"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
My Conjuration wizard was paranoid of someone trying to assassinate him(long story, sibling rivalry) so he always had a Tressym. They can see invisibility, they have darkvision, they can fly, AND they can detect poisons without having to actually ingest them. He trusted that Tressym more than anyone else in his life. Her name was Sylvia.
The allowance of a Tressym as a familiar is a homebrew decision—granted it's one I've seen more than one person bring up before!
Nothing better than a top hat and a white rabbit as my familiar. The rabbits name is Bunny and leaps from my head at foes to absolutly no effect whatso ever.
My buddy has a spider familiar named Parker. He has the spider climb up enemies for the help action and do parkour moves and flips afterward as he dismounts. He does little touch-down dances when the trickster sneak attacks and kills something from his help. The arcane trickster is a sorta serious thief-catcher, so his familiar lets the player have a little fun.
Best moment so far was when the trickster mage-hand dropped an orc's pants, the spider gave him a little prick.. and then the trickster added a whole new prick.. in the form of a dagger. Damn spider rode the falling orc down like he was the one that felled the mighty orc. He then did a touchdown dance on the erect dagger.
so, if "an attack" uses a d20 roll, how come Booming Blade / Green-Flame Blade aren't Attacks? Eligible for second attacks?
I mean, I know that was actually discussed by JC, but doesn't this contradict that, sort of? I know it was written specifically to NOT allow a second attack, but using GFB specifically uses a d20 roll. You can't NOT roll a d20 to invoke the spell's effect.
If you look under Combat section there are two Actions in combat: Attack and Cast a Spell. If you read Extra Attack: "Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn." Green Flame Blade & Booming Blade in their Spell Description say: "As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell’s range"
Green Flame/Booming Blade are attacks, but they are the Cast a Spell Action, not the Attack Action so they do not qualify for Extra Attack.
In addition you a creature with Sanctuary is protected from all attacks.
Apparently Jeremy Crawford always intended "an attack" to be a d20 roll. Effects that cause a save are not "an attack". This means a familiar can use Dragon's Breath AND that the use of the spell by the familiar won't void Invisibility. I still think this intention is insane, but I concede it's RAW.
I know, it's been discussed, it just seems like in the case of GFB / BB it's a "d20 roll" Attack, but labeled as "Cast a Spell." Either way, Invisibility is voided. In the case of a familiar, they can do a Dragon's Breath attack, and remain invisible...
And, in the case of the Warlock using a familiar to attack, that negates Thirsting Blade, because you only get a second attack if you use your pact weapon twice, when you take the Attack action.
Oh, and the real reason I came here before I got myself distracted - I think a good familiar would be a raccoon. Should have Darkvision, and the ability to pick locks, set/disarm traps, pilot starships...
I like running the pseudodragon (his name is Phillip) with my PotC Warlock. The Adv it has on perception checks, ability to communicate telepathically, and the shared magic resistance is so good. I just sit in Darkness with it overhead giving me sight on enemies and launch spells (read EB) at them.
You only get the shared magic resistance if the pseudodragon is a creature that you bond with as a familiar naturally. The Find Familiar spell summons a spirit that takes the form of a pseudodragon and you do not receive the shared resistance. Sad, but true.
For combat usefulness, Owl seems to be the best one, for the extra Help action free from attacks of opportunity (due to Flyby).
I've been spamming Dragon's Breath and Flyby combinations with that Owl, it's amazing. It's well worth the Concentration slot for quite a few levels and still is worth it when fighting quantity instead of quality encounters up at even higher levels than that.
But then again I am ALSO a Bladesinger Wizard and you don't get the best Concentration spells for that build until you get 3rd and 4th level spells anyways.
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Not 'familiar', per se, but more like pet. And I think that would be an awesome story, but I would really miss Pebble. (That's his name)
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heh Pebble, I like it.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
It's explicitly brought up as a familiar option in Storm King's Thunder. It's not part of the normal spell rules, and explicitly requires DM permission, but I wouldn't exactly call it "homebrew."
Personally I'd allow a tress as an option but since it makes a more beneficial familiar I'd increase the spell cost to 30 gold.
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Tressym, a chaotic neutral flying cat with int 11. If you think normal cats can be annoying, this isn’t the familiar for you.
😂
My tiefling necromancer has a quasit familiar, his name translates to Angst (Tallanaus) and he is slowly making my CG tiefling CN and, eventually, CE.
Nothing better than a top hat and a white rabbit as my familiar. The rabbits name is Bunny and leaps from my head at foes to absolutly no effect whatso ever.
I love my white rabbit.
It's not Magic its Science
Trees are a totally rubbish familiar. Maybe a blueberry bush or a potato that would be useful.
Oh a tress. Nah 'stick' with the tree.
It's not Magic its Science
Hi, I just got a permission from my GM to have a Tressym. I wanted
a) something, that can fly
b) something that doesn't have 1HP
c) it's from one book I read
I think it would be awesome with him.
Now you got a Tressym, it time to start working to grab a Homunculus; ).
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My buddy has a spider familiar named Parker. He has the spider climb up enemies for the help action and do parkour moves and flips afterward as he dismounts. He does little touch-down dances when the trickster sneak attacks and kills something from his help. The arcane trickster is a sorta serious thief-catcher, so his familiar lets the player have a little fun.
Best moment so far was when the trickster mage-hand dropped an orc's pants, the spider gave him a little prick.. and then the trickster added a whole new prick.. in the form of a dagger. Damn spider rode the falling orc down like he was the one that felled the mighty orc. He then did a touchdown dance on the erect dagger.
so, if "an attack" uses a d20 roll, how come Booming Blade / Green-Flame Blade aren't Attacks? Eligible for second attacks?
I mean, I know that was actually discussed by JC, but doesn't this contradict that, sort of? I know it was written specifically to NOT allow a second attack, but using GFB specifically uses a d20 roll. You can't NOT roll a d20 to invoke the spell's effect.
"an attack" and "the attack action" are not the same thing.
If you look under Combat section there are two Actions in combat: Attack and Cast a Spell.
If you read Extra Attack: "Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn."
Green Flame Blade & Booming Blade in their Spell Description say: "As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell’s range"
Green Flame/Booming Blade are attacks, but they are the Cast a Spell Action, not the Attack Action so they do not qualify for Extra Attack.
In addition you a creature with Sanctuary is protected from all attacks.
I know, it's been discussed, it just seems like in the case of GFB / BB it's a "d20 roll" Attack, but labeled as "Cast a Spell." Either way, Invisibility is voided.
In the case of a familiar, they can do a Dragon's Breath attack, and remain invisible...
And, in the case of the Warlock using a familiar to attack, that negates Thirsting Blade, because you only get a second attack if you use your pact weapon twice, when you take the Attack action.
Oh, and the real reason I came here before I got myself distracted - I think a good familiar would be a raccoon.
Should have Darkvision, and the ability to pick locks, set/disarm traps, pilot starships...
I like running the pseudodragon (his name is Phillip) with my PotC Warlock. The Adv it has on perception checks, ability to communicate telepathically, and the shared magic resistance is so good. I just sit in Darkness with it overhead giving me sight on enemies and launch spells (read EB) at them.
You only get the shared magic resistance if the pseudodragon is a creature that you bond with as a familiar naturally. The Find Familiar spell summons a spirit that takes the form of a pseudodragon and you do not receive the shared resistance. Sad, but true.
I'm currently enjoying playing a noble with a hunting hawk as his familiar. Great for scouting outside but not so good indoors.
I've been spamming Dragon's Breath and Flyby combinations with that Owl, it's amazing. It's well worth the Concentration slot for quite a few levels and still is worth it when fighting quantity instead of quality encounters up at even higher levels than that.
But then again I am ALSO a Bladesinger Wizard and you don't get the best Concentration spells for that build until you get 3rd and 4th level spells anyways.