Vulture from Base Monster Manual, and Haungharassk from Dungeon of the Mad Monk.
Note that Giant Fly is from the DMG (as a specific summon for a particular magic item that's more restrictive than find familiar yet the item isn't as easy to get as find familiar, so RAI I'd wager it wasn't intended as an option) not the MM, so it's a bit more of a RAW grey area whether that option is allowed or not, as it's ultimately up to your DM to decide which sources are available to the players and they could reasonably rule out taking things from the DMG (just like players typically wouldn't be allowed to just grab magic items from the DMG as part of their build)
Giant Fly is a CR 0 Beast. The Restriction is the Beast can't make attacks, it can't make attacks anyway and is balanced based on that.
Your statement of "Can't grab magic items" discounts the entire Artificer Class... they absolutely can.
A DM always has the discretion to say "NO", but that is a bad faith "NO". The Oathbreaker Paladin was originally a 2014 DMG subclass... anything in the DMG is available, people need to get this, unless the rules explicitly say no, you can usually do it. The rules are deigned to only limit in ways they say you are limited, and the DM only defines House Rules that further limit you or open up special options that the rules have previously denied.
Not all creatures appear only in the Monster Manual... that is why it doesn't state "or another Beast that has a Challenge Rating of 0 from the Monster Manual" just "or another Beast that has a Challenge Rating of 0".
DM determines which sources are available, it's not a "no" from the DM, but a lack of a "yes" from the DM that's enough to disqualify it's use. It's most definitely not bad faith, it's rather clearly intended for a special use case only. Obviously they wouldn't limit it to just the monster manual, because supplements may come out that could provide additional options, but same there as here, DM would get a day as to which of those sourcebooks are available for use by the players. For artificers, the Replicate Magic Item Artificer Infusion lists very specific items that are available, and whilst it also allows "common magic items in the game", the DM is the one who determined which source books are available for that purpose.
But this all isn't very on topic (which options are available for Magic Initiate isn't really in the scope of the original question), and also seems to be going back to your meta discussion on how the rules need to be interpreted, so let's just end it here, okay? Your ideas on how the rules ought to work are clear, and ultimately people can read it and decide for themselves whether they agree or disagree with your alternative understanding of the rules, but however they decide, it's important to check and come to an agreement with their table, because ultimately, no matter what the official rulings may be, the table will determine the interpretation of the rules.